When it comes to cover art, the Pokémon franchise is no slacker. From their movies to the games, they’ve delivered time and time again on some excellent art. Building on the hype and promotional material that was laid down prior, the cover art has been a factor in their massive sales across the decades.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean they’re a hit every time. How could they be? With so many titles and spin-off games, it’s hard to keep up when they had already set the bar so high. From Pokémon Snap to Hey You, Pikachu! the list of games that fell to the wayside grows every year, giving the opportunity for some off the wall cover art.
10 Doesn’t Cut It - Pokémon Puzzle League
Even though the game included some classic starters, they made the mistake of leaving out most players’ number 1, Charmander. Pikachu has appeared on many of its own covers without assistance from the starting 3 but to only leave the fiery icon out seems wrong.
To add insult to injury he was voted by most players as their favorite starter, with the anime following suit and pushing the character and its evolutions into the limelight.
9 Best Cover - Pokémon Stadium 2
Any cover that includes the legendary duo is going to be gold, or silver, depending on which bird you prefer. Both Ho-Oh and Lugia have taken over fan’s imaginations since they first made their entrance in generation 2, becoming main characters throughout the entire series.
Lugia by itself has been the face of more covers than any Pokémon in the series, which includes movies. Ho-Oh is the accredited first legendary to show up in the anime at all, showing just how long the two have been around.
8 Doesn’t Cut It - Pokemon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR!
The Pokémon card video game was a big hit right around the time all the fans were first discovering the cards. The sequel was a Japanese exclusive, slapping a confusing cover on the entire game.
Seemingly a Voltorb sending out lightning through the various type symbols and cards. While it may be as colourful as it gets, it just seems like they didn’t have the rights to use any actual Pokémon for their cover.
7 Best Cover - Pokémon Colosseum
The first major Pokémon installation on the Gamecube turned out a hit, with the cover only adding to the success. With access to all the second and third generations of Pokémon, they had a lot to work with in terms of faces of the game.
Luckily for us, they decided not to choose and put together an awesome medley of the bunch. Not to forget one of the best character designs in Pokémon history, Wes, is looming in the background.
6 Doesn’t Cut It - Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Time
Now Mystery Dungeon isn’t supposed to be the kind of game to blow your hair back, offering a much more relaxed and integrative experience than the main series. Even then the Explorers Of Time cover is one of the most random combinations of Pokémon in history.
Even more strange is that none of the Pokémon shown above are game exclusives, making the choices even more questionable. Maybe the fun-loving vibe went to the designers’ head before remembering some of the evil-eyed goons in the back.
5 Best Cover - Pokémon XD: Gale Of Darkness
The only thing better than a good Lugia cover is a Shadow Lugia cover. When the art first went out and the game went on presale it was chaos, one of the most iconic Pokémon to do it turns even more intimidating.
Even though the character design fell off a little in the way of trainers, Shadow Pokémon was never going to be a flop to the fans. Combine that with the slick new graphics and Nintendo had a hit.
4 Doesn’t Cut It - Pokemon White Version 2
The newer generations of Pokémon have diverted from their oh so successful formula in a few ways, after all, there’s only so many draconic legendaries that can be made. White/Black 2 stooped down to giving us Reshiram’s alternate forms.
Even more disappointing is how lacklustre White 2 is compared to the incredible contrast and lightning of Black 2. The clinical background draws out any intensity there would have been in the flames, maybe it’s time to hang the flaming gloves up.
3 Best Cover - Pokémon Conquest
One of the most natural crossovers to ever happen, most seem like they’re trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Pokémon and Nobunaga’s Ambition flowed together to create a whole new vibe to the Pokémon universe.
Instead of the friendly way they’re seen in the anime and recent games, Pokémon Conquest is a war strategy game with Pokémon as the weapons. Conquest rivals Colosseum for character design and it shows on the cover, featuring some of the most popular legendaries in the series.
2 Doesn’t Cut It - Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire
While Pokémon Pinball isn’t a central focus game, the cover contains some of the most rejected Pokémon to come out of the third generation. Barring the starters, Wailmer and the Spheal family there’s not a lot to look at.
The cover isn’t particularly ugly and it makes for a fun ride into the game. It may be an effort to give a chance to some of the scrubs that didn’t make it big in the main series, jammed into the game itself and made memorable by Pinball.
1 Best Cover - Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs
Even though it’s the third game in the trilogy, Guardian Signs has to take the best cover prize. The only Pokémon that isn’t a legendary is a smirking Pichu holding a banjo, if that’s not enough to win then what is?
Though the human characters look like they belong in a completely different series, the chaotic racing scene that surrounds them is more than enough of a distraction. They even captured the Pokémon’s character in their stance, gold star for effort.
NEXT: 15 Most Competitive Fighting Type Pokemon, Ranked
