Pokémon Champions Launches On Switch, Switch 2 Next Month, Starter Bundle Revealed

The Pokémon Company and Nintendo have announced that online battler Pokémon Champions will launch on Switch and Switch 2 next month. More specifically, Pokémon Champions will launch on Switch on Wednesday, April 8, and will have a free update the same day for Switch 2 owners that uplifts the game “with even clearer graphics.” 

Alongside this release date, developer The Pokémon Works says a Pokémon Champions + Starter Pack Bundle will be available on April 8, and it includes the base game (which is free to all players) as well as in-game benefits like additional Pokémon storage space, an extra battle song, and more. 

Pokémon Champions is still set to release on mobile devices later this year, and when it does, there will be crossplay across platforms. The game will also link to Pokémon Home, allowing players to use Pokémon from their previous adventures in the online battler. You can only transfer Pokémon from Pokémon Go (meaning once you send them to Pokémon Champions, you cannot get them back), but you can deposit and withdraw Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A. 

“After undergoing Mega Evolution, some of these Pokémon [the press release calls out Mega Emboar, Mega Feraligatr, and Mega Meganium just before this line] will have never-before-seen Abilities in Pokémon Champions,” the press release reads. “Mega Meganium will have the newly discovered Ability Mega Sol, which lets the Pokémon use its moves as if the weather were harsh sunlight. Mega Emboar has the Mold Breaker Ability, which causes its moves to be unaffected by the Ability of the target. Mega Feraligatr’s newly discovered Ability Dragonize turns Normal-type moves into Dragon-type moves and boosts their power by 20%.”

Pokémon Champions will feature Ranked Battles and Casual Battles when it launches on Switch and Switch 2 on April 8. 

In the meantime, read Game Informer’s Pokémon Legends: Z-A review, and then check out the reveal trailer for Pokémon Winds and Waves. 

What are you most excited about for Pokémon Champions? Let us know in the comments below!