After revealing the game’s release date not all that long ago, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have finally launched Pokémon Champions, the free-to-start battling arena game that’s pretty much the closest thing we have to Pokémon Stadium right now.
Pokémon Champions is available to download now on the Nintendo Switch eShop, currently in just the one Nintendo Switch SKU which is also compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2.
It was previously announced that Switch 2 owners would also be able to download a free update to “enjoy the action with even clearer graphics,” and it appears that downloading the game now sees that update already implemented. The game seemingly still runs at 30FPS on the Switch 2, and it’s unclear how extensive the changes are on the new machine – this isn’t a native current-gen edition, after all.
The game will be supported by various, optional monetisation streams, including a Starter Pack that’ll set you back USD $6.99 / AUD $10.50 and includes the following:
Pokémon™ Champions + Starter Pack inclusions
- Storage space for 50 additional Pokémon
- 30 Teammate Tickets
- 50 Training Tickets
- “Battle! (Trainer Battle)” song from Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Let’s Go, Eevee!
Here’s a bit more about the game:
Battle for the title of Pokémon Champion in the city of Frontier!
Battle with Pokémon, including with Mega-Evolved Pokémon like Mega Dragonite, against other players in the Pokémon™ Champions game—the same game used for official Pokémon Video Game Championship events! These single and double battles use familiar mechanics from previous Pokémon series games such as Pokémon types, Abilities, and moves, enabling the rich and varied battle strategies you may already know and love.
Compete online* in Ranked Battles against players from near and far, or try Casual Battles for some easygoing fun. You can also have Private Battles with just your friends and family**.
Recruit Pokémon to join your team and train them to hone their skills
Before you venture into the world of Pokémon battles, try finding Pokémon to fight alongside you! Once per day, you can recruit Pokémon on a trial basis and use them in battle to see if they’re a good fit for your style. Once you’ve found a match, use your in-game Victory Points (VP) to bring Pokémon on to your team permanently.
You can also use your VP to train the permanent members of your Pokémon squad. Hone their Attack, Defense, and other stats, and even alter their Abilities and moves to try out different strategies in battle!
Team up with partner Pokémon from other Pokémon series games with Pokémon HOME
Pokémon Champions will be compatible with Pokémon HOME***, the cloud service for the Nintendo Switch™ 2 and Nintendo Switch systems, and compatible mobile devices. That means, in addition to the Pokémon partners available in Pokémon Champions, you can also team up with certain Pokémon brought over from Pokémon GO and other Pokémon series RPGs. In fact, by storing a Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, or Eternal Flower Floette you befriended during the Pokémon Legends: Z-A game in Pokémon HOME and bringing them to Pokémon Champions as visitors, you can obtain their corresponding Mega Stones from your in-game mailbox in Pokémon Champions!