I watched my first Pokémon World Championships

It’s a great time to be a Pokémon fan right now.

Some live it like a dream – a piece from childhood that continues to stay as a fantasy. Some memories, they stay with you forever. For me, Pokémon has always been one of those things: something that started with a Game Boy and the simple obsession of trying to catch them all, but somehow never really left. 

So when I found myself standing in San Francisco for my first-ever Pokémon World Championships, there was a slightly surreal feeling to it all. This was no longer something happening on YouTube livestream or the in-game Pokemon GO app. Thousands of fans turned up with their favourite Pokèmon characters, and many cosplayed with so much creativity. And some of the world’s best players flew in just to compete for the World Championship title. 

The 2026 Pokémon World Championships, held from 28 to 30 August at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, and then the Chase Center for the finals, were particularly significant. They marked 30 years of Pokémon and, for the first time, were accompanied by PokémonXP – a fan convention that expanded the idea of what attending Worlds could actually mean. It proved one other thing – Pokémon has evolved tremendously over the past three decades, now a global phenomenon that transcends generations.  

“We should be going back and forth between the digital and the real world, enriching our lives while doing so. That’s what I hope to do with Pokèmon,” says Mr. Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Pokémon Company during his panel session at Pokemon XP. 

With over a thousand Pokémon species, the company continues to create and expand through various platforms including card games, films, handheld games and more. 

Mr. Ishihara also explained how the game has expanded through generations – the idea of playing together between children and adults. It has evolved from handheld and wireless gaming to smart phones. 

Before smartphones, there were functionalities that core devices didn’t have. Once smartphones arrived, it had everything that people wanted – GPS, photos, navigation. That was when game companies started developing mobile apps, and marked the beginning of a new revolution. 

Beyond PokémonGO 

I started playing Pokèmon with the handheld Nintendo Gameboy some thirty years ago, and was reintroduced into the game through Pokémon GO ten years ago. It was the first time the game evolved through the capabilities of smart phones; which has developed drastically in the past decade. Today, Pokémon GO has expanded beyond completing the Pokédex. Beyond the community aspect of the game and how Pokémon GO brings people together as well as exciting events like Pokémon GO Wild Area and Pokémon GO Fest, there’s a whole new dimension to the game when it comes to GO Battle.   

And I thought it’s just part of Pokémon GO until I arrived in San Francisco. But the battle was hyperbolic. The matches were neck and neck. All eyes were locked on the arena as both MEweedle (Maxwell Ember, Switzerland) and GGs489hiromaru (Hiroki Yamauchi, Japan) battled in the finals for pride and the World Champion title. 

Jellicent and Lickylicky topped the charts as the best tankers. Ember’s Shadow Kanto Ninetales and Quagsire and Yamauchi’s Hippowdown were top attackers in those matches. And after rounds of disputes and rematches, the players, now tied at 2-2, entered a final match for the second time to determine the ultimate world champion. It had been a nail-biting series of events and there was so much on the line for the two young hopefuls – one seasoned, one debutant. 

At the end, after countless swaps and switches, Yamauchi bided his time and kept his Jellicent to withstand the fire-type Shadow Kanto Ninetales from Ember, attacking with a water move to seal the deal! A tearful moment for him, but the entire arena screamed in frenzy for the first-time competitor and first-ever Japanese World Champion! 

That was just one of many exciting matches we got to witness at the Chase Center. The crowd went into a frenzy, all high on adrenaline as the competitors pulled off their best moves. Junior, Senior and Masters, the tournament resonated with the multigenerational ethos that The Pokémon Company upheld – solidifying the enduring spirit of Pokémon 30 years and counting. 

A few moments later, we crowned the first ever Pokémon Champions World Champion – Takuma Yamazaki made a mindblowing move the world had never seen. He deflected a double protect move with Sneasler’s Feint attack to break his opponent’s Charizard’s Protect, and finish it off with his Basculegion’s Aqua Jet move. He proceeded to knock off Whimsicott to claim the world title.

Enter PokémonXP

At PokémonXP, I discovered another side of Pokémon I’d never fathomed before. At Moscone Center, we also learned about the brand new card rarity called Futuristic Rare (FUR) that was recently released with the new 30th Anniversary Collection. The crowd pullers were the textured Mew ex and Mewtwo ex chase chards, featuring modern visual styling designed by renowned Japanese artist YOSHIROTTEN. 

Pikachu lovers were also treated to a dedicated gallery showcasing the 30 unique Pikachu rare cards included in the 30th Anniversary sets. Specially illustrated Pikachu cards depicted different artistic styles, Pikachu personas and themes. They included Chonkychu, Gremlinchu, Glowchu, Comfychu and Godchu.

While Pokémon TCG offered a sneak peek into the highly anticipated 30th Anniversary pulls, Nintendo brought forth its best battalion of games like Pokémon Pokopia, Scarlet & Violet, and so much more. But one of the standouts had to be the Honda Koraidon and Toyota Miraidon Pavilion. 

This automotive showcase made waves by debuting real-world, rideable motorcycle prototypes built to match the exact size and weight of the Gen-9 Legendary Pokémon that first appeared in the Pokémon Scarlet & Violet franchise. Honda presented the real-life, self-balancing Koraidon motorcycle utilising the advanced Honda Riding Assist tech. Toyota on the other hand showcased a fully operational Miraidon bike. Together, both brought components of the video game straight out of the game. 

There was also the History of Pokémon Museum Exhibit that served as a walk down memory lane for long-time fans and an introduction to new ones. It featured a complete interactive visual timeline mapping out the history of the video games, the anime and even rare merchandise. The biggest draw for TCG collectors was a heavily secured vault displaying a complete Pokédex alongside ultra-rate physical cards. Also on display was the 1st Edition Shadowless Base Set and Unlimited Base Set Pokémon cards – it gave many of us goosebumps. 

But of course, the most insightful part of the PokémonXP had to be the panel sessions featuring the likes of game developers, designers as well as the great minds behind The Pokémon Company. The sessions gave Pokémon fans a window into the making of some of the most iconic games that took the world by storm at one point or another. 

What’s in it for 2027?

Over in Southeast Asia, while many are still trying to get their hands on the 30th Anniversary Elite Trainer Box (ETB) for Pokémon TCG, the next big wave has got to be the PokéXciting! series of events happening across the region to celebrate Pokèmon’s 20th anniversary.

It started off in Kuala Lumpur last week with the opening of the Pokémon Center Pop-up at Ombak KLCC, followed by the Pikachu Parade and Pokémon Drone Show. Pokémon GO players were also treated with an exclusive PokéXciting! Pikachu and a stamp rally that would give you the exclusive Pikachu with a location background. This stamp rally would be running across all major Asia-Pacific cities including Taipei at Xinyi District / Xiangti Boulevard (October 10 to 11, 2026), Singapore at Jewel Changi Airport (November 7 to 8, 2026), Manila at SM Mall of Asia (January 23 to 24, 2027), and Bangkok (February 13 to 14, 2027). 

As part of its 30th Anniversary, there will also be the Pokémon RUN 30 events taking place across 7 locations including the Philippines (SM Mall of Asia, October 3 to 4, 2026), Taiwan (Taichung Central Park, October 17 to 18, 2026 / Dream Mall in Kaohsiung, October 31 to November 1, 2026), Singapore (The Kallang, November 7 to 8, 2026), Malaysia (KLCC Plaza Petronas, November 21 to 22, 2026), Indonesia (GBK Jakarta, December 12 to 13, 2026), Thailand (centralwOrld Bangkok, January 9 to 10, 2027), and Hong Kong (Science Park, January 23 to 24, 2027). 

Oh, and you’ve probably heard of the Pokémon Center Bangkok which will be opened this December 2026, located on the 6th floor of centralwOrld – Pokémon’s third permanent store outside of Japan after Singapore and Taipei. 

All of these events will lead up to the 2027 Pokèmon World Championships that will be hosted in Singapore – the first time the event is headed to Southeast Asia. It will take place at Singapore EXPO from August 13 to 15, 2027 followed by the Championship Sunday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. 

And Pokémon wasn’t finished. 

There’s also a new feature-length animated movie, Pokémon: Wild Card that will be coming out in 2027. The film follows an aspiring Pokémon Trading Card Game player and Mimikyu, bringing the world of competitive TCG into a cinematic universe. 

For TCG fans, Pokémon revealed Mega Lucario Z ex, alongside a new ex★ series, with more Mega Attack Rare cards teased including Mega Darkrai ex, Mega Greninja ex, Mega Zygarde ex and Mega Rayquaza ex. Pokemon Champions on the other hand will be getting Z Mega Evolutions, including Mega Lucario Z, Mega Garchomp Z and Mega Absol Z. Pokèmon GO is also expanding the role of Mega-Evolved Pokémon in GO Battle League. 

There was also a first look at Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d and Pichu, a stop-motion series created by Aardman, which will debut exclusively on Disney+ in 2027. 

My first Pokémon World Championships ultimately opened up another new world to Pokémon that had never existed in my life. San Francisco gave me Rayquaza Road, PokémonXP, and the exhilarating experience at the Pokémon World Championships inside the Chase Center itself. Beyond that, it gave me a safe space to relive my childhood fantasies – that this little Poké-nerd could simply live his Pokémon dream even at forty.