Every Mainline Pokemon Game's Post-Game Content, Ranked

So a plucky trainer has beaten the Pokemon Champion of a region and watched some credits. Now what? Well, every Pokemon game handles its post-content a little differently. Some offered more lands to explore while others gave more battle challenges.

Oftentimes, hardcore players begin to breed for perfect IVs, shiny hunt, and complete their Pokédex. However, not everyone is up for that kind of game. Some players just want to go on more adventures and do more battles. So, which Pokemon game offers the best post-game content?

Updated on March 15, 2024, by Ben Painter: The aim of Pokemon games is to collect Gym Badges, defeat the Elite Four and Champion, and enter the Hall of Fame. After that is done, the game is considered complete, but usually there is more to do afterward. Some Pokemon games use this post-game content much more effectively than others. Some are basically done once those credits roll. This update adds the remaining titles to complete the list of every mainline Pokemon game, and ranks them based on how strong their post-game content is.

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18 Red, Blue, & Yellow

Catch Mewtwo and Complete The Pokedex

As beloved and nostalgic as the first Pokemon games are, they provided little in terms of post-game content. Back then, the Pokedex was small, so it could be completed quicker than in other games.

There were also very few legendary Pokemon out there to get outside of Mewtwo and the three legendary birds. Being the first titles of the successful series, the game was what it needed to be. Just don't expect to have much to do after becoming Champion.

17 Sun & Moon

The Battle Tree

Despite being one of the more recent games to come out, Sun & Moon were pretty lacking in post-game content. What players could do was catch all the Ultra Beasts, Legendaries, and there is also the Battle Tree.

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The Battle Tree was pretty cool, since players could meet Red and Blue which are characters from the past games that veterans love to see. They could also challenge some familiar faces such as Guzma, but that is just a one-time deal. Gamers can also defend their reign as Champion, but only if they beat the elite trainers all over again.

16 X & Y

Detective Looker Side Quest, Kiloude City

After players beat the Champion of Kalos, the side quest from Detective Looker is pretty cool and a little longer than most post-game quests. They also get access to Kiloude City, where they can try the Battle Maison and do the Friend Safari.

Note that the Friend Safari is known to be one of the best places to strategize getting a shiny Pokemon! While this post-game content is entertaining, it does not really unlock much in terms of new areas.

15 Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Catch Legendary Pokemon

This game was a massive shake-up by Game Freak, turning the game into an action RPG with a lesser emphasis on traditional Pokemon battling. Throughout the game, there are several missions and side quests that players can complete along with the main questline.

There is plenty to do in the game, but once the main quest is completed, there is not much additional content. Chances are that gamers still have a lot of requests to complete, but since they can be achieved before the final battle, they cannot really be considered post-game content. What is unlocked after the credits are several Legendary Pokemon and a few trainers to battle. Let's hope that its sequel Pokemon Legends: Z-A has more to do in the post-game.

14 Let's Go Pikachu & Let's Go Eevee

Complete The Pokedex, and Take On Some Elite Trainers

The first Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch, Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee combined the regular Pokemon formula with that of Pokemon Go. Gamers do not battle wild Pokemon, but catch them like they do in the popular mobile game.

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They are remakes of Pokemon Yellow, and becuse those games did not have a huge post-game, these sequels aren't filled with much content either. However, it is still an improvement. Mewtwo is available after the post-game, and is needed to complete the Pokedex. Gamers can also re-battle the gyms and take on Red, Blue and Green and new Master Trainers, who prove to be a big challenge. Players can also find Mega Stones throughout Kanto.

13 Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon

Fight Team Rainbow Rocket

Sun & Moon lacked post-game content, so their sequels Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon improved on this with the addition of the Team Rainbow Rocket epilogue. This storyline was an awesome throwback to the original antagonist of the franchise, and helped to tie the lore of the games together.

There are also the usual post-game events of catching Legendary Pokemon, collecting items that have now become available, and re-battling opponents met throughout the playthrough. The Battle Tree also returns from the original games set in the Alola region.

12 FireRed & LeafGreen

Complete The Pokedex and Explore The Seviii Islands

Remakes for the original Kanto region games, FireRed and LeafGreen ended with the player beating the Champion, who was also the player's rival. Once players finished the credits, a lot of new lands become open for exploring. These places include One Island, Four Island, Five Island, Six Island, Seven Island, and the Cerulean Caves.

Note that players must have data on at least 60 Pokemon before accessing the new locations. Once they have that data, go to Professor Oak and then the content will be unlocked.

11 Black & White

New Areas, The Battle Subway, and Challengers Cave

Black & White was quite popular for its introduction to N and for Pokemon favorites like Zoroark, Chandelure, and more. Once players defeated the Champion, there were some goodies to check out. For example, they could enter the Challenger's Cave, which had Pokemon from other regions that they could catch.

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There was also the White Forest and Black City, where players could battle NPCs and shop for rare items. They could also explore three new routes, do Pokemon musicals, defeat Plasma's seven sages, and compete in the Battle Subway. It's a decent amount of gameplay.

10 Diamond & Pearl

The Battle Tower, Catch Legandary Pokemon, & Complete The Pokedex

At this point, completing the National Pokedex was a big deal since there were over 400 Pokemon. There were also a lot of legendaries to catch, such as Arceus, Giratina, Heatran, Cresselia, and others. On top of that, there was the Battle Tower and collectibles such as Secret Base items, Poketech applications, and Ribbon Society Ribbons.

Hardcore players could also try to upgrade their trainer card to Black. This required the player to become Champion, complete one Master Rank Super Contest, have 100 Battle Tower wins, completing the National Pokédex, and playing the underground capture the flag match.

9 Ruby & Sapphire

The Battle Tower and Contests

The third generation of games offered a lot of post-game content through its Battle Tower, Trick House, contests, and 202 Pokemon in the Pokedex. Players could even try to get the Gold Trainer Card, which required defeating the Elite Four, winning all Master Rank contests, completing the 50 trainer Battle Tower challenge, and completing the Pokédex.

In terms of post-game content, this was targeted towards more hardcore players who wanted to be challenged.