Pokémon Champions will be featured at Pokémon World Championships 2026, replacing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Read on to learn more about its inclusion in the 2026 Pokémon World Championships and what mechanics it will feature.
Pokémon Champions Coming Next Year
Will Be Featured at the Pokémon World Championships 2026
Pokémon Champions will be featured at the 2026 Pokémon World Championships, replacing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet as the official game for the Video Game Championships (VGC). The Pokémon Company (TPC) announced this during the 2025 Pokémon World Championship through a short teaser with some footage of the upcoming battles fans can expect in the game.
First revealed during Pokémon Presents in February, Pokémon Champions is a battle-centric game designed for competitive play on the go. The game was first announced for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, featuring cross-platform play, and players can bring Pokémon from their collection in Pokémon HOME.
With the recent announcement, TPC revealed that it will also be available for the Nintendo Switch 2. According to their press release, Pokémon Champions is a "free-to-start" game with a paid digital version coming on the Nintendo Switch consoles. It's unclear what the differences are between the free and paid versions, and TPC stated that more details will be shared in the future.
Mega Dragonite, Mega Evolution, and More
Beyond its impending debut in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Mega Dragonite will also be in Pokémon Champions at launch. As initially teased during its first reveal trailer, the game will feature several gimmicks across the Pokémon franchise, which include Mega Evolution and Terastallization.
All of these will be consolidated in a new device called the "Omni Ring," which will be introduced to function as a Key Stone for Mega Evolution. This device streamlines all previous gimmicks to fit well into the game’s mechanics, but it’s still unconfirmed whether Z-Moves and Dynamax will be included in the game.
Based on TPC’s press release, the first set of Ranked Battles will allow the players’ Pokémon to Mega Evolve. This could mean that Ranked Battles may have specific rules for a certain period, such as only using Pokémon with Mega Evolutions or Pokémon from Generation 1, and will change per major update. However, TPC has yet to elaborate on this aspect of the game.
With its release window narrowed down, fans can expect more details about the game in the coming months. Pokémon Champions is set to be released in 2026 on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and Mobile devices (iOS and Android). To stay up to date with the latest information about the game, check out our article below!
Source:
Pokémon Champions at Worlds 2026!
Pokémon Champions Is Coming to Worlds
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