I attended my first Pokemon World Championships in Anaheim, California last year unsure of what to expect. Having been to a North American International Championship (NAIC) a few months prior, I had a sense of what the competitive Pokemon scene can look on a large scale, but nothing compares to Worlds. It is the pinnacle of compettiive Pokemon in all facets, from Pokemon Unite to Pokemon GO to the Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG) to the Pokemon Video Game (VGC). Even having been to Worlds in 2025, nothing could have prepared me for the upgrade that was Pokemon Worlds and Pokemon XP 2026.
Even just the mention of a separate event, dubbed Pokemon XP, is enough to tell you that The Pokemon Company International was looking to do something bigger and different for this year. The move up the coast to San Francisco was not as significant as years’ past, but it allowed for a lot of learning. TPCi will be the first to admit that this year, Pokemon Worlds took its biggest leap in terms of scale and pageantry. Meanwhile, Pokemon XP was more like a proof of concept, an expansion of the non-competitive activities that typically occupy the fringes of Worlds but now put front and center.
To properly give context and evaluate Pokemon Worlds and Pokemon XP for 2026, it’s important to divorce the two. While the floor space of the Moscone Center offered opportunities that one would consider part of Worlds and XP, there was a clear distinction between the two. Much like at an NAIC or past Worlds, there was floor space dedicated to competitive play in those four Pokemon games, as well as side events wherein attendees seek to earn points towards a prize wall via unofficial (but judge-maintained) matches and tournaments.
For me, these first two days of Pokemon Worlds are where you see competitive Pokemon at its most pure. You’re watching some of the biggest names in their respective category competing against up-and-comers. You’re seeing younger players in the Juniors division taking the first step towards becoming those big names. It’s a sea of cardboard, Switch 2 consoles, and mobile devices as far as the eye can see, punctuated by a combination of concentrated stares and big smiles. For as much as many of the competitors are there to etch their name in the Pokemon history books, many are just there for the experience.
When Sunday rolls around, that atmosphere shifts. Much like with Pokemon Worlds in 2025, but on a much bigger scale, the Pokemon Worlds Finals shift to an arena, in this case the Chase Center where the Golden State Warriors play. TPCi knows how to put on a Finals, and they took advantage of the space and the larger audience, ensuring that fans get the full spectator experience, with an added dash of excitement. Smoke machines and pyrotechnics give the appropriate amount of hype to each moment, and the digital screen on the floor lays out key information in a clear and concise manner. Meanwhile, the massive screens above the arena floor and the casters’ commentary provide the critical context to each match.
I’m always impressed by how much the Pokemon TCG finals, in particular, are able to lay out what’s going on for the audience, especially because there is a lot of nuance to digest. For example, this year’s TCG Masters finals involved a surprising strategy where Andrew Hedrick baited his opponent, former Worlds 2017 champion Diego Cassiraga, into decking out (depleting his draw pile and therefore losing by default). Without the screen display and the commentary, you would not have fully understood why Cassiraga lost, because at the moment he had a Prize Card lead over Hedrick.
But even if you aren’t following the minutiae of the matches, just seeing everything presented on this grander scale is impressive. With 15,000 pairs of eyes watching your every move, there is a lot of pressure on the competitors, and seeing them perform on this stage is unlike anything I’ve seen in competitive esports.
Worlds concludes with a presentation that's forward-looking both in terms of what's next for the various Pokemon experiences available (GO, TCG, etc.) and the Worlds event itself. This year, we learned about Armored Mewtwo's return in GO, saw some new cards headed to the TCG in the future, and finally received confirmation that Pokemon Worlds would once again go international, to Singapore for 2027.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/pokemon-worlds-xp-2026/
