Pokemon Champions: Everything We Know About The Battle-Focused Game

As part of a big Pokemon Presents showcase event, The Pokemon Company made a series of announcements, including a brand-new game: Pokemon Champions.

It's a new Pokemon game focused exclusively on the franchise's popular Pokemon battle system. The game is in the works for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices--here's everything we know about it.

What is Pokemon Champions?

Pokemon Champions is a battle-focused game that features "familiar mechanics" from the series, including Pokemon types, abilities, and moves. The Pokemon Company said the game is aimed at newcomers and experienced players alike.

The game is all about battling, so players will need to come up with solid strategies to find success. It also supports cross-play between Switch and mobile devices, allowing players on either platform to duke it out online.

When will Pokemon Champions be released?

Pokemon Champions does not have a release date yet.

Preorder Pokemon Champions

Pokemon Champions is not available to preorder, nor do we know if the game is free or paid.

Pokemon Champions trailer

A trailer for Pokemon Champions debuted at the Pokemon Presents event on February 27. The trailer features a lot of live-action footage hearkening back to Pokemon's earliest days, showing kids battling by system link on Game Boy systems. The trailer also played into nostalgia by showing sequences of the popular N64 game Pokemon Stadium, which was all about battling. Pokemon Champions is an extension of this legacy and now allows players to do battle on Switch and mobile devices against each other, wherever they live, thanks to the internet. The trailer doesn't show much gameplay footage, though.

What we do see is a 2v2 battle featuring Charizard and Cetitan on a massive battle stage. Check out the trailer below.

Pokemon Champions platforms

Pokemon Champions is in development for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. The game supports cross-play between the two platforms. The Pokemon Company made no mention of Switch 2, but it's possible Pokemon Champions could be on Switch 2 through backwards compatibility.

Pokemon Home support

Pokemon Champions utilizes Pokemon Home, allowing players to bring their Pokemon from other games into Pokemon Champions. Pokemon Home is a cloud service for Switch and mobile devices that, when paired with a Nintendo Account, allows creatures in supported games to move between titles.

Some of the titles currently supported are Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, Pokemon Sword/Shield, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, and Pokemon Legends: Arceus.