Pokémon Champions is finally here, and it comes with the promise of being an experience in the legendary franchise like few others we have seen before, putting all of the focus on battling and removing much of the roleplaying and narrative in favor of an all-out action experience for competitive players.
As part of that, the game is set to serve as the official platform for the VGC and Pokémon World Championships moving forward, and it supports a ton of different mechanics, from Mega Evolution, Z-moves, and Gigantamax, to Terastallization via a new “Omni Ring” item that’s sure to throw the meta for a loop.
The system for training your creatures and adjusting their stats, moves, and abilities has also been simplified significantly, allowing players to experiment with different team builds with less time investment. With all of that in mind, you might assume that the game would also boast an extensive Pokédex, but it seems as though Game Freak has gone for a considerably tighter selection this time around.
How Many Pokémon Are In Pokémon Champions?
Over on Twitter/X, the user CentroLeaks shared a post detailing every Pokémon that appears in the Pokédex for Pokémon Champions, and it tops out at 186 right now, which is likely to be quite a few less than many competitive players were expecting.
The caveat here is that many of the most iconic and powerful Pokémon in the history of the franchise do appear, so we should still see some pretty potent competitive teams, but the lack of options does limit the opportunity for top-level players to experiment quite as much with their ingenuity.
The obvious caveat here is that there is plenty of time for Game Freak to add and remove Pokémon over time, shifting the meta and potentially making for some exciting future updates to jump into.
Pokémon Champions Isn’t Off To The Best Start
The game’s launch went very poorly for a major Pokémon release, with players quickly becoming disgruntled at everything from the game’s limited roster to the modes on offer and many of the mechanical setups behind prepping a team and battling.
That tough start aside, the developer has every chance of rectifying things, given that it’s essentially a live service game, and they’ll absolutely want to do so before the big competitive tournaments hit later this year. Until then, you’ll want to start building your team, so you can be ready to dominate everyone else who’s settling in to make Pokémon Champions their home.
- Released
-
April 8, 2026
- ESRB
-
Everyone / Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
-
The Pokémon Works, Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
-
Nintendo
- Multiplayer
-
Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
-
Full
- Cross Save
-
Yes