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It’s with a heavy heart that I say that Pokémon Champions is not what competitive players need, or even Pokémon players in general.
As someone who loves delving into the online battles after completing the main story of each Pokémon game, it turned out to be disappointing in many ways.
I had concerns it was going to be a pay-to-win title, and after playing it and experiencing it for myself, I can definitely say that there are pay-to-win mechanics.
But before diving into all of this, I like to focus on what’s good—and there is some of it in Pokémon Champions.
The Battles: Where Pokémon Champions Shines
Battling in Pokémon Champions is fun, especially since there are a limited number of Pokémon and items, which allows for strategies and team comps that we might not see otherwise.
The way you obtain Pokémon through the Ranch is also a fun way to build a team. You’ll never know what you’ll get, and it’s super rewarding when you find that missing piece that glues the whole team together.
As of writing this, I’m yet to transfer my Pokémon from Home since I’m having far too much fun climbing the ranks this way, and so far I have reached Ultra Ball in doubles.
Unfortunately, this is where the fun stops.
The Pay-to-Win Problem
I’m trying to see how far I can go as a free-to-play player, and from my experience I think I can reach the higher ranks, but maintaining that position will be difficult for a simple reason: the way you earn VP.
VP is the currency you need to train your Pokémon, recruit them, and purchase battle items. This means you’ll need a lot of them, and early on this will not be an issue since the game will be showering you with VP as a reward for completing certain achievements.
However, they will eventually slow down, and you’ll reach a point where you’ll need to rely on battle wins. And good luck with this, because you only get around 300 VP for each win and 100 per loss.
Competitive players are constantly trying out new teams or making adjustments to IVs and moves after a match. Changing a move costs 250 VP, the ability 500 VP, and EVs are usually 5 VP per point allocation. Doing this in Champions is not sustainable.
Why Pokémon Home Users Have an Unfair Advantage
To spend the least amount of VP as possible, you need to use Pokémon Home. Doing so, you can train your Pokémon in other mainline games and transfer them to Champions. They will retain their EV spreads and moves if available in-game.
This is when you clearly see that players who have dedicated more time and money to other games have an unfair advantage.
Even before the game released, players already had teams of perfectly trained Pokémon ready for ranked battle, while you are stuck with the Ranch gacha hoping to build a decent team.
You will struggle further since you cannot train a Pokémon you’ve obtained from the Ranch if you don’t permanently recruit them with VPs or tickets.
The Mega-Floette Problem
And what’s even worse is that Mega-Floette, one of the strongest Pokémon in the format, is not obtainable in the pool of Pokémon from the Ranch. Instead, you’ll need to own Pokémon Legends: Z-A and transfer this Pokémon over from Home.
You might argue that there are other great teams you can build without Mega-Floette, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that your opponent has access to something you cannot obtain otherwise, giving them an unfair advantage.
Unfortunately, my problems with this game don’t end here.
Replica Teams: What Were They Thinking?
In the past, Game Freak introduced Rental Teams, one of the best mechanics for beginners in my opinion.
With Rentals, players could build a team and share it online with a code, and then other players would be able to rent their team and use them in online battles.
The most difficult part of competitive Pokémon is the team-building process, and it can be overwhelming for beginners if they keep spending hours building something that will get them nowhere.
Rentals allowed them to try good meta-teams and start learning the game by experiencing firsthand what makes a good team.
Now, why would they remove such a good system and replace it with Replica Teams?
In Champions you can also share a code with your team, but other players will not be able to use it. Instead, they will be provided the opportunity to train the Pokémon they own in the same way—and it will cost you a ton of VP.
Showing yet again why you will suffer as a free-to-play player.
The Battle Pass and Membership: Too Much
Because having a Battle Pass wasn’t enough, they had to include a membership in this game as well—does it notice I’m getting increasingly irritated?
The Battle Pass is probably the least of my concerns, but it still gives a slight edge since it will reward you Mega-Stones that you’d need to spend VP to purchase otherwise, as well as the corresponding Pokémon, and even tickets that can be spent instead of VP to train and recruit team members.
The membership, though—you’ll need it unless you use Home, mainly for the 1000+ box spaces.
The game limits you to 30 box spaces, and you need to rise the ranks to unlock them all. This number is strangling for newer players that are starting to build their roster of competitive Pokémon.
If you decide to pay for each of the memberships alone, it will cost €49.99 a year, or €4.99 a month. Sum the €4.99 for the Battle Pass, and this game will cost you far more than any Pokémon mainline game.
If you can’t see this game as a pay-to-win greedy mess, then I don’t know what to tell you.
The Performance: No Excuse in 2026
It’s 2026, and we have a Nintendo Switch 2 where Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and Pokémon Legends: Z-A run at a constant 60 fps. Then why does Pokémon Champions struggle to maintain 30 fps?
I hate to be that person who complains about this kind of stuff, but it’s so apparent that I cannot stay quiet about it.
I truly hope we get a Switch 2 version in the future that will let this game run as its counterparts do.
Who Is Pokémon Champions Actually For?
This game is for players that are already deep in the Pokémon Home ecosystem, and to milk the money of newer players and force them to purchase their membership plan.
Pokémon Champions had the potential to be the definitive competitive Pokémon experience. Instead, it’s a reminder that The Pokémon Company knows exactly how passionate its fanbase is—and isn’t afraid to take advantage of that.
As for myself, I will keep having fun as a free-to-play player, and once I reach the highest-ranked tier, I think I will start utilizing my Home Pokémon. There is no way I’ll be able to sustain myself with how costly building a team in Champions is.
Thank you for reading, and I’ll be seeing you again next time with brand-new content!
