How to Get More Pokemon in Pokemon Champions

TL;DR

• There are four main ways to get Pokemon: Roster Ranch, Pokemon Home transfer, Mystery Gifts, and Battle Pass rewards
• Roster Ranch gives you one free trial Pokemon per day — no VP needed
• Permanent recruitment costs 2,500 VP per Pokemon
• VP cannot be bought with real money — you earn it by battling
• Pokemon transferred from Pokemon Home do not cost any VP
• Your box limit is 30 Pokemon by default — plan carefully before collecting

Pokemon Champions does not have wild encounters or a traditional story mode. There is no grass to walk through and no Pokeballs to throw. Getting Pokemon works completely differently here.

This guide covers every method to expand your roster in Pokemon Champions — for free players and those willing to spend — so you always know your options and never waste VP.

For a complete look at which Pokemon are currently available in the game, see our full Pokemon Champions roster list.

Method 1: Roster Ranch (Daily Free Recruit)

The Roster Ranch is the main in-game way to get new Pokemon. It is run by a character named Kitt, and it works like a daily draft system.

Every 22 hours, a new lineup of 10 randomly selected Pokemon is generated. You pick one. That is your free daily recruit.

How to access Roster Ranch:

1. From the main menu, select Recruit
2. Choose Recruit Pokemon
3. Browse the 10 Pokemon shown in your current lineup
4. Select the one you want

Each Pokemon in the lineup comes with preset moves and stat distributions already applied. Check each one carefully before choosing. The preset builds are not always optimal, but they give you a solid starting point.

You can only select one Pokemon per lineup. There are no duplicates in a single lineup. Once you choose, the rest are gone until the next 22-hour refresh.

Trial Recruitment vs Permanent Recruitment

When you pick a Pokemon from Roster Ranch, you have two options.

Trial Recruitment (Free) You get the Pokemon for 7 days. During that time, you can use it in battle, modify its moves, and train it further. It works like a rental. At the end of the trial, the Pokemon leaves your box unless you convert it to a permanent recruit.

You can use Trial Recruitment once per day at no VP cost.

Permanent Recruitment (2,500 VP) You own the Pokemon indefinitely. It stays in your box, is fully trainable, and is not on a timer. This is the recommended path if you find a Pokemon that suits your team.

The VP cost to permanently recruit is always 2,500 VP regardless of how much trial time is left. So there is no benefit to converting early or waiting until the last day — the cost stays the same.

If you have a trial Pokemon sitting in your box that you want to keep, open your box, select the Pokemon, and choose Recruit Permanently. Confirm the 2,500 VP cost and it is yours.

The yellow hourglass icon in your box indicates a trial Pokemon. You can check how many days are left by reviewing that Pokemon’s summary.

How to Reroll the Roster Ranch Lineup Early

The 22-hour timer resets the lineup automatically. But if you want to see a new set of Pokemon sooner, you can speed it up.

Using Victory Points: You can spend VP to reroll the lineup early. The cost scales based on how much time is left on the timer — roughly 100 VP per hour remaining. A full reroll from scratch costs around 2,200 VP.

Using Quick Coupons: Each Quick Coupon shortens the wait by one hour. If you have 22 coupons, you could skip the entire timer. Quick Coupons are earned through in-game missions, Battle Pass rewards, and the early download bonus (which includes 100 Quick Coupons for free).

Rerolling is useful if you need a specific Pokemon urgently, but it is VP-intensive. Most players are better off waiting for the natural 22-hour reset and saving VP for permanent recruitment and training.

Method 2: Transfer Pokemon from Pokemon Home

Transferring from Pokemon Home is the most reliable way to get specific Pokemon into Champions. If you have already built a strong team in Scarlet and Violet, Legends: Z-A, or any other compatible Switch game, those Pokemon can come with you.

The key advantage: Pokemon transferred from Pokemon Home do not cost any VP. They arrive in your box ready to use without spending any in-game currency. This makes Home transfers far more efficient than grinding VP to recruit the same Pokemon at Roster Ranch.

Quick steps:

1. Make sure your Nintendo Account is linked to both Pokemon Home and Pokemon Champions
2. Open Pokemon Home on your Nintendo Switch — not inside Champions
3. Select the Pokemon Champions icon in the bottom-right corner
4. Choose the Pokemon you want to send over and confirm
5. Open Pokemon Champions, go to Recruit, then Collect from Pokemon Home
6. Select your Pokemon and confirm

For a full step-by-step walkthrough of the transfer process, read our guide on how to transfer Pokemon from Pokemon Home to Pokemon Champions.

Method 3: Mystery Gift Codes

Mystery Gifts are a free way to get specific Pokemon added directly to your mailbox. You do not spend VP. You do not wait for a lineup refresh. You just enter a code and collect.

Current active codes:

No-code gifts currently available:

• Free Dragonite + 100 Quick Coupons — claim from your mailbox by August 31, 2026 (just log in)
• Free Gardevoir — available April 10–13, 2026 via the Warm-Up Challenge

How to redeem a Mystery Gift code:

1. Complete the tutorial first
2. From the main menu, tap Submenu
3. Select Mystery Gifts
4. Enter your code and press Confirm
5. Go to your Mailbox and claim the reward

Mystery Gift Pokemon are free and battle-ready. Always redeem active codes before they expire — they are some of the easiest Pokemon you will ever add to your box.

Method 4: Battle Pass Rewards

The Battle Pass in Pokemon Champions has both a free tier and a premium tier. Both reward Season Points (SP), which you earn just by playing — including losing. SP does not reset between sessions.

Free Battle Pass rewards include: VP, Quick Coupons, and some in-game items.

Premium Battle Pass rewards include: Exclusive Pokemon, Mega Stones (like Emboarite and Dragoninite), additional VP, cosmetics, and exclusive outfits. The Premium Battle Pass costs $9.99 per month.

Season 1 of the Battle Pass started on April 8, 2026. Notable rewards include Emboar and the Dragoninite stone, which lets Dragonite Mega Evolve into Mega Dragonite when held.

If you are playing free-to-play, check which Mega Stones are available in the shop for VP. Premium Battle Pass rewards like Mega Stones can often be purchased separately using VP once unlocked.

Method 5: Starter Lineup Pokemon

When you first start Pokemon Champions, you are asked to pick a starter Pokemon. Each starter comes with a fixed lineup of five additional Pokemon, giving you a full six-Pokemon team from the start — for free.

This is the only time in the game where you get a full team without spending VP or doing any recruiting. Your starter Pokemon and its five teammates are yours permanently.

Every new player also receives Dragonite immediately, regardless of which starter they choose. It is added to your box as part of the early game setup.

Choose your starter lineup carefully. If a Pokemon you want is easy to recruit from Roster Ranch later, you can save your starter pick for something rarer in that specific lineup.

How to Earn More VP to Get More Pokemon

Victory Points are the fuel behind Roster Ranch recruitment. Here is how to earn them efficiently.

Ranked Battles This is the most important source of VP. You earn VP for every match — win or lose — though wins pay significantly more. The more you battle, the faster your VP builds. There is no other shortcut.

Daily and Weekly Missions Missions refresh regularly and reward VP for completing specific in-game tasks. Many missions are tied to battle activity you are doing anyway, so completing them at the same time as your ranked sessions is efficient. Check your mission list before each session.

Battle Tutorial Completion Completing the Double Battles section of the Battle Tutorial gives a one-time bonus of 10,000 VP. Do this immediately if you have not already — it is a significant head start.

All new players also start with 10,000 VP. Combined with the tutorial bonus, you have 20,000 VP available early, which is enough for several permanent recruits.

Battle Pass The free Battle Pass tier includes some VP as you level it up through Season Points. The premium version includes more, but this requires real money.

Important: VP cannot be purchased directly with real money. There is no option to buy it in the store. Every VP you have came from playing the game.

Managing Your Box: The 30 Pokemon Limit

Every player starts with a box limit of 30 Pokemon. This fills up faster than you might expect — especially once you start doing daily trial recruits and transferring from Pokemon Home.

Before collecting more Pokemon, have a plan. Here are your options when you run low on space.

Send Pokemon back to Pokemon Home. If you transferred a Pokemon from Home and no longer need it in Champions, you can send it back. Go to Recruit, select Send Back to Pokemon Home, and return it. It stays safe in your Home boxes and can come back to Champions later.

Buy the Starter Pack ($6.99 one-time). This adds 50 extra storage slots, bringing your total to 80 Pokemon. It also includes 30 Teammate Tickets and 50 Training Tickets.

Get the Champions Membership ($4.99/month or $49.99/year). This expands your box to 1,000 Pokemon. It also adds 15 Battle Teams, exclusive missions, and exclusive battle songs.

If you are playing free-to-play, sending unwanted Pokemon back to Pokemon Home is the simplest way to free up box space without spending money.

Tips for Getting Pokemon Efficiently

Do your free daily trial recruit every day. Even if none of the 10 Pokemon look exciting, doing the trial costs nothing and gives you battle experience with unfamiliar Pokemon for a week.

Do not skip the Warm-Up Challenge. The Gardevoir available from April 10–13, 2026 is a free Pokemon that costs no VP. Short windows like this are easy to miss.

Redeem CHAMP10N now. The Machamp from the Mystery Gift code expires May 8, 2026. It is battle-ready with No Guard and Dynamic Punch — a genuinely useful Pokemon that costs nothing.

Transfer your strongest Pokemon from Home first. These cost no VP and fill your box with Pokemon you already know work well. Roster Ranch is better used to test and fill gaps.

Prioritize permanent recruits over rerolls. Spending 2,200 VP to reroll the lineup is expensive. Save that VP for actually keeping a Pokemon permanently instead.

Do the Battle Tutorial Double Battles section immediately. The 10,000 VP reward is a one-time bonus that significantly speeds up your early recruitment budget.

Let trial Pokemon expire if you do not need them. If a trial recruit is not working for your team and you do not want to spend 2,500 VP, just let it expire. It disappears from your box automatically and frees up space.

Frequently Asked Questions