Pokémon Champions starts better than expected – but two technical issues frustrate players

Pokémon Champions is here – and overall, players seem to like it quite a lot, if it were not for a few technical issues. But first, the positives: on Reddit, the new PvP Pokémon game is being received better than expected from a gameplay perspective. There is particular relief when it comes to monetization. Many had feared they would need to spend a lot of money in the “free-to-start” title to build battle-ready teams. In practice, however, there is only a paid Battle Pass, and new Pokémon can be obtained fairly quickly. Those who want to experiment with many different teams may still be tempted to pay for larger boxes.

The game’s accessibility is also being received positively. That should appeal not only to newcomers, but also to players who do not have much time to invest. Classic grind elements such as EV training, breeding and item farming are largely absent, which puts the focus much more clearly on what Pokémon Champions is actually about: battling. Some players do find the current selection of Pokémon and items a little too limited, but the more serious complaints are technical.

Pokémon Home bug overshadows the launch, while 30 fps cap draws criticism

One particularly frustrating issue involves Pokémon Home. For some players, transfers to Pokémon Champions are not working properly, leaving Pokémon stuck in a kind of limbo. As Insider Gaming reports, the transfer is aborted, the game jumps back to the start screen and the affected Pokémon appear in Home only as “visiting”. For players who had already prepared finished teams before release, that is especially irritating.

Another recurring point in the community is the game’s 30 FPS limit. It is not a total deal-breaker, but many still see it as unnecessarily restrictive. That may be because the game is also designed to run on the original Switch and later on smartphones. Even so, many players would have liked to see an optional 60 FPS mode for the Switch 2 (available on Amazon for $449).