Over the years, Pokemon has released an impressive number of mobile games. And though some have been shut down, many of these mobile Pokemon spin-offs are still going strong. Pokemon Go is about to turn 10 next month, and it still lives on many fans’ phones right alongside newer entries like Pokemon Sleep and Pokemon TCG Pocket. But the newest entry into the world of Pokemon mobile games, Pokemon Champions, is off to a bit of a slower start.
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Unlike many mobile games that later get ported to the Switch, Pokemon Champions took the reverse approach. The free-to-play competitive game first arrived on the Nintendo Switch in April before its mobile release in June. That means anyone waiting to experience the game on mobile might just now be getting into Champions. And that could be part of why, compared to some other major Pokemon spin-offs on mobile, Pokemon Champions sales are off to a bit of a slow start. But I think there’s another, bigger issue the game needs to solve if it wants to capture a wider audience.
Pokemon Champions Hit 10 Million Download Milestone 2 Months In
On June 25th, Pokemon Champions shared that it has hit a major milestone with over 10 million downloads across Nintendo Switch and mobile platforms. That’s no small feat, to be fair. But the competitive game hit that milestone much more slowly than many other major Pokemon mobile games. According to Serebii’s Joe Merrick, Pokemon TCG Pocket hit 10 million downloads in just two days, as did the gacha game Pokemon Masters ex. While it’s early days still, Pokemon Champions is certainly off to a slower start than many prior spin-offs.
As the newcomer to the Pokemon mobile game catalog, Pokemon Champions is currently sitting just above Pokemon Quest for total downloads. According to the most recent data, Pokemon Go remains the top-most-played mobile game by a wide margin with over 1 billion global downloads. Of course, the game has had 10 years to hit those numbers. However, even the relatively underhyped Pokemon Sleep is sitting at 30 million downloads after 3 years.
Perhaps the fairest comparison here in terms of gameplay is Pokemon Unite, a MOBA that’s also heavily focused on PvP gameplay. After five years, Unite is sitting at 200 million downloads. This proves plenty of Pokemon players are interested in a PvP-focused game available on Switch and mobile. So, Pokemon Champions arguably has a ways to go before it secures the kind of fanbase you might expect the go-to competitive Pokemon game to have. And there’s a reason for that. Well, two reasons really.
First, Pokemon Champions is arguably much more niche than other Pokemon mobile games. It is focused almost entirely on turn-based battles, meaning there’s less gameplay variety than something like Pokemon Go or even Pokemon TCG Pocket. Only players invested in competitive Pokemon battles have a strong incentive to play Champions. This isn’t necessarily an issue, as Pokemon can certainly afford to have a more niche game in its arsenal. But I do think one fix could easily bring more players to Champions.
A Slow Start Proves that Pokemon Champions Needs Single-Player Content
Pokemon has always had an interesting tension between single-player and multiplayer content. Despite its origins as a single-player RPG, the Pokemon franchise loves finding ways to force community between players. This issue shows up again in Champions, which is a game entirely focused on PvP gameplay. If you prefer a solo gaming experience, there’s little reason why Pokemon Champions would appeal to you. Unlike many other Pokemon games, there’s no option to battle against a CPU opponent outside of early tutorial missions. It requires being online, playing against other people, to engage.
Being a home for turn-based competitive Pokemon battles is kind of the whole reason Pokemon Champions exists. So it’s not necessarily surprising that the game doesn’t offer single-player content. But I do think it’s likely one of the main reasons the game is off to such a slow start. Most other Pokemon mobile games offer plenty to do outside of battling or trading with other players. Even Pokemon TCG Pocket, which is often criticized for not having enough to do, offers solo battles to hone your Pokemon card skills before throwing you into the fray against other real-life competitors.
As it stands, Pokemon Champions offers very little content outside of battles. Compared to other mobile games, even its daily login incentives feel skippable. The daily pulls for new Pokemon are only enticing if you don’t transfer your team from Pokemon Home. And daily missions largely revolve around battling and pulling for said Pokemon, with rewards that don’t really feel worth your time. As such, there’s just not much to draw players to the game, let alone keep them if they’re not already dedicated competitive players.
If nothing else, adding a CPU battle option would give players a lower-stakes way to test new strategies before facing off against actual players. But adding more solo content could also expand the game beyond its relatively niche, PvP audience. Of course, that may not be how The Pokemon Company wants this game to function. Perhaps having a game with fewer downloads that serves a specific purpose is the plan. But personally, I’d love to see a bit more in the way of things to do in Pokemon Champions without facing off against other players. And I don’t think I’m the only one.
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