Pokemon Champions Launching With a Big Catch

Pokemon Champions will limit the selection of Pokemon that players can select from at launch. While Pokemon Champions appears set to incorporate a lot of different elements and mechanics from across the Pokemon franchise, the option to choose between the full catalog of more than 1,000 existing Pokemon won't be one of them.

The game in development by The Pokemon Works that will focus on head-to-head matches between players, Pokemon Champions was announced during the Pokemon Day 2025 live-stream showcase on February 27. Coming to Nintendo Switch and mobile devices at a date yet to be revealed, the upcoming game will give players the ability to compete in casual or ranked matches with other Pokemon fans from around the world or set up private one-on-one battles against family and friends.

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By Joshua Murphy

While the announcement of Pokemon Champions was one of the biggest reveals during the Pokemon Day 2025, information posted to Pokemon's official website has given cause for fans to temper their expectations. In a summary of the deluge of announcements made for Pokemon games and shows on February 27, the website revealed that Pokemon Champions' pool of available Pokemon will be limited at launch, although it does not specify how many Pokemon will be available or if The Pokemon Works will eventually be able to incorporate every existing Pokemon and their variants.

Pokemon Champions Will Limit Its Pool of Pokemon at Launch

Since the game was just announced, it's not entirely clear the extent of options that players will have for acquiring Pokemon to use in Pokemon Champions. One confirmation made so far is that players will be able to transfer Pokemon from Pokemon Home, the franchise's cloud service that serves as a central hub for players wanting to move Pokemon from one game to another. Pokemon Home is compatible with multiple Nintendo Switch titles, including Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, as well as mobile-based Pokemon GO. However, the website specifies that not all Pokemon that can be stored in Pokemon Home will be transferable to Pokemon Champions at the time of launch.

Despite these limitations, the announcement trailer for the game suggests that players will still have a lot of options to strategically form their teams for battle. Only a handful of Pokemon were shown off in the trailer, including Charizard, Aegislash, and Samurott, but it also reveals the inclusion of multiple mechanics that can be used strategically in battle, including Mega Evolution and the Terastal transformations introduced in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

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