Pokémon Champions - Everything We Know About Pokémon’s New Battle Simulator
Pokémon Champions is going to forever change the face of competitive Pokémon battling. We just don’t know exactly how yet.
Announced on Pokémon Day 2025, Pokémon Champions is a new game that is designed to give more players than ever access to the Pokémon franchise’s core style of battling without some of the usual barriers in place. There are still plenty of questions left about the game, but The Pokémon Company has shared a lot of scattered details along with Champions’ initial reveal.
Pokémon Champions - Release Date
Pokémon Champions does not currently have a release date. The Pokémon Company also did not share a release window, likely meaning that the game is still quite a ways out from being available.
With its initial reveal during the Pokémon Day Presents, Pokémon Champions mostly showed older games and only a bit of actual gameplay of its own. At the end of the trailer, it was also repealed the game is “now in development,” which could be TPC’s way of saying “you’ll be waiting for a while.”
Based on other release timelines for non-traditional Pokémon games, Champions is unlikely to launch in 2025. Most side games at least give a release window if it is going to release in the same year as a reveal trailer, so we might not see this battle simulator until 2026 unless it runs some sort of testing periods or is further along than expected.
What Platforms will Pokémon Champions Be On?
Pokémon Champions will be available on the Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, Android devices, and iOS devices.
The Pokémon Company COO Takato Utsunomiya said Pokémon Champions will allow “core-style battles to be enjoyed by more players than ever before.” Bringing competitive Pokémon battling to a mobile audience will definitely do that, especially as it will connect to Pokémon HOME, which is also available on the same platforms.
Because Champions is coming to mobile, it will be able to appeal to a new audience Pokémon battling typically misses being stuck on Nintendo consoles. That also means the game will likely have some sort of rental system that allows you to battle with Pokémon you don’t catch and train yourself, specifically so players don’t need to purchase another game or system just to battle.
Barriers to entry seems to be a key thing TPC is looking to limit, so we will have to wait for more information on that.
What Pokémon Will Be Usable in Pokémon Champions?
Speaking of barriers to entry, we know that not every Pokémon will be usable in Pokémon Champions when the game launches.
Pokémon Champions will be compatible with Pokémon HOME, allowing players to use their Pokémon from previous Pokémon games, along with Pokémon they “partner with” in Champions. Despite that, only select Pokémon will be available when Champions launches, likely with more being added to that list in the future, though that has not been officially confirmed.
Much like when Sword and Shield released, Champions will likely have a selection of Pokémon compatible with it to start. The official website for the game notes “Pokémon you can send to Pokémon Champions via Pokémon HOME are limited to Pokémon that appear in Pokémon Champions.”
Pokémon Champions - Who is The Pokémon Works?
Pokémon Champions is being overseen by Game Freak, however, the main development is being handled by a group called The Pokémon Works.
Established in March 2024, The Pokémon Works is a development group founded by both The Pokémon Company and ILCA. This joint venture is used as a support studio to assist on development for Pokémon games and related services.
For anyone who doesn’t know, ILCA has partnered with The Pokémon Company and Game Freak several times since it was founded in 2020. This includes helping to develop Pokémon HOME and Brilliant DIamond and Shining Pearl, along with assistance for planning and other elements on Pokémon Sleep and Scarlet and Violet.
How Will Pokémon Champions Work Competitively?
With a focus on battling, Pokémon Champions will naturally be a home for competitive play. We don’t have full details on what will be included, though we can speculate using the information we do know.
According to the Japanese Champions website, via Serebii’s Joe Merrick, the game will feature a Ranked Battle mode, a Casual Battle mode, and a Private Battle mode. Ranked and Causal battles will likely be exclusively for online queues, while Private Battles will let you connect with specific players in a direct setting.
Outside of that, the game seems to focus on VGC-style double battles. That will likely be the main type of battle featured in Champions as The Pokémon Company tries to introduce more players to its core competitive video game format, though additional formats and other battle styles should also be available in some form.
With confirmation that not all Pokémon will be available in Champions at release, we can also assume only Terastillization and Mega Evolution will be included as “battle gimmicks” when it launches. That is based on the trailer showing both, Scarlet and Violet being mentioned alongside Pokémon HOME, and Legends: Z-A releasing later this year.
Related Article: The Leaks Were Real - Starters Confirmed for Pokémon Legends Z-A, Plus Potential Ranked Mode Teased
We should learn more about Pokémon Champions throughout the next year or so leading up to an eventual release, including more details about the game’s launch and featured content.
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