Nine weeks
Pokéjam Franchise Guide
Franchise is the mode that makes the roster matter: a nine-week regular season against 8 gym leaders and the Elite Four, then a four-team playoff. Stamina, injuries, trades and evolution all run at once, and the schedule is the only thing that is fixed.
The shape of a season
- Regular season
- 9 weeks
- Opponents
- 9 teams
- Playoff field
- Top 4
- Roster limit
- 10
Each week is one fixture. You can play it, simulate it, or watch it — a watched game still produces a result, so there is no way to farm an outcome you do not like. Simulating is legitimate, and often correct when the matchup is clearly in your favour.
The nine weeks, in practice
Week 1
Set the rotation
The season opens with your drafted ten. Order the bench deliberately — the coach uses it in order, and the sixth man gets real minutes. Check the roster screen for positions with no cover.
Weeks 2 to 4
Spend free agency carefully
One free-agent signing per week, and the swap is permanent for that week. Use it to patch a positional hole caused by injury, not to chase a marginally better rating.
Weeks 4 to 6
Trade before the deadline
Trades close partway through the season. A two-for-one that upgrades a starter and clears a roster spot is the only kind of trade worth making, because rosters cap at ten.
Weeks 6 to 8
Let the projects land
Level 3 evolutions fire around here. This is the part of the season where a weak early pick becomes an average one, and the standings usually move because of it.
Week 9
Protect the seed
The top four make the playoffs. If you are locked in, rest tired starters — a healthy five in the semi-final beats a better five that is exhausted.
Badges and why the ladder is ordered
Beating a gym leader earns its badge — Boulder, Cascade, Thunder, Rainbow, Soul, Marsh, Volcano, Earth. The badges are a record of progress; the mechanic behind them is the boost each team carries, which climbs from a small penalty at Brock to a positive bonus at Giovanni and the largest at the The Elite Four.
That ordering is the game telling you what to expect. The first three weeks are for finding a rotation; the last three are where a specialised team starts losing matchups it used to win.
Stamina, injuries and the bench
Starters tire during games and again across weeks. The coach pulls them at dead balls and goes to the bench in the order you set, which makes bench order a real tactical choice rather than admin.
- Injuries are timed, not permanent. A hurt player misses a number of weeks, which is why one spare body per position is the minimum.
- A tired starter is worse than a fresh backup. Stamina affects shooting and defensive recovery, not just speed.
- Rest before the playoffs. Seeding matters, but a four-team bracket punishes an exhausted roster more than a lower seed does.
Between seasons
Records reset; your roster does not. Levels and evolutions carry over, which means a mediocre first season built around a project can be a good second season. The off-season runs in a fixed order:
- Rookie draft. One pick each, worst record first and the champion last, from the young players in free agency.
- Cuts. Every team trims back to ten. Whoever you cut becomes a free agent for someone else.
- Trades reopen. The window stays open until the new season starts, then closes again mid-year.
The playoffs
The top four records make it: 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3, then the final. There is no reseeding, so finishing first is worth real effort — the fourth seed usually has to beat the best team in the league to get anywhere.
A team that missed the playoffs still gets a draft grade and a season card, which is a nicer way of saying the mode expects you to fail once before you understand it.