In a historic change for the Pokémon World Championship Series, the 2026 season and beyond will feature Pokémon Champions—an unreleased title—as the official VGC competitive game instead of a mainline series entry. Adding another major shift, Pokémon Champions will reintroduce the Mega Evolution mechanic into the official format starting next year.

Traditionally, players battle throughout the year using the most recent mainline Pokémon title—such as Pokémon Scarlet and Violet or, previously, Pokémon Sword and Shield—to earn their place at the Pokémon World Championships.

Pokémon Champions is not a story-driven game but a new multiplayer battle experience coming to mobile and Nintendo Switch. With a streamlined training system, the game aims to make competitive play more accessible. It will also support connectivity with Pokémon Home, letting trainers bring over Pokémon from past games. Exactly which Pokémon from earlier titles will be eligible for next year’s format remains unclear.

The game includes core-style battles along with mechanics from multiple Pokémon eras, such as Mega Evolution from Pokémon X and Y and Terastalization from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. So far, we know Mega Evolution will be part of this year’s Ranked Battles. Mega Dragonite, recently shown in a Pokémon Legends: Z-A trailer, will also appear in Pokémon Champions.

Scheduled for release in 2026, Pokémon Champions is being developed by Game Freak alongside The Pokémon Works. Championship Points competition usually starts shortly after each year’s World Championships, so the effect of the game’s release date on this season’s tournament calendar is still unknown.

This year marked multiple firsts for the Pokémon World Championships. VGC Champion Kevin Han became the first to win titles in the Junior and Senior divisions in consecutive years, and Championship Sunday was hosted in an arena for the first time. Next year, the 2026 Pokémon World Championships’ Championship Sunday will take place at San Francisco’s Chase Center.