Summary
- Pokemon Champions, a new game, will allow multiple battle gimmicks, breaking tradition from mainline titles.
- The game aims to offer different generational mechanics in battles like Terastallization and Mega Evolution simultaneously.
- By providing various combat gimmicks, Pokemon Champions could make battles more enticing for new and veteran players.
There were some exciting updates on Pokemon Day this year, even though fans haven’t had a first look at Gen 10 just yet. Pokemon Champions is a new title coming to mobile and Nintendo Switch, presumably Nintendo Switch 2 as well, and it was just announced with a teaser trailer that reveals very little about gameplay, features, monetization, and more. From a glance, Pokemon Champions doesn’t seem too different from concepts like the official but outdated Pokemon Stadium or even the unofficial Pokemon Showdown. This is a great addition to the franchise if Pokemon Champions is a dedicated battling game like it seems, and it’s already breaking a huge tradition from mainline titles.
Currently, both casual and competitive battles are tied to the most recent mainline games in the series, which means Gen 9 titles until Gen 10 is officially released. This means that each mainline game comes with its respective combat gimmick, such as Terastallization for Gen 9, Dynamaxing or Gigantamaxing for Gen 8, and so forth. One can’t Dynamax their Pokemon in Gen 9, for example, as the only supported generational mechanic is Terastallization. However, this doesn’t apply to the upcoming Pokemon Champions, breaking a longstanding tradition.
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Pokemon Champions Announced for Switch and Mobile
A new game called Pokemon Champions looks like an official version of Pokemon Showdown—and will even be available on non-Nintendo platforms.
Pokemon Champions Will Allow Multiple Battle Gimmicks
There are various reasons why having a single combat gimmick can work and make sense in Pokemon games. This approach streamlines battles and makes them simpler to understand for all players, creates a framework for a given game to allow certain rulesets within in-game battles and competitive, and makes it so each generation feels unique thanks to its dedicated gimmick. Pokemon Champions can offer a different approach to ranked and the competitive-legal format of double battles, as it allows different generational gimmicks to be used at once, which the trailer shows as Terastallization from Gen 9 and Mega Evolution from Gen 6.
Given how popular some battle gimmicks have been and still are over others, it would only make sense for Pokemon Champions to offer all of them to players and let them choose whichever ones they prefer or make the most sense with their team build. This could take competitive battling to the next level in various ways, both creating a sense of anticipation due to the possible unexpected nature of the chosen Pokemon battle gimmick for one’s opponent, for example, as the selection would likely include everything the series has offered so far. Even then, being able to swap between multiple gimmicks could be a great way to entice new players and veterans alike to try the game and battling in general.
Why Pokemon Champions Allowing Multi-Generational Battle Gimmicks Matters
Considering that combat mechanics like Dynamax and Terastallization have never been usable together in a single game, this may call for adjustments to the various gimmicks and their effects before pitting them against one another. For example, Mega Evolutions could be extremely strong for some Pokemon in particular, Terastallization could offer a much-needed surprise element, and Dynamaxing could make some critters much more menacing thanks to the increased HP and powered-up moves. Since these elements have never been available together, with the exception of Z-Moves and Megas in Gen 7 after beating the main story, it’s hard to tell how battles may evolve in Pokemon Champions.
Very little is currently known about Pokemon Champions and things may change over time as the game is developed, but showing both Pokemon‘s Mega Evolutions and Terastallization is a clear statement about what this title is meant to achieve. Breaking away from the usual single-gimmick formula may be for the best, and it may make casual and competitive battles all the more alluring in the long run.
