Pokémon Champions: If you want to compete at launch, you should start preparing now

There is a fiercely competitive scene among Pokémon fans, and it is still largely centered on Scarlet and Violet. Starting on April 8, however, Pokémon Champions is likely to become the main game for competitive Pokémon players on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Anyone who wants to keep up from day one should start preparing now. First, though, players need to know which Pokémon will actually be available in the new PvP game.

There is no official list of the available roster in Pokémon Champions yet, but Bulbagarden has published an unofficial overview of the Pokémon expected to be available at launch. The information is based mainly on trailers, previews and material from the official website, and is widely seen by the community as fairly credible. Still, there is no guarantee that every Pokémon on the list will actually make it into the game.

The Bulbagarden overview currently lists 269 Pokémon in the main category and 43 Mega Evolutions, including many fan favorites as well as newer additions such as Archaludon and Hydrapple. Team building should be interesting, as some typical meta Pokémon such as Landorus and Amoonguss are still missing. There is also no sign of Mega Lucario Z so far.

Anyone looking to make quick progress in the game can already prepare their Pokémon HOME boxes based on the known list and make sure at least one functional team with the right natures and abilities is ready at launch. As for moves, the information available so far is still too limited to plan specific movesets. It has already been confirmed that moves can be adjusted in Pokémon Champions, but there is still no full overview of which moves will actually be available.