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Pokémon Champions Launch Hit by Bugs, Missing Features, and Ranked Exploits

Upanishad Sharma
Upanishad Sharma
7 Min Read
Pokémon Champions Launch Is a Buggy Mess, But The Devs Are Already Scrambling to Fix It

Pokémon Champions just dropped on Switch, and honestly, it’s been a wild ride from day one. Players are running into all sorts of bugs, missing Pokémon, weird performance issues, and even some head-scratching gameplay quirks. The developer has stepped up with a heartfelt apology and a roadmap of fixes, but right now, the game feels more like a rough draft than the polished competitive experience many hoped for.

Missing Pokémon, Mega Evolution Problems, and a Gender Bug That’s Got Fans Talking

First off, a big chunk of Pokémon fans are upset because the game launched with only 186 Pokémon – all fully evolved forms – leaving out tons of favorites. Some items that players expected, like Rocky Helmet and Heavy Duty Boots, are nowhere to be found either. To add salt to the wound, Mega Evolutions, which were hyped heavily in trailers, aren’t working properly or are missing entirely. The developers acknowledged these issues and promised fixes soon, especially targeting Mega Evolution glitches and incorrect tutorial Pokémon genders.

Speaking of genders, there’s a surprising twist that caught the community’s eye. Gallade, a Pokémon that was always male-only in past games, is showing up as female in Pokémon Champions’ tutorial. The game even uses she/her pronouns for this Gallade, leading fans to dub her a “trans icon.” It’s unclear if this was a bug or an intentional nod, but it’s definitely sparked conversations online.

Performance Woes and a Strange Switch 2 Visual Bug

Performance hasn’t been great either. The game runs locked at 30FPS on both the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, which frustrated some players expecting smoother gameplay. On top of that, Switch 2 users discovered a bizarre bug where the game won’t use its higher 4K visuals unless you undock and then re-dock the console manually. So yeah, graphics quality isn’t just automatic – you have to mess with your hardware mid-session.

Menus are another pain point, with players calling them slow and clunky. Navigating these can feel like a chore, especially when you’re trying to jump into battles quickly.

Pokémon Transfers Stuck in Limbo, and Some Are Losing Their Favorite Monsters

One of the more alarming problems is with transferring Pokémon from the Home storage app to Champions. Some players have found their Pokémon trapped in a weird “visiting” state where they can’t bring them into the game or send them back to Home. This limbo bug has caused panic, especially for folks with rare or long-loved Pokémon. While some have found temporary fixes like reinstalling Home or clearing caches, there’s no universal solution yet.

And Here’s Where It Gets Weird: You Can Basically Cheat to Keep Your Rank

Competitive players are also annoyed by a bizarre rule in Champions’ ranked battles. If you’re losing and don’t want to drop rank, you can just stall until the match timer runs out. The game then calls the match a draw – no winner, no loser, no rank lost. This “feature” is baked right into the gameplay guides, and it’s already expected that some players will build stall-heavy teams to exploit this loophole.

This goes against how timeouts usually work in competitive games, where the player ahead usually wins if time runs out. Instead, Champions hands a free pass to anyone who drags the match long enough, making ranked play feel frustrating and open to trolling.

Developers Respond With Apology and Fix Roadmap

The developer, The Pokemon Works, has apologized for the rocky launch and laid out a list of fixes coming soon. These include correcting Mega Evolution order bugs, fixing move descriptions, adjusting incorrect Pokémon genders in tutorials and coordinated teams, and resolving issues with abilities like Lightning Rod during Encore states. They’re also looking into communication errors when sending Pokémon on expeditions from Home.

While the patch notes and apologies show they’re listening, the community’s patience is running thin. Many hoped Pokémon Champions would be the future of competitive battling, but for now, it feels like a game that needs a lot more polish before it can truly shine.

So if you’re diving into Pokémon Champions, brace yourself for some quirks, missing content, and the occasional frustrating bug. But hang tight – things should get better once these patches roll out.

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ByUpanishad Sharma
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A gamer for as long as I can remember, I developed an early interest in technology. After completing my Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Westminster, I transitioned into tech journalism. I’ve previously worked at Beebom Media, where I started as a writer and later became the Lead Gaming Editor. Beyond gaming and technology, my interests include listening to audiobooks, taking long walks on the roof, and boring my friends with conversations about psychology.
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