Pokémon day is always full of fun announcements and updates for the beloved monster-catching franchise. We got a big update on Pokémon Legends: Z-A, of course, but also the reveal of a new upcoming Switch game. Pokémon Champions is focused purely on the thrill of battling your monsters in fierce competition, bearing a lot of similarities to the old Pokémon Stadium games. We don’t know a ton about this upcoming video game yet, or if we will be playing it before Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but this is all the information there is right now about Pokémon Champions.
It should come as no surprise that Pokémon Champions is not an upcoming PS5 game, an upcoming Xbox Series X game, or an upcoming PC game, but we have plenty of games coming to those platforms to look forward to.
Release speculation
Pokémon Champions was revealed with no release window and is simply stated to be in development. We do see what looks like snippets of gameplay, and since this is not another mainline entry, we don’t think it will be too long before this game is out. If we had to guess, we could see this game also coming out in 2025 or early 2026.
Platforms
Pokémon Champions is confirmed for Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android with full cross-platform support. There was no indication on if there will be a Switch 2 version, but even if there isn’t, it should be backwards compatible on the new hardware.
Trailers
The announcement trailer was a surprise drop during the Pokémon Day live stream in February 2025. The trailer shows how Pokémon battles have evolved through the generations, starting with kids battling on their Game Boys using link cables up to the modern day where players will face off online with their phone or Switch.
Being described as a battle-focused game, we don’t expect any real story or even much in terms of single-player content to look forward to here.
Gameplay
The look we got only had small teases of what Pokémon Champions gameplay could be like. We see two trainers about to face off, each with two monsters by their sides. This could imply that either battles with be limited to teams of two, or that you will be able to engage in duo battles.
We know that types, abilities, and moves will all be returning mechanics from the core series, implying it will also be a turn-based game.
One great feature is the ability to import your Pokémon stored in Pokémon Home. The fine print does specify that not all Pokémon will be compatible, likely since Pokémon Champions probably won’t feature the entire roster, but odds are you will be able to bring your favorite monster from Home into Pokémon Champions.
Preorder
Without a release window of any kind, there are no preorder options for Pokémon Champions. That said, it is possible that this could be a free-to-play game like Pokémon Unite. Once we know more, we will update you with all the details.
