8 Pokémon Games With Underrated Features Players Didn’t Appreciate Until Years Later

The Pokémon series is one of gaming's oldest and most successful IPs to date, and over the years, we've seen sweeping changes to each new game to help define each generation.

For as long as Nintendo hardware has existed, Pokémon games have helped define and highlight some of said consoles' unique features. Whether these are the DS's touch screen, the Game Boy's Game Link Cable, or the Switch's (questionable) ability to handle open-world environments, a new Pokémon game always had the potential to be a console-defining title.

As the Pokémon series gears up for its tenth generation, and with the recently released Pokémon Champions, we're taking a look back at some of the more beloved features that have unfortunately fallen by the wayside in later installments.

Here are 10 Pokémon games with unique features that we still miss today.

8 Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

Poke Beauty Contests

Pokémon's Hoenn region is one of the most beloved among the fan base, and one of its more eccentric features was that of the Pokémon Contests.

After reaching Slateport City and getting yourself the Pokéblock case, you'll be able to enter your Pokémon into beauty contests, where they'll compete against three other Pokémon for a title prize. For most Pokémon players at the time, everyone would build their team around beating the Elite Four or battling friends. The Poke contest would allow a different kind of player to go all in on crafting their most aesthetic Pokémon in an almost spiritual Dress To Impress prequel.

While you couldn't dress up your Pokémon in snazzy outfits, you could feed them Pokéblocks, which you'd make in a separate fun mini-game out of Berries you'd find throughout the game. While the contests would appear sporadically in later generations, I'd argue this iteration peaked at the game it was introduced in, as it had a sort of "grandness" to it that other future generations didn't.

7 Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

Pokémon Following You

One of the most important fantasies Pokémon gives us is that our battle monsters are our genuine companions, and no game nailed that dynamic quite like Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.

In this title, you can pick whichever Pokémon you want to follow you around in the overworld, so long as they're first in your party lineup. No more will trudging through caves feel like an isolating experience, as your trusty Pokémon will follow right behind you, keeping you company in the dark tunnels of Mt. Mortar.

Most surprisingly, it took several generations for the series to return to this mechanic, and it wasn't until Let's Go Eevee! on the Nintendo Switch that the mechanic would finally return in the form of letting your Pokémon free roam with you, and even hosting picnics for them.

6 Pokémon Emerald

Battle Frontier

If there's one thing Pokémon fans really appreciate, it's a fleshed-out endgame that pushes your team that extra step beyond the Elite Four. For most Pokémon titles, the challenge of the game mostly ends after you become Champion.

That's where the Battle Frontier would come in. After defeating the Elite Four in Pokémon Emerald, players could now access a post-game island that housed the Battle Frontier, offering genuinely challenging battles that tested them like nothing else before. Players can choose one of seven different challenges, with their own distinct bosses who will seek to disrupt their long winning streaks.

After each attempt, you'll score some unique currency, which you can spend on held items to up your strategy, a move relearner, or some dolls to add some flair to your secret rooms.

5 Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Fossil Mining Game

Two long years after the Nintendo DS hit the market, the console would finally be graced with its first mainline Pokémon title, and it was well and truly worth the wait.

Taking advantage of the DS's new touch screen, Diamond and Pearl revamped its Pokédex experience, giving players some extra interactivity at the bottom of the screen. One of these new minigames that incorporated the DS's touch screen was an all-new mining game, where players could discover gems, evolution stones, and fossil Pokémon in a new, underground location.

Players would get to choose between a pickaxe or a hammer to click on tiles, which would hide various gems underneath, but if you're too reckless with your mining, the wall could crumble before discovering that last gem you were holding out for.

4 Pokémon Colosseum

Purifying Darkness From Your Pokémon

Pokémon Colosseum is an underrated spin-off from the mainline Pokémon games, and it's an incredible shame we haven't seen a remake or a continuation of the franchise in years. In this unique title, instead of going into the overworld and capturing Pokémon to add to your party, it's your responsibility to steal them from other trainers.

With the help of the "Snag Machine" and a Cipher, you'll be able to identify if the Pokémon you're facing has a dark aura around it. These Shadow Pokémon can make for tough opponents, and it's your job to rescue them by capturing them during battle and then purifying them of their darkness.

Some players can find the mechanic slightly tedious, but personally, I love the idea of a Pokémon game that has you capturing all types of Pokémon to rescue them. Even more, I love that it incentivizes you to rotate them into your party to build affinity, so you can build towards purifying them, letting them finally gain experience and learn proper Pokémon moves.

Pokémon games tend to be fairly easy anyway, so I appreciate this mechanic adding some extra difficulty to the main campaign.

3 Pokémon Sun and Moon

Defending Your Title as Champion

Going up against a stronger Elite Four a second time was originally a feature in Pokémon Fire Red & Leaf Green. Pokémon Sun & Moon took it to the next level by having you defend your Champion title against a variety of different challengers.

Due to the Elite Four just being formed in the Alola region, you carry the heavy task of claiming its first-ever Champion title, and as a result, must continue to prove your worth against anyone who dares challenge you. When running the Elite Four gauntlet again, the champion you face will be different nearly every time, boasting a variety of different team setups you can't account for.

No longer can you build the most optimal team to take out just one champion; you now need to ensure your team is ready for any challenge that comes your way. It's such a brilliant feature that truly makes becoming Champion feel like the immense feat that it is, so it's unfortunate that more Pokémon games haven't returned to this format.

2 Pokémon Sword and Shield

Dynamaxing

Alright, folks, put down your pitchforks. Now I admit, I'm not Dynamaxing's strongest soldier, but if we're talking gimmicks that at least tried to shake things up a bit, you have to give Game Freak some credit for trying something new.

For those out of the loop, Dynamaxing is a unique feature locked to the Kalos region that allows one Pokémon from your party to turn into a Kaiju, gaining more HP and powerful Max Moves for three turns. Despite the spectacle, it did split players due to it being an underwhelming gimmick (in comparison to Mega Pokémon), and how it could stall fights out.

In saying that, some really enjoyed the spectacle of seeing a Falinks turn into a Persona's final boss. Another solid feature of Dynamax is that it canceled out notorious Fake Out abusers, which netted it some goodwill. From a competitive standpoint, it was also far healthier than previous gimmicks like Mega's or Z-Moves (even if they were more fun).

1 Pokemomn Black 2 and White 2

Pokémon World Tournament

The Pokémon World Tournament was this Pokémon Black & White 2's version of Battle Frontier, and, while it may have lacked the diversity that Emerald had, this version is also an exciting take.

Like the Battle Frontier before it, the Pokémon World Tournament is a post-game story-driven feature that will see players facing off against previous gym leaders, champions, and other iconic trainers throughout the series. You'll compete in an 8-man tournament, filled with tough battles, before claiming victory. After winning, much like the Battle Frontier, you'll be able to exchange currency for items, stat boosts, and more.

Unlike the Battle Frontier, the Pokémon World Tournament also features that story incentive to push through it, making it feel less like an optional feature and instead one of the main selling points of the game. And if you're a long-term fan of the series, seeing all your fan-favorite gym leaders with updated teams and sprites is sure to be quality fan service that ticks all the right boxes.