5 Features Pokemon Champions Must Have

Pokemon Champions has huge potential and could become the heart of competitive Pokemon battling. Outside of this, it allows casual players to enjoy Pokemon battles and may be the bridge that gets more players to enter tournaments. That said, The Pokemon Company’s track record has some fans in doubt about Pokemon Champions. There have been some details and footage revealed for the game, but some features are still up in the air.

The Pokemon Company needs to make Pokemon Champions work. Battling has always been difficult to get into, though Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet have made this easier. By including these five features in Pokemon Champions, The Pokemon Company will give the game the best launch and a bright future.

1) Cross Saves

While The Pokemon Company has confirmed Pokemon Champions will feature cross-platform play, it has yet to be seen if cross-saves will be implemented. This feature would let players play the game across multiple platforms while using the same account and continuing progress on each. Allowing players to switch between their mobile device and their Nintendo Switch consoles. Without cross-save, players will be tied to one platform.

Implementing cross-save capability would encourage more players to give the game a try. Not including this feature would limit players and leave many less willing to commit to the game. It also prevents players from losing everything if one of their platforms is lost for any reason. With a game like Pokemon Champions, having to restart or have two different profiles would be a nightmare, and this is easily preventable with cross-saves.

2) Properly Functioning Online

Working online is one of the most important things that Pokemon Champions needs. Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet suffered from flaky online, with matches even disconnecting on stream at Worlds. With the focus on battle, in particular ranked battles, Pokemon Champions’ online has to be perfect. The connection needs to run smoothly to ensure all matches can be completed.

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Another aspect of this is different playlists. Ranked is a must and allows players to test their skills. But there needs to be other options for when players want casual fun. This can include random battles, as seen in Pokemon Showdown, or rotating playlists with specific rules and modifiers. Including these allows players of all kinds to enjoy Pokemon Champions.

3) Multiple Battle Gimmicks

Every generation of Pokemon introduces a new gimmick, such as Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet’s Terastallization or Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield’s Gigantamax. With Pokemon Champions looking to be the premiere way to battle in Pokemon, all gimmicks need to return. This doesn’t mean they all need to be available at once, but they could be rotated out or chosen by players.

That said, there should absolutely be a way to use multiple gimmicks in one battle in Pokemon Champions. The Pokemon Company could hold tournaments that utilize two gimmicks, perhaps combining ones like Terastallization and Mega Evolution. This could lead to interesting battles and further increase the depth of strategy in competitive Pokemon battles.

4) Engaging Reward System

As Pokemon Champions is a multiplayer game, The Pokemon Company needs to incentivize players to keep playing outside of the thrill of battling. Giving rewards to players who win battles and continue to perform well will make them want to keep coming back. This can be customizable gear for the player’s avatar, costumes for Pokemon, or accessories for the player’s profile.

Another thing that needs to be done is to punish players who play with ill intent. This could be those who rage quit or intentionally drag out the timer when they know they’ll lose. These players need to receive penalties, and those who play honestly must receive their reward for winning the battle. This is an issue plaguing many games, and Pokemon Champions can address this problem at launch.

5) In-depth Single Player Content

While battling other players is the primary focus for Pokemon Champions, there needs to be single-player content. Pokemon TCG Pocket suffers from a lack of engaging solo content, and Pokemon Champions needs to avoid this. There are multiple routes The Pokemon Company can implement this, but following the mainline games offers an easy solution.

Including single-player challenges based on gym leaders or the Elite Four not only gives players something to do solo, but also brings in nostalgia. This can be done in seasonal increments, with the gym leaders and Elite Four from Kanto offering the first round of challenges. Events featuring Team Rocket or other teams could add additional content to enjoy.