Two giants of the first generation emerge onto the battlefield: Gengar y Charizard. In front there is a Gallade and a Ceruledgeof the fourth and ninth generation respectively. The battlefield where past and present collide is the next title in the long saga (which was just announced this afternoon) and the response of Pokémon to the competitive field of esports: Pokémon Champions. The first and most powerful impression left by playing Champions is that it feels like an enhanced version of Pokémon Stadium (1999), the original title for the Nintendo 64. The first where we could see our favorite pocket monsters recreated in glorious 3D, and the quintessence of pure Pokémon combat. Masaaki Hoshino, producer of this new title, explains to EL PAÍS that he sees it as “the culmination of all the different Pokémon battles we have seen so far. We are taking all these great parts and putting them in a single game.”
Hoshino, who has already been at the forefront of fighting game development Pokkén Tournament and the successful Pokémon Unite —team-style confrontations League of Legends—, points out that he has been a fan “for decades” of the turn-based battle mode of this universe. The Japanese says that he has always had the intention of making these fights last “in the future.” From there he came to the idea of taking the classic fighting system to make it his own game, and allowing him to “evolve it over time.” Masaaki Hoshino spoke to the press backstage at EUIC 2026 in London, and while he doesn’t reveal which creatures will be part of the cast when the game launches in April for the Switch 2, he does reveal that his favorite Pokémon, Absol, a black and white feline, will be part of the cast.
Playing a handful of games is enough to get hooked on the proposal it makes Champions: Turn-based combat is the same as always. Streamlined, with projections of potential damage, advantages or disadvantages; visually it is beautiful. Something to highlight are the effects of the attacks (no longer the simple sprite shaking from side to side or a wave materializing in front); The ease of customizing the statistics and the repertoire of Pokémon techniques help direct the creatures towards specific roles. The Valencian Pokémon youtuber Juan Antonio Bl3sSur Carrasco, who has also participated in the demo of Champions, celebrates this shift, since there are “people who only want to focus on the competitive,” he says, “and Champions collect that, everything more summarized so that you automatically enter, catch the Pokémon you need and make your team.”
Back to mobile
A decade after Pokémon GO invaded the screens of millions of mobile phones globally, Pokémon Champions seeks to do the same. The title will not be exclusive to the Switch 2, it will also be launched at the same time on mobile phones, with the intention that people can start for free and thus achieve a greater influence: “Depending on the market, a Nintendo platform may not be available, but a mobile phone will be.” Hoshino explains that this way a much wider range of players can be reached and gives an example to all the people who know the saga only through Pokémon GO. Something about which the global director of esports of the Pokémon Company, Chris Brown, echoes: “With the launch of Champions “We will pave the way for the arrival of new players.”
The title—which still has no date for its mobile version—appeals to the professional competitive aspect by simplifying the much-feared “grinding” (from English grindperform repetitive actions in a game to level up or obtain items). Hoshino remembers the nights he has spent on his bike “grinding” in real life to hatch eggs in games. He acknowledges that it takes players “quite a bit” to raise their creatures to use them at “the highest level of competitive play,” which is why they have focused on making this aspect “more accessible.”
To reinforce the focus on the launch of ChampionsPokémon has announced that this game will be the new platform for the world championship in San Francisco this year. Champions thus displacing this role to the dual versions of the main saga, as has historically been the case. “I hope the impact is huge,” says Brown.
Recruit the Japanese girl
Another Japanese influence appears in the mechanics through which Pokémon are “recruited” for our teams. gcolor o gachapon (it is an onomatopoeia that combines up toturning the crank, and pon, the sound of the capsule falling onto the collection tray) is taken from the random rewards of vending machines. The players use, as is usually the case in model games free-to-playa combination of paid coins and free credits to make “rolls” and choose a Pokémon to add to your teams from those that have appeared (and yes, the color variants, the creatures shinymay arise here).
The developers hope that the more agile format of Champions Allow players to “fine-tune their strategies” by quickly testing different setups. Hoshino is confident that this will allow “big changes” in the competitive environment, in addition to making many more creatures viable (something that weighs on the current competition is the “goal”, that is, the maximum optimization of the game by pursuing a limited set of Pokémon that work best, to the detriment of variety and show for the viewer, because the other possibilities are not efficient).
To ensure that the experience at the heart of it all – the battles – are the best possible version, the development team has had the collaboration of Shigeki Morimoto, legendary Game Freak designer and programmer who has worked on the saga’s combat system since the founding days of Red and Blue (we can thank Morimoto for the presence of the legendary Mew in those first titles).
That genetics contributed by Morimoto can be seen in the enjoyment of the duels. Gengar y Charizard have prevailed over their modern opponents. We immediately mix the teams and launch another battle again. And another one. Champions it feels like Pokémon hasn’t felt it in a long time.