Pokemon Champions Released less than three weeks ago, and while its meta has been established for the current season, things may change as more items and Pokemon are added to the mix. It's hard to say when this will happen, but the leading theory is at the end of the MB season, which starts next month, so sometime in June. There is no official confirmation that this will really be the case, but it is very possible that the roster of available Pokemon is relatively small, and the same goes for the items that are kept. However, as exciting as the new addition Pokemon Champions Sounds like, this card may not have two specific Pokemon to return yet.
One of the issues with Pokemon ChampionsThe Pokédex and roster of available Pokémon means that some of VGC's main strategies cannot be used. For example, Pokemon Scarlet and PurpleMany Paradox Pokemon have dominated VGC in some way, but they are absent. Pokemon ChampionsAnd it may take a long time to add. This is because the current power level is relatively low, meaning there are no legendaries, no powerful items such as Life Orb, Choice Band, Choice Specs, Assault Vest, and Rocky Helmet, no Terastallization, and no terrain setters. Considering how powerful the terrain setters were, the popular Rillaboom and Indeed Female may have taken longer to debut.
These are the 5 best Pokemon not yet available in Champions
Missing from the limited roster of Pokemon champions are some of the competitive staples that have dominated the Gen 9 meta up to this point.
Why Rillaboom and Indeedee won't be added to Pokemon Champions soon
There are some team building issues with the lack of terrain setters. For example, Pokémon with access to Extended Strength cannot rely on Indie Female's Psychic Surge ability to set up Psychic Terrain for them and then go into an extended move. Instead, it must be done manually. Similarly, Reelboom cannot be relied upon to reduce the damage of the opposite earthquake or to set grassy terrain to prioritize Grassy Glide.
There are several reasons why this absence may continue after season MB ends:
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Expanding the Force in the Gen 9 VGC was an impressive move, with abusers being Calyrex Shadow, Lunala, Iron Crown, Armarouge, and Hatterene. Calyrex Shadow and Lunala, in particular, were some of the best legendary Pokemon in Gen 9, and the expansion force contributed to that.
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Amplifying Force is normally an 80 base power move that hits a single target, but in Psychic Terrain it is boosted by 30% in terms of damage from the terrain itself, and then another 50% if the user is grounded – at which point, the move hits both opponents.
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Grassy Glide was abused by Rillaboom and Ogerpon Pokemon Scarlet and Purple. This is a move with 55 base power (it was 70 in Gen 8, 60 in Gen 9 and then 55 as of version 2.0.1. Scarlet and purple) that gets priority when used on grassy terrain, it precedes all non-priority moves.
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On top of that, all grass moves gain 30% bonus damage when used on grassy terrain. This made Rillaboom and Ogerpon very good Grass-type Pokemon and the most used critters in the Gen 9 VGC, especially in the case of Rillaboom, as it has a Grass Surge ability that can set up grassy terrain just by entering the field.
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The current format is for low-power Pokemon, and it shows in many ways. Interestingly, Mega Delfox is one of the best Megas Pokemon Champions Because of its high speed and special attack stats, and it also learns extended strength. In theory, this would be one of the strongest users of the move, but it's weak to set terrain automatically due to the lack of Indie Female and Psychic Surge.
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Furthermore, Mega Delfox has the ability to levitate, which means it is not grounded. This makes it immune to ground attacks, and since Garchomp is one of the best ground Pokemon, that's a good thing. However, this also means that Mega Delphox cannot benefit from the additional 50% boost to the power of the expanding force even if it is on Psychic Terrain, and the move will not kill both opponents in a double fight.
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Say goodbye to terrain setters in Pokemon Champions
With this in mind, it's easy to see that Relaboom and Indie Woman were incredibly strong and had a huge impact on the meta, but it also means they won't be added to the roster. Pokemon Champions for some time. At least until the power level of the metagame goes up a bit.
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It seems like a deliberate choice to leave them out, especially considering Mega Delfox's situation when it comes to the expanding force. Some players have used it to set up Psychic Terrain and then combine it with Pokemon like Speed Boost Espathra, Prankster Meowstic, and Prankster Sableye to use Gravity, which grounds Mega Delphox and enables it to spam expanding force. It can work, but there is a lot of setup for it. As such, it's unlikely that Rillaboom and Indeedee will return so soon after the launch of the women's game, and they could be added down the line instead, but for now, only time will tell.
Pokemon Champions


- issued
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April 8, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone / Mild Fantasy Violence
- publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- Multiplayer
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Online multiplayer
- Cross-platform play
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complete

