Nintendo shared a Switch release date for Pokemon Champions, the upcoming competitive game, and confirmed there will be a free Switch 2 update released at launch. It will debut on April 8, 2026. That’s when a free-to-start version and a copy that includes a Starter Pack. The announcement also noted the Play! Pokemon Competitions will use it for competitive matches, with Global Challenge I between May 1-4, 2026, and Indianapolis Pokemon Regional Championships between May 29-31, 2026 to be the first two to use it.
A new overview trailer also appeared to show how Pokemon Champions will work. Someone can use Pokemon Home to get characters from Pokemon Scarlet, Pokemon Violet, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and Pokemon GO and send them into this title. They can then be used to make teams of six and fight in 1v1 and 2v2 Casual, Private, and Ranked battles or Online Competitions. Doing that earns you Victory Points. Those let you train characters, buy Mega Stones, get customization items, or permanently gain access to the random Pokemon that could be recruited one-per-day in the game.
As for the Pokemon Champions Starter Pack bundle and Switch 2 update, we know what’s in that and the patch consists of as well. If someone pays for that extra, they are able to store additional Pokemon in-game for fights, get 30 Teammate Tickets, access 50 Training Tickets, and use the song “Battle (Trainer Battle.) If you get the Switch 2 update from the eShop, it will involve “enhanced visual performance.”
Here’s the latest trailer. That also confirms the Pokemon Legends: Z-A new Mega Evolutions will be present.
Pokemon Champions will come to the Switch and Switch 2, on April 8, 2026, but while both Apple iOS and Android mobile versions are also in the works, there’s no release date for those two versions yet.