Pokémon Champions Ranked Battles are all about competitive battles. To climb consistently, players need to understand the current tier system, common team-building patterns, and the early metagame decisions that shape most matches.
Rewards may vary throughout the seasons, with the current patch offering various amounts of VP based on the player’s tier and rank.
1. All Pokémon Champions Ranked Tiers
It is vital to mention that only Ranked Battles have tiers. Casual and Private Battles don’t have any ranking system.
There are six tiers in Pokémon Champions, which consist of:
- Beginner
- Poké Ball
- Great Ball
- Ultra Ball
- Master Ball
- Champion
Beginner is only applicable to the tutorial and thus does not have any rewards or other details of note. The Poké Ball through Master Ball tiers each have four ranks in them. Champion is the highest tier, only available for the best players, but it does not have any the four ranks found in the previous tiers..
How to Rank Up
Given that Pokémon Champions is all about Pokémon battles, that means players may need to do the following if they ever hope to reach the Champion tier:
- Gain Knowledge of the Current Metagame: Everything that is “meta” is relevant for competitive battling for a reason. Online resources like Smogon, Victory Road, and even social media can help you find some crucial information on this front.
- Study Tournament Results: Pokémon Champions is a game about competitive battling, so there will be tournament results to find online.
- Focus on Your Team Composition: There are many different roles in both Single and Double Battles to consider, alongside various playstyles. You can’t fit everything into a single team.
- Playtest and Theorycraft: Gain experience with the Pokémon you plan on using. Also, check what other people are doing online.
- Figure Out Your Win Condition: Knowing when to let a Pokémon faint and how to preserve your current win condition is a crucial aspect of competitive Pokémon battles.
- Work On Your Prediction Skills: You need to be able to figure out your opponent’s team and try to anticipate their next move.
- Make Suitable Changes to Your Team: Swapping out Pokémon for more efficient options or just changing the stats, items, and moves for your Pokémon can go a long way to improve your team.
- Keep on Practicing: Even if you have a great team, you need to gain experience with it against other players. Figuring out good matchups and potential win conditions can go a long way in helping you rank up faster.
- Win: You only rank up if you win.
While using one’s favorites can be fun, that won’t always help a player win games.
Not all Pokémon are viable for competitive battles in Pokémon Champions
Just know that the best Pokémon and teams suited for Single Battles may not always be the best options for Double Battles and vice versa.
2. Current Pokémon Champions Ranked Rewards
The Pokémon Champions rewards that a player gets will depend on the tier and rank they’re in by the end of the season.
These rewards are the same for both Ranked Single and Double Battles. However, Single and Double Battles are considered separate for the purpose of moving up the tiers. That means you can earn extra VP if you go as far as you can in each Battle Format.
Every Ranked Tier has additional VP to collect via Missions
Seasonal VP Rewards by Ranked Tier
Here are the full tier rewards:
- Poké Ball Tier Rank 4: 500 VP
- Poké Ball Tier Rank 3: 500 VP
- Poké Ball Tier Rank 2: 1,000 VP
- Poké Ball Tier Rank 1: 1,000 VP
- Great Ball Tier Rank 4: 2,000 VP
- Great Ball Tier Rank 3: 2,000 VP
- Great Ball Tier Rank 2: 4,000 VP
- Great Ball Tier Rank 1: 4,000 VP
- Ultra Ball Tier Rank 4: 6,000 VP
- Ultra Ball Tier Rank 3: 6,000 VP
- Ultra Ball Tier Rank 2: 8,000 VP
- Ultra Ball Tier Rank 1: 8,000 VP
- Master Ball Tier Rank 4: 10,000 VP
- Master Ball Tier Rank 3: 10,000 VP
- Master Ball Tier Rank 2: 10,000 VP
- Master Ball Tier Rank 1: 15,000 VP
- Champion Tier: 20,000 VP
It is crucial to state that players also get various amounts of VP once they first reach a certain rank via the Missions feature. For example, reaching Great Ball would give players 2,000 VP each in both Single and Double Battles, on top of the usual end-of-season rewards.
You also get the Rank Master title for all Pokémon who made it to the Master Ball ranks. There is also the Champion-tiered title for those in Champion.
3. VP Grinding Tips
VP is a crucial resource in Pokémon Champions. It’s basically the in-game currency used for buying items from the shop (such as Mega Stones and clothing apparel) and recruiting new Pokémon (alongside tickets).
Only use VP on items and Pokémon you need to conserve VP
Don’t waste all your VP from the get-go since resources are more limited at the beginning. Here are some tips that gamers should consider after they get their starter team:
- Complete Missions: You can earn VP via Daily Missions, Weekly Missions, and Starter Missions.
- Don’t Waste VP on Clothes and Other Filler: At least, not at the start of the game. If you want to win battles, focus on getting good Pokémon and training them.
- Win Ranked Battles: Winning gives you ~300 VP, compared to ~150 with a loss.
- Link Pokémon HOME: Transferring Pokémon is free, provided you have any to bring to Pokémon Champions. This also saves you VP for not having to train them.
- Complete the Battle Pass: The free version of the Battle Pass gives players 500 VP for every level from 31 to 50.
Know that if you plan on playing Pokémon Champions for a long time, you will eventually be stuck with a lot of VP that you won’t need to be so conservative with it anymore.
