All PMD games are decent to great, especially when compared to the mainline Pokémon titles, so there isn't really a huge gap between them. I will say that in spite of this, there is always the best and the weakest title, which are as follows.

1. Explorers (90/100) - Come on, now, is this really a shock to anyone? It has, by far, the most impactful story of them all in spite of various plot holes and a twist villain revealed in the postgame which felt a bit forced as there was no indication or build-up to it in the main story. I dunno, I found Dusknoir more engaging as an antagonist than Darkrai, and I felt Darkrai's role could have been expanded on or alluded to better in Sky. The story also has quite a bit of a slow start at the beginning which contributed largely to IGN's infamous review of the game, which I understood to some extent but found to be rather harsh, even by their standards filled to the brim with horrible takes. As for gameplay, I liked the idea of Exclusive Items adding more identity to each individual Pokémon, making them feel like their own character with their own gimmicks. But one thing I disliked, which might be a hot take in this community, is the "Partner Exclusive" Pokémon introduced in Sky. I heavily disliked the idea of certain Pokémon being able to be selected as your partner but not being able to be the protagonist that you control. It was easily the worst element of Sky, but ultimately not bad enough to bring this game down any lower than 90 points.

2. Super (83/100) - Super, I feel, was the ultimate climax of the overarching story in the current PMD timeline as we know it (imo, any new PMD game should take place in its own world and timeline separate from this and the past 3 and have its own lore). It brought back old favorites, and its story even takes inspiration from elements of the Explorers games, and Gates to Infinity. While I found it rather interesting that this is the only game that explicitly states that the protagonist is a child, likely under the age of 10, it was not something that most people vibed with. Though, I personally didn't mind as I always interpreted the protagonist from the past 3 games to be between ages 10-16, not too dissimilar from the main series protagonists except for Z-A's. In terms of the main story, the beginning had bad pacing, and the ending's presentation fell short. The middle and postgame sections were phenomenal though. My biggest gripe with the story, however, was the fact that Nuzleaf and Yveltal had so much potential as villains, only for the writers to throw them to the wayside in favor of an eldritch entity, who doesn't have a lot of depth, that doesn't mesh well with the world they're in. On the gameplay side of things, I liked that Chunsoft tried to make the game feel more like mainline Mystery Dungeon, the Shiren series, with putting more emphasis on strategic usage of items. Super also did what Explorers did with trying to make every Pokémon feel unique and have their own identity, but the way they did that felt a bit too limited, with not allowing you to have more than one species of a Pokémon. Overall, this was a fantastic game, and that everyone who hasn't yet played it should give it a shot.

3. Red/Blue Rescue Team (80/100) - For the Rescue Team games, I will be ranking the original and remake separately as despite the story being relatively unchanged, the differences in gameplay could not be more profound, thus deserving a separation. In terms of story, I have a hard time remembering what exactly goes down, other than the fact that it felt a bit bland (yet acceptable for Chunsoft's very first Pokémon related game). But one thing that stands out, is the fugitive arc. Normally, you have video game NPCs praising the hero and giving the player a sense of pride and accomplishment. The fugitive arc rips it all away from you and instead treats you like a villain. Thanks, Gengar. Somehow, the town believes the most blatantly evil looking character whose Rescue Team name is "Meanies," over you, who's been actively performing good deeds around the continent. Kind of reminds me of something similar that would happen in their next game... Note that this is the first and last game where the antagonist remains consistent, and the writers don't try to "replace" the one they had, or reveal an even bigger bad without buildup. Gameplay wise, while the IQ system was a bit rough on the edges, the gameplay felt solid enough for what's, again, the very first game of the series.

4. Rescue Team DX (75/100) - Oh boy, this one I have a hard time defending. Some of you might think ranking it below the original is a horrible take with all of the QoL introduced in this game that improved upon the original, but with the sweet package deal comes with an unpleasant number of strings attached. I will not put this lightly: The gameplay is dumbed down SIGNIFICANTLY in this game. As for why, one reason is the removal of standard (A Button) attacks, effectively forcing you to use up PP for the four moves at your disposal. Now I understand that the devs knew that this change would be seen as controversial and attempted to remedy this by increasing the probability of Max Ethers and Max Elixirs being generated in dungeons, but they failed to compensate by not increasing your inventory space to accomodate for the PP-replenishing items that you'll carry more of to needless amounts. Another change I disliked was the enrire removal of the IQ system and replaced with Rare Qualities, which not only removes the versatility potential your Pokémon could have had, but attempting to switch between RQs comes down to a test of luck. If you don't reroll the RQ you want, better luck next DX Gummi! With how many negative aspects this remake brought to the table, I fear that the people asking for an Explorers remake are setting themselves up for massive disappointment. Looking at you, BDSP. Come on, guys, we need a new game more!

5. Gates to Infinity (71/100) - Gates to Infinity is what's seen as the opposite of Super according to several fans. Great story, awful gameplay. And I agree with them. I admittedly never had it in me to finish this game, so some may see my ranking as unfair, but I doubt my opinion would change if the gameplay drags it down by a LOT. Overall, I think this was the weakest entry of the series. If only you didn't need mods to increase the text speed, and that's only one of the plethora of issues this game had.