Fans anticipated that the 2024 Pokemon World Championships closing ceremony would reveal 2025’s location. In an unprecedented move, both the 2025 and 2026 locations for the Pokemon World Championships were announced at the closing ceremony. On top of that, the exact dates for both events were also revealed.
With only one exception, the Pokemon World Championships closing ceremony confirms the location for next year’s competition. This year, both 2025 and 2026’s locations were announced: Anaheim, California in 2025 and San Francisco, California in 2026. The 2026 location was actually announced early by the San Francisco Business Times in February, even before the dates of 2024’s World Championships were known. It’s uncertain if this played a role in why both locations were revealed at once.
San Francisco and Anaheim have subsequently hosted Worlds in the past. In 2016, San Francisco hosted Worlds for the first time, and Anaheim hosted the following year in 2017. It’s worth pointing out that 2016 was the year of the Pokemon series’s 20th anniversary, and 2026 will be its 30th anniversary. While San Fransisco now seems to be the host city of choice for major anniversary years, the World Championships host city for the series’s 10th anniversary was… Anaheim! Anaheim’s first time hosting Worlds was in 2006, back when the only game that participated was the TCG. The VGC would not be included in the Pokemon World Championships until 2009 in San Diego.
This is also the first time the event dates are announced during the closing ceremony. Typically, the dates are revealed late into February, around the time of Pokemon Day, or even later, which has caused some challenges for competitors and spectators alike when preparing travel transportation and accommodations. It’s uncertain how Worlds locations announcements will play out from now on: if there will be an announcement every other year but with two locations at a time, or if it will return to revealing only the next year’s location starting again in 2026. Regardless of the method, hopefully, each location announcement will be paired with the dates for ease of planning from now on.
