Pokémon World Championships 2026 gives a sneak peek of what’s to come with PokémonXP

When the venues for the upcoming Pokémon Championships were announced in Honolulu 2024, it was clear that San Francisco would have to be something special. 2026 will mark the 30th anniversary of Pokémon, the 10th anniversary of Pokémon GO, and the 5th anniversary of Pokémon Unite. During the closing ceremony of the 2025 Pokémon World Championships, we got a brief glimpse of what we can expect to experience next year.

PokémonXP joins the 2026 Pokémon World Championships

The video presented during the closing ceremony was divided into two parts. The first part announced that the 2026 Pokémon World Championships finals will be held as part of an arena experience, similar to this year’s event, but expanded to the Chase Center.

What will PokémonXP be about?

PokémonXP is an experience for fans that will run parallel to the Pokémon World Championships inside the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco. Although this part is still brief in the presentation, it gave us a glimpse of what we can expect, from a drone show to the classic Pokémon Center Pop-Up and more.

When will the 2026 Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP take place?

The announcement concludes with the dates for these events, which will run from August 28 to 30, a few weeks later than in recent years.

Will the Pokémon Center Pop-Up Store still be open?

As with other major events organized by The Pokémon Company, attendees will be able to purchase a range of exclusive items, but you should be aware that there will be certain restrictions.

For now, it has been confirmed that, although the Pop-Up Store will be available, only people with an attendance badge will be able to purchase products inside the store. In other words, in order to purchase official Pokémon merchandise, you must have a Multi-Day Pass or a Multi-Day Pass with Arena.

When do tickets go on sale?

According to information available on the official PokémonXP website, sales will begin on September 17 in two phases: the first will take place starting at 9:00 AM PT, and the second round of ticket sales will begin at 8:00 PM PT on the same day.

These passes are for various events taking place that weekend, such as PokémonXP and Pokémon World Championships activities at the Moscone Center. However, there is an additional ticket type called the “Multi-Day Pass With Arena,” which includes the previous pass (Multi-Day Pass) and a guaranteed seat in the Chase Center arena.

Ticket prices will have two options: an Early Bird (Pidgey Price) presale and the Standard Price. So far, it has been confirmed that both types of tickets will give attendees access to certain days. However, more information about ticket sales for individual days, as well as the full schedule for this Pokémon celebration, will be released soon.