Pokémon Champions will replace scarlet and violet at the Pokémon World Championship next year

In the Pokémon World Championship series, 2026 and future formats will be used Pokémon champion yet unreleased Games as VGC competitors, not “mainline” games. To change next year’s format, Pokémon Champions will include large evolutionary mechanics in an official format.

Usually, players participate in ferocious Pokémon battles throughout the year, using recent “core” or “Mainline” Pokémon games such as Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, or Pokémon Sword and Shield at Pokémon World Championships.

Pokémon Champions is not a standalone narrative game, but a new Pokémon game focused on multiplayer battle Nintendo switch. it With simplified training systemwhich should make competitiveness easier to obtain than ever before. It will also be compatible with Pokémon Home, allowing trainers to transfer legacy Pokémon from other games. We are not sure which games will be legal in next year's format.

Pokémon Champions have gi heads from Pokémon all eras (including Mega Evolution, originally from Pokémon X and Y) and more recently Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's Terastalization, which includes “Core Style Battle”. So far, we know that the big evolution will return to the ranking battle in this year’s official format. Mega Dragonite, recently revealed in “Pokemon Legend: ZA Trailer”, will also come to the Pokemon Championship.

The Pokémon Championship will be released in 2026 and will be developed through Game Freak through collaboration with Pokémon Works. Players usually start to compete for championship points shortly after the last year’s World Championships, so we haven’t seen how the release date will affect the format of the game this year.

This is many first year of the Pokemon World Championships. VGC champion Kevin Hanthis is the first time the championship was held in the arena on Sunday. Next year, the 2026 Pokemon World Championship champion will be held Sunday at Chase Arena in San Francisco. Don't miss it All announcements for the 2025 Pokemon World Championship.

Casey Defreitas is the deputy editor of the IGN Guide Team, and this year is her second time covering the Pokémon World Championships in Anaheim, California. Catch her social @shinycaseyd.