Pokémon Champions Released

Pokémon spent nearly three decades teaching players to raise creatures in long role-playing games, and now it has split the battling part into its own app on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 as of April 8, 2026. The new game is called Pokémon Champions, and it launched one day before this thread. (pokemon.com) That changes the usual rhythm of a Pokémon game. Instead of starting in a town, collecting badges, and building a team over dozens of hours, Pokémon Champions is built around team building and fights from the start. (pokemon.com) The hook is that you do not have to leave your old partners behind. By linking Pokémon HOME, the cloud storage app for Pokémon, you can bring certain Pokémon from games like Pokémon Scarlet, Pokémon Violet, Pokémon Legends: Z–A, and Pokémon GO into Champions as visiting Pokémon. (pokemon.com) There is a limit hidden inside that promise. Only Pokémon that appear in Pokémon Champions can be transferred in, so Pokémon HOME works more like a customs gate than an open door. (pokemon.com) The game is also trying to lower the barrier that kept competitive Pokémon niche. The official site says you can recruit Pokémon inside Champions itself and use a simplified training system, which means players do not need to breed and optimize a team the old way before they can start battling seriously. (pokemon.com) The battles still use the same language longtime players know: types, Abilities, and moves all carry over. That means the strategy is familiar even though the wrapper is new, like moving a card game from a kitchen table to an arena. (pokemon.com) Nintendo Switch 2 owners are not getting a separate sequel. They download a free update that adds clearer graphics, while the base release also runs on the original Nintendo Switch. (pokemon.com) The business model is not a standard one-time purchase. Pokémon Champions is free to start, and The Pokémon Company says a Starter Pack bundle and optional in-game items are also being sold, with the bundle adding things like more Pokémon storage space and an extra battle song. (pokemon.com) This is not just a side app for casual matches. The Pokémon Company said in August 2025 that Pokémon Champions will become the official software for Pokémon Video Game Championships at the 2026 Pokémon World Championships and in Championship Series events leading up to Worlds. (pokemon.com) That helps explain why Mega Evolution is back in Ranked Battles. The official gameplay page says the first ruleset allows Mega Evolution, and earlier announcements tied that return directly to competitive play, including newly discovered Abilities for Mega-Evolved Pokémon. (pokemon.com, pokemon.com) The last missing piece is phones. The official site says the mobile version is still coming later in 2026, and when it arrives, players on mobile devices and Nintendo Switch systems will be able to battle across platforms. (pokemon.com, pokemon.com)