Psychic Noise and Imprison EditionPokémon Champions is a free-to-play online battle simulator available on Switch with a mobile release later. It features ranked, casual and private battles for both singles and doubles, and will be used for VGC tournaments in 2026.>NewsNewest Patch Notes: https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/71525/Global Challenge 2026 Special Roster Released: https://serebii.net/pokemonchampions/recruit/globalchallenge2026specialroster.shtmlChampion Tier & Master ranks 1-3 unlocked for current seasonFree Machamp mystery gift code: CHAMP10NMobile release possibly leaked for June: https://xcancel.com/CentroLeaks/status/2041378934739108104>Resources and useful linkshttps://champions.pokemon.com/en-us/Community Tournaments usage data: https://pikalytics.com/Ladder usage data: https://pokechamdb.com/enNew Player Guide(NEW PEOPLE READ THIS):https://rentry.org/pcg-guide (now taking suggestions and feedback)Quick FAQ>Do I need my own Pokémon to play?No, the game features a recruitment system, but transferring from Home is recommended to save time and resources.>What makes the game so much more accessible than before?All aspects of a Pokémon are customizable with VP, a currency earned simply by playing the game. IVs are also removed.>Is there single player content?No.>Do I need a Nintendo Online subscription?No.>What's the starter pack?US$6.99 one time purchase for 50 training tickets (fully train for free), 30 Teamate Tickets, 50 extra box space and the LGPE trainer music.>Is anything locked behind a paywall?So far everything gameplay relevant is also purchasable with VP. Mega Kalos starters and E-Floette require ZA transfer.>/pcg/ OP pastebin (use this if making new thread):https://pastebin.com/d2FJZdPhPrevious Thread: >>59245881
Have you taken the snowpill yet?
>>59249214Sell it to me.
>balatro-normies have learned that you're supposed to enjoy pokemon as a game of risk management over a series of battles rather than a game of testing wits on a battle-per-battle basis.it's so over
Do you guys enjoy playing singles?
>>59249249
>>59249261I haven't touched it yet. Probably will in an hour. I'm thinking of what secondary mega to use alongside Greninja. I'm leaning towards Dragonite.
>>59249263ah, the best spread move in the game that's not called Rock Slide
>>59249261Just 6v6. BSS/3v3 are too unga-bunga "just bring the strongest sweepers around and mash X" for me to enjoy, so I've fully moved to doubles for Champions.
>>59249276>BSS/3v3 are too unga-bunga "just bring the strongest sweepers around and mash X"The top singles players are all bringing walls
Shit game
>>59249214I'm waiting for Glaceon to appear in the ranch so I can do double blizzard + evasion cheese
i reached 2k elo, now what
>have all the switch mainline games so I don't get that daily dopamine hit from recruitment because I already have every competitive mon
>>59249209Is there any downside to forfeiting instead of simply losing?
>>59249389Less/no VP.
>>59249387>Have just the mainline 3ds games so I can bring in the ones I really need while still getting the thrill of getting something I want from recruitment
>>59249426>Also only have the 3DS games>running out of box space and Home subscription is ending
>>59249387raichu in a beast ball was my best pull
>>59249249Use Aurora Veil. Click Blizzard. Win.
>>59249214I used a snow team at launch but I felt like it wasn't really worth it with all the weather wars going on. Kept Froslass if I thought I could get a chance to spam Blizzard, but needing to fit in Glaceon felt restrictive.
>Tsareena the FeistyOh yeah this is a good pull
>Run into specific setup a lot>Put dedicated counter on my team>Immediately disappears from matchmakingLike clockwork
What were they thinking? This is far too hard for a kid's game. Fuck this piece of shit.
Made the executive decision to name my Tauros Aqua Breed "Tauros Blaze".There's gotta be at least someone who falls for it.
>>59249214I'm waiting for Eiscue
>>59249473Rotom-Frost is better than Glaceon, most of the time. Outside of those two I haven't had much success with adding another Blizzard button to the team. Probably need to wait for Arctozolt or another good slush rusher to really make snow work.
>keep sending out M-Aggron to try to fight ZardYLmao I need to stop trying to hard-mode if I need to get to MB in time
>Archaludon outspeeds my fucking Swift Swim basculegion under tailwindI hate that fucking move so much
>>59249591It should def be a +1 stage
>>59249591I miss snatch a lot.
>>59249591Archaludon should not have the speed state it does. The fuck you mean this bridge is 5 points faster than Meganium
Just started playing and only want to use whatever Pokemons I got from recruit.Already got Pelipper, Sinistcha, Incineroar, Sylveon, M-Scizor, and M-Dragonite. This should be a solid team for Doubles? If I somehow get Mamoswine maybe I'll switch the Sylveon.
>>59249734May wanna swap Sylveon for another mon that can take advantage of rain like say Arch or Basc.
>>59249734Yes that's an alright team, though it's kind of weak to kingambit which is popular. Basculegion could also be somewhat of an issue, so you'll probably want an electric move on dragonite. You might be better off sticking to sylveon because it's less vulnerable than mammo, being a fairy type, and your team is leaning towards fat with the sinistcha.
>make a team with some underused niche mons>lose 100 elo points>slowly add more meta stuff back in to stem the bleeding>left with a bunch of meta shit + 1 fun mon by the time it can win games
>>59249734sylveon, scizor and dragonite are a very strong core to build around. Scizor and dragonite pair well as they cover each others weaknesses and top teams have ran that pair. Sinistcha and incin are strong supports that can slot in almost any team. Pelipper is kind of awkward as although scizor/dragonite love to operate in rain, you don't have arch and basc that really make pelipper good and without them its a bit of a wasted slot. If you can't replace sinistcha and sylveon for arch and basc (which would give you an S-tier team that has seen play by pro players in the latest tournament), then its best to replace pelipper with something else that fits the team.
>>59249756Basically every successful team that is running a non-meta mon is because that mon covers a specific weakness the rest of your team has. Like how the guy who got 1# in the global challenge used Ariados specifically to counter Sneasler. It's extremely rare that anyone can find success with a full team of non-meta picks.
>>59249746>>59249768>>59249749Pelipper is just an afterthought where I want to have a pokemon that can support both Scizor and Dragonite. I havent played much, but I feel Sylveon didnt perform a lot and I have a hard time dealing with Steel types. Mamoswine is my first thought for its ground type, and I need a fast pokemon since I mostly use Sinistcha for Rage Powder and Imprison. Maybe Sneasler will be better but I haven't got it yet.
>>59249788Sylveon probably the best fairy attacker if you aren't using Floette as one of your megas.
>>59249788Sylveon should be your main damage dealer honestly. Right now, fairy feather pixilate boosted Hyper Beam Sylveon is a legitimate threat people are preparing for.You ever see people talking about ariados being a niche pick right now? Guess who is sitting beside him, its sylveon.On another note, if you want Sneasler just ask. Maybe we should revamp the OP FAQ section to further highlight you can just ask for pokemon in the thread
>>59249788The only steel types you're typically going to see are gambit, arch, and maybe a corvi. Gambit can be handled easily enough with a fighting move, but arch is going to be tougher and there isn't a clean answer from your 6 besides a sylveon hyper beam or mega dnite draco.
>>59249390Really? I swear I get the same amount
>>59249793>>59249796>>59249798Okay I'll keep this party for now and play until I fight against harder pokemon, or my own Pokemons just be useless.I want to keep only using recruited pokemons so I'll refrain for asking it here, but thanks a lot!
>>59249389>>59249390>>59249807Depends on how fast you forfeit. The earliest is like 5 VP or something
>>59249788sylv will get more work done than mamoswine, pair it with sinistcha and use rage powder or trick room so it gets to attack. Put close combat on scizor for steel types.
This game is going to be in a weird spot since it has to stick around because of VGC but won't draw in the casual crowds with it's current offerings. Interested to see how the mobile release goes but I think casuals are going to bounce right off after the first week.
>>59249506Update: Someone fell for it.
>>59249978lmao
>>59249978Basado
>>59249978hehehehe
>>59249978Subarashi
>>59249960yeah most pokemon fans are campainshitters sadly. competitive pokemon is too hard for them
>>59249960Depends. I actually enjoy it more than Pocket. It might be overwhelming for some with all the tools at disposal, but that's the charm about it
>>59249960i think im too high elo for casual shitters anyway so who gives a fuck
>>59249456I used to try this in gen7 VGC, it wasn't a very good strat. For how much support I'd give alolatales it was too frail to do anything with the setup.
>getting a ton of ribbons for mons I will use but will never display the ribbonsam i wrong for this?
Noob here. How do you actually make good plays? I feel like a lot of this shit just boils down to 50/50s
>>59250138have you read the new player guide? i spent a lot of time writing it :(But in all seriousness, good plays are just being one step ahead of your opponent, and this comes even before the match starts. You come in a match knowing>alright if they lead sneasler, i always lead X and Y>okay i know for a fact that half their teams is slow, so i can expect a trick room incomingwhen both sides know what you are doing, then >https://youtube.com/shorts/WKfKkLLj4hc?si=2z6kddBLv90oBAa9At the highest level, its reads upon reads upon reads, like this video shows. But for your level, just understanding your teams and what threats are there to it is enough
>>59250138Knowing how an opponent's team operates and putting them in a situation where they cannot make a move that gives them a good position. For instance, let's say you're against a perish trap gengar team. You can assume they will open with gengar + incineroar or something similar that will immobilize or KO one of your slots. If you open with someone with psychic that can one shot gengar + EQ chomp with a white herb (assuming incin intimidate), you'll have a good shot or guaranteed KO on gengar no matter who they fake out. I think garchomp is like 50%+ to one shot. You have now put them in a situation where no matter what they do, they're having to react to what you led and cannot reliably get off their plan.
>>59249978Now that's nice.
>>59250138every move is an exercise in game theory. ie given the space of all likely moves the opp will take, what move gives me the best results across all outcomes? or more aptly, what move doesn't instantly lose me the game if opp happens to do x
>>59249978All according to keikaku.
>>59250138While there are times where it is a 50/50, those are few and far between and usually the last couple turns of a game where it's boiling down to "we each have two Pokemon left at low health, who is going to Protect, who is going to attack." Very often early game 50/50s aren't 50/50s at all. There are moves you can make that advance your position, moves that hold it, and moves that can make you instantly lose the game. Your opponent has those moves too. Think, what move makes my opponent lose the game? He's probably not going to pick those. Think, what is the worst thing that could happen if I make a play? If it's "everything stays roughly the same" it's a good play. If it's "this might get me a KO, but it could completely lose me the game" it's a bad play.Really it just boils down to heuristics and game knowledge. After tens of thousands of games of Pokemon across six generations of VGC you just get a feel what moves your opponents can and will make and can pick a safe moves that cover all your bases.
>>59250138>how do I make good playsLearn to avoid making bad plays. No, really. Learn to hedge, basically make plays with the least amount of bad outcomes. Once you have a grasp of not throwing games you can start making the risky flashy plays that give you those good endorphins.
>>59250109Ninetales is supposed to set veil and then swap out to a good hyper offense mon. I don't think it had a really good partner for Blizzard spam back in SuMo. Even now there aren't many amazing options. It's telling that outside of legendaries and megas Glaceon is the best Blizzard button in the game. Maybe that anon that wants Glaceon to get Slush Rush has a point. It'd be a good cleaner if it had any speed to it. Besides that I think Arcozolt goes hard because of typing alone. And obviously Iron Bundle is pretty good.
i really did try slush rush A-Sandslash back the SuMo. I really did.It fucking blew. We need more slush rush users
>>59250283>let's make an Ice sweeper with two 4x weaknesses Beartic is okay from what I hear.Are there any Special rushers? I feel like only Rain and Sun get those. I could see why Sand doesn't but Ice was always primarily special.
>>59250318>Are there any Special rushers?Arctozolt. With an extravagant base 90 special attack.
this game really needs a chat function so i can cuss out nips when they rockslide flinch me
>>59250389The gaijin fears big rock.
So...Gravity + Sleep Powder feels like a war crime.
>took the biggest fucking risk v. Sneasler with lead Rotom-H Electro Web >it paid off cause he didn't have White HerbHoly shit I could've lost right there.
>>59250425Also it was a Archuladon core with Pelipper and Mega Starmie, but I guess he chose to bring Garchomp instead? Probably cause I have a Sandstorm Core as well. Either ways, him not bringing Archuladon won me the game since that fucker always walls me somehow.
>>59249497huh? you're matched with opponents in the same tier as you
>>59250348Whoa. They can't let dracozolt in the game
>let myself get memed into running scale shot on my dragonite>was initially wart because it seemed like inviting rng bullshit>"the speed will be important, trust">has missed 3/4 times I've used it>got 2 hits when it actually connected when 3 or more won the gameThis move is so garbage. I'm not gonna take it off until it does something though.
>>59250425Lot of sashed sneaslers out there for some reason.
>>59250563100% his ass is gonna go back to White Herb after that.
>>59250280Early Hail or Snow was just different flavor of Sandstorm. It doesn't revenge give Def boost if my memory serves
I'm done trying to like this game. I build a team, I match with its perfect counter. I build another team, THAT gets countered. The hatred Pokemon Champions has for me is cosmic. I just want to win every now and then without getting instantly matched against Champion players on smurf accounts. I don't see how this game survives much longer if 90% of the player base feels like i do.
I don't get why people go tryhard in casual matches, unless they're just testing new competitive teams.
>>59250591that's a format that is not 6v6 for you.
>>59250591It doesn't seem mathematically possible for 90% of the player base to feel like you do.
>>592506036V6 has been dog shit for over a decade already because of Lando. The moment they allow that ugly fuck onto Champions will be the moment the game warps around it.
>only got my Mega Tyranitar out in the field>versus my opponent's Primarina and Mega Kangaskhan>Mega Kangaskhan is close to losing since it was spamming Double Edge to wipe the rest of my team>use Rock Slide>beats Mega Kangaskhan and brings Primarina down to around 50% health>Primarina uses its Sitrus Berry>use Rock Slide again>causes it to flinch>use Rock Slide one more time>it's down to 3% health but sand beats it>winWhat the fuck? I should've lost that battle.
>>59250591Okay, if youre constantly getting hard countered, your running teams weak to the big meta mons, meaning garchomp, basc, incinaroar, sneasler, Charizard y, archaludon, etc. you need to actually use pokemon that cover the big threats and cover each other
>>59250591Your team is simply shit if it loses easily to certain matchups
>>59250593Last time I tried casuals I was fighting some champion rank dude. This is one of these games where the casual mods is sweatier than the ranked for some reason
>want to make a Camerupt team>TR + manual sun is too slow>no Lilligant for Chlorophyll After You>bringing Torkoal just for sun feels redundant unless I do a full support set that happens to have EruptionThis is frustrating. I'm also really feeling the IV loss, because there's several Pokemon with TR/Sunny Day I could IV to be slower than M-Camerupt so they could get the sun off first, instead of having to use one of the frail Pranksters.
>winstreak in singles finally broken by Toxapex and Corviknight stallNow this is the singles I rememberShould've brought the washing machine
>>59250669Just lead with Farig + Torkoal and use M Camerupt as your backup when one of them dies.
Is it at all viable to make a hazards team?
>>59250690In doubles? No. Singles? Not nearly as strong as 6v6 but Stealth Rock is still fairly common.
>>59250690Less switching around in 3v3 singles, but the extra damage is appreciated and it breaks Focus Sash which is more common than in 6v6, though it also tends to be on the lead mon anyway
>first season is about to end>Tatora is still ugly
>>59250724You don't get it, being ugly makes her unintimidating. Imagine you're a new player: you're already nervous about heading onto the ladder for the first time, and the person trying to calm your nerves is the cute girl you have a crush on; imagine going on a big losing streak and already feeling demoralized before going back to the main menu and hearing "ready to take a break?" from her. I'd never come back.
Anyone had any success with Imprison? Was thinking about running Imprison and Protect on a mon since everyone is running Protect.
>>59250690Glimmora is really your only bet in Doubles.
>>59250829Its nice but you shouldn't be running it just to seal that. There's a lot more valuable stuff to lock away on your giraffe
how to counter rage powder/follow me teams?
>>59250834Was running it on A-Ninetales so that I could helping hand Mega Glalie afterwards and just wipe the board.
>>59250724Easily the worse Pokegirl in the entire series
>>59250829Imprison is really only used as an anti-trick room tech since it bypasses mental herb for some reason. If you want to fuck over protect then run something with feint.
>>59250837Mega Skarmory
How do you beat a Farigraf and Blastoise opening without having your own giraffe?
>>59250849Look for a mon that 1hkos bulky Farig, there's a few. Blastoise doesn't like getting hit by supereffective moves before it moves since water spout is the gospel.
>>59250849lead sun or two water resists and double attack into the farigfeint + a stronger attack into the blastoiseimprison the farig with your own trick room settertaunt the farig and pray no mental herbmold breaker tinkaton (fake out hits through armor tail)
>>59250878Blastoise has Fake out
Why aren’t my favorite shitmons available for use yet
>>59250883Feint would also only work with mold breaker
>sableye>encore my aerodatcyl to re-use Tailwind>disable my Garchomp's Rock Slide>encore the Rock SlideHoly shit. How do you deal with that gremlin?>only two weakness
>>59250899floettedaddy
>>59250899Giraffe.This game is really luck based. What pops up on team preview is either something you have an advantage against, or you don't. It's almost NEVER the case that nobody has an inherent advantage.
>>59250899It can't do anything to Dark types. Also you should pretty much always switch after using status moves like Tailwind to scout for the obvious Encore.
>>59250908>Also you should pretty much always switch after using status moves like Tailwind to scout for the obvious Encore.I will definitely keep that in mind>can encore Protect as wellYeah, this is one annoying gremlin
>>59250899just attack lol it’s frail as shit
>>59250899>two weaknessesWhat, are we counting scrappy?
>>59250907>>59250908Nice try, I run his mega to lose Prankster.
>try out ZardY + Venu duo>keep missing the Sleep Powder on crucial pokemon>get tail winded/trick roomed to hellMaybe I'm just not lucky to use this
>>59250885Blastoise CAN run fakeout.But it likes to run protect and 2 coverage moves like Aura Sphere and Dark Pulse.Can you even tell me what percentage of Blast run fake out?It's few, you can make that call if you feel like it.
>>59250923For whatever reason, I somehow thought Dark doesn't resist Dark
>>59250927Don't run Venu.Zard Y is really, really good all by itself. Pair it with Mega Floette and you have the power combo.
>>59250928>Can you even tell me what percentage of Blast run fake out?You just look at the ingame battle data section
>>59250933
>>59250669honestly mega camerupt hits hard enough without sun, but you can try sableye to guarantee it if you want>>59250679you need like 2-3 wallbreakers for singles because japan loves stall. honestly even something like horn drill or guillotine is pretty effective because they waste multiple turns recovering or setting up
>>59250927Ignore this retard >>59250933I run prankster sableye with Sunny Day (instead of Rain Dance) as a backup sun setter. You can pair it with Venusaur (who should run earth power instead of a gimmicky sleep powder). My sableye runs SwagPlay, with encore as well so you can pretty easily disrupt other special attackers, and punish ghosts that Venu can't hit. This is in the 1800-2000 range
>>59250938Yes, that anon is that powerful. Two megas at the same time. Deal with it!
>>59250938>Ai upscaledSoulless just like people who pay wolfey for early access to his bullshit meta teams.
>>59250975I've not seen a single person trying to run his meme perish trap team.
>>59250938>>59250971>why no, I don't pay attention to the top pairing with the emiirically best matchup into the metaWho's the retard here?Don't run Venusaur, it's not capable of doing what you want consistently. It had a hard fall off after the start of the regulation.
Charizard Y is almost always paired with a speed control mon like Aero now. Venu as it's partner fell off hard after the first week.
>>59250928And yet somehow every blastoise I've run into has been fake out to disrupt while the giraffe trick rooms
>>59250990Exactly, the teams that are doing really will have also have a second mega on tap to beat Charizard's bad matchups, which are many because everyone has anti-Zard tech going so far as to run rock moves on mons you don't expect.If you haven't seen rockslide or rocktomb Sneasler at least once then you're not playing much.Solo Zard Y is, according to data in Bo3, losing more than 50% of the time against quite a lot.
I'm almost to masters on an account where the only move I press is rock slide. My team is ttar, excadril, mega grenigger, mega aero, scarf garchomp. Last slot doesn't even matter (it's aggron)I just rockslide. I just win
>>59251017Based. I gave up my rock sliding ways for a rain team because I hadn't gotten a flinch in 10 games, but keep soldiering on.
>>59250928Literally ever single toise I've ran into is using fakeout. >>59251029It's just funny cause people expect me to actually play the game so they waste turns taunting and shit then they just get rocked by the mega aero chomp rockslide spam
>>59251034Roughly 45%.Run something for that, either fake out the Blast with your Sneed or bring Tsareena. Your Farig killer will If you have Gambit, you may even consider leading that because Farig will think twice about setting up TR.You have so many options to stop the T1 play that you have already identified. Why don't you capitalize on that knowledge?
>>59251009>will have also have a second mega on tap to beat Charizard's bad matchupsThis is how most good teams are built right now. It makes the opponent have to guess which mega you will bring.
