Summary
- Pokemon Champions will have Ranked, Casual, and Private battles for online multiplayer.
- It’s unclear if there will be single-player battles against NPCs.
- The game will not feature all Pokemon at launch, obut select creatures like Dondozo and Charizard have been confirmed.
The upcoming Pokemon Champions will feature at least three game modes for players to try when it launches for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. Pokemon Champions was the one new game revealed during the latest Pokemon Day event. Details of the game leaked online ahead of time, but the full reveal gave fans a much clearer picture of what to expect.
Pokemon Champions is focused on Pokemon battles, serving as a sort of spiritual successor to games like Pokemon Stadium or Pokemon Battle Revolution. The game is in development for the Nintendo Switch and Android/iOS mobile devices, though an exact release date wasn’t announced. It’s expected that Pokemon Champions will launch at some point in 2025, though it’s also possible that it will release in 2026 or beyond.
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Pokemon Champions Launching With a Big Catch
Pokemon Champions will have a limitation at launch that may be disappointing to fans of Nintendo’s monster-battling franchise.
The main draw of Pokemon Champions is that it will let players battle other Pokemon trainers from all around the world thanks to its online multiplayer functionality. And now we know of three specific game modes that Pokemon Champions multiplayer will support when it’s finally released to the masses. At launch, Pokemon Champions will feature Ranked Battles, Casual Battles, and Private Battles. It’s unclear if there will also be battles against NPCs, but if not, that seems like a huge oversight. The previous Pokemon spin-off games in the style of Pokemon Champions featured NPC battles, after all.
Pokemon Champions Game Modes
- Ranked Battle
- Casual Battle
- Private Battle
When Pokemon Champions players are enjoying these different game modes, they will only be able to do so with a select number of Pokemon. It’s been confirmed that Pokemon Champions will not feature all Pokemon at launch, though exactly how many will be available has not been revealed just yet. The Pokemon Champions trailer confirmed that Dondozo, Charizard, Hisuian Samurott, and Aegislash will be on the roster. Players will also have the option of transferring some of their Pokemon from Pokemon Home to Pokemon Champions, with support for Pokemon GO and Scarlet and Violet Pokemon confirmed.
Another interesting Pokemon Champions detail spotted in the game’s announcement trailer is that it features both Mega Evolutions and terastalization. Mega Evolutions allow certain Pokemon to take on powerful new forms, while terastalizing encases Pokemon in crystal and either boosts their existing type or, in some cases, gives them a new one.
There are still many questions left to be answered about Pokemon Champions. Fans are still waiting to learn which of the 1,000+ Pokemon will be featured on the roster and if there will be additional game modes in addition to the now-confirmed Ranked, Casual, and Private Battles. More information on that front should come to light in the months leading up to Pokemon Champions‘ release.
