The next Online Competition in Pokemon Champions will begin at 20:00 UTC on April 30, and players can look forward to a free Venusaur for participating. The freemium Pokemon battle simulator launched earlier this month on the Nintendo Switch, with a mobile phone version to come in the future. Pokemon Champions is meant to serve as an all-purpose battle simulator for competitive players, and will be the official game used for official Pokemon tournaments for the future.
While fans have criticized the state Champions launched in, additions like more Pokemon, items, and battle gimmicks like Z-moves and Terastalizing have been promised for future updates. In the meantime, the reduced pool of Pokemon and items have developed a meta of their own, especially with the new Mega forms from Pokemon Legends: Z-A getting abilities for the first time.
Pokemon Champions Proves This is the Best Generation of Starters
Out of Pokemon’s 9 generations, one set of starters stands above the rest and Pokemon Champions proves that these are the best starters in the series.
Registration Begins for the Pokemon Champions Global Challenge 2026 Masters Division
Checking the rules when registering for the Global Challenge 2026 Masters Division competition in Pokemon Champions explains the newest official tournament within the app, and reveals that completing 3 battles in the contest will reward players with a free Venusaur. Registration for the Global Challenge will last from 20:00 on April 23 to 19:59 (UTC – 6:00) on May 3, 2026. The event itself will start a week after signups, at 20:00 on April 30 and will end at 19:59 (UTC – 6:00) on May 3. Venusaur will be the second free Pokemon distributed in Champions, after the game gave out a free Dragonite to all players at launch.
The tournament will use the Double Battle format and teams must consist of four Pokemon. Mega Evolution will be allowed. It will be a ladder-style competition, and players will be allowed to participate in up to 15 battles per day and 45 battles total over the course of the tournament. After results are calculated, players who completed at least 3 battles, regardless of performance, will receive the free Venusaur. To help players bolster their teams a little as they enter the competition, a “Special Roster” of Pokemon for the Global Challenge has become available for players to recruit, and will last until the Global Challenge ends.
Pokemon Champions Global Challenge 2026 Special Roster Recruitable Pokemon
- Venusaur
- Charizard
- Ninetales (Kanto and Alola)
- Meganium
- Feraligatr
- Politoed
- Tyranitar
- Pelipper
- Torkoal
- Hippowdon
- Abomasnow
- Emboar
- Excadrill
- Whimsicott
- Vanilluxe
- Volcarona
- Talonflame
- Meowstic (Male and Female)
- Aurorus
- Incineroar
- Lycanroc (Midday)
- Oranguru
- Sandaconda
- Basculegion (Male and Female)
- Maushold (Family of Three and Four)
- Farigiraf
- Archaludon
Venusaur’s been one of the stronger starters in the Champions meta, with its Hidden Ability “Chlorophyll” doubling its speed in sunlight. Pair it with a Pokemon with a sun-summoning ability in doubles like Mega Charizard Y or Torkoal, and the Seed Pokemon will go from a slow but heavy hitter to a genuinely speedy monster that can set up status effects with moves like Sleep Powder or hit like a truck.
New Questions Added!
GameRant Quiz
Easy (15s)Medium (10s)Hard (5s)Permadeath (5s)
While Champions isn’t currently the all-encompassing battle app that it was hyped up to be, it has been a good tool for otherwise casual players to try their hand at competitive battling. Handing over a strong Pokemon like Venusaur could help a lot of those players learn more about taking advantage of weather or setting up with status moves. It’s also nice to see the Venusaur line get some love before the Charizard line, as the Flame Pokemon is infamous for how much The Pokemon Company relies on it in advertising. Maybe Blastoise will get some love in the next Online Competition.
