For most 5-year-olds, the gentlest Pokémon console game is Pokémon Pokopia, rated PEGI 3 and played on Nintendo Switch 2. The other recent Pokémon console games are PEGI 7, and those work best as something you play together with a grown-up beside the child. For toddlers, it is fine to start away from the screen.
This page is about ages 3 to 6. For the wider picture of ratings, spending and safety, see a parent's guide to Pokémon.
Why age 5 is tricky
Reading is the main barrier. The Pokémon games use a lot of on-screen text, for menus, move names, instructions and story. A child who cannot read yet will get stuck quickly without someone next to them, and that someone does not need to be good at the game. They need to read aloud.
Age ratings matter less than that. PEGI 7 means mild fantasy-style fighting between Pokémon. Whether your own child is ready is your call. The full rated list is on where to play.
The options
| Game | PEGI | Platform | Why it suits (or doesn't) a 5-year-old |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon Pokopia | 3 | Nintendo Switch 2 | The lowest rating, and a calm building game. You play as a Ditto that looks like a person and gather materials. Supports 1 to 4 players. |
| Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! / Let's Go, Eevee! | 7 | Nintendo Switch | The two-player mode lets a parent play alongside. Catching is a throwing motion with a Joy-Con. Best played together. |
| Pokémon Scarlet / Violet | 7 | Nintendo Switch | A big open-world adventure with a lot of text. Too much to do alone at five. |
| Pokémon Legends: Z-A | 7 | Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 | Battles happen in real time rather than in turns. Probably more than a 5-year-old needs. |
| Pokémon Trading Card Game Live | 3 | Computers, tablets and phones | PEGI 3, but it includes online play against other people, so check the settings first. |
Phone apps such as Pokémon GO and Pokémon Sleep have no PEGI entry. Their ratings are set by the app stores, so read the store page. Both work best with a grown-up setting them up, as where to play explains.
Play together with Let's Go
If you do not have a Switch 2, Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! are a good way to play a full Pokémon adventure with a small child. The two games are almost the same. PEGI lists both as PEGI 7, with a violence descriptor, for Nintendo Switch, released 16 November 2018.
What makes them a good fit for sharing:
- Two players can play at the same time by sharing the Joy-Con controllers.
- The second player can join battles against trainers.
- Throwing Poké Balls together raises the chance of a catch.
- Pokémon are caught by flicking a Joy-Con in a throwing motion. In handheld mode you aim with motion controls.
Let your child do the throwing and keep the reading for yourself.
Before the game: names and sounds
A lot of the fun at this age is simply knowing the names. You can build that without a console.
- Say the Name is a game about hearing and saying Pokémon names.
- Guess the Pokémon is a guessing game you can play together.
- Every Pokémon page has audio, and the pronounce pages collect the names.
- If you are stuck on how to say a name yourself, hard Pokémon names for parents is a cheat sheet.
Easy first Pokémon to learn
These are short names, familiar faces and small sizes. The table has the respelling and a clip for each.
| Pokémon | Say it | Type | Height | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pikachu | PEE-kuh-choo | Electric | 0.4 m | Hear it |
| Eevee | EE-vee | Normal | 0.3 m | Hear it |
| Snorlax | SNOR-laks | Normal | 2.1 m | Hear it |
| Psyduck | SY-duk | Water | 0.8 m | Hear it |
| Bulbasaur | BUL-buh-sor | Grass/Poison | 0.7 m | Hear it |
| Charmander | CHAR-man-der | Fire | 0.6 m | Hear it |
| Squirtle | SKWUR-tul | Water | 0.5 m | Hear it |
| Jigglypuff | JIG-lee-puf | Normal/Fairy | 0.5 m | Hear it |
| Togepi | toh-GEP-ee | Fairy | 0.3 m | Hear it |
| Sprigatito | sprig-uh-TEE-toh | Grass | 0.4 m | Hear it |
| Fuecoco | FWAY-koh-koh | Fire | 0.4 m | Hear it |
| Quaxly | KWAKS-lee | Water | 0.5 m | Hear it |
Our best Pokémon for kids to learn with page goes further.
Books and cards
Books are the quietest way in. Pokémon Primers are board books for the youngest readers, and they include ABC and 123 titles. There is also a 336-page hardback, the Pikachu Press Pokémon Deluxe Character Guide, for when they are older. Books have no PEGI rating, so look for the age band on the cover.
Cards can work as a picture-matching game at this age. Spread a few out and ask your child to find the Pikachu, or the red one, or the one with wings. You do not need to know any rules to do that.
Spending and safety
The main console games are a one-off purchase, but some have optional paid extras, and the PEGI listing for Scarlet and Violet shows in-game purchases. Phone apps may have optional in-app purchases. The parent's guide covers spending, cards and online safety in more detail.
Whatever you pick, sit next to your child for the first few sessions. Say the names out loud. They will correct you before long.