"Pokémon Champions" Played: Clear Hit with Clear Weaknesses

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Old Cordy is thinking about retirement. He has been managing his training center for 55 years, has grown a gray beard, and now does everything a little slower. He stutters slightly. Unfortunately, the young people also stutter in this game. The newly released “Pokémon Champions” runs remarkably sluggishly not only on Switch 1 but also on Switch 2. It feels a bit like realizing that 3D games no longer run smoothly on an aging mobile phone. Basically, waiting times in menus and during battles are to be expected in a freshly launched online game. But how lovelessly and technically outdated a new game from Nintendo presents itself right from the start is remarkable.

It's better on mobile, too

This seems unnecessary to the point of being annoying, as the Pokémon games Scarlet/Violet and Legends Z-A on Switch 2 didn't look stunning, but at least ran smoothly. In “Pokémon Champions,” the Pokémon models at least look better than the people, and battle effects are now more detailed. And once Cordy has gone through all the tutorials, he only appears on the sidelines. So the weak first impression doesn't affect the whole game.

However, “Pokémon Champions” feels somewhat unfinished, like a quick shot. Yet, this very game idea is a huge hit that has been awaited for decades and is waiting for its implementation. Finally, there are classic, turn-based Pokémon battles in multiplayer, not just as a mode in another game. The new free-to-play title is initially only available for Switch 1 and 2, but is also planned to be available for Android and iOS. Not only the tournament scene but also generations of old fans are waiting for something like this. If you regularly want to play Pokémon online, you eventually breed and train the creatures, and this can be quite cumbersome, time-consuming, and expensive within the constraints of console games.

It also appeals to all those who have never trained a Pokémon and unleashed them on others. The tutorials are fragmented but purposefully explain the most important game elements. You want to click through them quickly at least because they reward you with coupons, tickets, and “VP” – “Pokémon Champions” creates an uneasy feeling at first because more than one currency is used here again. However, many of these are also distributed at the beginning.

Lottery on the Farm

In “Pokémon Champions,” it's all about fighting battles. But the animals also need to be caught, trained, and put into teams somehow. So, from the main menu, you are sent to a ranch, and at first, you don't understand anything. The pasture works like a lottery booth: once a day, you can recruit a new Pokémon for free from a random selection. You can use it for free for a week; to keep it, tickets or VPs are required.

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„Pokémon Champions“ angespielt (11 Bilder)

Catching a few good Pokémon is quite quick and easy. However, it is impossible and frustrating to get very specific creatures from the current pool of 229 candidates this way. If you want to do that, you actually have to catch them in another game in the series and then transfer them with the Pokémon Home app. This function also seems half-baked so far, but it is available – at the time of writing, the filter in Pokémon Home that shows which creatures from another game are compatible with Champions was missing.

The training screen, on the other hand, consists of simple, clear menus. Here, the Pokémon's attacks and status values can be set – in an astonishingly clear way. It has never been so easy and intuitive to fine-tune every value. However, a tactical dimension has also been sacrificed for this. The "Individual Strengths" or IVs significantly contributed to making duels more unpredictable, but they were also harder to control and change. With their omission, the game is now a bit easier to understand, but it also offers less tactical possibilities for avid players.

They Just Want to Fight

Usually time is spent fighting. There are single or classic double battles, an optional ranking ladder, private duels, and also tournaments, the first of which, however, only starts after this article is written.

And all the weaknesses, the stuttering Cordy, and the confusing currencies fade away when you enter the arena. Here, “Pokémon Champions” finally seems mature. Of course, a lot will change here; currently, less than a quarter of all possible Pokémon are in the game, plus Mega Evolutions, but no other special forms yet. And the graphics are not a revelation here either.

But at its core, battles take place here as you know them from the online mode of the main games. A moderate time limit keeps the battles fluid. In the double battle format, an insane variety of attacks and effects develops. And “Pokémon Champions” is not yet on mobile. But here it could fully play out its strengths: each match lasts a few minutes. You always want to play one more, especially when you win. Because of this game, people on the train will miss their stops, and children will forget their homework. There are other turn-based dueling games on mobile, but perhaps only chess has a larger tradition and fan base.

Shortly after the game's launch, every duel is still a surprise package. At least in the Poké Ball class ranks, there are absolute newcomers, but players who are clearly on their way to higher leagues and already lead sophisticated teams into the arena also repeatedly slip in. Strong teams can be transferred via Pokémon Home; a two-class society is already emerging here. How much you will feel the urge to also need “Pokémon Go” or even paid games in the series to recruit remains to be seen.

Free to Play Means Fifty Euros

The starter package for seven euros is recommended but not necessary. However, if you get excited about “Pokémon Champions” at first, you quickly hit a clearly drawn line in the game. There are two shops. In one, trainer modes, items, and mega stones can be purchased for (currently) very fair VP prices. If you would rather not buy everything, you can easily finance it through VP earnings from battles.

Money is required in the other shop: for each season, a Premium Battle Pass can be unlocked for €9.99; the first season lasts a full month. The offer doesn't seem mandatory. Many bonuses are available in the first season even without Premium.

However, the membership, sold for €4.99 per month or €49.99 per year, feels almost unavoidable. With it, you get 1000 slots in the Pokémon Box (instead of 30) and can assemble 18 teams (instead of 3). So, if you don't just breed one or two dream teams but want to delve a little deeper, you have to pay. For free-to-play standards, however, the model is comparatively transparent and fair. So far, no gacha train with golden tickets is rolling past luck here. But the shop still looks suspiciously empty; perhaps the monetization model hasn't shown its full extent yet.

Wobbly Technology, Stable Hit

The foundations for this hit have been in place for a long time. Now it has actually been released. Gaps at the start, the stuttering Cordy, and monetization concerns cannot shake this simple truth. Once you have assembled a team and play round after round, time melts away like it used to with a link cable in the schoolyard. “Pokémon Champions” still needs to develop. But it is already strong.

(wpl)