New to Pokémon Champions? Start here

The format, how a set reads, the moves every team meets, and a team to try, in five minutes.

The format in a minute

Level and teams: Every Pokémon battles at level 50. Singles: bring 6, pick 3. Doubles: bring 6, pick 4. No two Pokémon on a team can hold the same item.
Stat Points, not EVs: You get 66 Stat Points, at most 32 in one stat. Each point adds 1 to that stat at level 50.
Stat Alignment, not natures: They work like natures, with the same names: one stat +10%, another −10%. Changing one costs 500 VP.
Mega Evolution: One Mega per battle, from a Pokémon holding its own Mega Stone. Terastallization isn’t in the game yet.
Status conditions: Gentler than in Scarlet & Violet: paralysis stops a turn only 12.5% of the time, a sleeping Pokémon misses 1 or 2 turns (it wakes and moves on its second or third), and a frozen Pokémon thaws by its third turn.
Moves: In Pokémon Champions a move’s PP is (PP ÷ 5 + 1) × 4, base PP over 20 counting as 20: 8, 12, 16 or 20. PP Ups don’t change it, and Revival Blessing keeps its 1. Dozens of moves also have new power, accuracy or PP of their own (what Champions changed); updates (like patch 1.2) can change moves and learnsets partway through a regulation.

Sources: Serebii (ranked rules), Champdex (Stat Points), Serebii (status), Serebii (moves); status and PP checked against Pokémon Showdown’s Champions rules.

How to read a set

Incineroar Sitrus Berry Intimidate Careful Fake Out Flare Blitz Parting Shot Protect

Pokémon: who it is; a Mega Stone holder can Mega Evolve once a battle
Item: what it holds; no two on a team can hold the same item
Ability: its passive power (a dashed box is its hidden ability)
Stat Alignment: one stat +10%, another −10% (like a nature; Careful is +Sp. Def, −Sp. Atk)
Stat Points: 66 to spend, at most 32 in a stat; each adds 1 to it at level 50
Moves: four; the site’s move boxes show type, category, power and accuracy

Every Pokémon page and the rankings show the usual set this way; “Start a team with this set” puts it in the team builder.

Moves every team meets

Fake OutGoes first (priority +3) and makes the target flinch, but only on the user’s first turn out.
ProtectBlocks almost every move aimed at the user that turn (priority +4); it often fails if used twice in a row.
TailwindDoubles the Speed of your side for 4 turns, the turn it’s used included.
Trick RoomFor 5 turns the slower Pokémon move first; priority still comes before it.
Follow MeDraws the foes’ single-target moves to the user this turn (priority +2).
Helping HandYour partner’s move does ×1.5 this turn (priority +5).
IntimidateLowers both foes’ Attack one stage when the Pokémon comes in.
Heat WaveA spread move: it hits both foes, each for ×0.75 damage.

Who moves first: higher priority always goes first; between the same priority, the faster Pokémon, or the slower under Trick Room.

Teams to try

Shared Replica Teams: enter the code in the game to borrow the whole team. They were shared for the regulation shown; the team builder says if anything has changed since.