Pokemon Champions arrived on Nintendo Switch systems in April 2026, and is also arriving on mobile devices. For competitive battlers, the concept of stripping away the story and the complexities of EV training, IV training, and breeding is an enticing one, but the game has been somewhat controversial. Limited Pokemon and item options (for its opening seasons at least), as well as some unfortunate opening bugs and concerns about the game’s place as the future home of Pokemon tournaments, meant it left a sour taste in some players’ mouths. So too, as ever, has the developing meta.
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The limited selection of Pokemon available so far is a curious mix of competitively questionable (Stunfisk, Simipour/Simisage/Simisear, Gourgeist, and so on) and some real powerhouses. Of course, the meta has quickly formed around the latter, with the inevitable result being that high-level teams are dominated by a lot of the same ones. Things have become a little repetitive for me, as other players copy teams they’ve seen YouTubers and streamers play. There’s nothing at all wrong with that, and it has given rise to some intriguing anti-meta strategies too, but it’s never very inspiring to see the same old suspects. These Pokemon are a major reason why the game could really use some new additions to change some of this. While singles battles are also a huge deal in the game, these Pokemon are chosen for their enormous influence in the doubles format.
Scratch & Peek
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as
possible.
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible.
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11
Pelipper
Looks Like Rain Again
Stats-wise, Pelipper looks like it wouldn’t be a threat at all. With no base stat above 100, and a BST of 440, it’s quite slow and weak, and isn’t very defensive either. Why is it such a force in Pokemon Champions, then? For the same reason it’s been a meta-definer since Generation 7: It’s now got the Ability Drizzle. You won’t go many matches without this pesky pelican popping up.
This Ability summons rain, which means that this seemingly-harmless pelican is the core around which rain teams are built. Whether in singles or doubles battles, it and its allies can use powered-up Water moves, Hurricanes that never miss, weakened Fire-type attacks (very nice for teammates like Scizor who would usually fold immediately to a Fire move) and Abilities like Swift Swim (which double Speed in rain) to quickly overwhelm the opposing team if they aren’t ready for rain. This is one of the most common team archetypes in the game, and one that all players will need to have a gameplan for. Simply by switching in, it can bring a swift halt to your own weather-based strategies, and with excellent moves like Tailwind, Wide Guard, Hurricane, and powerful Water STAB, it can deal stats-defying damage too. Its greatest threat is that its very existence enables some of the most potent forces in the metagame, as we’ll see.
10
Incineroar
One of the Most Dominant Starter Pokemon Ever
In doubles battles in particular, there are certain assets that can make a Pokemon super useful. Solid attacking stats can be important, as well as Fake Out to disrupt opponents and the excellent Hidden Ability Intimidate, which cuts their attack. Incineroar has all of these, along with further utility in Parting Shot, which allows it to further weaken its foes and switch out to an ally.
Base 115 Attack means that it can pack a punch whether it’s trained in the stat or not. It can also be a nuisance in other ways, such as packing Will-o-Wisp to continue to ruin the day of opposing physical attackers. It’s got exactly the stat spread and other assets it needs to be a formidable force. It’s a Pokemon that can be simply splashed onto most teams when you’re not sure who to add next, and will usually do you proud. It’s a menace that so many of us love to hate, and it has very high usage for a reason.
9
Sableye
Can The Ghostbusters Come And Take This Thing Off My Screen?
Sometimes, the biggest threats come in tiny, irritating packages. At just 1’08” tall, Sableye doesn’t look like much of a threat. This Dark/Ghost Pokemon’s base stats range from just 50 to 75, which is kind of terrible. If you underestimate it, though, it can cause your destruction in just a few turns.
The key to Sableye’s utility is the Ability Prankster. It gives any Status move increased Priority, which means you can heal with Recover before you’re hit again, or burn a target with Will-o-Wisp before they can move. There are a lot of very obnoxious moves in the game, and Game Freak seemed to think it was a great idea to give Sableye basically all of them. Between Fake Out, Encore, screens, Sunny Day, Rain Dance, Quash, Helping Hand, Trick, and Taunt (and even more), you can never really tell what Sableye’s going to do when you see it on the other team, but you can be sure that it’s not going to be fun to deal with.
It’s a fantastic doubles supporter, and a perfect example of the fact that stats aren’t everything in Pokemon. Its Mega Evolution, in fact, is typically worse, because despite its stat boost, it loses Prankster, which is what it’s all about. It has a useful role on a huge range of different teams, because of all the great moves it can make use of. Just note that, outside of Foul Play, it has no real offensive presence to make use of.
8
Archaludon
Not Quite What It Was, But Still A Menace
Archaludon doesn’t learn Body Press any more. This has hurt it, for sure, but it’s such an absurdly good Pokemon that it’s still super popular. It has an excellent typing in Steel/Dragon, very good stats (everywhere but Special Defense and its still-solid Speed), and is a huge danger to, and on, rain teams. Its signature move Electro Shot doesn’t need a charge turn in rain and boosts its Special Attack, allowing it to quickly snowball. If you can support it well, it can also get steadily tankier thanks to Stamina also increasing its Defense.
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Being resistant to Water, it’s an annoying opponent for rain users. It’s just a pain to remove full stop if you can’t exploit its weaknesses, making strong Ground or Fighting coverage very important on any team. Lately, I’ve been using a sun-based team, meaning that I’m typically able to take it down with boosted Fire-type special attacks, but one untimely switch into Pelipper on the opponent’s end can swiftly end my fun.
7
Whimsicott
The Pesky Prankster Puffball
Just as notorious as Sableye, I’d say, it’s Whimsicott. Another harmless-looking little critter with Prankster, it can be difficult to know which of these two supportive pests is a better fit for your particular team. They bring something slightly different to the table, with the Grass/Fairy Whimsicott lacking Fake Out but offering the potentially game-changing Tailwind. It also has a reasonable ability to deal some damage. I’m a big fan of Moonblast on it, because the Mega Charizard Y I often run is terrified of Rock Slide and Garchomp is a little faster than it (but not Whimsicott). The land shark doesn’t appreciate being blasted by the moon.
Outside of this, Whimsicott is often seen ruining opponents’ whole afternoons with manual weather setting and Encore. The latter, I’ve found, is particularly deadly, with priority Encore forcing opponents to re-use a move from the last turn even if they’ve selected a different one this turn. It’s infuriating to be on the receiving end of, especially if that Pokemon had just used something useless to repeat (like Tailwind). You can lock out half a team this way in doubles. It’s immensely powerful, which is you’ll see so much of these little critters on the ranked ladder.
6
Aerodactyl
A Speedster Making Your Whole Team Speedier
As noted, Tailwind can change the outcome of a battle in an instant. The doubled Speed effect (particularly with the dynamic Speed of Pokemon Champions) is that powerful. Early in the Champions meta, Prankster users of the move and those with general high base Speed have been very popular. In the latter category, the fastest of all is Aerodactyl.
This intimidating fossil has been one of my favorite Pokemon since Generation One. Back then, I thought it was a great idea to run Hyper Beam on it, because the enormous ray looked as though it was coming directly out of the mount of the sprite, but there are two much better reasons to use Aerodactyl today: the ludicrously fast Tailwind, and the ludicrously fast Rock Slide.
When outspeeding both opponents in a doubles match and hitting both with Rock Slide, it’s quite likely that one of the two will flinch. I’ve seen Aerodactyls stay in play for the whole battle simply doing this over and over, and it can be extremely effective. It’s one of those No Strategy Required dastardly moves that won’t win you friends, but can quite easily win you battles. Really, the only redeeming factor here is that sometimes justice is served and Rock Slide will miss a critical target, or even double miss. RNG can be devastating in a competitive game, and Aerodactyl has become the super popular fossilized poster child for it.
5
Garchomp
You’re Going To Need Some Ice On That
Garchomp is another Pokemon that has been a huge presence in every metagame it’s been available in. Base 102 Speed has always been an important number for outpacing lots of common opponents, and with 130 base Attack, it has a very strong Earthquake and Dragon Claw and it isn’t afraid to use them. One botched Mega Evolution later, Game Freak realized that this thing needs its Speed and gave Mega Garchomp Z an absurd base 151, but until that arrives on the scene, regular Garchomp is still an ever-present danger.
In doubles play, the usual strategy of hitting a button and dealing damage with Choice Scarf Garchomp is a bit more complicated, because you don’t want to hit your ally with Earthquake. There are several ways around this, though, and this Ground/Dragon Pokemon is just as likely to be going for Rock Slide instead. This is because it can usually scare out Mega Charizard Y, one of the most popular threats in the meta.
You always need to be very wary of Ice attacks when using Garchomp, but they tend to be quite predictable. It’s an all-around excellent Pokemon, so it’s quite natural (if tedious) to continue to see it everywhere. It’ll always be very high on any tier list of the Pokemon currently in the game.
4
Sneasler
Beware of Dire Claw
A newer addition to the series, Sneasler is a Hisuian variant of Sneasel that made its debut in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. In that title, it lived up to its classification as the Free Climb Pokemon by helping the player to scale cliffs. In Champions, meanwhile, it’s more about helping Trainers climb the ranks through speed, power, and nefarious status procs from Dire Claw.
It’s not quite as fast as its counterpart Weavile, but with 120 base Speed and 130 Attack, it has a very similar role. With a speedy Fake Out and nice dual STAB coverage, it’s a strong glass cannon with solid utility to boot. Fighting and Poison typing is invaluable against a lot of the more common dangers, such as Kingambit and Mega Floette, and its Ability Unburden allows it to double its Speed when it’s used its item. Armed with either a White Herb to reset the stats lost through Close Combat or a Focus Sash to allow it to stick around, it can make itself monstrously fast. In a pinch, it can often (in my experience) rely on Dire Claw’s random chance to inflict a status to kick in, which can be debilitating enough to clinch a win that was otherwise out of reach. It’s one of the most tragic ways to lose.
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Sneasler has been a team mainstay since day one of Pokemon Champions, and an incredibly common lead. It’s such a meta favorite, in fact, that obscure Psychic-type coverage has been used to capitalize on its 4x weakness. The first time I saw an Aerodactyl pull out Psychic Fangs against my own Sneasler, I was absolutely mind blown. But that’s Pokemon Champions for you: Players using the most obscure options they have in the as-yet limited constraints of the game.
3
Basculegion
Show Your Last Respects
Now, I’m no stranger to the might of fish Pokemon. Barraskewda has been a staple on some of my recent rain teams, and I’ve nothing but respect for its commitment to enormous Speed and Attack with hilariously feeble defenses. Basculegion, however, just seems like a step too far.
Statistically, it’s not too impressive. Very average across the board, in fact, with its standout stats being 112 base Attack and 120 base HP. If you’ve encountered one in a match (which you probably have if you’ve spent more than a few minutes battling online), though, you may have found that it hit far harder than you were expecting it to. There are a few good reasons for this. Firstly, Adaptability gives it an extra boost to its Water- and Ghost-type attacks, the former of which will also often be boosted by the rain (fish are a pelican’s best friend after all). There’s also the enormous power of its STAB moves themselves, with Wave Crash’s 120 base power standing out. Along with Flip Turn and Aqua Jet, it has all the Water STAB options it needs, but what really makes it devastating is Last Respects. This Ghost-type attack becomes more powerful for each defeated ally, meaning that you can hold it in reserve to bring out late in the game to wipe out opponents.
There are a few different variants of this Pokemon you can use, from Choice Scarf Adaptability to Swift Swim and even a special attacking set (the female Basculegion’s stats are slightly different). I’ve never seen anyone try the latter, but the awesome and infuriating strength of Basculegion is known to all Champions players.
2
Charizard
Here Comes The Sun
Like Basculegion, Charizard has two potential forms with which to wreak havoc: Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y. Also like Basculegion, you’re really only going to see one of them a majority of the time. Charmander has been my favorite starter Pokemon since I first picked it in the late 1990s, and I was delighted to see that Mega Charizard Y is such a sun team powerhouse. Its alternative form is a physical attacking Fire/Dragon, but I (and a lot of the playerbase it seems) find it a little more awkward to use and not as immediately impactful as its Y incarnation.
Charizard Y might be the most fearsome and overused force in the whole meta, in fact. This is why Rock coverage is so vital, and why the aforementioned Choice Scarf Rock Slide Garchomp has ruined my hopes and dreams of extending a win streak on so many occasions. That’s the thing about a Pokemon meta, though: Players learn to counter the counters to their team, and so on. Nonetheless, Charizard Y is a simple creature that just wants to launch sun-boosted Heat Waves at both targets, and the damage it can rack up while doing so can be extraordinary. Along with a single-target attack like Weather Ball and Solar Beam for smashing incoming Water-types, it’s well-equipped to cause havoc. A little too well among the currently available roster of Pokemon, I’d say, which is why it’s absolutely everywhere. Any team you build has got to have a plan for this menace.
