The final announcement rounding out the closing ceremony was the reveal of the location for the next two Pokémon World Championships. The tournament will be held in Anaheim, California in 2025, and will stay in California in 2026 and head to San Francisco. The Pokémon Company has held the event annually since 2004 (with the exception of 2020 and 2021, which were canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic), and it has been almost exclusively held within the United States. Worlds 2013 was held in Vancouver, London hosted the 2022 show, and, surprisingly, 2023 was the only year the event was held in The Pokémon Company’s home country of Japan. I’m glad to see it return to the continental US, at least. Now I may actually get to make the trip.
Ultimately, it was a light series of announcements this year, as I know a lot of folks were hoping to hear more about Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The Kalos-based RPG was announced at the Pokémon Day Presents in February, but was only teased with a concept trailer. So we still don’t know a lot about the game beyond that it will take place entirely in the metropolis of Lumiose City.