It’s Officially The Dawn of a New Era for Pokemon Legends: Z-A

by

The release of Pokemon Champions happened during a busy period for competitive Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players. As the Scarlet and Violet season ended and new events were planned, it became clear that Pokemon Champions would be the central platform for competitive battling – a change that has both advantages and disadvantages. Because the game is so new, the most effective strategies are constantly changing, which creates a challenge. However, Pokemon Champions will also need to be able to host major tournaments like the 2026 World Championships.

Look, I’ve been playing Pokemon Champions and honestly, it’s had a rocky start. They launched with a really limited number of items, and the Pokedex felt pretty empty with less than 200 Pokemon. Plus, a lot of the Pokemon they showed off before the game actually weren’t even in it at launch! Yesterday, the first new season finally dropped, but it’s left a lot of us feeling pretty disappointed. It also feels like they’re making big changes that fans aren’t really digging, and it kind of feels like the end of how we knew the game.

Pokemon Champions Resets All Ranks With Season 2

The second season of Pokemon Champions doesn’t introduce any new Pokemon or items, which is disappointing for many players. What’s more frustrating is that all progress from the previous season (Season M-1) has been reset. Like many online games, Pokemon Champions doesn’t carry over player rank, so starting back at Poke Ball Rank 4 is normal – it’s not a glitch, just how the game works.

New Questions Added!

TopMob Quiz

Easy (15s)Medium (10s)Hard (5s)Permadeath (5s)

—

QUESTION 1/1

Results

0

—

More Games

Okay, so the ranked battle system in Pokemon Champions is a huge shift from Scarlet and Violet. In those games, you’d lose a bit of rank each season, but you didn’t have to rebuild from zero. This new system? Totally different. If I grind my way to Champion Rank in Season M-1, I don’t get to keep much of that progress. I’m basically starting all the way back at Poke Ball Rank next season! Honestly, it’s pretty frustrating, and here’s why…

  • Season M-1 ending didn’t bring anything new, and instead, every player’s progress was reset on May 13, 2026. This not only means everyone starts on Poke Ball Tier now, but also that Champion rank may take longer to fill based on everyone’s points.
  • Poke Ball Rank through Master Ball Rank can be a much worse grind than the first time around, because some players are newcomers, and a lot more are experienced gamers trying to reclaim their previous placement.
  • The rewards for placements are very underwhelming, with the Master Ball Rank only awarding 10,000 VP and nothing else.
  • The main focus now is Pokemon Champions‘ new Season M-2 battle pass, which does include new rewards, but cosmetics and Pokemon are paid-only. The game’s monetization hasn’t been received very well so far, and this may reinforce that feeling.
  • The best Pokemon in Pokemon Champions have been the same for a whole month, with very few variations. The meta is adjusting pretty fast, but the strongest picks have been quite consistent. The difference is that, now, you can face Mega Charizard Y sun teams in Pokemon Champions in Poke Ball Tier, whereas this would only happen in Ultra Ball before.
  • Some matches before Master Ball Tier may be against bots, which is not very rewarding or interesting to play.

The recent changes have removed a key element of progress in Pokemon Champions, specifically the ability to build strong teams, and we need to get that back. While a fresh meta could be exciting, it’s currently the same as it was at the end of last season. To make matters worse, there are no new rewards for reaching the same ranks, like extra storage space. If this reset happens every month for the game’s lifetime, it could become frustrating because progress doesn’t feel lasting.

Season M-2 marks the end of the game’s initial phase, and the next season will continue with a similar format. Players aren’t thrilled with this right now, and it’s unclear if the developers will adjust the ranking system to prevent players from losing all their progress with each new season.

Read More

2026-05-14 23:05