Pokémon Champions‘ release time is just around the corner, adding another layer of competitive Pokémon play with a twist on how you train your favorite critters (and possibly some of your least favorite, too). Pokémon Champions is a free-to-play game with full Pokémon Home compatibility, meaning you can transfer your Pokémon from Pokémon Go and most other Pokémon games. And if you’re not keen on competitive battles, Champions lets you compete in casual matches and even make rooms where you can battle your friends.
Below, we break down what time Pokémon Champions releases around the world.
Pokémon Champions release time in your time zone
Pokémon Champions launches on April 8 for Nintendo Switch, with a free Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade available as a download patch. The Pokémon Works plans a launch for Android and iOS devices later in 2026 as well, though there’s no release date for that version yet.
Nintendo hasn’t announced a specific release time for Pokémon Champions. Unless stated otherwise, though, eShop releases launch at midnight in the easternmost time zone of your region, as was the case with Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Pokémon Pokopia. For example, that’d be 12 a.m. on April 8 in New York City, but 9 p.m. PDT on April 7 in San Francisco.
- 9 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, April 7 for the west coast of North America
- 12 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 8 for the east coast of North America
- 12 a.m. BRT for Brazil
- 12 a.m. BST for the U.K.
- 12 a.m. CET for western Europe
- 12 a.m. JST for Japan
- 12 a.m. AEST for Australia
Pokémon Unite followed a slightly different release time pattern, though. Polygon reached out to Nintendo for clarification about Pokémon Champions‘ release time, and we’ll update this piece if we hear back.
Can you preload Pokémon Champions on Switch?
No, Nintendo and The Pokémon Works aren’t allowing preloads, nor have they announced how large Pokémon Champions‘ file size is. So you’ll have to wait until release time to start downloading on your system.
If you own Legends: Z-A, you may want to spend some of the time until Champions launches by tracking down Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, or Eternal Flower Floette. If you store them in Pokémon Home and transfer them as visitors to Pokémon Champions, you’ll receive their Mega Evolution stones in Champions.
