Pokemon Champions

Weak · 19 reviews · 34 articles

Full score breakdown on OpenCritic ↗

Pokemon Champions news

Game Freak suggests Pokémon Champions was built partly so it could change battles in future games

The Pokémon developer says Champions was made in part to preserve the classic rules

VGC / Jordan Middler

Interview

Pokémon Champions Has Now Surpassed 10 Million Downloads Worldwide

The new battle entry launched on mobile devices in June. The free-to-download title Pokémon Champions launched on the Switch in April and followed with a smartphone release last month.

Nintendo Life

Business

Pokémon to hold charity Pokémon Champions tournament featuring whistling champion, pizza acrobatics champion and more

Winners will earn a trip to the 2027 Pokémon World Championships

VGC / Jordan Middler

Culture

Pokémon Champions launches on mobile, and you can get a free Raichu for playing

The post Pokémon Champions launches on mobile, and you can get a free Raichu for playing appeared first on GamesHub.

GamesHub / Jacob Woodward

Release date

Latest Pokémon Champions update adds new Pokémon and brings the game to mobile

The competitive battler launched on Nintendo Switch earlier this year

VGC / Jordan Middler

Update

New Limited-Time Pokémon Champions Distribution Now Available

Add a Charizard to your party. Like other Pokémon titles, the new free-to-download game Pokémon Champions on Switch offers distribution Pokémon you can add to your party.

Nintendo Life

Update

Pokémon Champions Launches On Mobile This Month, With A Special Distribution To Celebrate

Raichu are. Pokémon Champions has been out on Switch for a couple of months now, and in the coming weeks, it'll launch on mobile too. The Pokémon Company has announced that the battle-focused game will arrive on iOS and Android on 17th June, with pre-registrations going live today. Cross-save support is available in this one, for those who have been putting in the hours on Switch, so don't worry about losing your precious 'mon.

Nintendo Life

Release date

Pokemon Champions for iOS, Android launches June 17

Free-to-play Pokemon battle game Pokemon Champions will launch for iOS via App Store and Android … Source

Gematsu / Sal Romano

Release date

Pokémon Champions producer Masaaki Hoshino says the game has to deal with more "limitations" when it comes to graphics

Masaaki Hoshino is a technical director at The Pokémon Company and one of the most veteran figures within the company. Originally a part of Pokémon Yellow's development - and later producer on fighter spinoff Pokkén Tournament - he's helped produce Unite and Champions, too.

Eurogamer / Fran Ruiz

Interview

Pokémon Champions Producer Acknowledges Visual 'Limitations' Amid Ongoing Fan Scrutiny of Series' Graphics

The Pokémon Company's technical director has acknowledged continued fan scrutiny of the series' visuals, seen most recently in criticism for Pokémon Champions.

IGN / Tom Phillips

Interview

Pokémon Champions Developer Issues First Patch to Address Chaotic Launch Issues

The post Pokémon Champions Developer Issues First Patch to Address Chaotic Launch Issues appeared first on GamesHub.

GamesHub / Tanaka Haruto

Update

Pokémon Champions is off to a rough start

You first, dude. | Image: The Pokémon Company, Nintendo Like many live-service games before it, Pokémon Champions' launch has been messy. The free-to-start battle sim, which is out now on the Switch and Switch 2 (and also coming to mobile later this year), is plagued with bugs, some of which cause issues with basic battle mechanics - not great for a game that's only about battling. But bugs can be fixed, and encouragingly, some of them already have been. Champions' bigger problem is that, in t

The Verge

Release date

Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Pokémon Champions

Here's what the critics think. The new "free-to-start" battle game Pokémon Champions launched for the Switch this week and critics have now had their say. Starting with our own review here on Nintendo Life, we said this new title was the most accessible but flawed competitive Pokémon has ever been, awarding it five out of ten stars:

Nintendo Life

Roundup

Pokemon Champions Review – The Battle Frontier

Pokemon's turn-based combat can be best described as an inch wide and a mile deep. Its rock-paper-scissors style is easy to understand, but below the murky surface lies an entirely different game. Moves that may seem useless at first glance take on a different meaning in a competitive setting, where complicated stat spreads are tweaked ever-so-slightly to maximize a Pokemon's efficiency and a constantly evolving meta-game makes it hard to nail down which strategies are viable and which aren't. T

GameSpot / Jake Dekker

Review

Pokémon Champions Review

Champions feels like it needs an evolution of its own if it wants to be the very best.

IGN / Tom Marks

Review

Review: Pokémon Champions (Switch) – The Most Accessible & Flawed Competitive Pokémon Has Ever Been

More bugs than Viridian Forest. Keeping up with competitive Pokémon battling has always been a hassle. As the mainline series shifts from generation to generation, so does which Pokémon are available, access to specific Pokémon, methods for training those Pokémon, the introduction of new moves, abilities, and held items, as well as a continued cycle of overpowered strategies and how to counter them. It’s very easy to fall behind. I myself fell behind after skipping most of the Pokémon Scarlet &

Nintendo Life

Review

Fear Not, Pokémon Champions' Naff Switch 2 TV Resolution Is Fixable

Doctors hate this one simple Dock trick. Even if we overlook the limited launch Pokémon, the swathe of bugs, and the strange monetisation, Pokémon Champions still had more issues up its sleeve — talk about a dramatic launch, eh? Those playing in Docked Mode on Switch 2 might have noticed that the latest battler looked... a bit naff. Up on the TV, the game still doesn't hit the promised 4K resolution, with the stretched image looking all the worse as a consequence. Thankfully, there is a fix, but

Nintendo Life

Guide

Pokémon Champions Developer 'Sincerely Apologizes' For Launch Issues, Details List of Bugs to be Fixed

Following a rocky launch, the maker of Pokémon Champions has apologized for the game's various technical issues and released a list of bugs it's currently planning to fix.

IGN / Tom Phillips

Update

Pokémon Champions developers to address “incorrect gender markers” of certain Pokémon in the game’s tutorial alongside other bugs

Pokemon Champions devs address numerous bugs that struck the game on launch, including "incorrect gender markers" of some Pokemon in the game.

Automaton West / Đorđe P

Update

"The gender of some Pokémon in the tutorial is incorrect" - Pokémon Champions bug fixes to tackle mega evolution issues and more

Pokémon Champions will be receiving some substantial bug fixes in upcoming patches, developer The Pokemon Works has announced.

Eurogamer / Connor Makar

Update

Pokémon Champions Launch Woes Continue as Switch 2 Players Discover They Must Manually Dock and Undock Consoles for Best Graphics

Pokémon Champions has shipped with a bug that blocks higher 4K visuals when playing on a docked Switch 2 — unless you manually undock and then re-dock your console.

IGN / Tom Phillips

Hardware

PSA: Pokémon Champions First Mystery Gift Distribution Now Live

Add some muscle to your team. Pokémon Champions has officially arrived on the Switch this week, and putting the teething issues aside for one moment, the battle title's first mystery gift event has now officially gone live.

Nintendo Life

Announcement

"Feels Like A Fleshed Out Beta" - Fans Are Unhappy With Pokémon Champions At Launch

Players use Work Up. Pokémon Champions, which stands to become the place for competitive VGC for Pokémon going forward, has arrived on the Switch today as a free-to-start experience. But early impressions from fans and competitive players has been... mixed, to say the least. Promising snappy competitive battles and a way for newcomers to get into the competitive Pokémon scene, Champions at least seems to be getting these two things right.

Nintendo Life

Release date

Pokémon Champions launches to mixed reception, as performance woes and competitive changes turn some away

Pokémon Champions has been released, a battling focused competitive game hoping to capture the hearts of the series' dedicated players. However, some performance limitations and gameplay choices have a slice of the community feeling disappointed.

Eurogamer / Connor Makar

Release date

'This Really Feels Like a Beta Test' — Fans Criticize Free-to-Play Pokémon Champions, With Complaints Over Missing Features, Switch 2 Performance Issues and Its Limited Roster

Pokémon Champions is getting a mixed response from fans, who have criticized the newly-launched free-to-play game for its lack of features, performance issues and limited roster of creatures.

IGN / Tom Phillips

Review

Pokemon Champions’ new rules eliminate timer stall wins, but possible exploits raise concerns

Unlike previous entries, Pokémon Champions enforces a draw an unconditional draw in both Ranked and Casual Battles when the timer runs out.

Automaton West / Hideaki Fujiwara

Announcement

PSA: You Can Now Download Pokémon Champions On Switch

There's also a free update for Switch 2. Pokémon battles level-up today with the release of Pokémon Champions on the Switch eShop. If you aren't already playing it, here's our reminder that this free download is now officially available across Nintendo's storefronts around the globe. Before you jump in, it's worth noting that there's a starter pack available for $6.99 / £5.99 or your regional equivalent.

Nintendo Life

Release date

Pokémon Champions Global Release Timings Revealed

Pokémon Champions launches this week on Nintendo Switch — and you can find out exactly when you'll be able to start playing right here.

IGN / Tom Phillips

Release date

Video: Pokémon Champions 'World Overview' Trailer Released

Introducing two characters from Frontier City. The new "free-to-start" battle title Pokémon Champions is out next week for the Switch on 8th April 2026, and to help build some excitement, The Pokémon Company has released a new "world overview" trailer. As you might have guessed from the title, this cinematic introduces trainers to the world of Pokémon. It shows off the Battle Arena within Frontier City, where trainers face each other in "fierce battles day and night" in a race to the top. In thi

Nintendo Life

Trailer

Pokémon Champions Preview: A Modern Competitive Battler

During our Pokémon Champions preview at PAX East, I was able to battle against another player in two double Pokémon battles and get a feel for the game.

TechRaptor / Dan Rockwood

Preview

Pokémon VGC Competitions Officially Transition To Pokémon Champions

It's the "standard platform" for the VGC going forward. Last year, it was announced Pokémon's Video Game Championships would shift across to Pokémon Champions in 2026.

Nintendo Life

Business

Pokémon Champions First Details About Price Reportedly Surface

Here's what to expect from the "free-to-start" experience. Pokémon Champions launches as a "free-to-start" game on the Switch next month, and although Nintendo hasn't officially announced the pricing just yet, the first details have reportedly surfaced at PAX East in the US this weekend. As highlighted by Nintendo Everything, YouTube Channel 'PanFro Games' apparently got some information about the pricing model for this market at the Nintendo booth. Here's the rundown via 'rasenburst' on social

Nintendo Life

Rumour

Pokémon Champions is releasing on Nintendo Switch consoles in early April, but its "free-to-start" package raises some questions about its pricing model

2026 has just started, but Pokémon's 30th anniversary has already given us a winner in Pokémon Pokopia, the announcement of Winds & Waves, and even more reveals. But we're not done yet: yesterday, The Pokémon Company announced that Pokémon Champions will (try to) evolve the video game franchise's competitive scene.

Eurogamer / Fran Ruiz

Business

Pokemon Champions Release Date Set for Early April

Pokemon Champions finally has a release date, so prepare to send your favorite Pokemon to battle one another in a brand new battler.

TechRaptor / Joseph Allen

Release date