Interview: Pokémon Producer Talks The Past, Present, And Future Of Competitive Pokemon

Pokémon is a global phenomenon, and that also extends to the competitive community. The biggest stage for competitive Pokémon play is Worlds, where trainers from all over the world meet to find out who is the very best. What started in 2004 has grown to gargantuan proportions, as this year's Worlds is clocking out at 50,000 attendees, thanks to the addition of Pokémon XP.

As part of the festivities, we interviewed Masaaki Hoshino, producer of Pokémon Champions, who had a lot to say about multiple eras of the game's development and where it's going. Plus, we got a sneak peek at some of the new Pokémon that will be arriving in Champions very soon.

2026 Is The First Worlds For Pokémon Champions

Hoshino had his work cut out for him with Pokémon Champions, which is not only bearing the weight of the entire VGC scene right now; it's also hosting a Worlds tournament for the first time.

Holding back his excitement, Hoshino talked about where his headspace was during the festivities: "So a lot of really exciting battles are happening right now in [Worlds], and from that perspective, [I'm] actually thinking from a developer standpoint. Like, you know, we might want to adjust based on what [I'm] seeing."

Hoshino doesn't have specifics in mind, but he mentions that it's not necessarily just about monitoring the battles themselves, but the viewership functionality, which he says can be improved. Speaking of balance, I asked Hoshino if he was happy with the cadence at which newer Pokémon were entering Champions, and he seemed very content:

"So, the mobile version was just released a couple of months ago. The meta continues to evolve quite rapidly. A lot of new players are coming in from not only North America but other regions of the world as well, especially with the mobile release. [I] don't want to make it too intimidating for these new players by having hundreds of Pokémon to choose from, so [I'm] pretty happy with the current pace of Pokémon."

When asked about the balance of specific moves (like Rock Slide, for instance), Hoshino noted that his team was always looking at feedback: "There's nothing specific [I] can share at the moment, but [I'm] definitely looking at Pokémon and their skills, and making sure that attention to detail is being put into all of these Pokémon."

Hoshino zeroes in on Rock Slide after it was called out in particular by an expert in the room: "There's definitely a lot of luck involved in Rock Slide and just now, even in tournaments, there's a certain probability of flinching, and from that standpoint, [I] feel that it could also be a bit due to luck. [I] don't think that Rock Slide is necessarily overpowered or underpowered, but it's something that [I] feel might actually change over time as [I] see the competitive environment evolve."

Hoshino sheds some light on the creative process as well, and how not all feedback comes from the professional scene: "From that perspective, a lot of ideas are shared, and that's very important input. And it's not just from the top players; it's taking a closer look at what's being said on social media, for example, to figure out what's strong or weak, and bugs that are happening at the moment. All of this is something that informs his development process."

What Surprised Pokemon Champion's Producer?

As for the biggest challenge, Hoshino was quick to mention that the development of the mobile edition was tough: "So from the technical side, given that Champions is available on both mobile and Switch...cross-platform play is the trickiest thing, and one of the things that all the battle calculations are done on the server side." Hoshino also officially confirmed that Switch 2 is still the prime platform for Champions play at Worlds for the foreseeable future, rather than mobile.

Shifting gears, Hoshino zeroed in on something that surprised him after the game was actually released:

"First of all, [I'm] quite surprised that there's a lot of scouting that is happening, much more than [I] expected. And I think another thing that [I] notice is there are a lot of people joining the monthly challenge. [I'm] quite surprised to see that there are 1.3 million people who are joining. So this is a lot more than we expected."

For Hoshino and his team, it's a lot more than just a game:

So first of all, as a company, we believe Pokémon are living beings. So from that standpoint, not every Pokémon is going to get a shot. But definitely, there are Pokémon that weknow people like, and then each Pokémon has their own strength. Playing to those strengths is definitely one of the great things about Pokémon battles. From that perspective, of course, it's natural to want to use the Pokémon for the winning team. That being said, at least from his personal observation, there's no Pokémon that doesn't have a weakness. So as that weakness gets discovered, the meta continues to change and it continues to evolve. So [I] hope that all players are able to enjoy this kind of change.

As for what's next for Pokémon Champions, we got a look at that during the closing ceremonies for Worlds 2026. More Megas and Pokémon are coming, but at a pace that's manageable for the bulk of the player base.