There are many, many Pokemon hacks out there for the existing games. Some of them just fix translations while others try to make the text into more crude jokes. Then there are others that are more ambitious like adding in new regions and Pokemon. 

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While those are all great, there aren’t as many notable original games made by fans. One of the biggest reasons why not is because Nintendo is well known for taking down groups and their games as will be clear in some of the following examples. Why waste time on a project then? Even with that threat out there, there are still plenty of Pokemon fan games worth checking out both good and weird. 

10 Pokemon Generations

This game seemed like it should be the future of the real Pokemon games. It begins with Ash choosing his Pokemon at Professor Oak’s lab. Players could then explore his small land in order to fight other Pokemon. In battle, players would throw out their Pokemon which would then turn into an action RPG rather than a turn-based one. It was started by a user named Xatoku who eventually abandoned it before someone else, Yokill, rebooted it. Both versions can be found on IndieDB. 

9 Pokemon Samba

This game follows the more traditional pixel design of the original games. It does feature a new region that is based on Brazil though along with new and returning Pokemon.

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They even named the villain something new, Team Gold. Right now there is only a 0.10 build up on Relic with the next update expected this June so it is still early to really sink one’s teeth in. 

8 OpenBOR Pokemon

OpenBOR is basically an engine modders use to create 2D brawlers using assets from real games. One could use sprites from Pokemon Red/Blue for example. That’s what this creator did and they put their demo walkthrough up on YouTube via Chrono Crash. It looks more like a Super Smash Bros. type experience with Bulbasaur and Onix duking it out in a gym battle at Brock’s. 

7 Pokemon 3D

This is a remake of Pokemon Gold/Silver. It is similar in style to something like Octopath Traveler that uses 2D sprites in 3D environments. The big difference here is the camera is behind the shoulder compared to that game’s top-down perspective. Otherwise it plays very much like the original games and there is work going on to make this experience even bigger by including more regions too. That is seemingly the dream at least. 

6 Pokemon Uranium

This is another Pokemon fan game that uses original creatures in a new region, Tandor. It had made its way deep into development. In fact, it made it all the way up to a 1.2.4 version of itself so it did officially launch as much as any fan game can. However, Nintendo shut it down in 2016 although it is still quite easy to find builds of online. 

5 Pokemon EVOAS

Nintendo shut this project down even earlier than Pokemon Uranium as of 2015. It’s a shame for fellow fans of the franchise too because it was trying to do something different. For one thing the challenge was cranked up. Even exploiting elemental weaknesses was not enough for a guaranteed victory. One had to be even more tactical which brings to mind the other big difference: the battle system. It looked more like a classic Final Fantasy grid with a party on a 2D plain facing an enemy group. 

4 Pokemon Rumble 2D

This is another OpenBOR project that is somewhere between Super Smash Bros. but with a Battle Royale twist. It’s basically a 2D version of the spinoff series, Pokemon Rumble if it were a fighter instead of a brawler. 

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DJ-VGamer shared some screenshots of the project on their DeviantArt page. They have some other OpenBOR projects too involving the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man franchises just time name two. 

3 Pokemon Godra

This fan game visually looks like Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire. It is another drastic departure for the Pokemon series though as it is both an RPG and a simulation game. Players get to choose their job between such examples as a Safari Zone warden, a war general, a professor, a nurse, and the list goes on. While some of these professions may not be as exciting as a child collector/battler, some players have been waiting for a game like this all their life. 

2 Pixelmon

This is not so much an original game so much as it is a mod for an existing one. To be precise it is a mod for Minecraft. The weird thing about this is the fact that items like Pokeballs must be crafted before adventuring out which does add some allure to the gameplay. Another odd thing is that the Pokemon models are in full 3D and are not Minecraft, pixel like versions of themselves. 

1 Pokemon Black And Blue

The weirdest fan game was left until the end. Pokemon Black and Blue was developed by the animal rights group PETA. It has Pokemon breaking free of their masters, who are represented as the most villainously people alive. The battles work out like the normal games. It’s trying to relay a message about cruelty in reality more than be a game and it kind of fails at both. 

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