Happy Pokémon Day! In today’s Pokémon Presents, we learned quite a bit about the upcoming game Pokémon Champions, but it seems that even more information could have been found elsewhere — that being the Pokémon Champions website. News like battle types, HOME compatibility, a giveaway, and more were detailed. Down below we’ve highlighted some of the most exciting bits and bobs from the reveal that we’ve discovered!
Battle Types
Three battle types will be available. Ranked Battles pit you against Trainers from around the world, allowing you to rank up and become the best of the best. Ranked Battles are one way to obtain VP (Victory Points). Casual Battles are a way to test out your team without affecting your rank. Private Battles allow you to battle against someone you know by creating a private room. All three types will have Single and Double Battle options.
Victory Points
Victory Points are how you can recruit and train your Pokémon within Champions. Ranked Battles are one way to obtain these valuable points, with other methods teased. Although Champions is a free-to-play game, Victory Points are unable to be purchased and must be earned through gameplay.
Battle Music
Online battles have usually had a small selection of tracks to play as you battle, Champions will continue this trend with new original songs as well as tracks from previous titles. While more information wasn’t available, I would wager that you can either earn more tracks as you play or they’ll be available to purchase.
Mega Evolution
Champions will eventually have all four current “gimmicks” available to trainers: Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax and Terastalizing. For the time being, Mega Evolution will take center stage. By transferring Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, or Eternal Floette from Legends Z-A to Champions, you’ll be able to obtain their respective Mega Stones for use within the game.
Building Your Team
While you can bring Pokémon over from HOME to Champions, a new method allows you to recruit Pokémon at a new location called Roster Ranch. Every 22 hours, a new lineup will appear at the Ranch to recruit from. You can select one Pokémon per day as a Trial Recruitment for free, allowing you to test it out before fully committing. If you want to keep it on your team permanently, a Permanent Recruitment is available in exchange for Victory Points. From what I can gather, different Pokémon will require a different amount of Victory Points to recruit. For example, a Gardevoir was shown to cost 1,000 VP while Whimsicott appears to cost 2,500 VP.
Missions within the game will award special items such as Quick Coupons and Teammate Tickets. Quick Coupons minimize the time needed to recruit from a new lineup of Pokémon by one hour, while Teammate Tickets allow you to do a Permanent Recruitment without spending VP.
You can also train your Pokémon using VP, or a new item called a Training Ticket that circumvents VP altogether.
Dragonite Distribution
By downloading and playing Champions before a certain date (TBD), you can obtain a Dragonite. More information was not given about this special Dragonite but one would assume it would come with its Mega Stone.
Pokémon Champions will be used for the VGC portion of the Pokémon World Championships held later this year in San Francisco, California. As was the case with VGC titles to date, different regulations will be implemented to keep Trainers on their toes.
Champions will be released in April 2026 on Nintendo Switch consoles, iOS and Android devices. The game will be free-to-play with optional add-ons, such as a Battle Pass. available for purchase.
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Written by Roberto Diaz
Embark on a gaming odyssey with a passionate player deeply immersed in pop culture. Roberto not only conquers virtual realms but also dominates the pop music scene, turning life into a harmonious adventure filled with gaming triumphs and cultural insights.
