Pokémon Champions will release on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 on April 8 and will introduce various quality of life updates that will likely revolutionise the competitive Pokémon scene.
And in possibly the biggest of those changes, it has been confirmed that the free-to-play Pokémon battler will feature balance patches with updates to Pokémon. This could mean your favourite will one day have a chance of finally reaching Uber tier.
While speaking to Famitsu and other publications in a QnA, Pokémon Champions development director and game producer Masaaki Hoshino confirmed that balance changes are planned for the game:
“As this is a title that will be operated over the long term, we will make adjustments while closely monitoring player trends. We intend to always listen to the opinions of our players.”
It appears some balance changes have already been made to the game too, as discovered by those who attended early access events.
For starters, the move Protect has had its PP (number of uses) reduced from ten to eight, presumably to make games stall less often. Meanwhile, most moves have had their default PP increased with no way to increase a move’s PP in-game.
Additionally, popular VGC player Wolfe ‘Wolfey’ Glicke noticed that Gengar no longer has Encore, and Inceneroar can no longer use Knock Off.
Abilities for some Pokémon Legends Z-A Mega Evolutions have been confirmed too, including all-new abilities for Mega Meganium and Feraligatr. It has also been confirmed that Mega Dragonite will have Multiscale, while Mega Froslass will have Snow Warning.
Pokémon Champions Quality of Life Updates
Pokémon Champions is aiming to make battling and competitive play more accessible and less tedious, removing a lot of grinding that was previously needed to get the perfect stats on a Pokémon.
The main way it is accomplishing this in the removal of the IV system altogether. IVs have been a part of Pokémon for over two decades, giving Pokémon hidden boosts to stats decided by ‘genetics.’
In Pokémon Champions, mons will automatically have max IVs in everything, which is a rather polarising change as it removes certain strategies such as making an intentionally slower Pokémon for Trick Room.
Additionally, EVs, a similar increase to stats accomplished by battling Pokémon, have been replaced by a much simpler slider system with points to allocate to your mon’s stats.
Also, those who don’t have competitive-ready Pokémon to transfer from Pokémon Home will still be able to play Champions as there will be a built-in mode that allows people to acquire Pokémon from a randomised line-up using the non-purchasable Victory Points (VP) in-game currency.
Do you think Pokémon Champions is going to have a positive impact on competitive Pokémon? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord.
And while it’s claimed the new game won’t be pay-to-win, Pokémon Champions will have a paid battle pass with prices now confirmed.
