On the Release of Pokémon Champions

Introduction

Hello everyone,
This is the Showdown Tier team.

Showdown Tier is a web platform dedicated to statistical analysis of the Pokémon metagame.

As many of you already know, the official release date for Pokémon Champions has now been confirmed for April 8, 2026. It has also already been announced that VGC 2026 will be played on Pokémon Champions.

Naturally, once the Pokémon Champions metagame is implemented on Showdown, Showdown Tier plans to begin analyzing it just as we do for other formats.

Since many details about Champions have not yet been fully revealed, it is possible that the official game itself will provide more detailed information than Showdown Tier in some areas. Even so, Showdown often develops its own distinct metagame, and for that reason, we believe there is still clear value in analyzing Showdown-based data.

Our Current Plan for Coverage

At the moment, our plan is to focus on Double Battles only, much like our current coverage for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

On Showdown, official Singles formats often attract fewer games than independent formats such as OU. As a result, the number of official Singles matches played on Showdown is often not large enough for reliable statistical analysis.

That said, if the official Singles format for Champions becomes popular enough on Showdown, we may decide to include it as well. This is something we plan to monitor closely after the game's release.

Early Expectations for the Double Battle Metagame

As for Double Battles, the fact that Mega Evolution will be allowed suggests that the format may feel somewhat similar to VGC 2014–2016.

At the same time, the game environment is very different from that era. Mega Kangaskhan has since been nerfed, and many new mechanics, Pokémon, and strategic elements have been added to the game.

Because of that, we are very excited to see which Mega Evolution Pokémon will emerge as the most used, which ones will achieve the highest win rates, and how the overall metagame will take shape in a modern competitive environment.

Closing Thoughts

We'll be watching the release of Pokémon Champions with great interest, and we look forward to covering its early metagame once enough Showdown data becomes available.

See you in the next column.