Fans have been gearing up for Nintendo’s newest Pokémon title, and now that it’s out, well… people are divided. On the one hand, it’s an amazing game. It allows you to create your Pokémon team from scratch, has different battle formats, and is devoid of bugs (for the most part). The problem is that bugs and glitches can be fixed, but players are unhappy with the state of the game as a whole.
Pokémon advertised the game as a central hub for all Pokémon VGC going forward, and that’s great. But they forgot to mention that would mean alienating an entire demographic of the player base. Some players say it’s too limited, while others call it too complex.
In its need to be accommodating, Pokémon Champions has ended up satisfying no one. Let’s take a look at why players are up in arms after the release of Nintendo’s latest Pokémon iteration.
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No Road But The Competitive Road
Let’s take it from the top: the biggest issue faced by the casual player in Pokémon Champion. Every game has a competitive ladder, and that’s what keeps players engrossed. The thrill of overcoming challenges and beating other players to progress ranks. But not all players are alike. Some simply like to log on to the game to relax and play some PvE. And that’s exactly what Pokémon Champions lacks.
The game’s ranked aspect is great, for the most part. But they forgot to add a PvE game mode for casual players. Players who just want to chill with their friends and upgrade their Pokémon. Not everyone likes to play ranked matches all the time, especially in games with strict meta strategies.
Unlike other Pokémon titles, Pokémon Champions has no story mode, gym battles, or AI training mode. The only matches you can play are against real-life players. And while you’ll get easier players in the lower ranks, it still requires you to have a proper strategy and play Pokémon that are in the meta.
A lack of PvE completely removes the casual aspect from the game, leaving the grindy part to dominate. Players are forced to keep up with the ever-changing strategies if they want to compete, and that’s just too stressful for a large chunk of players. This does not even mention the abundance of rules you need to learn before setting foot in the ring.
Now, before we go all doom and gloom, does this mean there’s never going to be a PvE side to the game? Of course not. The game has been out for less than a week at this point, and many features are still being developed. Perhaps with the release on mobile and an enormous surge of new players, we will see some gym battle action. But that is all hopeful optimism for now.
Although if the game really is that grindy and hardcore, it should be a veteran’s paradise, right? Time to move on to the other side of the story.
Too Much Potential, Too Little Choice
The option to transfer Pokémon from previous Pokémon titles to this one is game-changing. You no longer have to start from scratch when building your team. But the problem is, the game only includes around 130 Pokémon out of the 1,000+ that exist in the Pokémon universe. That’s years of hard work on certain Pokémon wasted, simply because they’re not included in this newest title. Not to mention, transferring has been buggy since launch.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Many veterans said they were happy with this feature since it makes creating viable teams much easier. However, they need the items as well. There are certain items in Pokémon games that strategies hinge on. Without them, the strategy becomes completely unviable, and with them, certain Pokémon.
So while the game itself has a lot of potential to do great things, the rollout has been somewhat disappointing for both sets of players. The casuals want a more casual setup where they can play at their own pace, while the hardcore gamers want more options to optimise their teams. The Pokémon team tried to please everyone, and ended up pleasing neither.
But I will say, I don’t think this is the end of the road for Pokémon Champions. As I mentioned before, the game’s barely been out a week. As time progresses, the game will develop to suit more of the needs of players, which probably means more Pokémon options as well as some PvE content for the casual players. Until then, sit tight and keep the hope alive.
Published: Apr 15, 2026 02:30 pm