In a Pokémon World Championship Series first, the 2026 and future formats will be using yet-to-be-released Pokémon Champions as the game for VGC competitors instead of a “mainline” game. To switch up the format even more next year, Pokémon Champions will include the Mega Evolution mechanic in the official format.

Usually, players compete in fierce Pokémon battles throughout the year for a spot at the Pokémon World Championships using the most recent “core,” or “mainline” Pokémon game, like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, or Pokémon Sword and Shield before that.

Pokémon Champions isn’t a self-contained narrative game, but rather a new, multiplayer battle-focused Pokémon game coming to both mobile and Nintendo Switch. It features a simplified training system, which should make competitive battling more accessible than ever. It will also have compatibility with Pokémon Home, allowing trainers to transfer legacy Pokémon from other games. We’re unsure which Pokémon from what games will be legal to use in next year’s format.

Pokémon Champions features “core-style battles” with gimmicks from all eras of Pokémon, including Mega Evolution, originally from Pokémon X and Y, and Terastalization, from the recent Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. So far, we know that Mega Evolution will return in Ranked Battles in this year’s official format. Mega Dragonite, recently revealed in a Pokémon Legends: Z-A Trailer, will also be coming to Pokémon Champions.

Pokémon Champions is set to be released in 2026 and is being developed by Game Freak in collaboration with The Pokémon Works. Players usually begin competing for Championship Points soon after the previous year’s World Championships, so we’ve yet to see how the release date will affect tournaments for this year’s format.

This is a year of many firsts for the Pokemon World Championships. VGC Champion Kevin Han made history by taking the championship title in the Junior and then Senior divisions in back-to-back years, and it’s the first time Championship Sunday was held in an arena. Next year, the 2026 Pokemon World Championships’ Championship Sunday will be held at the Chase Arena in San Francisco.

Casey DeFreitas is a deputy editor on the guides team at IGN and this year is the second time she’s covered the Pokémon World Championships in Anaheim, CA. Catch her on socials @ShinyCaseyD.