Pokemon Champions has not had the best launch so far, with a massive bug that could essentially delete Pokemon emerging amid a plethora of other issues. Indeed, Pokemon Champions has been criticized for its Pokedex size, lackluster mechanics, and lack of features, but killing Pokemon that fans have worked diligently on to train is a whole other story.
Pokemon Champions has, more or less, been billed as the next step in competitive Pokemon battles. It will replace Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in VGC eventually, and many casual fans and competitive players have been looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone well, with competitive VGC player Justin Carris highlighting how much he has lost due to this glitch. Describing it as an unacceptable setback, Carris highlighted how he “spent hours and hours cultivating the Pokemon I would be sending to my copy of Champions” so he could grind the game, record footage, and understand the meta for his competitive coaching and consulting business. But for now, he can’t use them at all.
Answering Your Burning Questions About Pokemon Champions
Pokemon Champions FAQ: Answers to your burning questions about the new Pokemon Videogame Championship platform, including compatibility with Pokemon Home, microtransactions, and more.
How the Pokemon Champions Transfer Bug Happens
The bug occurs when transferring Pokemon you’ve caught, collected, and trained over the years from Pokemon Home to Pokemon Champions. When doing so, an Error Code will be displayed when attempting to transfer from Pokemon Home to Champions, and these Pokemon become impossible to do anything with. They are essentially in limbo or outright deleted because, once this error code displays, the affected Pokemon cannot be moved to Pokemon Champions, traded in Pokemon Home, or even moved back to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
After that initial error code, attempting to trade the Pokemon that was supposed to be sent to Champions gives a different error code, saying they are in Pokemon Champions when they are not. Attempting to move Pokemon back to Scarlet and Violet also yields an entirely separate error code. Pokemon Champions Support has responded to other users experiencing similar issues, suggesting they delete and reinstall Pokemon Home, clear the cache in Pokemon Champions, clear the cache on their Nintendo Switch, alongside several other steps, but the problem persists. It is uncertain if there are any immediate fixes, as well as whether this issue can be fixed down the road.
Obviously, this was not the launch Pokemon fans were expecting from the latest title. 2025 has been host to several exciting bits of Pokemon news and releases, including the reveal of Pokemon Winds and Waves, the release of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch, the highest-rated game ever with Pokemon Pokopia, and even the addition of Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness to Nintendo Switch Online. Many expected Pokemon Champions to stand alongside these other titles in their celebration, fulfilling its specific competitive battle niche, yet that’s not what’s happening here.
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Instead, Pokemon fans who have been treated well so far this year have been left massively disappointed by the release of Pokemon Champions. Content adjustments, bug fixes, and a plethora of other changes might see Pokemon Champions eventually be what it was designed to be, but that’s not the case for day one players.
