Technology
The Day The Pokemon Company Held Competitive Play Hostage — Champions Is Not a Game, It's a Prepaid Reservation
Pokemon Champions sparked massive backlash by including only 187 of over 1,000 Pokemon (269 entries with Mega Evolutions), removing core competitive items, and forcing the VGC World Championship onto this platform. Combined with the Mega Raichu X false advertising controversy and a locked 30fps even on Switch 2, the game earned a dismal Metacritic user score of 4.2, alongside critic scores of 60 from Dexerto and 65 from Indigo GEEK. This unprecedented decision to stake esports on an unfinished non-mainline title — the first time since 2008 — marks a critical threshold in the neglect of the competitive scene.