31/40

By Charles - April 18th, 2026

Pokémon Champions is the home for all online Pokémon battles starting in 2026. It's quite comprehensive and I was pleasantly surprised with this game, seeing as it is a "Free to Play" Pokémon game. However, it still has some issues that more hardcore players may find annoying.

Pokémon Champions

Switch, 2026

Free to Play

$10 Starter Pack

$14 Battle Pass

$70 Membership (Yearly)

Presentation

6

Pokémon Champions definitely looks better than Scarlet and Violet, with improved lighting and more detailed attack animations. There is nothing revolutionary here, but the increase in quality is noticeable. Unfortunately, this is only on handheld as there is is very visible pixelation in Docked Mode on both Switch 1 and 2. This is really unfortunate and cancels out any graphical improvement. There are lots of music tracks from old games that you can select for battle, which is an awesome feature. However, the original music is very basic, including the Gym theme remix for the millionth time.

Battles look great as, long as you're in handheld.

Controls

10

The game controls great and a lot is streamlined from the core series titles. The controls are very responsive and allow you to move through the menus effortlessly. There are a ton of button shortcuts, including an auto-forfeit button and a Quick Menu. It would have been hard to go wrong with this, but you can still tell that there was care put into making the controls as comfortable as possible.

You can get a lot of Pokémon at the Ranch.

Content

7

For a Free-to-Play PvP battler, Pokémon Champions isn't too bad in terms of content. You get Singles and Doubles in both Ranked and Casual modes, as well as Online Competitions when they are taking place. The best part about this game is the Ranch. Here, you can get new Pokémon daily from a random draw. These are always great, and you're given enough in-game currency, VP, for winning to set up a good team. You can spend extra for more rewards or connect to Pokémon HOME, but I reached Master Ball tier very easily with what I got for free. There is also a Champion Tier for the top 300 players in the world. This is awesome as, before, ~10,000 people would reach Master tier and have nothing to show for it. Champion tier is a real badge of honour.

Editing Pokémon is easy and costs little VP.

Fun Factor

8

Pokémon Champions is a really fun and addictive experience. Making new teams felt rewarding and I always felt on an even playing field with my opponents. A rotating and more condensed metagame helps keep things fresh. This doesn't feel like Scarlet and Violet Ranked Battles moved over to a new app, but more like Generation 10. In my experience, I had one game-ending error, but the developers seem to be working quickly to iron out the bugs. Hopefully Champions will have more developers than TCG Live... The bottom line is that I never felt frustrated playing this game - it's only an improvement to Scarlet and Violet's Versus Mode.

Animations and lighting are well done.

Worth the Time?

Worth the Money?

I think that everyone who can should give this game a try. It's a really great introduction to online Pokémon battles.

I don't think that the premium features are worth the money unless you're a Pokémon superfan. I had a lot of fun for free and didn't miss any exclusive content. I'm really pleased with how The Pokémon Company did this.

Screenshots from [Pokémon Champions] © [Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK], and Pokémon™ Champions for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site for Canada, used for review purposes.