Pokemon Champions review: An unfinished battle sim with huge potential

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Pokemon Champions succeeds in what it sets out to do, both positively and negatively. It’s a competitive battling game that’s great at introducing new players and simplifies the often complicated process of building a strong team, which was previously a lengthy task in the main Pokemon games.

What Champions isn’t meant to replace the Stadium games, nor should you think of it as a placeholder until the next major Pokémon release with Generation 10, Winds and Waves.

This game is built for competitive Pokémon battles, offering a dedicated space for experienced players and a helpful starting point for those new to player-versus-player combat.

Making Champions free to play eliminates the biggest obstacle for players, but it also introduces a way to make money that actually goes against the idea of making competitive Pokémon accessible to everyone.

Pokemon Champions screenshots

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What is Pokemon Champions about?

Cordy, a well-respected figure in the training world, has hired you as a Gym Manager. He’s been in the business for nearly fifty years and is considering retirement, making this a great opportunity for you to take the reins.

The story is quite weak, and even the game itself acknowledges this by letting you bypass the lengthy setup and jump right into the action.

The main issue is that the game might seem to have a continuing storyline, but it doesn’t. As a Gym manager, you’ll collect and train Pokémon, equip them with items to improve their abilities, and battle other players to climb the ranks.

Striking a balance

As a fan, what I love about Champions is that it really levels the playing field. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran, someone who used to play, or completely new to the game, everyone gets a fair start. It’s awesome!

Even if you don’t have a collection of perfectly trained Pokémon from Pokémon HOME, Scarlet and Violet’s Champion recruitment system lets you borrow or adopt a Pokémon from a random selection. You can then train it using Victory Points to make it just as strong and competitive.

Instead of spending time collecting vitamins, earning points, leveling up, and gathering money to help a single Pokémon grow – like in the main series games – everything is streamlined here with Victory Points.

While making the game easier to understand, some depth has been lost. To encourage new strategies and players in competitive Pokemon, certain features were removed. The limited number of available items and Pokemon – around 200 – makes the competitive scene feel somewhat unfinished, despite also being more focused.

Look, you can’t make everyone happy, right? As a player, I think this game does a really good job of finding a sweet spot – it’s built to change and grow, but some things just don’t quite land perfectly. It’s a solid balance overall though.

Raising questions

Champions is free to download and play, but to unlock all features, you’ll need to make a purchase. Key items like Mega Stones are only available through a $10 Premium Battle Pass.

You can get some items only by playing other games. To keep enjoying convenient features like extra storage, music, and the ability to create more teams, you’ll need a recurring monthly or yearly subscription.

This game isn’t very welcoming to new players, and it’s a bold move to ask people to pay for items they might already have in other games.

These strange issues, along with the game consistently running at only 30 frames per second – even on the newer Switch console – make Champions feel rough around the edges and not fully finished.

The game suffers from noticeable lag during battles and when navigating menus, and doesn’t run as smoothly as newer versions of Pokémon like Legends Z-A and Scarlet & Violet on the upgraded Switch console.

Verdict

When it first came out, Pokemon Champions felt more like an early test version than a complete game. However, it does a great job of teaching new players how competitive battling works.

The game’s biggest success is that players don’t need any prior knowledge or experience with the series to build a powerful team. A close second is how it streamlines complex game mechanics that have been around for years.

However, Champions still feels unfinished in some areas. It would be much better with improved performance, a fairer approach to how players spend money, and less repetitive gameplay. While it’s easier to progress than in the main series games, unlocking everything still takes a significant amount of time.

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2026-04-08 19:20