Pokémon Day is always full of fun announcements and reveals for the monster-hunting franchise. Not every presentation will show off one of the best Pokémon games, but they do include some nice surprises like Pokémon Champions. This upcoming video game will be focused purely on the thrill of battling your monsters in fierce competition, bearing a lot of similarities to the old Pokémon Stadium games. We don’t know a ton about this Nintendo Switch 2 and mobile game yet, but we know it will be coming after Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but this is all the information there is right now about Pokémon Champions.
Pokémon Champions was revealed with no release window, but during the Pokémon Presents July 2025 presentation, we learned that it is set to release sometime in 2026.
Pokémon Champions is confirmed for Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, iOS, and Android with full cross-platform support.
The announcement trailer was a surprise drop during the Pokémon Day live stream in February 2025. The trailer shows how Pokémon battles have evolved through the generations, starting with kids battling on their Game Boys using link cables up to the modern day where players will face off online with their phone or Switch.
Being described as a battle-focused game, we don’t expect any real story or even much in terms of single-player content to look forward to here.
The second look at Pokémon Champions cleared up a lot of details surrounding the battles. Players can either import or catch Pokémon within the game to take into battle, but training them is very different. Now, it appears as though you will be able to freely adjust your Pokémon’s stats and moves freely. Battles can be done in either singles or duos, and played in ranked or private matches.
One great feature is the ability to import your Pokémon stored in Pokémon Home. The fine print does specify that not all Pokémon will be compatible, likely since Pokémon Champions probably won’t feature the entire roster, but odds are you will be able to bring your favorite monster from Home into Pokémon Champions.
During the Pokémon World Championships 2025, Nintendo confirmed that Pokémon Champions will have a free-to-start version on all platforms as well as a paid digital version only on Switch and Switch 2. More details about how much the paid versions will cost and what they will include were promised to be shared in the future, but we at least know that there will be a free option for this title.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Imagine tapping a Zelda icon on your iPhone and jumping straight into Hyrule. A new open-source project called nxnative makes that possible by repackaging Switch games you’ve bought into apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with no emulator in the middle.
Why does this run so well on Apple devices?