Everything announced at the Pokemon Presents February showcase to celebrate Pokemon Day 2026

30 years of catching 'em all

The first thing to note is that this is the big one. the superfans among you will already know that this is Pokemon's 30th anniversary, and the franchise's stewards have already been pulling out all the stops to kick off the celebrations. Among those are 30th anniversary logos dedicated to each of the 1000+ 'mons you can encounter across the franchise.

That's likely to mean that this upcoming Pokemon Presents is a bit of a blowout. Expectations are usually high for this livestream each year, but in this major anniversary year there's already solid evidence to suggest several extra stops are being pulled out. We'll go over those in more detail in the run-up to the stream, but suffice to say it'll probably be worth paying extra close attention this year.

Pokemon Day Predictions

Before we get much closer to the Pokemon Day livestream, it's worth thinking about what we're likely to see when it all kicks off. Thankfully, I've put plenty of mental effort into that already this week, and I've got an entire set of Pokemon Day 2026 predictions to walk you through.

That list runs the gamut of some things that are pretty much a certainty, some things that seems very likely to appear, and a few more wild pipe dreams. There's also a few things we already know for sure, which I'll be covering separately - and are good news for fans of Gen 3 and Kanto.

Wind and Waves?

The big ticket item for this Pokemon Day is expected to be the unveiling of the next generation of mainline Pokemon games. There are many, many reasons why chances are extremely high that we'll be seeing two new Pokmon games today - let me walk you through them.

First up, it would make for a pleasing double anniversary. Pokemon is celebrating its 30th birthday, and the ability to unveil the tenth set of main series games in a milestone year would pair very nicely with that. In a year where The Pokemon Company is clearly in a celebratory mood, the chance to bookend 2026 with a big announcement at the start of the year and a big release right at the end is one I don't think will be passed up.

Second, it's about the right time. On average, we've had a new set of Pokemon games every three years (punctuated by several spin-offs, of course). Four years out from the launch of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, you might argue we're overdue for the next generation. And with the Switch 2 still less than a year old, the timing is pretty solid.

Finally, however, those previous notes pale in comparison to the fact that eagle-eyed fans will have seen plenty of incoming evidence of a new generation. Over recent years, a major Pokemon 'Teraleak' has unveiled a lot of apparent information about a pair of upcoming games. Thought to be called Pokemon Wind & Waves (though don't hold us to that name), development screenshots and various other details have been swirling for a while now. By itself that's no guarantee, but the evidence is certainly there for this to be a major show.

Pokemon Pokopia and Pokemon Champions

Two games almost certain to make an appearance in addition to my Gen 10 expectations are Pokemon Champions and Pokemon Pokopia. Rather than some strange twist on the series' two-game naming convention, these are two separate games, covering two extremely different gameplay experiences.

Pokemon Champions is a wholly competitive experience, intended to be the vessel for the next generation of Pokemon esports. A dedicated competition portal, it's a little bit Pokemon Stadium, a little bit The Pokemon Company's desire to bring all official tournaments into one place regardless of generational gimmicks like Mega Evolution, Dynamaxing, or Terastalization. Champions doesn't have a firm release date yet, but with Gen 10 likely on the horizon and the game intended to be used for the world championships in August, I'd expect we'll be getting that launch date today.

For a whole different Pokemon vibe, Pokopia gets rid of pretty much all the competitive edge that Champions offers. Instead, it's the series' answer to the likes of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, putting you into the stretchy shoes of a ditto tasked with making an island home for a variety of different Pokemon pals, each with very different requirements from their homestead of choice.

On a slightly different note, if you're feeling nostalgic rather than looking forward (or looking for something to fill the time with over the next couple of hours), we've got something that should help out. Our Pokemon experts have been hard at work spinning up a list of the best Pokemon movies, and with just over two hours to go before Pokemon Presents kicks off, the timing could hardly be better - just enough time to pick a movie, grab some snacks, and settle down.

And while it's probably not one for today, if you're looking at getting back in touch with the rest of the Pokemon anime, we've got you covered on that front as well, with an article explaining how to watch Pokemon in order. Admittedly, with 1000+ episodes and dozens of movies to catch, you probabyl won't be able to make much of a dent in that before the show today, but maybe this is the next day of the rest of your life.

Back to the predictions, and I'm holding out for a closer look at some Pokemon animation. My personal pipe dream is a third series of the way-too-short Pokemon Concierge miniseries, but the more likely candidate is Pokemon's collaboration with Wallace and Gromit studio Aardman.

Currently, that series - The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu - isn't due to arrive until 2027. That's not likely to get narrowed down today, but I do hope we get to see a little more of it. So far, there's only a 40-second teaser trailer, which is focused a little more on a cute Wooloo than it is on the title characters. But with Dunk & Egg tearing up the Seven Kingdoms, 'incompetent knight and chaotic squire' stocks are way up.

Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu | Teaser - YouTube

Watch On

Less prediction, more outright hopium, but certain Pokemon fans are manifesting their greatest hopes for today's Pokemon Presents. The Nintendo DS era is certainly one of the series' strongest, not just thanks to the release of Diamond/Pearl and HeartGold/SoulSilver, but also due to the arrival of a pair of beloved spin-offs. Pokemon Ranger and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon dwell pretty firmly in cult classic status, but that's not stopping fans from begging The Pokemon Company for their return today.

I've already seen a number of Pokemon Ranger and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon summoning circles on social media. Frankly, I've got no idea if that's likely to happen or not - FireRed and LeafGreen's arrival on Nintendo Switch suggests that anything could make the jump, and while those GBA ports aren't part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription. But FRLG are the very games we're celebrating the anniversary of today, and Ranger and Mystery Dungeon haven't traditionally been given all that much attention. Time will tell...

We're gonna take a quick break to ensure we're back in time for Pokemon Presents in just under 80 minutes' time...

I'm back! And the Pokemon Presents livestream is live, confirming that we've got just over six minutes to go until the stream kicks off. With almost 100,000 people waiting on just this one video, it looks like it's about to be a big one!

If you're quick, I'm reliably informed that instead of the official channel, you can catch the English language version of the Pokemon Asia account, which comes with an excellent soundtrack locked in:

Pokémon Presents 27.2.2026 - YouTube

Watch On

Currently running through the Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova chunks of those logos I mentioned earlier, we're now at t-minus 2 minutes.

A cute rundown of all the starters is taking us into the top 10 countdown, and away we go! It's Pokemon Presents 2026!

We're kicking off old-school, with a runthrough all the intro scenes, starting with the iconic Gengar/Nidorino showdown that started it all, leading right up to the events of Scarlet/Violet and Legends Z-A.

And now Tsunekazu Ishihara is here to introduce Pokemon Day, explaining the anniversary that's the reason we're all here. Name-dropping the 1,025 Pokemon that now exist in place of the 151 that started the series is quite the flex, as Ishihara promises "all the latest news" and Pikachu carries us onwards.

Pokemon Red and Blue are taking the stage now, with a musical starting point. Junichi Masuda, who handles the music from the original games, is bringing a dedicated Game Music Collection, available from today, that lets you play music from Red and Blue on a dedicated mini-player.

Now it's esports, starting off with the World Championships. Director Chris Brown confirms the inclusion of Pokemon Champions, and says that players will be heading to the enormous Chase Centre to celebrate. There's also the Pokemon XP event, a community-focused event full of things to do (and merch to buy). An early look at art celebrating the move to San Francisco got dropped, featuring important mons and moments from across the series.

Pokemon TCG Pocket is up now. The Future Awards, we're told, as a whole host of legendaries - including a very shiny Mew and Mewtwo - line up to make their appearance through 2026.

Pokemon Go's tenth anniversary is here, and while there's not much more that can be done to add new mons, there'll be plenty of returning Pokemon. There's also a Fest starting tomorrow, and a giveaway code.

We're well into the mobile game segment now, with Pokemon Masters EX introducing Red. There's also Cafe Remix, with is doing a roundup of every wave of starters from every region, new Pokemon and outfits, and more customization. And Finally, Pokemon Sleep, which is also making something of Mew's apperance. Mew Missions start tonight, and there's a Latios/Latias sting at the end too.

Pokemon Unite is bringing the Gen 1 Legendary Birds and the Gen 2 Starters, but there's no clear release date on those for now.

My apologies,this is the TCG Pocket part of the show - those previous legendaries must have been for the physical game. Paldea starters are on their way, alongside what looks like a lot of code drops.

Ok, this is a big one. Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness - notoriously one of the most difficult games in the entire series - is heading to NSO. Colisseum was already on its way, so it's slightly strange to only see one game shown off here, but it's a long-awaited arrival to the GameCube Classics section.

LeafGreen and FireRed are heading to Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. We did already know this, but it's also nice to see it laid out that making these titles compatible with Pokemon Home and Pokemon Champions is on the docket too.

Speaking of Pokemon Champions, here's an in-depth trailer for that game. Intended, as I said earlier, as the new competitive format for the entire series, the aim is to make clear that this is intended for top-level play as well as casual games among friends and individual, ad-hoc play - such as on your commute.

Visually, it's looking very impressive - there's clearly a push for some improvement there.

But the big deal is an April 2026 release date - no exact date, but a much closer release than I imagined.

We're back to Lumiose for Pokemon Legends Z-A and its Mega Dimension DLC. There's some real firepower here, with Mega Evolutions and Legendaries tearing up the streets. Honestly, it's a far more visually impressive take than I've seen from the main game, but it's certainly a punchy trailer.

Can't imagine it's great for property prices though...

Mega Garchomp's appearance will have Cynthia's opps quaking in their boots, especially given its two forms and the destruction of that Draco Meteor. That new form is Mega Garhomp Z, which will be available via Mystery Gift, from today. All you need to do is beat that new version - easier said than done...

It's Pokemon Pokopia now, which was almost guaranteed to show up given how close we are to its release. A Stereo Rotom playing to itself in a darkened room is your new friend - DJ Rotom - and it looks as though they'll let you liven up your town with music from throughout the series. I saw a Fortree City track which took me right back to Hoenn.

This is the close look at Pokopia that I was expecting, introducing players to the life sim in more detail than previous trailers. There's some befriending of Pokemon, as well as some farming, and the introduction of a Greedent who's keen to help out in the kitchen - Chef Dente. Each Pokemon will have different tastes, and your dishes can help you power up your own moves -it's worth remembering that you're a Ditto in Pokopia, not a person.

There's also a look at the multiplayer game modes, as The Pokemon Company clearly looks to take some of the lunch left by Animal Crossing. A Prop Hunt mode, followed by a massive Minecraft-style mega-build, all add quite a lot more depth to Pokopia than I was expecting. A Pokemon life sim isn't exactly a hard sell, but I've been seeing suggestions that this is not one to sleep on, and with the release date barely a week away on March 5, it could be one to check out.

Well, here's the 'one more thing'. Gen 10 incoming?

Oh, it sure looks like it - cinematic opening, cute hand-drawn art celebrating each previous generation? This is gonna be new games - is it Wind & Waves?

Oh, yeah, it's Wind & Waves. A door opens onto a seafront, introducing Pikachu dressed for a day at the beach - or...a cattle ranch?

And the art looks a lot better than it did in Scarlet and Violet. This is almost definitely another open-world effort, with plenty of old friends in addition to the inevitable new arrivals.

Did you see that water?

Starters confirmed!

Browt is a grass-type bird, Pombon is a fire-type dog (and the only correct pick of the lot), and Gecqua is a water-type abomination.

Pokemon Winds and Pokemon Waves confirmed, with the standard simultaneous release...not this year? The pair are scheduled for 2027, which is certainly a surprise.

That's thrown me slightly - I would have bet a lot on the release being this year. Perhaps with Champions and Pokopia there's too much already on the docket, or there's a desire for as much time in the oven as they can get.

Now for my favorite bit - with the reveal over, it's time to tally up who we actually saw in that trailer, to get a sense of who'll be joining us on our adventure. Hold please.