4/17/26

For those unaware, Pokemon Champions is the latest game Pokemon has released as of this time. Its whole purpose is an endless battling game against other real life people online. You gain Pokemon by using a sort of gacha system where you recruit Pokemon, up to 10 Pokemon per try, and the Pokemon are random each day. There are also small chances of getting a shiny Pokemon when recruiting, same as the 1 in 4069 chance, and there is no shiny charm to increase your odds. You can battle in tournaments against other people and their teams within 1v1s or 2v2s; yet, shockingly for such a hyped game, the community is actually not as impressed with the game as Pokemon’s prior release, Pokemon Pokopia. They’ve been beating down the game for several reasons, like lack of powerful Pokemon, bugs and glitches, and even the game being “repetitive.”

One of the biggest problems within Pokemon Champions is the roster of available Pokemon. Within Pokemon games, the abundance and diversity of Pokemon you can catch is what really can make them fun for players, since they can use strong, powerful, and lovable Pokemon. Pokemon Champions just doesn’t really have that. In fact, a lot of strong Pokemon have been cut from the game, and in their place are just some really weaker mons. Pokemon like Metagross, Blazekin, and Crobat aren’t available in the game, yet weaker pokemon like Audino, Simisage, and even Emolga managed to be put in. Now, some of these weak mons can be justified if they have either a mega evolution, better moveset, or some new form that makes them better, yet for those that don’t, they are just dead weight in the game and for the players. 

Another big deal is the massive amounts of bugs and glitches that seem to come up during matches, outside of battling, or for the Pokemon’s actions. People online have said about bugs like their Pokemons using a different move then instructed, matches ending out of nowhere, and even the match freezing mid game. For many players, though, these bugs are quite hard to encounter, and with the game being released only recently, these bugs could be excused as little things; yet, if pokemon doesn’t fix this, it could lead to major tournaments being canceled or even ending early. 

So, Pokemon Champions isn’t as what people expected it to be, but it doesn’t make it the worst game ever. There are some dumb things done here and there, yet the game is still all around enjoyable and fun for those who are passionate about pokemon battling.