Pokemon Champions is giving away free Gen 1 starters

The next online competition in Pokemon champion will begin at 20:00 UTC on April 30, and players can look forward to a free Venusaur for participating. Freemium Pokémon battle simulator launched earlier this month on Nintendo Switch, with a mobile version coming in the future. Pokemon champion is intended to serve as a versatile battle simulator for competitive players, and will be the official game used for official Pokémon tournaments for the future.

While fans have criticized the state Master launched in, additions like more Pokémon, items, and battle gimmicks like Z-moves and Terastalizing have been promised for future updates. Meanwhile, the reduced pool of Pokemon and items has developed a meta of its own, especially with the new Mega forms from Pokemon Legends: ZA gain abilities for the first time.

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Registration begins for the Pokemon Champions Global Challenge 2026 Masters Division

Image via The Pokemon Company

Check the rules when registering for the Global Challenge 2026 Masters Division competition in Pokemon champion explains the latest official tournament in the app, revealing that by completing 3 battles in the competition, players will be rewarded with a free Venusaur. Registration for the Global Challenge will run from 20:00 on April 23 until 19:59 (UTC – 6:00) on May 3, 2026. The event itself starts one week after registrations, at 20:00 on April 30 and ends at 19:59 (UTC – 6:00) on the second Free Pourmon on May 3. Masterafter the game gave out a free Dragonite to all players at launch.

The tournament will use the Double Battle format and teams must consist of four Pokémon. Mega Evolution will be allowed. It will be a ladder style competition and players will be allowed to participate in up to 15 battles per day and a total of 45 battles over the course of the tournament. After the results are calculated, players who completed at least 3 battles, regardless of performance, will receive free Venusaur. To help players bolster their teams a bit going into the competition, a “Special Roster” of Pokemon for the Global Challenge has been made available for players to recruit, and will last until the Global Challenge ends.

Pokemon Champions Global Challenge 2026 Special Roster Recruitable Pokemon

• Venusaur

• Charizard

• Ninetales (Kanto and Alola)

• Meganium

• Feraligatr

• Political oath

• Tyrants

• Philippians

• Torcoal

• Hippowdon

• Abomasnow

• Emboar

• Excadrill

• Whimsicott

• Vanilla luxury

• Volcano

• Talonflame

• Meowstic (male and female)

• Aurora

• Incinerate

• Lycanroc (Dinner)

• Orangutan

• Sandaconda

• Basculegion (male and female)

• Maushold (Family of three and four)

• Farigiraf

• Archaludon

Venusaur has been one of the strongest starters in Master meta, with his hidden ability “chlorophyll” which doubles his speed in sunlight. Pair it with a Pokemon with a double-play Sun-inducing ability like Mega Charizard Y or Torkoal, and the Seed Pokemon will go from a slow but heavy hitter to a genuinely fast monster that can create status effects with moves like Sleep Powder or hit like a truck.

While Master isn't currently the all-encompassing fighting app it was hyped to be, it's been a great tool for otherwise casual players to try their hand at competitive battles. Handing over a strong Pokémon like Venusaur can help many of these players learn more about taking advantage of the weather or setting up with status moves. It's also nice to see the Venusaur line get some love before the Charizard line, as Flame Pokemon are notorious for how much The Pokemon Company relies on it in advertising. Maybe Blastoise will get some love in the next online competition.