Pokémon Champions, a new multiplayer game based on "core series battling," has been confirmed to be in development. The announcement was made during this year's Pokémon Presents, an annual livestream that honors Pokémon Day every February 27.

Today, The Pokémon Company announced that it is developing a new Nintendo Switch and mobile game focused on core series battles called Pokémon Champions. The new game will feature the turn-based battle system found in traditional Pokémon games, with features like Mega Evolution and Terastallization both available. The game will also have compatibility with Pokémon HOME, allowing players to bring their Pokémon from past games into battle.

Game Freak is heading the project, with Pokémon Works handling actual production. No release date was announced for the new series.

Why Now Is The Right Time For Pokémon Champions

Pokémon Champions Competes With Pokémon Showdown, Offers A Permanent Home For VGC Battles

Pokémon Champions follows in the tradition of Pokémon Stadium, a Nintendo 64 game focused on core series battling without any of the other RPG aspects. Pokémon Champions and Pokémon Stadium share many similarities, with players able to bring in Pokémon from their other games. The game also seems to focus on the 2v2 style of battling used in the VGC competitive format, which leads to some speculation as to whether Pokémon Champions will be the future permanent home for the VGC format.

Another interesting aspect is that Pokémon Champions is available on mobile platforms. One of the primary ways players practiced VGC battles was through the Pokémon Showdown website, which allowed players to create customized versions of Pokémon and battle them in 2v2 formats.

Pokémon Showdown was available via mobile browsers and is widely used for unofficial ranked play and practicing Pokémon battles against human opponents. The Pokémon Company has always turned a blind eye to Pokémon Showdown, but this new game is definitely a competitor to the bootleg system.

Our Take: A Long Overdue Home For Pokémon Battles

This Is The Biggest Announcement of Pokémon Day

One of the major aspects of core series Pokémon games is the traditional turn-based battle system that plays out like a combination of chess and rock-paper-scissors. While core series battling has evolved with new layers added to every game, it remains the basis of the popular VGC competition hosted at every Pokémon World Championship and other competitive events. But with Pokémon Legends games deviating from that system and limited-time gimmicks introduced in almost every game, there is a need for a central home for this kind of battling.

The prospect of turn-based Pokémon battles on mobile devices is amazing for the long-term health of the VGC format of the game. Assuming that Pokémon Champions is properly ed, this could be a huge addition to the Pokémon franchise and should help shut down lingering complaints about the lack of a National Pokédex in games.

With multiple battle gimmicks ed, Pokémon Champions will also open up dream matches only seen in the anime to date. Imagine a Mega Evolved Charizard battling against a Gigantamax Cinderace or a Terastallized Ogerpon. Pokémon Champions is the Pokémon Stadium successor we've been waiting for.