It has been almost one and a half-decade since Nintendo DS made its debut. Still it is considered the best handheld gaming device for Pokemon. Pokemon is arguably one of the most successful entertainment franchises in the world. It has been featured as comics, TV shows, movies, and video games. It is hugely popular among video gamers as well. And when Pokemon met Nintendo DS back in 2006, it was a mega hit.

How Many Pokemon Games Are There For Nintendo DS?

The Pokemon games released for the Nintendo DS were fourth and fifth generation games, spanning from 2004 to 2012. In between these 8 years, a total of 10 Pokemon games were released for the DS platform.

This was succeeded by Nintendo 3DS, and the games released were sixth and seventh generation. Without further ado, here are the 7 best Pokemon DS games of all time.

1. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

Released in 2006, but can be touted as among the best, it was the first of its kind Pokemon game that enabled online gaming. Along with the game, the GTS or Global Trade System, Pokemon Contests were introduced which made the series much more interactive.

2. Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia

This version of Pokemon lets you explore a new region called “Almia”. The base is a Ranger School. There are a total of 60 non-story-progression missions called Quests where you are tasked with helping the citizens of the region.

3. Pokemon Platinum

The ability to record and store battles, trade accessories online, and Wi-Fi plaza were the main attraction of this game. It is a core series RPG Pokemon game with improved features of Diamond of Pearl.

4. Pokemon Conquest

This spin-off game which was a crossover between Pokemon and Nobunaga’s Ambition series, featured generation 5 Pokemon creatures. The costumes were altered to better suit the storyline of the game and users were able to get the best of both worlds.

5. Pokemon Black and White (Version 1 and 2)

These games are hugely popular in Nintendo DS because these are core series RPG Pokemon games which revolutionized the gaming experience. Spirits of Pokemons and season features were the main attraction of both the series. The popularity followed into Nintendo 3DS and sixth and seventh generation games were developed.

6. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky

This is a sister game of the Pokemon series “Mystery Dungeon” with an addition of 5 special episodes. With this game, players got the feature to play in-game music with the Sky Jukebox.

7. Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver

A core RPG series and arguably one of the best Pokemon DS games of all times, the HeartGold and SoulSilver series recreated Generation 2 creatures into Generation 4, which was a gift to much of the established Pokemon fanbase.

Conclusion

These 7 games were made to be backward compatible with 3DS. That means you can play your favorite Pokemon games on Nintendo 3DS. You cannot play 3DS games on DS, although Pokemon DS games still have a massive fan following.