WhenPokemon Championswas first revealed earlier this year, it almost looked like little more than another straightforward competitive spin on the franchise, with quick matches, three-member squads, and a streamlined Ranked format. However, now that the game has resurfaced with real gameplay and a full breakdown in the latest Pokemon Presents, it’s clear there’s more going on than just another PvP experiment here — and that’s especially true with howPokemon Championshandles training.
If there’s one thing worth paying attention to inPokemon Champions' latest reveal, it isn’t the high-octane battles, but what happens before those matches ever begin. Behind the age-old structure is a surprisingly flexible and accessible training system that could do more than chip away at the VGC (Video Game Championships) barrier to entry. Depending on how players respond to the new system, it might even set a standard forhow competitivePokemonworksmoving forward.
Pokemon Champions' Training System Makes Competitive Pokemon More Accessible Than Ever
Grinding for EVs and IVs Might Finally Be a Thing of the Past
For years, building aneffectivePokemonteam for competitive playmeant hours of EV (Effort Values) training, IV (Individual Values) breeding, nature syncing, and ability hunting, all before even touching strategy. Players essentially had to max out EVs by fighting specific wild Pokemon, farm Bottle Caps for IV tuning, breed countless eggs to get the right nature, and teach moves to Pokemon through TMs or move tutors, all just to bring one team member up to standard. If that sounds like medical jargon, it’s because it was a process that demanded extensive game knowledge, as well as a degree of repetition and resource farming that would understandably drive away most casual players from the scene.
Pokemon Championschanges that almost completely with its new training system. Firstly, not only can players manually customize each of their Pokemon’s stats (HP, Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, Speed), but they can also teach theirPokemon new abilitiesand modify their stat alignment directly, all with the Victory Points they earn while playing the game. As a result,Pokemon Championsoffers players a system that requires far less grinding and encourages more experimentation than ever before, thereby increasing the accessibility of competitivePokemonacross the board and potentially setting up the franchise’s future to do the same.
VGC Is No Longer Just for the Hardcore
CompetitivePokemonhas almost always been a space for the hardcore elite who are willing to endure its steep prep curve. However,Pokemon Championseffectively dismantles that curve by making its Pokemon training more accessible while still offering the same amount of depth that has always been there. On top of that,Pokemon Homeis fully integratedintoPokemon Champions, removing yet another obstacle betweenPokemon’s more casual community and competitive play by allowing players to import their Pokemon from other titles directly intoPokemon Champions.
Pokemon Championsoffers players a system that requires far less grinding and encourages more experimentation than ever before…
Pokemon Championsmay not be making a lot of changes to the competitivePokemonformula, but how it handles Pokemon training could at least change its audience. By making stats, moves, and team customization easier to control without countless hours of preparation, it opens the door to a broader audience without losing what makes thecompetitive aspect ofPokemonand nowPokemon Championsso special. If thePokemoncommunity at large responds positively to these changes, it could even set a precedent for the future of the franchise.
