Platform guide
All Pokémon DS games
Twenty Pokémon games came out on the Nintendo DS between 2005 and 2012 — nine mainline titles across two full generations plus the best-regarded remakes in the series, and eleven spin-offs. This is the complete list in release order, both halves, and, because we open and test every cartridge we sell, what is actually worth checking before you buy any of them second-hand.
The short answer
The nine mainline Pokémon games on Nintendo DS are: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum (Generation 4, Sinnoh), HeartGold and SoulSilver (the Gold/Silver remakes), and Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 (Generation 5, Unova). Eleven spin-offs bring the full DS total to 20: Dash, Link! (Trozei!), four Mystery Dungeon games, the three Ranger games, Conquest and the keyboard-bundled Typing Adventure. All of them also play on the DS Lite, DSi, 3DS and 2DS, and none of them are region-locked.
Every mainline Pokémon DS game, in release order
| Game | Year (EU) | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond | 2007 | Gen 4 — Sinnoh |
| Pearl | 2007 | Gen 4 — Sinnoh |
| Platinum | 2009 | Gen 4 — definitive version |
| HeartGold | 2010 | Gen 2 remake — Johto |
| SoulSilver | 2010 | Gen 2 remake — Johto |
| Black | 2011 | Gen 5 — Unova |
| White | 2011 | Gen 5 — Unova |
| Black 2 | 2012 | Gen 5 — direct sequel |
| White 2 | 2012 | Gen 5 — direct sequel |
Tested Pokémon DS games in stock
Opened, board-checked and play-tested on real hardware — with the save verified. Every unit is a one-off.
Pokemon Platinum
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Ranger
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Black 2
Personally tested · Fair condition
Pokemon Ranger
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon HeartGold
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon SoulSilver
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Dash
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Diamond
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Pearl
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon White
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Black
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon White 2
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon HeartGold (Not For Resale, USA)
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon SoulSilver (Not For Resale, USA)
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Pearl (USA)
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Diamond (USA)
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Ranger (USA)
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Conquest (USA)
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon SoulSilver + Pokewalker (USA)
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Diamond
Personally tested · Good condition
Not what you were looking for?
Anything for the Nintendo DS?Game by game — the buying notes
Pokémon Diamond (2007)
The pair that brought Pokémon online: Wi-Fi trading arrived here. Widely printed, so used copies are the most affordable way into Sinnoh.
Pokémon Pearl (2007)
Identical story to Diamond with different version-exclusive Pokémon — Palkia on the cover instead of Dialga.
Pokémon Platinum (2009)
The complete Sinnoh game and the usual answer to "which one should I get". Heavily counterfeited — worth buying tested.
Pokémon HeartGold (2010)
The Ho-Oh half of the much-loved Gold/Silver remakes. The genuine cartridge has an infrared sensor for the Pokéwalker — the single best authenticity test.
Pokémon SoulSilver (2010)
The Lugia half. Same story as HeartGold with different version-exclusives; both are among the priciest DS games there are.
Pokémon Black (2011)
A full reset: only new Pokémon until the end-game. Black and White are the cheaper way into Gen 5.
Pokémon White (2011)
The counterpart, with White Forest instead of Black City and a different cover legendary.
Pokémon Black 2 (2012)
The only direct sequels in the mainline series. Released late in the DS lifecycle, printed in smaller numbers, and priced accordingly.
Pokémon White 2 (2012)
Scarcer than the originals for the same reason. If you only buy one Gen 5 game, the sequels are the fuller game.
Buying one title specifically? We wrote separate buying guides for the most counterfeited games on this list: Diamond & Pearl, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Platinum and Black & White (all four Unova games).
Every Pokémon DS spin-off, in release order
Beyond the mainline nine the DS carried eleven more Pokémon games — four Mystery Dungeon titles, the Pokémon Ranger trilogy, the strategy crossover Conquest, two early oddities and a typing tutor that shipped with its own keyboard. Titles here are the European box names — Link! is the game most lists call Trozei! Together with the mainline list above that makes 20 Pokémon games on the Nintendo DS. Two of them are the reason this list matters at the till: Explorers of Sky and Conquest were printed late and in small numbers, and they now cost more than most mainline cartridges on this page.
| Game | Year (EU) | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Dash | 2005 | Racing |
| Link! | 2006 | Puzzle |
| Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team | 2006 | Mystery Dungeon |
| Ranger | 2007 | Ranger |
| Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time | 2008 | Mystery Dungeon |
| Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness | 2008 | Mystery Dungeon |
| Ranger: Shadows of Almia | 2008 | Ranger |
| Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky | 2009 | Mystery Dungeon |
| Ranger: Guardian Signs | 2010 | Ranger |
| Conquest | 2012 | Strategy |
| Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure | 2012 | Typing tutor |
Pokémon Dash (2005)
The DS launch-window oddity: steer Pikachu with the stylus. Short, strange, and the one nobody kept — boxed copies are scarcer than the game deserves.
Pokémon Link! (2006)
A puzzle game with the whole Gen 1-3 roster, cheap and overlooked. The European box says Link!; the same game is Trozei! in North America and Japan, which is the name most lists use.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (2006)
The DS half of the pair that started the dungeon branch — Red Rescue Team is its GBA twin, and the two link to each other.
Pokémon Ranger (2007)
Capture by drawing loops with the stylus. The series that used the touchscreen for something no other Pokémon game did.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (2008)
The Gen 4 dungeon crawler, and the one with the story people still talk about. Common enough to find at a fair price.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (2008)
The counterpart to Explorers of Time — same game, different exclusive Pokémon and starters.
Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (2008)
The bigger, better-paced second Ranger game. The usual entry point into the series.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (2009)
The definitive version — extra episodes, extra starters — printed in small numbers late in the DS run. Among the most expensive DS games there are, spin-off or not.
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs (2010)
The third and last Ranger game, with a past-Almia storyline. Late release, small print run.
Pokémon Conquest (2012)
Pokémon crossed with a Nobunaga strategy game — the strangest premise in the series and a genuinely good tactics game. Released at the very end of the DS era and priced like it.
Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure (2012)
A typing course with Pokémon, sold with its own wireless keyboard and never released in North America. The keyboard is the point: a loose cartridge is cheap, a complete boxed set with the keyboard is the version collectors want.
The DS also plays the whole Game Boy Advance generation if you use an original DS or DS Lite — both have the second cartridge slot. The full GBA Pokémon list is here.
What to check before buying a used Pokémon DS game
Authenticity first. Pokémon DS counterfeits concentrate on the expensive titles — HeartGold, SoulSilver and Platinum. Check the serial code on the label (European HeartGold reads NTR-IPKE-EUR), the label print, and on the remakes the infrared sensor: genuine HG/SS cartridges have a dark translucent window in the top edge for the Pokéwalker, and counterfeits leave the sensor out — the pairing screen simply does nothing. The full six-point check is here.
The save is the good news. Unlike the Game Boy generations, DS cartridges store saves on flash memory — there is no battery to go flat. A working DS cartridge from 2007 will still hold your save today. We test saving and loading on real hardware anyway, because a corrupted flash chip does exist — it is just rare.
Or buy one that has already been checked
Every Pokémon cartridge we sell has been opened, checked against its board code and play-tested on real hardware, with the save verified. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries.
Browse tested Pokémon gamesQuestions we get asked
How many Pokémon games are there on the Nintendo DS?
Twenty: nine mainline games and eleven spin-offs. The mainline nine are Diamond, Pearl and Platinum (Gen 4), the HeartGold and SoulSilver remakes, and Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 (Gen 5). The eleven spin-offs are Pokémon Dash, Pokémon Link! (called Trozei! outside Europe), four Mystery Dungeon games (Blue Rescue Team, Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky), the three Pokémon Ranger games, Pokémon Conquest, and Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure. Both lists are on this page in release order.
Which Pokémon DS game is the most expensive?
Among the spin-offs, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky and Pokémon Conquest — both arrived at the end of the DS run, were printed in small numbers, and now cost more than any mainline cartridge on this list. Within the mainline nine it is HeartGold and SoulSilver, and after those Black 2 and White 2. Boxed copies with the manual carry a premium over a loose cartridge on all of them.
Do Pokémon DS games work on the 3DS and 2DS?
Yes. DS cartridges play on every DS and 3DS model: the original DS, DS Lite, DSi, 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS and New 3DS. DS games are not region-locked either, so a European cartridge works on any of them. The other way round does not work — a 3DS game will not fit a DS.
Which Pokémon DS game should I buy first?
Platinum, in most cases: it is the complete version of the Sinnoh generation with the fullest story in one cartridge. If you want the series at its most nostalgic, HeartGold or SoulSilver — the Gold/Silver remakes are widely considered the high point of the classic era.
Why are HeartGold and SoulSilver so expensive?
Demand and scarcity: they are remakes of the best-loved generation, they came with the Pokéwalker accessory, and they were printed in smaller numbers than Diamond and Pearl. That price also makes them the most counterfeited DS games — a genuine cartridge has an infrared sensor in the top edge, which counterfeits leave out.
Do Pokémon DS games still hold a save?
Yes — DS cartridges store the save on flash memory, not on a battery like the Game Boy games. No battery to go flat means a DS save is reliable even twenty years on. We still test saving and loading on real hardware before a cartridge is listed.
How do I spot a fake Pokémon DS cartridge?
Check the serial on the label (HeartGold is NTR-IPKE-EUR for Europe), the print quality, and on HeartGold and SoulSilver the infrared sensor: start a Pokéwalker pairing — on a counterfeit the pairing screen does nothing. The counterfeits concentrate on HeartGold, SoulSilver and Platinum, exactly because those are the expensive ones.
Do you ship Pokémon DS games across the EU?
Yes — we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries from the Netherlands, with no customs charges inside the EU. The exact rate for your country is shown at checkout before you pay, and you have 30 days to return an order.
Need something to play them on? tested DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL consoles.
Looking for the whole series in order? All Pokémon games in order, by console — or jump to the GBA list and the 3DS list.
Dutch reader? Pokémon DS-games — dezelfde lijst in het Nederlands.