Pokemon Champions looks to attempt to resolve a long-running conflict, at least in part, by ditching the single-player component entirely — becoming the main focus of next year’s Pokemon video game championship.
Pokemon as a series has long been one with an identity crisis at its heart. These games are, in some ways, vehicles for merchandising, with every new generation giving a new opportunity for toys, trading cards, TV shows, movies and other types of promotion.
Yet at the same time, they are still games.
Even then, there’s a difference between how the game is measured as a single-player experience and as a continuation of the multiplayer, competitive format.
What is Pokemon Champions?
As with Pokemon Showdown, the free, community-developed, web-based Pokemon fan-game that allows players to battle with opponents online with a team of their choosing, Champions looks to be an effort to package the multiplayer aspect of the series.
In many ways, it could be seen as a continuation of the older battle simulation games, such as Pokemon Stadium, Stadium 2 and Battle Revolution. With the release being simultaneous across both generations of Nintendo Switch and mobile, however, it seems as though the focus will be on making the existing battle formula more widely available, instead of reinventing it with the latest hardware.
Is Pokemon Champions Free to Play?
The specific details of how the payment model for the game will work haven’t yet been disclosed. While a ‘free to start’ version is going to be available across all platforms that Pokemon Champions releases on, there are also apparently details of a paid version coming to both Switch devices that will be divulged at a later date.
These different versions will support cross-play with one another, as well as for Pokemon HOME; software which allows players to transfer Pokemon from one game to another.
What About the Single-Player Games?
This doesn’t mean that the Pokemon Company is abandoning single-player altogether, however, and they’ve also recently revealed in July’s Pokemon Presents about what to expect from this year’s other release, Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
The battle system is quite different here to the more traditional version featured in Champions, instead functioning as a continuation of the mechanics seen in 2022’s Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A will also feature the return of Mega Evolution, a fan-favourite mechanic last seen in 2017’s Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon – Mega Evolution will also feature in Pokemon Champions alongside Terrastallization from Generation IX.
Pokemon Champions Release Date
After being announced in February of this year, Pokemon Champions remains some way off official release.
It is slated to be launched some time in 2026, although it is unclear when.
