Pokémon Champions is a Pokémon battle simulator; it does just that, and that's fine. It was developed with that specific purpose, and it wouldn't be fair to dismiss it as a flaw. As it stands, the game is a bit lacking in content, completely missing the possibility to battle against the CPU, and more could have been done to teach newcomers the basics of high-level competitive play. On the plus side, the experience is completely free to play, with a non-predatory, and indeed very fair, monetization system. Pokémon Champions is therefore a good foundation to build on, a live service built to last. If the game wants to be the home of competitive Pokémon in the long term, however, it must prove it with continuous improvements over time.

The appeal of Pokémon Champions is narrower than you might expect, as hardcore VGC vets or those hoping for a Pokémon Stadium-like experience will likely be disappointed by the game's small Pokédex and other limitations. The real target audience is clearly newcomers curious about competitive play, and the game does a fairly good job of welcoming them in without emptying their pockets. The nitty gritty of PvP Pokémon battling has worked for 30 years, and it's not broken here, but a lot more could have been done to support the experience. Of course, plenty can change with updates, but as is, this game is a Pokémon Contender at best.

I think Pokémon Champions has some potential, despite its many shortcomings at the moment. It’s carried by the excellent Pokémon battle system, to be sure. As the number of Pokémon available to use increases and the game gets more filled out, this could eventually grow into the true competitive scene that Pokémon could use. I at least appreciate that the current monetization method limits what you can spend and largely avoids potential pay-to-win problems. Still, there’s no denying that this feels somewhat undercooked, both technically and in terms of what’s actually included here. Hopefully Pokemon Champions can, over time, grind its way to living up to its name.