Play Pocket Monsters Kin Online

Oh man, Pocket Monsters Kin—this weird little Game Boy Color game feels like someone's bootleg Pokémon fever dream, in the best way possible. The sprites are chunky and colorful, and some of these monster designs look like they were scribbled by a kid who only half-remembered what a Pikachu was. I mean that as a compliment.

The battles play out like classic Pokémon, but everything’s just slightly off—the music crackles with that nostalgic GBC sound chip, and some moves hit way harder (or weaker) than you’d expect. Found myself laughing at how unpredictable some fights were, like my fire lizard suddenly one-shotting a water type for no clear reason.

It’s janky, sure, but there’s something charming about digging through this forgotten monster-collecting oddity. If you’ve played the official games to death, Kin feels like stumbling onto a secret alternate universe where everything’s familiar but delightfully wrong. Just don’t expect it to hold your hand—half the fun is figuring out what the heck any of these creatures even are.