At the height of the Pok'emon fad, it wasn't just the merchandise that helped make a profit, but a variety of spinoff video games were made to also cash in on the popularity, so if the usual RPG adventures of the original games were becoming mind-numbing, you had these to look forward to.

1. Pok'emon Pinball (1999)

Around summer of 1999, U.S. gamers got their chance to play a new kind of Pok'emon game in the form of a pinball table. Two different boards were available (red and blue) and just like the games they have their own different Pok'emon to catch in each. You use a standard Pok'eball as your pinball and you can upgrade it to a great ball, ultra ball and master ball upon increasing your score. Various Pok'emon will appear and you have to use a certain type of these balls depending on the catch rate of the Pok'emon.

2. Pok'emon Snap (1999)

Capturing Pok'emon is one thing, but capturing photos? This intriguing concept of a game has you going on a safari as Todd Snap, a character introduced from the anime. You take the task of simply taking photos of any Pok'emon that show up as you ride on an on-rails path from a vehicle. The more impressive photos you take, the more progress you make in going to new areas of the game and even taking a photo of the elusive Mew at the end of the game. Back in the day you could rent the game from Blockbuster and turn your photos into printable stickers via their Pok'emon Snap kiosks.

3. Pok'emon Stadium (2000)

The most important part of the core Pok'emon games has always been about making sure the creatures you caught are strong enough to win against battles depending on their type and their strength, and in Pok'emon Stadium you take on a variety of trainers and challengers by taking part in different cups. By using the Nintendo 64 transfer pak you could bring over whatever trained Pok'emon you have from Red, Blue and Yellow, and even play those games on your television! What's more, if you have Pikachu, finishing one of the cups gives your Pikachu the Surf move!

4. Pok'emon Trading Card Game (2000)

The trading card game also made for a great pastime if parents gave their kids a limit to playing the games, but what if you're a first timer to playing and needed a cheaper way to learn the basics without scrounging up your allowance for a big deck of cards? This release for the Game Boy Color has you taking the role of a card playing newbie that sets out to collect booster packs and challenge CPU players while learning the basics, and even has a nice RPG feel to it with an overworld. A fairly decent game to help out new players.

5. Pok'emon Puzzle Challenge (2000)

Pok'emon Puzzle Challenge for the Game Boy Color is based on the gameplay formula of Tetris Attack for SNES, moving colored blocks to form a row of the same block to make them break as you take on different challengers and unlock new Pok'emon to play as while you progress. An N64 version of the game released soon after.

6. Pok'emon Puzzle League (2000)

Having the same gameplay as Puzzle Challenge, this time around the game is based on the anime series with the player taking the role of Ash and competing against other characters seen in the anime, from Ash's rival, Gary to the diabolical duo of Team Rocket, and if you're tough enough for the most difficult mode, Mewtwo will be your final opponent.

7. Hey You, Pikachu! (2000)

The late 90s and early 2000s was overblown with the craze of virtual pets, and this game took it a step further on the N64. In this game, you find a Pikachu out in the wild and professor Oak insists that you communicate and interact with it for observation. The game's package also comes with a microphone that you plug into the N64 and give Pikachu a handful of commands via speech. The commands can be picked up easily with a younger voice, but adult gamers may get frustrated as the game doesn't pick up older sounding voices.

8. Pok'emon Stadium 2 (2001)

With Pok'emon Gold, Silver and Crystal on the Game Boy Color, it was no surprise to see that a follow up to the original Pok'emon Stadium would happen. Borrowing the same gameplay modes of the original as well as the return of the transfer pak usage, now all of the Pok'emon from the first and second generation games could be transferred over, with more impressive graphics to boot. The last Pok'emon N64 title certainly went out strong.

9. Pok'emon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire (2003)

One last return to the pinball formula had all of the GBA era Pok'emon on their own pinball boards with enhanced graphics compared to the original. Aside from the game mostly feeling the same as its predecessor, a new mode called "catch 'em" was introduced, where players had half a minute on a timer to catch the legendary Pok'emon, Jirachi.

10. Pok'emon Channel (2003)

Another spin off game follow up was Pok'emon Channel, a sequel to Hey You, Pikachu in which you tag along with a Pikachu and help professor Oak with broadcasting different television shows. The virtual pet simulation returned, as well as exploring different environments with communication towards Pikachu. This was also one of the handful of titles that supported the short lived e-Reader accessory for the Game Boy Advance, scanning cards that came with the game to unlock something interesting.

Have you ever played any of these Pok'emon spinoffs? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!