Pokémon (and games like it) seems like such a cozy franchise: collecting cute animal friends, adventures in pastoral settings, cooking and playing together. But the inside joke between all savvy Pokéfans is: Aren’t we actually participating in what should be an illegal animal fighting ring? I stand by Pokémon being a cozy game franchise as-is (turn-based games are cozy!), but they have tons of side quest games that skip battling entirely.
1. Pokopia
Pokopia for Nintendo Switch 2 is a life sim x city-builder type game that has been called an Animal Crossing-like meets Minecraft. Play as a little, lost Ditto who has been without its trainer for some time. Awakened in a wasteland, our Ditto hero gets to work restoring the flora and building amenities that will encourage Pokémon to move in. Your Ditto MC can absorb powers from others, learning how to create water, foliage, and even to fly. This helps you revitalize your community and unlock new areas. The better your landscape looks, the more visitors you get. Maybe you can even entice the human trainers to come back to the area!
2. New Pokémon Snap
Forget about battling, you can simple admire Pokémon from afar. The original Pokémon Snap for N64 was a classic, and here we are decades later and we finally received a Nintendo Switch sequel: New Pokémon Snap. Travel through different themed biomes in your pod-on-rails and snap pictures of Pokémon you see along the way. You can use treats and items to encourage different reactions and get the perfect shot. Use your photography skills to frame each Pokémon perfectly and score more points. Reach high scores, interact with the world, and find secret passageways to expand your map. Or, re-run the beach ad nauseum area until you can snap the perfect surfing Pikachu angle (me).
3. Pokémon Café Remix
Pokémon Café Remix is a cozy mobile game you can play on your smartphone, but a version came out on Switch, too. It’s a low-difficulty matching game about combining ingredients to craft different café specialties. Pokémon will come to the café as customers, and some might even stick around as part-time help. You use “lives” to play games, so you are limited to a certain number of plays per day. That makes it the perfect “between activities” game, like while riding the train to work or waiting for ads to roll between shows. It’s not the typical “match-3” puzzle, either. It’s more movement and physics based, adding a tactile angle that I really love.
4. Detective Pikachu Returns
I love mystery visual novels (from Phoenix Wright to Danganronpa), so Detective Pikachu Returns is right up my ally. I actually missed out on playing the first game, but this Nintendo Switch sequel gives you a quick synopsis to catch you up without friction. Ryme City and Mayor Myers need your help, so collect your trusty Pikachu and play as Tim as you solve cases around town. Chitchat with humans and Pokémon alike to uncover all the clues you need to get to the bottom of your current mystery. You can also recruit other Pokémon to help you with their moves, summoning water, fire, and electricity where applicable. The cases start easy and get more complicated as you go, but there are no huge difficulty spikes or tricky sections. Nothing an online walkthrough can’t fix, anyway; and it’s usually an answer that was right in front of your face all along.
5. Pokémon TCG Pocket
Technically, you can battle in Pokémon TCG Pocket…but you really don’t have to. Plus, it’s very obviously a card game so it feels less like animal cruelty. (lol) Honestly, I log-in just to open my daily packs, sift through my new cards, and then shut it down until my energy restores. You can get all serious about collecting if you want to, but I am just in it for the vibes. There’s nothing quite like the high of pulling a rare Pokémon Ex card that you’ve been hoping for. However, there is a FOMO aspect of not getting all the cards you want before the series moves on, so play at your own risk.
6. Pokémon Friends
Pokémon Friends is a totally underrated Switch title that barely costs any money. It’s a series of cozy puzzle games with movement, memory, and logic solutions. Completing mini games will earn you virtual Pokémon plushies, which you can use to decorate cute little scenes like a bedroom or play area. You may even recognize some of the mini games, like one where you skate across slippery ice and use the walls as stopping points to guide your avatar to the end point. Pokémon Friends is listed as being compatible with Nintendo Sitch 2, as well, if you have one. Bonus!
Stay cozy, gamers!
Next Read: Best Cozy RPGs on Steam Right Now