Pokemon games have never been famous for their difficulty, but many of these games have varied massively on how hard they are to complete. Some are widely considered a breeze, while others test a player’s skills to greater heights than many other JRPGs.
When picking a game to replay or choosing a classic one to try out, you should be completely aware of what level of difficulty you’re about to face. There are several traits that Pokemon games have included over the years that make some adventures incredibly easy and others that have made for some immense challenges.
Updated on March 21, 2026, by Jerel Levy: With Pokemon Legends: Z-A being added to the mainline roster, we’ve updated this list to include the action-based title in our difficulty ranking. On top of this, the rerelease of FireRed and LeafGreen has introduced an entire generation to just how difficult some of the older titles are without all of the handholding of later games.
23
Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu & Let’s Go Eevee
A Great Place To Start
This revisit to Kanto on the Nintendo Switch makes a lot of changes to the usual Pokemon formula. Wild battles are a thing of the past and the games have rarely been this accessible to the youngest of the young.
With all that said, the games are sorely lacking in difficulty. Not only do they hand you an extra-powerful Pikachu or Eevee as your starter, but you can even teach them powerful moves of any type you want by visiting a few NPCs in Pokemon Centers. It’s totally viable to play the entire game with one Pokemon, and it almost seems to encourage it.
It’s worth keeping in mind that these games were never intended to be a challenge. They’re a mixture of an entry point into the series and a nostalgia trip for long-time fans, making it ideal for people who love Pokemon but don’t play the games.
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22
Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Despite being remakes of Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire, which will appear much later on this list, Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire are almost a joke in their challenge level. Many foes give ludicrous amounts of experience, and from your starter’s Mega Evolution to a free Latios or Latias, it’s difficult to fail in this adventure.
That’s not to say it isn’t fun, and it had a wonderful competitive scene thanks to its many new Mega Evolutions and access to various legendaries. That said, you’ll absolutely need a personal restriction like a Nuzlocke challenge if you want a little more bite with this game.
21
Pokemon X & Y
Not Mega Hard
Like Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, the Kalos games released beforehand also gave trainers a few too many tools. A free Kanto starter and more Mega Evolutions made for degenerative teams, but this game at least had new Pokemon and Gyms that players might not be as familiar with.
That novelty makes it much more interesting to replay it and might result in some Gym Leaders and rivals catching you off-guard. Will it make you sweat at all, though? No, probably not.
20
Pokemon Sword
Letting The Side Down
Despite being extremely similar, Pokemon Sword & Shield do have some key differences that impact their respective difficulty levels. While most of the split versions mainly stick to their Pokemon as the primary changes, Pokemon Sword suffers due to some version-exclusive Gym Leaders with very little substance.
Namely, these would be Bea and Gordie. Both of them have competitive Pokemon, but they have too many weaknesses and shortcomings in their move pools to be a challenge. They end up being remarkably easy to beat, and this is further pronounced by Dynamax making most Gym Leaders a breeze with the right strategy.
19
Pokemon Shield
Shield Beats Sword
Pokemon Shield ramps things up a bit compared to its companion. This is mostly due to the Ghost-type Gym Leader, Allister, who replaces Bea in this version and has a much stronger team. It features both fast and defensive Pokemon with fewer common weaknesses.
Even Melony beats out Gordie in the late game thanks to her Ice-type proficiency. Her team still has a similar number of weaknesses; however, her defensive stats are much more well-rounded on teammates like Lapras. And her speedier Pokemon can actually threaten your team, making Pokemon Shield the harder Pokemon game between the eighth-generation picks.
18
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
The Power Of Love
While they were hotly awaited by the community, these games do leave something to be desired in the difficulty department. For the most part. Between permanent experience share and the affection system that may have you witnessing your Pokemon survive deadly hits multiple times in a row, the game isn’t too challenging.
That’s not to say there aren’t challenges, though. The Elite Four ramps up the difficulty quite a bit, and Cynthia herself is something of a demon. For most of the game, though? Not so much.
17
Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver
Almost Perfect
Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver have some especially strange traits. While being mostly identical to the original Pokemon Gold & Silver, several bits make them far easier. Some of this has to do with Special and Physical moves being divided, which makes many of the weakest Pokemon far stronger.
However, it ends up being substantially easier due to its status as a fourth-generation game, as it doesn’t prevent you from evolving certain Pokemon like Gligar and Aipon into their new evolutions. This can lead to some absurdly powerful Pokemon that you aren’t expected to have, and it ends up being a much simpler experience as a result.
16
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl
A Pokedex Problem
The original Sinnoh games from the Nintendo DS aren’t as difficult as they are boring. In theory, it should be quite difficult due to its level spike, as many trainers like Cynthia late in the game can be astonishingly more powerful than an average trainer’s team.
Unfortunately, most of the game’s Gym Leaders have pretty predictable weaknesses, and there’s a lack of certain Pokemon types to utilize this level advantage. Flint, the Fire-type expert from the Elite Four, actually has very few Fire-types because of the problems with Sinnoh’s Pokedex, meaning Grass and Steel-types had an unusual advantage.
15
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
Freedom To Set Your Own Challenges
The latest mainline games in the Pokemon series are notable for letting you venture off into high-leveled areas nearly right off the bat. Their three-pronged approach to storytelling meets this relative freedom headfirst, letting people choose to do things in a ‘bad’ order, leading to the potential for some real challenge if you try to face a Gym Leader or other boss-type encounter too early.
That doesn’t mean Scarlet & Violet are by any means difficult if played at roughly the most anticipated path, with Gym Leaders and Team Star captains fought at more appropriate intervals. There are so many ways to buff up your Pokemon in this game that it’s still pretty much your game to lose, however.
14
Pokemon Black & White
Those Poor Plasma Grunts
Pokemon Black & White is where the difficulty on our list ramps up a bit, as Unova brought an entirely new set of challenges that no player had ever faced before. No original Pokemon in the main story meant teams could look incredibly different from each other and forced you to create a diverse team to make your way through it.
The main problem in this game is Team Plasma, which ends up being disappointingly easy to defeat in nearly every story segment. Few members use evolved Pokemon and their teams rarely consist of unusual partners, making your new foe N the only real threat from this major aspect of the game.
