Pokémon Champions launched on Nintendo Switch on April 8, 2026, and the first thing most players want to do is settle the age-old debate: who actually has the better team? Setting up a friendly match is straightforward once you know where to look, but the game does not make the steps obvious from the main screen. Here is exactly how to get a battle with friends running.
How do you add friends in Pokémon Champions?
Before any battle with friends can happen, both players need to be connected in-game. Open the sub-menu from the home screen, then press the X button on your Switch to view your user ID. Copy that ID and send it to the person you want to play against, or ask them to send theirs to you.
Once you enter the correct code, a friend request goes out. After it is accepted, that player shows up in your friends list and you can proceed to set up a match.
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Share your user ID over a messaging app before launching the game so you are not fumbling between screens once you are both online.
Find your user ID here
How to set up a Private Battle room
Friendly matches in Pokémon Champions run through the Private Battles system. Here is the full process:
- Navigate to Private Battles from the main menu.
- Create a new room and set your preferred battle rules before confirming.
- Once inside the lobby, press X to display the room ID.
- Send that room ID to everyone you want to invite.
- Your friends enter the code to join the lobby.
- With everyone present, start creating matches according to the lobby rules.
All matches played in the lobby follow the rules you set at creation, so communicate those to your group beforehand to avoid any confusion mid-session.
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You do not need to be in-game friends with someone to invite them to a Private Battle room. Anyone with the room ID can join, which makes it easy to set up tournaments with people outside your friends list.
Does Pokémon Champions support local PvP?
No. As of launch, there is no offline or local PvP option in Pokémon Champions. The game requires a persistent internet connection at all times, and all friendly play runs through the online Private Battles system described above.
The duos mode is also limited at the moment. There is currently no way to queue into duos as a pre-made pair with a friend to take on other players together. The only option in duos is random matchmaking. The Pokémon Company (TPC) may address this in future updates, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
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