Pokémon Champions will replace Scarlet and Violet in Pokémon World Championships 2026

Bryan Francis Published August 18, 2025

The Pokémon World Championship was recently held in the city of Anaheim between Aug. 15-17. This 3-day event was the conclusion of various Pokémon game tournaments. These games include Pokémon Unite, Pokémon Go, and Pokémon VGC. This year, during the Pokémon Presents live stream, Pokémon announced the new game known as Pokémon Champions.

During the final day of the Pokémon World Championship, the Pokémon company announced that Pokémon Champions will be replacing the main title games of Pokémon as the go-to play for esports in Pokémon. What does this mean for the future of Pokémon in 2026?

Scarlet and Violet are out, Pokémon Champions is in

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are currently the main title games for Pokémon. It is commonly known as the 9th Generation of Pokémon. The game takes place in the Paldea region. Similar to previous Pokémon games, this game includes a unique gameplay mechanic known as terastalization, i.e. the Terastal phenomenon. With this mechanic, players can change the typing of a Pokémon during a Pokémon battle. For example, Players can turn a Pokémon like Pikachu (electric type) into a fire type.

Within the Pokémon VGC ecosystem, many consider this to be one of the best features released in a Pokémon game. During the Pokémon Champions announcement video, Mega Evolutions were also showcased in the game, aside from terastalization. Pokémon Champions is the upcoming battle simulation game that will be released on both mobile and the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Currently, the release date of the game hasn’t been announced, but it’s reported to launch in 2026. The primary goal of this game is to become the go-to game for players who like to play Pokémon competitively.

Featured image: Pokemon.com

What will be the impact of this change in games?

The significant impact of Pokémon Champions will be that the game will be free to play. In the past, to take part in the Pokémon VGC tournaments, fans needed to buy the game. With Pokémon Champions slated to be available for free on mobile and the Nintendo Switch console, it will open up the game to multiple new Pokémon fans.

The following significant change is that in the 2026 season, we will see Mega Evolution return to Pokémon VGC. The last time we saw Mega Evolution was during the Ultra Sun and Moon Era of Pokémon. With the release of Pokémon Legends Z-A in October 2026, there will be new Mega Evolutions released within Pokémon Champions as well.

Pokémon Champions will also be supporting cross-play and cross-save between the Switch and mobile versions of the game. Mega Evolutions will be a part of the first set of Ranked Battles rules. This means that in the future, mechanics like Terastallization, Z-Moves, and Dynamax can make a comeback in Pokémon Champions in 2026

Featured image: Pokemon.com