The wait is over. Pokémon Champions Version 1.2.0 went live on 9 September 2026, dropping six new Mega Evolutions — including three first-in-franchise Z Mega forms — along with quality-of-life battle tools and a fresh competitive window that runs until 2 December. If you have been holding off on downloading the free-to-play title, Regulation Set M-C is a compelling reason to start.
As we covered when The Pokémon Company announced the update at Worlds, three Z Mega forms were confirmed ahead of the patch. The full 1.2 rollout added three more on top of that — here is everything that actually landed.
Six New Mega Evolutions — Three of Them Z Forms
The announcement previewed Mega Absol Z, Mega Garchomp Z, and Mega Lucario Z. Version 1.2 delivered those three plus Mega Salamence, Mega Golisopod, and Mega Baxcalibur — six new forms in a single patch:
- Mega Absol Z — gains Sharpness, boosting the power of slicing moves
- Mega Garchomp Z — picks up Levitate, removing its Ground-type weakness to Earthquake
- Mega Lucario Z — debuts the brand-new Aura Guard ability, halving damage taken from contact moves
- Mega Salamence — powered by Aerilate, converting Normal-type moves to Flying-type
- Mega Golisopod — armed with Tough Claws for a bonus to contact-move damage
- Mega Baxcalibur — brings Thermal Exchange, raising Attack each time a Fire-type move connects
The one-Mega-per-battle cap remains in place. Regulation M-C keeps all previously eligible Pokémon while expanding the pool with Rillaboom, Salamence, Golisopod, and Baxcalibur. The competitive window runs until 2 December 2026 at 01:59 UTC — about 12 weeks of ranked play for Singapore-based trainers to master the new roster before the next reset.
What’s New in the Battle Interface
Beyond the Mega Evolutions, v1.2 ships two quality-of-life additions that competitive players have been requesting.
View Log records every action taken during a match in real time — you can scroll back through the turn history without leaving the battle, making it much easier to track when a held item was consumed, when an ability triggered, or how many turns of sleep remain. Selection Support pulls your historical ranked-battle data onto the team-selection screen, surfacing matchup notes as you finalise your squad.
Neither feature is headline-grabbing, but both remove friction that any veteran competitive player knows well. If you have been tracking turns on a notepad or screenshot, you can put it away.
Balance Changes and New Held Items
A targeted round of balance adjustments arrived with the update:
- Politoed loses access to Pound
- Archaludon can no longer use Mirror Coat or Metal Burst
- Slash is newly available as a learnable move
- Wish and Strength Sap each had their PP reduced from 12 to 8
Twelve new held items also enter the game with Regulation M-C: Rocky Helmet, Air Balloon, Red Card, Binding Band, Eject Button, Normal Gem, Terrain Extender, and four terrain Seeds (Electric, Psychic, Misty, Grassy). The additional items open up a wider range of defensive sets and weather-team strategies.
Free to Play — No NSO Needed
Pokémon Champions is free to download on the Nintendo eShop for Switch and Switch 2, and on iOS and Android. No Nintendo Switch Online subscription is required for ranked play — unlike most Switch 2 multiplayer titles, Champions lets you compete online for free. Pokémon Home compatibility means you can import Pokémon from prior games into your team; check the official Regulation M-C eligible-species list before you transfer, as not every Pokémon in your Home box will be valid.
For more Pokémon and game news, keep checking back — Regulation M-C runs until 2 December, and we expect the Singapore competitive scene to have a lot to say about the new Z Mega roster over the coming weeks.
