Summary
- Pokemon games offer a decent amount of gameplay time, with post-game content extending the experience beyond the main story.
- Remakes like Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire may have shorter completion times than the originals due to streamlined outdated content.
- Understanding the length of each Pokemon game can help players make informed choices based on their schedules and preferences.
Despite being designed with younger children in mind, the Pokemon series typically packs a ridiculous amount of content into its games. As such, there's often an awful lot of time between players choosing their starter Pokemon and defeating the Elite Four.
Pokemon: Every Mythical & Legendary Pokemon
A complete list of every mythical and legendary Pokemon, including their types, base stat totals and the games in which players can catch them.
While Pokemon games are nowhere near as long as some other JRPGs in the main story department, they can still take a fairly decent chunk of time to play through. What's more, once post-game content is taken into account, they're often not too far behind.
All times are based on data taken from HowLongtoBeat.com. Where direct sequels, remakes, or third installments take roughly the same amount of time to complete as the original games, their entries will be merged in the interest of brevity.
Updated June 5, 2024, by Tom Bowen: As Pokemon fans eagerly await news on the series' next new installment, there's arguably never been a better time to revisit some of the many great Pokemon games of old. The longest Pokemon games can provide players with hours upon hours of content, helping to keep them focused until news on the franchise's future finally emerges. Conversely, those with busy schedules may be more inclined to choose one of the shortest Pokemon games, so understanding how long it takes to beat every mainline Pokemon game can definitely come in handy. This list has been updated, to include the full main story completion time for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, and also to check that the average completion times given for all of the other mainline Pokemon games remain accurate.
16 Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
HowLongtoBeat Time: 25½ Hours (Main Story)
While streamlining old games for remakes and remasters is important, it also shows exactly how much time is spent doing stuff that is no longer considered part of the meta in the old Pokemon games. As a result, Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire have a considerably shorter average completion time than the original releases of Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire.
Whenever content is removed in remakes, there is always a debate over whether the changes really benefited players. To many, the removals felt like the developers cut content due to time constraints rather than to improve the overall experience. However, the addition of primal forms for Groudon and Kyogre did give fans two of the coolest and most powerful Pokemon in the entire series, which no one is complaining about.
Pokemon Omega Ruby
- Released
- November 21, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- 3DS
- Metascore
- 83
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
15 Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
HowLongtoBeat Time: 26 Hours (Main Story)
As with some of the series' other remakes, the quality of life updates found in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl end up making the games considerably shorter than the originals. This is especially true of the main story, which, according to HowLongtoBeat.com, is around fifteen and a half hours shorter in total.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Every Mythical & Legendary Pokemon (& Where to Find Them)
There are a ridiculous amount of Mythical and Legendary Pokemon available in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. Here's where to find them all.
Interestingly, the Completionist time is also a lot shorter, with estimates suggesting that the originals take more than twice as long to fully complete than the remakes do. Given how much new post-game content was added to Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, this will likely come as a big surprise to many players — especially with how grindy the Ramanas Park area is.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
- Released
- November 19, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
14 Pokemon Red & Blue
HowLongtoBeat Time: 26½ Hours (Main Story)
The first installments in the Pokemon series came out at a time when games were typically a lot shorter than their modern-day counterparts. The first adventure in Kanto did buck that trend somewhat though, with many players sinking well over 25 hours into the Gen 1 games during their first playthrough.
With fewer resources to aid trainers on their journey, a lot of Pokemon Red & Blue's gameplay involved players using trial and error to figure things out for themselves. Furthermore, with none of the quality-of-life aspects that appeared in more recent Pokemon games, players would sometimes take a lot longer than they actually needed to.
Pokemon Red
- Released
- February 27, 1996
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, JRPG
13 Pokemon Yellow
HowLongtoBeat Time: 27½ Hours (Main Story)
Setting the tone of the series release schedule early on, Pokemon Yellow is the first enhanced third entry, coming out between the first and second-generation games. The game was loosely based on the anime, with the starter Pokemon being Pikachu and some story elements being altered, adding a couple of hours to the game's length.
The thing that stood out most about this version of the Gen 1 games is that there were many unique mechanics revolving around the player's starter Pikachu. They could follow the trainer around just like the Pikachu that Ash is partnered with in the anime and even use Surf. There were also many instances where the player could interact with their Pikachu, allowing them to become more immersed than was possible in the Red & Blue versions.
Pokemon Yellow
- Released
- October 18, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Game Freak
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Strategy, JRPG
12 Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen
HowLongtoBeat Time: 29½ Hours (Main Story)
The first time that Game Freak decided to remake the games (or at least update them for modern handhelds), these games are incredibly close to the originals, with all the bells and whistles that the series had picked up along the way slapped on. Thanks to this extra padding, they were a little longer, though not by much.
There was also the inclusion of many aspects from the Gen 2 and Gen 3 games that made Kanto feel a lot more natural and fun to explore, like all of the moves, the updated graphics, and the inclusion of held items. FireRed & LeafGreen were the first remakes, and they set the bar pretty high for those that followed.
Pokemon FireRed
- Released
- September 7, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- The Pokemon Company, Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy Advance
- Metascore
- 81
- Genre(s)
- RPG
11 Pokemon Gold, Silver & Crystal
HowLongtoBeat Time: 30 Hours (Main Story)
While Pokemon Crystal is a slightly different game than the first two entries in the generation, it takes most players around the same amount of time to complete. In addition to that, these games are far bigger than the others, since the entire Kanto region is also included as part of the post-game.
Every Pokemon Region So Far, Ranked
From Kanto to Sinnoh, from Hoenn to Alola, here is every single Pokemon region that players have been able to explore, ranked.
The Gen 2 games were the first to include a day and night cycle, as well as mechanics that became series staples, like breeding, happiness-related evolutions, held items, and a lot more. The added memory available to the developers allowed them to add cool content as well as the color data that the Game Boy Color was known for.
Pokemon Gold
- Released
- October 15, 2000
- ESRB
- Everyone // Mild Cartoon Violence, Simulated Gambling
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy Color
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
10 Pokemon Emerald
HowLongtoBeat Time: 31 Hours (Main Story)
Being the third entry in the third generation , Pokemon Emerald comes in slightly shorter than the other two. This is in part due to it having a modified story, though it's also possible that players' familiarity with key story beats may have helped them to get through the game a little faster.
Pokemon Emerald gave players a different perspective on the happenings of the Gen 3 games, allowing them to understand the lore of the world and the motivations behind both antagonistic teams a little better. The focus on the fan-favorite Legendary Rayquaza also helped to solidify this title as one of the most memorable in the franchise.
Pokemon Emerald
- Released
- May 1, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- The Pokemon Company, Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy Advance
- Metascore
- 76
- Genre(s)
- RPG
9 Pokemon Black & White
HowLongtoBeat Time: 32 Hours (Main Story)
In many ways, Pokemon Black & White tried to soft-reboot the series, with players only able to catch new Pokemon in the Unova region. The games also feature a much more mature storyline than some of their predecessors, with the villains questioning the relationship between Pokemon and people.
The introduction of Arceus in Gen 4 left developers with a bit of a struggle about what concepts should surround the Gen 5 games. Thankfully, however, they found a reasonable topic: balance. Reshiram and Zekrom represent yin and yang, positive and negative energy, and Kyurem embodies the border between these forces: neutrality. This deeper take on the lore benefited the series; allowing players to think a bit more about the things they were experiencing in-game.
Pokémon Black
- Released
- March 6, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo DS
- Metascore
- 87
- Genre(s)
- RPG
8 Pokemon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon
HowLongtoBeat Time: 33 Hours (Main Story)
Despite the "sequel" games having entirely different stories as well as different Pokemon to catch, the completion time works out about the same. All four games take place in the Alola region, with the originals focused on Lillie and her companion Cosmog and the sequels focused on other dimensions.
This generation introduced Mega Evolutions, which were a hotly debated topic among fans at the time. Many felt that the developers were running out of ideas and were beginning to steal concepts from rival franchises. Mega Evolutions also destroyed the competitive meta, which is perhaps why they've been quietly phased out in the years since.
Pokémon Sun
- Released
- November 18, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 3DS
- Metascore
- 87
- Genre(s)
- RPG
7 Pokemon Black 2 & White 2
HowLongtoBeat Time: 34½ Hours (Main Story)
The first time in the series that a generation got direct sequels instead of a third entry, Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 take place two years after the events of the originals, with different parts of Unova now accessible. They also have a hard mode: a feature that many players wish was carried over into future games.
Pokemon: Pokedex Completion Rewards From Every Game
Over the years, one of the highlights of the Pokemon games has been completing the Pokedex, and here is every reward players can gain from it.
The direct sequels started something of a trend for the franchise, which resulted in players getting two new games instead of a singular third entry. This was also the first time that a follow-up game took place in the same setting, which made them feel like true sequels as opposed to the location shift commonly found between many other games in this long-running video game franchise.
Pokémon Black 2
- Released
- October 7, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo DS
- Metascore
- 80
- Genre(s)
- JRPG