Pokemon Champions

Pokemon Champions feels like a title that suddenly had to launch due to chasing a specific quarterly report. While otherwise nearly perfect as a platform, lacking a multitude of very important items on release makes the game feel fundamentally incomplete. The paywalled quality-of-life additions are also a major deterrent, especially for those who expected a way to engage with VGC without owning the mainline games. It's still a wonderful attempt at making competitive Pokemon more accessible, though, and is definitely something that'll only improve in time.

As a whole package, it’s still early on in its life, so while it may be currently barebones, I do think that Pokémon Champions has an excellent blueprint laid out for future updates. Looking at it for what it is, a way to get new players into the competitive scene and to practice for official events, Pokémon Champions nails exactly that. It needs some work to be where it probably should be, but even as it is now it’s a respectable official battle simulator.

Pokémon Champions is what I've always dreamed of getting my hands on. An official way to play competitive Pokémon that eliminates all the unnecessary hassle that used to exist.

All things considered, Pokémon Champions is exactly what we expected—barring a few too many rough edges. In fact, looking at the game’s monetization and other titles within the Pokémon ecosystem, one is almost tempted to say we got off easy. At least, for now.

Pokémon Champions does exactly what is expected of it: providing an independent platform through which the competitive scene can evolve, shift, and thrive separately from the main series. And it does so the right way, avoiding pay-to-win pitfalls and refusing to stifle the experience with increasingly complex currencies or chaotic initiatives. The decision to limit the number of available Pokémon and items helps concentrate resources and strike the right balance, while the elimination of EVs and IVs breaks down one of the most significant barriers to entry. For series veterans, the latest effort from The Pokémon Works feels like the natural evolution of Pokémon battles. However, everyone else—faced with bare-bones tutorials and a lack of features—might find the game far too sparse. The onboarding process for newcomers has room for improvement, and there is a rather serious absence of options for testing teams offline or spectating online tournaments.

Pokémon Champions is a Pokémon battle simulator; it does just that, and that's fine. It was developed with that specific purpose, and it wouldn't be fair to dismiss it as a flaw. As it stands, the game is a bit lacking in content, completely missing the possibility to battle against the CPU, and more could have been done to teach newcomers the basics of high-level competitive play. On the plus side, the experience is completely free to play, with a non-predatory, and indeed very fair, monetization system. Pokémon Champions is therefore a good foundation to build on, a live service built to last. If the game wants to be the home of competitive Pokémon in the long term, however, it must prove it with continuous improvements over time.

I think Pokémon Champions has some potential, despite its many shortcomings at the moment. It’s carried by the excellent Pokémon battle system, to be sure. As the number of Pokémon available to use increases and the game gets more filled out, this could eventually grow into the true competitive scene that Pokémon could use. I at least appreciate that the current monetization method limits what you can spend and largely avoids potential pay-to-win problems. Still, there’s no denying that this feels somewhat undercooked, both technically and in terms of what’s actually included here. Hopefully Pokemon Champions can, over time, grind its way to living up to its name.

Pokémon Champions is surprisingly accessible without spending any money if you’re a casual VGC enthusiast. Launching with a few bugs and less content than fans of the series expected, it’s clear that we’ll have to wait for future updates to know where the series is heading in this purely online competitive Pokémon game. The fact that you can play the game without importing from Home by recruiting and tweaking stats on the fly makes this game a very competitive hub for the series. We hope future monetisation plans will not eventually wring out casual players from the game’s population. A tailored selection of Pokémon and items for this first season has both casual and competitive fans creating a brand-new meta for competitive play, and while it falls short in some areas, the game has the potential to become the ultimate generation-spanning battle arena for everyone.

Waiting times and microtransactions are never welcome, but Pokémon Champions proves to be very user-friendly. Its current structure is ideal for players who want to explore the series’ competitive battling without investing too much time or resources, offering a progression system that is slow but steady. And most importantly, free. If this approach is maintained, it’s easy to recommend it to those who have drifted away over the years and would appreciate a more focused and controlled environment. You don't even need a subscription to play. That said, content and variety are still lacking. For now, at least. If you prefer having access to the full experience of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, there’s little reason to switch, especially if you’re already used to playing online. And if you’re still unsure, Pokémon Showdown is always just a click away.

If you play Pokémon competitively or want to get into it, Pokémon Champions is a great platform for that. I won't deny that this app rekindled my passion for the game. However, if none of this appeals to you, the best thing you can do is simply steer clear.

It's never been easier to get into the competitive Pokémon scene, and playing Pokémon Champions has been a highlight of my last week. Champions seems to be designed for people like me, who are familiar with competitive battles and want an easier way to participate. However, it also makes moves to cater to completely new players and extremely seasoned players, and by trying to satisfy all three audiences, it fails to properly serve either. With minimal content and a pressure to collect Pokémon in mainline games, it works best as an additional mode for the main series. As a standalone product, it's a game confused about its own goals. And much like the in-game status condition, that confusion only hurts it in the long run.

Pokémon Champions, at launch, is a solid start to the new Pokémon battling experience on Nintendo Switch. Robust, flexible mechanics for newcomers to enter the battle scene and customisation for more seasoned players. As a free-to-play game, there is a surprising amount on offer - full battle modes and rental Pokémon, with paid content primarily reserved for cosmetics/time savers and storage. Pokémon Champions isn't without its choppy performance in areas and missing content, but it is a strong start that's bound to... evolve over time.

The intent to lower the barrier to entry is clear, and improvements to competitive Pokémon preparation and in-battle information are noticeable. However, persistent frame drops, the lack of a replay feature, and an unstable Pokémon acquisition system leave this battle-focused platform feeling unfinished.

Pokémon Champions scores points with a strong combat system and stable online matches. Technically, however, the game exhibits several weaknesses that tarnish the otherwise positive overall impression.

Right now, though, Pokemon Champions provides two different experiences for seasoned players and newcomers respectively--and unfortunately for newcomers, it's an uneven one that will require a lot of their own dedication and time to improve. Perhaps the barrier to entry for competitive Pokemon can never be smashed entirely, but Champions wears it down, and those willing to push through it will find one of the most thrilling competitive games on the other side.

The appeal of Pokémon Champions is narrower than you might expect, as hardcore VGC vets or those hoping for a Pokémon Stadium-like experience will likely be disappointed by the game's small Pokédex and other limitations. The real target audience is clearly newcomers curious about competitive play, and the game does a fairly good job of welcoming them in without emptying their pockets. The nitty gritty of PvP Pokémon battling has worked for 30 years, and it's not broken here, but a lot more could have been done to support the experience. Of course, plenty can change with updates, but as is, this game is a Pokémon Contender at best.

Pokémon Champions delivers a more accessible competitive experience with smart quality-of-life improvements, but it falls short of greatness due to limited content and critical bugs. While the foundation is strong, it currently feels like an unfinished product that needs significant updates to truly shine.

Right now, the game is sorely lacking in content, but if they expand the number of playable monsters (its Pokédex), introduce more mechanics such as Terastallising, Gigantamax, or even the long-forgotten Z-Moves, it could offer greater variety. The question is how much of the (surely massive) player base will remain by then. Right now, it's all about the novelty and the fact it's free, but once everyone's had a go, will there be more than just the hardcore fanbase left? We'll see. For now, Pokémon Champions is a good introduction for new players, but the seasoned veterans will surely feel that something is missing.

Enormous depth with an unpleasant aftertaste. Pokémon Champions is perfect for a very small audience.

Pokémon Champions could have, and should have, been an easy knockout, but instead, fans got a stripped-down, underwhelming, and content-barren package with an unfortunate monetization model. Battling Pokémon and testing your team against folks around the world is as fun as it has ever been, and thankfully, Champions manages to deliver on the core of what it’s trying to do there. I’ve enjoyed the matches I’ve played, but all that the time I’ve spent has mostly just made me want to hop back into my saves from the main series. Pokémon Champions proves that the tried-and-true combat system that helped define Nintendo’s monster-catching monolith has endured for a reason, but it’s going to need a lot of updates and maybe even an evolution of its own, before this is the definitive way to do battle.

This new spin-off centered on battles delivers on what it promises, but it still needs a little more polish to become a fully satisfying experience. That said, its strong visual presentation and streamlined team-building system give newcomers a real chance to compete, while also sparing experienced players from spending hours hunting for the perfect creature.

Pokémon Champions feels like a work in progress, in a bad way. While the battles are fine and the QoL improvements are a godsend, there's a distinct feeling that the product is unfinished and lacks vital content that will be rationed over time. Throw in the bugs, and the result is a game that I might want to check out in six months or a year, but doesn't have enough quality content to attract me now.​​​​​​​

Ultimately, Pokémon Champions is an accessible VGC simulator that could have been quite enjoyable, but is held back significantly by pay-to-win elements and technical issues.

Pokemon Champions has a fantastic onboarding process for players unfamiliar with the ins and outs of competitive battling, but it still feels like it needs work. It would massively benefit from smoother performance, a review of its puzzling monetization, and a toning down of its grind, which, while more straightforward than the mainline games, requires sizable time investment just to unlock everything.

Pokemon Champions is easier to tolerate because its monetization model doesn't seem to be predatory or egregious, like what we see with many other free-to-play games. It delivers fun Pokemon battles that look great, but the game's biggest issue is the lack of content. Anyone that needs a little more than endless Pokemon battles isn't going to get a lot out of Pokemon Champions, but at least those that do decide to play it regularly won't have to break the bank to enjoy it.

Pokémon Champions could be a great side game for huge Pokémon fans. For now, it's a flawed experiment.

With that all said, the core mechanics of online competitive Pokémon battles remain as solid as a Steelix. Predicting whether your opponent will switch out their Whimsicott, protect with their Mega Charizard Y, or try to catch you off guard with a powerful, offensive attack creates mind games as addictive and intense as ever. And as someone who has participated in competitive Pokémon on-and-off since 2011’s Pokémon Black & White, the ease with which I can now train Pokémon has me hopeful that Champions will, much like Scarlet & Violet before it, evolve into a more complete, comprehensive experience. But as it stands, the convoluted monetisation, disappointing performance, and inexplicable bugs make this another lacklustre Pokémon experience to add to the pile.