Pokémon Champions is here, and while linking it to your Home account is a must early on, getting the right starter can be a game-changer. After all, each of them is followed up by a unique team.
But as results come in first place in the arena, who should you choose as your first partner? Here are the best starters to pick in Pokémon Champions, no matter if you want to focus on singles or dominate doubles.
Table of contents
Operation Sports App
Your ultimate companion for sports gaming. Access in-depth coverage, thoughtful discussion, and a community built around the games—and sports—you love.
Your ultimate sports gaming companion.
All Starters And Their Teams In Pokémon Champions
To give you a better view of what each starter brings to the arena, we thought it might be better to start by listing the teams you will acquire after choosing your starter Pokémon in Champions. As you can expect, each new scout will also come with a fixed set of moves. Don’t worry, though, you can get them meta-shaped and fine-tune each moveset later on.
| Starter | Team |
|---|---|
| Charizard | Azumarill, Steelix, Whimscott, Gengar, and Drampa |
| Tyranitar | Arcanine, Whimsicott, Drampa, Aggron, and Sylveon |
| Armarouge | Hydreigon, Hawlucha, Steelix, Manectric, and Victreebel |
| Palafin (Zero Form) | Gengar, Aggron, Beedrill, Sylveon, and Hydreigon |
| Pikachu | Kingambit, Garchomp, Azumarill, Gyarados, and Gengar |
| Lucario | Sylveon, Manectric, Victreebel, Gyarados, and Froslass |
| Gardevoir | Heracross, Drampa, Azumarill, Corviknight, and Abomasnow |
| Absol | Froslass, Corviknight, Garchomp, Arcanine, and Whimsicott |
| Altaria | Kingambit, Arcanine, Heracross, Hawlucha, and Victreebel |
| Snorlax | Hawlucha, Abomasnow, Kingambit, Beedrill, and Hydreigon |
The Best Starter And Teams in Pokémon Champions
Taking into account all lineups and their starting/possible movesets, Tyranitar shines as the best starter in Pokémon Champions. The reason? Their ability to set up Sandstorm at frame one and the still-amazing Dragon Dance and Stone Edge. Its team is also fairly balanced for both duos and singles, all while having in Sylveon more than enough fairy power to carry you in emergencies. Just make sure to equip Whimsicott with Trick Room as soon as possible, as although sturdy, the team’s lack of speed can be its undoing.
Pikachu, Palafin, and Gardevoir are also strong starting choices here, with the former’s team having in Azumarill the ability to one-shot most single opponents. Garchomp’s overall moveset, high speed, and Dragon typing also elevate it to new heights.
How To Change Moves In Pokémon Champions
If you want to follow our lead and quickly add Trick Room to your arsenal, you can change moves in Pokémon Champions by heading to Train, Pokémon Training, selecting your chosen Pokémon, and then picking which ability you wish to replace. Now, simply browse until you find your new pick (in our case, Trick Room) and equip it before selecting Commence Training. Each new move will cost a set amount of VP.
As you can see above, you can also use VP to improve your Pokémon’s stats while in the Training tab, so make sure to do so if faced with a wall down the road.
Published: Apr 8, 2026 12:30 pm