Pokémon Worlds 2026 Announces Game Updates

Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara announced a slate of updates and a new movie at the Pokémon Worlds 2026 closing ceremony in San Francisco. The announcements covered multiple games and confirmed Singapore as the host for the 2027 World Championships.

After a live performance by Ed Sheeran at the Chase Center, Ishihara took the stage. He confirmed changes for Pokémon Go and Pokémon Champions, a new series for the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and the surprise reveal of a new film titled Pokémon: Wild Card.

Game Updates For Go And Champions

Pokémon Go is adding an extra charged attack, bringing the total to three choices in battle. This change will affect all levels of the Go Battle League. Armored Mewtwo will also return in the future, and Mega Raids will occur across San Francisco following the ceremony.

For Pokémon Champions, the competitive VGC format will add more Mega Evolutions. The new additions include Mega Lucario Z, Mega Absol Z, and Mega Garchomp Z. Rillaboom and Baxcalibur will be introduced as well. All these updates are scheduled for release on September 9, 2026. Mega Heatran was also revealed, but The Pokémon Company stated to "stay tuned for more details" on its release.

New TCG Series And Cards

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is getting a new ex* series. Mega Lucario Z will enter as a Mega Evolution Pokémon ex. Several other cards were shown during the announcement.

The confirmed cards include:

2027 World Championships Location

Ishihara confirmed Pokémon Worlds 2027 will be held in Singapore. He stated it marks the event's return to Asia for the first time since 2023, when it was in Japan. The official announcement noted: "The 2027 Pokémon World Championships will make its return to Asia, visiting beautiful Singapore for the very first time."

It is not yet clear if the 2027 event will include a Pokémon XP component like the 2026 edition. More information is expected later.

New Movie: Pokémon: Wild Card

The major surprise was the announcement of a new movie titled Pokémon: Wild Card. The film will follow a TCG player protagonist and their Mimikyu. The crowd at the Chase Center burst into applause at the news, which comes after a lack of recent film releases from The Pokémon Company.

That concluded the announcements from the Pokémon Worlds 2026 closing ceremony. The event's structure, much like an anime cour, sets the pace for major franchise reveals.