While Mystery Dungeon usually has a deep plot and allows you to actually develop a connection with your partner, I personally enjoyed the Ranger series. And no, it's not just about "drawing circles", there's a lot more to it than that. Shadows of Almia was the point where my Pokemon fandom actually started to take off and it introduced me to the cross-generational Sinnoh evolutions like Electivire, Gliscor and Rhyperior, which I had no idea existed, especially considering they weren't in the Sinnoh dex until Platinum. When I rediscovered the Ranger series a few years on after losing my copy, they were still just as fun as before, and I tried out Guardian Signs, which turned out to be a good choice.