Pokemon Champions is out now, and I’m sure a lot of you are excited about it but I, for one, shall not be enjoying this pocket monster battling extravaganza. At least for now.
I attended PAX East late last month and was able to get some hands-on time with Pokemon Champions after waiting a lot longer than expected. Media and content creators get to enter PAX a bit earlier on the first day during a media hour. I spent that entire hour and then some waiting to play Pokemon Champions. This lesson in patience taught me that I’m not cut out to be a Pokemon master in any competitive capacity, and sadly, the result was not worth the wait.
Pokemon Champions is a game made specifically for those who want to battle and test their party’s strength against friends or other trainers online. I thought that I could just apply my regular, casual fan strategy to this demo experience – picking my favorite Pokemon and winging it. That did not work at all.
The demo paired me with another player named David, who was also waiting in line. We chatted for quite some time before reaching the front of the line, both of us contemplating whether or not we should exit the line early. Our situation became a sunk cost fallacy, as we both had appointments that we’d be late for if we stayed in the line. But we’d spent so much time waiting that, surely, there would be gold at the end of this Pokemon rainbow.
Our time finally arrived, and David had assured me more than once that he wasn’t very good at competitive Pokemon battles. Either he lied (unlikely), or I am just as bad as I think I am. We faced off in two double battles, and I lost both. The first battle was actually close. We were given three pre-made teams to choose from, then were able to select four Pokemon from the six available in the selected party. You can see all six Pokemon your opponent is choosing from, but you won’t know which four they select until the battle begins.
My Hisuian Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Tyranitar, and Gardevoir almost got the job done, but failed thanks to my lack of critical thinking under pressure. And maybe these are a bad mix of Pokemon – I don’t really know. Regardless, I made a few obvious mistakes in hindsight. I rarely used stat-altering moves and didn’t try inflicting status effects until it was too late. I didn’t pair Pokemon together that could cover each other’s weaknesses either. My strategy – or lack thereof – involved using brute force when it wasn’t necessary. Instead of switching Pokemon out to avoid type disadvantages, I’d leave them in and try to figure out a situation that was actively falling apart. Feraligatr put up a good fight as my final Pokemon, but it fainted before securing the win.
The game provides 45 seconds for players to choose their moves, and I panicked quite a bit, forgetting basic type advantages and move descriptions, while a friendly booth worker provided a few tips that I couldn’t absorb in the moment.
The second double battle, however, was an absolute disaster. I chose Typhlosion, Mimikyu, Toxapex, and Drampa. Again, unsure of how good or bad that combination is competitively. One of my main issues stemmed from my unwillingness to switch out Pokemon. Instead, they fainted one by one because I felt I could get a KO before they fainted. Dear reader, I could not. My opponent, David, on the other hand, never hesitated to switch Pokemon out if they took hard hits or were in an unfavorable type matchup. This resulted in him having several Pokemon that were hurt, but alive.
Another problem I faced stemmed from my forgetfulness, as mentioned before. Drampa and Toxapex aren’t very fast Pokemon, but Mimikyu knew Trick Room – a move that allows slower Pokemon to act first. It might not have won me the match, but I never used it and almost always acted second, except for when I used Mimikyu’s Shadow Sneak. My Drampa faced down a two-on-one scenario in the end, as the kind booth worker assured me anything could happen. The optimism was unfounded yet appreciated.
He also gave me an undeserved “Not too bad!” after that second loss, as I received a commemorative pin and took a picture before leaving the demo station. I knew there were levels to this competitive battle scene in Pokemon, but I severely overestimated my ability to make quick, educated decisions in the middle of a battle with people watching. And this was against someone who said he wasn’t very good!
Despite being defeated twice, I genuinely had a fun time with Pokemon Champions and intend to play again at some point in the future. In fact, those public losses made me want to learn more about strategies, party comps, and competitive battling in general. If not for myself, then certainly to avoid any sort of potential embarrassment down the line. Plus, it’s a bit sad knowing that I have Pokemon sitting in Pokemon Home waiting to be pulled out again. Why not give them a chance to win a few battles with new, cool-looking animations?
I didn’t pick up Pokemon Champions at launch this month, though I feel like I’ll get it eventually. I’m not cut out to be a Pokemon master at the moment, but I feel like I should’ve done better as someone who has been playing these games since around 2002.
I didn’t need to wait in line for two hours to lose two double battles in front of a line full of people. That experience wasn’t worth the wait, but I don’t regret staying and playing because I’m now motivated to crawl out of my casual shell, even if only a little.
