The new Pokemon Champions game is launching soon on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2! This free-to-play game will replace the current video game championships, becoming the official way to compete in Play! Pokemon events. Players will earn Victory Points to build and train their Pokemon teams. While the Pokemon franchise has used in-game currency in mobile games before, I’m a little worried about how this change might affect the future of competitive Pokemon.
For years, the official Pokemon competitive scene (VGC) has been played using the latest Pokemon games, most recently Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Moving to a dedicated platform for competition seems logical. However, Pokemon Champions introduces a new challenge: the game’s way of earning content through purchases could create an uneven playing field, as players may need to invest different amounts of money to be fully competitive.
Mobile Games Aren’t New to Pokemon Championships, But Pokemon Champions Is Still a Shift
It’s not unusual for free-to-play games to become competitive, and Pokemon Go has been part of the competitive Pokemon scene for quite some time. While Pokemon Go does offer advantages to players who spend money – like more storage and helpful items – you can still build a strong team simply by playing. You earn the resources needed to strengthen your Pokemon through gameplay, and catching them relies partly on luck, influencing their stats.
Pokemon Champions feels distinct from other Pokemon games. I recently played a preview version and noticed that Victory Points (VP) are central to gameplay. Instead of Pokemon getting stronger through battles, you use VP to customize their stats, abilities, and moves. All Pokemon are at a fixed level, similar to VGC, but here, improving your Pokemon appears to depend on how much in-game currency you’ve earned.
Games like Pokemon Scarlet & Violet usually require players to invest a lot of time to make their Pokemon stronger. While items that boost Pokemon power can be earned by playing the game, Champions now offer them for purchase with real money. This raises concerns about fairness in competitive play, as players could potentially bypass the time investment by spending money. It also highlights the increasing cost of enjoying the Pokemon franchise as a whole.
Being a Pokemon Player Keeps Getting More Expensive, and It’s Hard to Keep Up
It feels like being a Pokémon fan is getting more and more expensive. While I was able to upgrade to the new Switch 2, many fans have been stressed about missing out on the latest game, Pokopia. Upgrading to a new console is common with Pokémon releases, but the cost of both the $450 console and the $70 game is a real struggle, especially with rising prices and inflation. It’s not just the games and consoles either – being a Pokémon fan is becoming expensive in other ways too.
There are a lot of Pokemon games for phones available right now. If you’re trying to follow games like Pokemon Sleep, Pokemon Go, and Pokemon TCG Pocket, you’re already facing plenty of options that ask you to spend money. Those are just three of the most popular free-to-play Pokemon games, and it’s easy to quickly spend a lot on them, especially when you add in all the cute merchandise. Plus, Pokemon cards are still hard to find and often sell for very high prices.
You don’t have to play every Pokémon game or spend money on in-app purchases to be a fan. And while collectibles are fun, they aren’t essential! However, it’s frustrating to see a new Pokémon game where you need to spend money on basic things like training and catching Pokémon become popular for competitive play. This just makes being a Pokémon fan more expensive, and could unfortunately push some fans away if they can’t afford to keep up with everything.
What are your thoughts on Pokemon Champions becoming the standard format for Pokemon VGC? Share your opinion and join the discussion in the ComicBook Forum!
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2026-03-26 20:12