With Pokémon Champions, Competitive Pokémon ‘VGC’ May Finally Go Mainstream

Pokémon Champions artwork. Source: Pokémon.com.

Today is Pokémon Day, and, as they do every year, The Pokémon Company held a Pokémon Presents keynote showcasing the latest updates coming to their slate of titles, including a gameplay reveal for the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z-A for Nintendo Switch.

Arguably, the biggest surprise from the presentation was the announcement of Pokémon Champions, a new entry in the series described as a cross-platform game for iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch entirely focused on competitive battles. Details are scarce at this point, but in the video teaser (which did not show any actual gameplay footage), the company mentioned the ability to use Pokémon stored in Pokémon HOME and hinted at the presence of both Tera and Mega Pokémon in battles. At the moment, the only information we have about the game comes from the video released by The Pokémon Company, which you can watch below, and the description from the game’s website:

Get ready to experience everything you love about Pokémon battles all in one place—in Pokémon Champions. This new, battle-focused game will feature familiar mechanics such as Pokémon types, Abilities, and moves, creating an environment conducive to rich and varied strategies for new and experienced Trainers alike.

It’s not just familiar mechanics—you’ll be able to bring in classic Pokémon from Pokémon HOME, too! Look forward to cross-platform battles alongside your favorite Pokémon on Nintendo Switch and mobile, with a variety of different modes available for your desired experience.

In the fine print from the official press release, there is also this note:

At the time of release, only select Pokémon will be available for use in Pokémon Champions—not all Pokémon available in Pokémon HOME will appear in Pokémon Champions. The Pokémon you can send to Pokémon Champions via Pokémon HOME are limited to Pokémon that appear in Pokémon Champions.

Allow me to add some personal context here.

During the lockdown of 2020, I got really into Pokémon Sword. (I spent over 850 hours playing the game.) In doing so, I rediscovered a hobby that I had set aside for over a decade: competitive Pokémon play. In case you don’t know, there is an official circuit of regional, international, and global competitive events that, in the case of the Pokémon videogame series, are called VGC (Video Game Championships).

Given the free time I had available while stuck at home five years ago, I started following creators such as Wolfe Glick, Aaron Zheng, and James Baek; Serebii became a daily reading destination for me; I obsessed over crafting the perfect competitive team for ranked online play and even recorded an episode of Remaster all about it. I got so into competitive play during that season, one of my teams was even featured by Aaron himself on his channel.

Here’s the thing, though: competitive Pokémon simply isn’t as widely known as “regular” Pokémon. There are way more people playing Pokémon GO, Unite, and the mainline games on Nintendo Switch than those who are familiar with VGC. In many ways, this is only natural; after all, most people just want to play a game and have a good time instead of getting into the minutiae of competitive play. At the same time, though, I would argue that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company could have done more to democratize competitive play, shine a spotlight on this other side of the Pokémon community, and get more people to play Pokémon for the battles rather than just for catching monsters.

This seems to be what Pokémon Champions aims to do, and it’s no surprise that creators like Wolfe (who recently became European International Champion), Aaron, and others are reacting with excitement and disbelief to this announcement. (Warning: X.com links.) One of the many challenges of competitive Pokémon has always been its high barrier to entry: you need to play the game, catch and train specific Pokémon, and perhaps learn about the intricacies of stats, then go online and play. And so far, you’ve only been able to do that with a Nintendo Switch. Veteran Pokémon players have long resorted to third-party tools like Pokémon Showdown to test their teams with an unofficial interface on their phones and computers, but Showdown isn’t exactly intuitive for newcomers, either. With Champions launching on iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch, plus its integration with Pokémon HOME cloud storage, this may be about to change.

Source: Pokémon.com.

I was able to talk to Aaron Zheng, a competitive player since 2008, VGC commentator, and creator of the popular CybertronVGC channel, about some of his first reactions to the game. “Overall, this is super exciting to see”, Zheng said. “It feels like a big next step for competitive Pokémon and making the game more accessible. Mobile compatibility is huge. The idea of anyone just being able to pick up their phone and start battling will make things so much easier, and decreases barriers to entry (no need to buy a Switch, plus the game)”.

Zheng, like others, was curious to know more details about the game: “I have many questions about how it’ll work. Is it like Pokémon Battle Revolution, where you transfer trained Pokémon in? How do you get a fully trained Pokémon in the game? Can you change their moves and stats within the game?” Zheng continued: “I’m super excited to see an influx of new players hopefully come into competitive from this. I think it’s amazing news.”

I also talked to Gabby Snyder, an official commentator for Pokémon, who shared her personal reactions to today’s announcement with MacStories:

I’m really excited for the announcement of Pokémon Champions. For years, people have struggled getting into VGC/competitive Pokémon since it always has felt like an afterthought for the main series games. Information on how to breed, train, and use competitive Pokémon has been left to fansites and content creators to teach. With the announcement of Champions, I’m hoping that we’ll see a proper focus on competitive Pokémon in a way that not only allows more people to play, but in a way that focuses on battling itself, so that there’s an easier learning curve for new trainers. We’ve seen so many improvements since VGC started in 2009 in the main series games, with rental teams especially, that the thought of having those tools available to anybody with a mobile device is really exciting. I can’t wait for them to release more information, and I’ll definitely be first in line to give it a go on both mobile and Switch when the time comes!

With Champions, The Pokémon Company has a chance to widen the player base of people who – regardless of their prior knowledge of competitive Pokémon, skill level, or access to a Nintendo console – may be able to discover the joy, strategies, and community aspect inherent to VGC, both offline and online. I can’t wait to know more about the game, and I guess it may be time for me to get back into competitive Pokémon as well.