Pokémon World Champions to Succeed Scarlet & Violet

In a landmark shift for the Pokémon World Championship Series, the 2026 season and beyond will feature the yet-to-be-released Pokémon Champions as the official VGC format, replacing the traditional mainline game. Adding another major change, the official format for Pokémon Champions will reintroduce the Mega Evolution mechanic.

Traditionally, players earn their spot at the Pokémon World Championships through a year of intense competition using the latest core series game, such as the recent Pokémon Scarlet and Violet or the earlier Pokémon Sword and Shield.

Pokémon Champions is not a standard story-driven RPG but a new multiplayer-focused battle game for mobile and Nintendo Switch. With a streamlined training system, it aims to make competitive play more accessible. The game will also support Pokémon Home integration, letting trainers transfer their existing Pokémon collections, though the specific eligible Pokémon for next year's format have not been confirmed.

Pokémon Champions offers core-style battles incorporating mechanics from across the series, such as Mega Evolution from Pokémon X and Y and Terastalization from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Mega Evolution has already been confirmed for this year's Ranked Battles. Mega Dragonite, recently featured in a Pokémon Legends: Z-A trailer, will also be available in Pokémon Champions.

Scheduled for a 2026 release, Pokémon Champions is being developed by Game Freak alongside The Pokémon Works. Since the Championship Points season typically starts soon after the previous World Championships, the impact of this release date on the current competitive season remains to be seen.

This year has been historic for the Pokémon World Championships. VGC Champion Kevin Han achieved a unique back-to-back victory, winning the Junior and then Senior divisions. It also marked the first time Championship Sunday was hosted in a major arena. Next year, the 2026 Pokémon World Championships' Championship Sunday will take place at San Francisco's Chase Arena.