Game Freak built Pokémon Champions to keep classic battles alive — and free itself to change them
Game Freak has suggested it could make further big changes to the Pokémon battle system in future main-series games, saying that Pokémon Champions — the free-to-play competitive battle game launched in April 2026 on Nintendo Switch and June 2026 on mobile — was designed partly to preserve the series' original turn-based combat.
In a newly published video reflecting on Pokémon Champions after its launch, Pokémon battle director Shigeki Morimoto and Champions game director Kazumasa Iwao explained the thinking behind the project. Iwao said one reason for developing the game was to retain the series' original battle system as the main series moves away from it, pointing to Pokémon Legends Arceus and Pokémon Legends Z-A as titles that shifted away from the classic turn-based format. (VGC)
Iwao told fans that telling them everything had changed and to just play the new version "didn't feel right" to the team at Game Freak. The studio wanted players who have enjoyed the existing style of Pokémon battle for decades to have a game that kept that format intact.
Pokémon Champions lets players bring their Pokémon from the main series into the game to battle other players or adjust their Pokémon's stats. It features familiar mechanics — Pokémon types, Abilities, and moves — across three battle modes: Ranked Battles, Casual Battles, and Private Battles, playable in both Single and Double formats (champions.pokemon.com).
The first Pokémon World Championships to feature Champions as the official game for the Pokémon Video Game Championships — the organised competitive scene for the games — took place on the weekend the VGC article was published. The Pokémon Company has said Champions will be used for all competitive Pokémon play going forward, even as newer games in the series are released. The Pokémon World Championships 2026 will take place in San Francisco, California.
Champions director Masaaki Hoshino told VGC in February that he wants to take the element of Pokémon battles and "make it something that sticks around forever." He said he hopes the game expands accessibility so anyone can jump in, including people who have never tried the player-versus-player side. (VGC)
For fans, the strategy is becoming clearer. By establishing Champions as the permanent home for classic turn-based battles — and backing it with the full competitive infrastructure — Game Freak has given itself room to experiment with the main series without leaving decades of players behind. The next main-series entry, Pokémon Winds and Waves, was announced during a Pokémon Presents live stream and is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027. Which style of battling it will use is not yet known. (VGC)
What that means in practice: if Winds and Waves changes the battle system again, the classic format will still have a home. Champions is not a side project. The Pokémon Company has made it the mandatory platform for Championship Points and Organized Play events, anchoring it to the competitive scene for the foreseeable future. (pokemon.com)
