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.
Pokemon Worlds Gets a Major Finals Upgrade in San Francisco
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.
Pokemon XP is the First Step Towards a Full Pokemon-Con
Where Pokemon Worlds has grown from a small ballroom to now massive arenas and convention centers, Pokemon XP is starting there. For this first time, TPCi put on a Pokemon convention that runs alongside Worlds. As I mentioned, the spaces blend into each other but the Pokemon XP portion of the event still occupied a lot more space of the Moscone Center in San Francisco and there was a lot more to do than in years past.
Panels focused on Pokemon’s history and current games and properties were held on a separate stage. Booths for many of the popular Pokemon licensors, like Funko, Bandai Hobby, and Crocs, were dotted around the North hall. And there were plenty of photo opportunities with Pikachu in its Worlds and XP costumes. While Pokemon XP isn’t on the scale of something like Comic-Con, it still felt like a genuine convention.
Pokemon XP sets itself apart from a lot of conventions in its design, though. On the show floor, booth space and stage space should have been somewhat familiar to regular con-goers, but above ground, TPCi created Rayquaza Road, where they took over a full city street and decorated it with all things Pokemon. There was an incredible Golden Gate design element at one of the entrances with Incineroar, Charizard, and those two Pikachus on it. A full size Rayquaza trolley. Photo ops with Charizard, Blastoise, and Gengar statues. A mini-skate park where you could watch professionals use the Santa Cruz Pokemon decks. And the highlight for me was a giant LEGO Rayquaza creation that required attendees to build small sections of the Legendary Pokemon, and then LEGO staff put it together to make something massive.
On the show floor, my favorite experience was the Pokemon TCG booth that featured the upcoming Pokemon 30th Anniversary Celebration set. With close-up looks at some of the new cards, a stunning Mewtwo and Mew statue, and massive recreations of the new Future rarity cards, the booth was just a tease of what’s to come, but it made a strong impression on me.
And for those who love to hear from the creatives behind Pokemon, there were panels throughout the days that offered some interesting insights into the brand’s 30-year history. President and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, who has been with The Pokemon Company since the very beginning, shared a lot of fun details about developing Pokemon Red and Green back in 1996 and the staying power Pokemon has enjoyed all these years. Creatives from Aardman shared an early look at Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu including test footage of the models and a booth that let you see the two Pokemon stop-frame animation designs up close.
Outside of the Moscone Center, but still within the bounds of Pokemon XP, there were a few unique spots, like:
- A Furfrou booth where you could get your hair colored and braided.
- A stage for story time with Pikachu.
- Activity centers with coloring, model-making, and more.
- Themed food vendors.
There was a lot of attention paid to the new LEGO collaboration, both in a panel and a booth. The booth was focused on introducing the Pokemon Smart Play sets to attendees, showcasing how the functionality works in an immersive walkthrough, while offering fun photo opportunities along the way.
Worlds Night Combines Baseball and Pokemon Fandom
Separate from XP and Worlds, but designed to entice attendees was Worlds Night at Oracle Park. Sports and video games may not mix that often, but for a few hours the Pokemon fandom filled the San Francisco Giants’ baseball stadium to watch a game with some added Poke-flair. The jumbotron featured several renditions of “Who’s that Pokemon?” There were themed graphics for key events like home runs and strike outs, last year’s VGC Juniors winner threw out the first pitch, the entire stadium sang along to the Pokemon TV Show theme, event-specific Pokestops and Raids were available, and there was a special Giants/Worlds jersey available for a select group.
And it all concluded with a fantastic drone show highlighting many of the themed Pokemon from Worlds and XP. While Championship Sunday merges the electricity of a crown with the intensity of competition, Worlds Night felt like a communal experience bursting with love and joy. And that drone show served as a perfect finale to the night.
Pokemon GO Offers Exclusive Backgrounds and Tons of Pikachus
Pokemon GO players were bombarded with things to do, as the event space had tons of Pokestops with easier Timed Research tasks for the Worlds and XP Pikachu that refreshed every hour and could have an exclusive San Francisco background with the Golden Gate Bridge. Scopely Explore set up a Stamp Rally that sent players all around San Francisco to some of its most iconic sights and destinations like the Dragon Gate and Cupid’s Span. There was a one-time Rayquaza raid with the background as well, and a Mega Mewtwo that popped up on Finals Sunday.
After that ended, we even got an early sample of the GO Fest: Mega Finale event featuring all the previously released Super Mega Raids and more, all of which could have that SF background. Honestly, if a Pokemon GO player just came to San Francisco and didn’t have a badge for Worlds, they could have kept busy the whole weekend.
The Pokemon Center Hits the Wallet Hard, But is So Worth It
Of course, any Pokemon event wouldn’t be complete without a Pokemon Center with exclusive merch and Pokemon XP/Worlds was no exception. Packed with tons of fun items and design elements, every Pokemon Center I’ve been to feels bigger than the last. I love how there are different aesthetics for specific items, like a collection focused on a unified Worlds look and one with an XP look, alongside designs that borrow from the host city.
Yes, you can get your plushes and your shirts, but there’s so much more available that it’s hard to imagine anyone walking through the Center and not picking up at least a few things. I know I went overboard, and a lot of us did.
Pokemon XP Wasn’t Perfect and TPCi Knows It
Admittedly, because this was the first Pokemon XP there are areas where the event can improve, and it sounds like Pokemon is going to take lessons learned from San Francisco and build on them. Currently, there are no announced plans for Pokemon XP in Singapore, where Worlds 2027 will take place, so there is time to improve on where the event fell short.
No doubt the Pin Rally, where attendees could collect 12 different themed pins from various areas around the event, was a great idea in practice, but it was too popular and created massive lines that led to congestion issues. Global Director of esports and Live Events, Chris Brown, told media that there was no simple answer to tackling the popularity of pins and other activities, but they will look into options in the future.
I think one of the biggest struggles was that there weren’t enough activities pulling attendees in all different directions to give each booth an opportunity to work through its lines. On Saturday especially, every popular booth (and there were a lot) had its line capped to eliminate congestion issues.
What’s Next for Pokemon Worlds?
Personally, I see Pokemon XP becoming its own thing, a Pokemon Convention that exists independent of Worlds. With a reported attendance of 50,000, TPCi now knows there is a demand for an event like this and even more vendors will likely see the benefits of a partnership knowing how many booths were packed the whole weekend. And to their credit, The Pokemon Company acknowledged the event’s shortcomings and wants to make changes. They’ve done so with Worlds and will certainly do so with XP.
Over this last year, I’ve been to quite a few Pokemon events, but Pokemon XP and Worlds feels like the pinnacle because of its diversity of experiences. You could celebrate so many different aspects of Pokemon in a lot of different ways, and every opportunity felt unique compared to the next. I agree that there is room for improvement on the XP side, but the Worlds Finals was an epic show. Now, Pokemon Worlds turns its eyes back to a global stage and heads to Singapore, where I can’t wait to see how The Pokemon Company tops itself in 2027.
