New Pokémon currency has me worried about the future of the franchise

We’re just a few weeks away from the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 release of Pokemon Champions. This new battle simulation game is the future of Play! Pokemon events and championships as the new go-to for video game championships going forward. It is also a free-to-play game that will feature a monetization structure where players use Victory Points to recruit and train their Pokemon. While mobile games with in-game currency aren’t new to Pokémon Championships, I’m still leery of how this switch could affect the future of the franchise.

Historically, the Pokemon VGC took place on the current main series game. This means that players have struggled competitively in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet for the past few years. In theory, switching competitive play to a more consistent, dedicated platform makes a lot of sense. But where players once had a relatively level playing field in terms of investment (buy one game and its DLC), the monetization structure of Pokémon Champions potentially adds a new wrinkle to the competition.

Mobile games aren’t new to Pokemon Championships, but Pokemon Champions is still a shift

Of course, Pokemon Champions is hardly the first free-to-play game to make its way to the competitive stage. After all, Pokemon Go has been part of competitive Pokemon play for years. And that game certainly rewards players who put money into it, to a certain extent. Paid features in Pokemon Go let you increase your storage and get useful items. But you can probably still boost your team just by playing the game and earning the Stardust and Candies you need to power up your Pokemon. And of course, adding Pokemon requires catching them in-game, with luck factoring into your Pokemon’s stats.

This is where Pokemon Champions feels different. I got a chance to play the game during a preview event, and I couldn’t help but notice how much the game relies on its victory points (VP). Unlike a traditional Pokemon game, your Pokemon don’t get more powerful when you battle. Instead, you use VP to adjust stats, abilities, and moves. All Pokemon are at a fixed level, which is no different from how VCG has always worked. What’s different is that changing your Pokemon’s stats is more a matter of how much in-game currency you have.

In games like Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, it’s a matter of time in the game to boost your Pokemon’s power. Items such as vitamins and bottle caps can be obtained for in-game currency, earned by playing the game itself. But with Champions offering VP for sale, players may only be able to sink money into the game instead of time. And I’m not sure how to feel about that. This may create a new level of uneven playing field for competitive play, but it’s also indicative of the growing cost of being a Pokemon fan.

Being a Pokemon player keeps getting more expensive, and it’s hard to keep up

Everywhere you turn, the cost of staying engaged with Pokemon just keeps rising. I’m lucky enough to already have a Switch 2, but I’ve seen so many Pokemon fans struggle with the Pokopia FOMO this past month. The move to the new console was inevitable, but many fans can’t afford to shell out not only a $70 game, but also the $450 console to play it. Needing the latest Nintendo console to play the latest Pokemon game isn’t exactly new, but with the price of games rising and overall inflation, it’s become a growing pain point for many. And that’s not the only way Pokemon fandom is getting more expensive.

These days, there is a whole rotation of Pokemon mobile games out there. If you’re even remotely trying to keep up with Pokemon Sleep, Pokemon Go, and Pokemon TCG Pocket, you’ve got a bunch of mobile games already trying to get your money. And these are just 3 of the most popular options for freemium play in the Pokemon universe. Add that to the never-ending onslaught of beautifully enticing merchandise, and it’s easy to devote way too much of a shrinking budget to Pokemon. And we haven’t even touched on the ridiculously high resale prices of Pokémon cards these days, which are hard to find in the wild.

Yes, you can enjoy Pokemon without playing every game or sinking money into free-to-play options. And you don’t need the latest Umbreon plushie (I say, staring at me from my desk). But seeing a game that relies heavily on its in-game monetization for basics like training and acquiring Pokémon become the new go-to for competitive battles feels like another way Pokémon fandom is becoming more expensive. It’s a continuation of a trend that could potentially cause some fans to lose some of their love for the franchise, for the sheer fact that they can’t afford to keep up.

What do you think about Pokemon Champions being the new standard for Pokemon VGC? Leave a comment below and join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum now!