Pokemon D&D games don’t exist, here’s why

Pokemon is one of the most popular franchises in the world, with over 100 games in different genres. Considering how massive the franchise is, it is surprising that there isn’t an official Pokemon D&D manual or campaign.

The popularity of tabletop games is increasing every year, reaching mainstream media. In 2023, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will premiere, starring Chris Pine.

Is there a Pokemon D&D?

Pokemon and D&D enthusiasts have been trying for years to combine both games, but to no avail. In 2021, a player developed a system known as Pokemon 5e that came close to a perfect Pokemon D&D game. The game was shut down in March of 2021 but not before the creator shared the development process.

The main challenge in a Pokemon D&D game is the Pokemon. The creator of Pokemon 5e limited the game to the Pokemon of the first and second generation, at least 250 Pokemon. The creator had to modify the base stats of Pokemon in the game so they could be used in a D&D game using multiple formulas. The formulas were not perfect but allowed people to play campaigns successfully.

According to the creator, it took them over 200 hours to develop the stats system for Pokemon and many hours more to create the rest. Unfortunately, the creator of Pokemon 5e received a take-down notice. Some parts of Pokemon 5e can be found online, but the official sites are offline.

Considering how much work it took this creator, it is not a surprise that Pokemon hasn’t tried to go into the tabletop genre. Another possible interpretation is that Pokemon saw the potential of Pokemon 5e and decided to develop its own version.

Early this year, a supplement for D&D called Battlezoo Eldamon was published. It allows players to catch and train over 160 monsters.