Trainer getting a Mega Stone in Pokemon Legends Z-A / Image via The Pokemon Company

For the first time in ages, The Pokémon Company hosted a summer edition of Pokémon Presents, sharing details about several upcoming games and revealing new information about future updates. This included yet another deeper look at Pokémon Legends: Z-A and our first glimpse of Pokémon Champions gameplay, among other content. 

Unlike Nintendo Direct presentations, Pokémon Presents is all about the Pokémon franchise, and the pacing is always just slightly off, largely because there is just too much going on with Pokémon to include everything or focus too much on a single game. From multimedia projects to new game trailers, the Pokémon Presents for July had it all, for better or worse.

To start the show, the Pokémon Presents dropped trailers for several upcoming Pokémon multimedia projects, events, and attractions. This included a brief look at some of the featured items for the Pokémon World Championships, which will run from Aug. 15 to 17 in Anaheim.

From there, it was on to a new trailer for Pokémon Concierge Season 2, which drops on Sept. 4 via Netflix. The trailer itself was just more wholesome island vibes, mixed in with some extra emotion provided by an old man and his friendly Sealeo, who happily watched along. 

The final show trailer was created by the critically acclaimed Aardman animation company in the United Kingdom, best known for its stop-motion work on projects like Wallace & Gromit. They are working on a project for Pokémon called Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu, which only got a brief trailer and won’t release until 2027, yet it already has fans eagerly waiting for it due to the studio’s pedigree.

A new Pokémon theme park called PokéPark Kanto will open in early 2026, with two unique areas filled with special Pokémon decor and activities. 

Now, it is time for the game section. Or at least, the portion of the presentation focused on mobile or hybrid titles that might not appeal to everyone. And, with that in mind, you can mostly overlook the updates coming to Pokémon UNITE, Masters EX, and Sleep.

Pokémon Go’s Max Finale event will run from Aug. 23 to 25, with Eternatus joining the game for the first time. The event will focus on Gigantamax battles, with hourly rotations for Pokémon appearing in Gigantamax Raids and more.

Players can use the promo code GOFESTMAX in the game right now to access special Timed Research early that will let you encounter one of Gigantamax Cinderace, Rillaboom or Inteleon, and help you power up your Pokémon to take on Eternamax Eternatus. 

Pokémon Friends shadowdropped during the event as a new puzzle game available on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. It offers players 1,200 puzzles and daily challenges to complete, with different completions letting you collect yarn that can be used to make plush Pokémon you can display. 

The game is free to download on mobile with a number of in-app microtransactions, but costs $9.99 just to get on Nintendo Switch. It also has two different paid DLC expansions, which bring the game’s total up to $36 if you want to unlock everything. This blew fans away, considering Pokémon has not used this model for a release before, and the game seems a little basic to cost nearly that much. 

You can still access the game and play the game for free on mobile with some typical mobile game-style limitations, but you will need to purchase the game for $9.99 on Switch, which equates to the Basic Pack offered on mobile. 

The paid content essentially works as bundles to unlock more puzzles, yarn, plushies, and quests to play while removing limitations like the Daily Untangle Limit, turning it from a mobile game into a full product, hence the base cost on Switch. Almost like what Nintendo did with Super Mario Run. 

The Pokémon TCG – Mega Evolution expansion launches on Sept. 26, and the Pokémon Presents gave players a first look at Special Illustration Rare versions of Mega Lucario ex, Mega Kangaskhan ex, and Mega Gardevoir ex. 

The Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Mega Venusaur ex cards shown in the trailer are unique too, in that they will make one larger image when placed side by side. 

Oddly enough, we did not see the new Pokémon TCG Pocket expansion shared despite it being set to release before the end of the month. The content did leak right after the Pokémon Presents ended, however, all but confirming the next set will be Gold and Silver-themed.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has a special new type of Raid Challenge coming to the game in waves starting on Aug. 8 that includes the official release of the Shiny Treasures of Ruin. 

From Aug. 8 to Sept.30, Wo-Chien, Chien-Pao, Ting0Lu, and Chi-Yu will begin appearing in five-star raids throughout Scarlet and Violet. This will be the first time their Shiny variants will be featured in the game, though you can’t catch them like a normal raid boss once you clear the Tera Raids. 

Instead, players around the world will need to collectively defeat each of the Treasures of Ruin one million times before the event period ends on Sept. 30. If that is achieved, every player will receive Myster Gift codes to obtain all four Pokémon in their Shiny variants. 

For every 100,000 raids cleared after the one million mark, players can get 40 Tera Shards. 

New Mass Outbreak events themed around the typings of the Treasures of Ruin will also start to run in rotation between July 23 and Sept. 31. Players can also redeem 

In what was the most esports-centric portion of the Pokémon Presents, we finally got to see gameplay and how the game will function as a battle simulator. Thankfully, everything looks good, and The Pokémon Company provided answers to most of what the competitive community was looking for.

Related Article: First Look at Team Building, Currency, Game Modes in Pokémon Champions

With this trailer, we now know players can bring in compatible Pokémon from Pokémon HOME or recruit Pokémon directly within Champions by using Victory Points (VP) to use in teambuilding. From there, Pokémon can have their stats, ability, nature, moves, and more altered to match exactly what you want out of them for your roster, with a few key changes that might be important later.

Overall, it looks like Champions will be the official Showdown equivalent that players have begged for, just with a few extra hoops to jump through, such as needing to earn the VP used for recruiting and training Pokémon. The only real questions left are how the game will be monetized and if it will feature any content beyond the battle modes shown.

As expected, Pokémon Legends: Z-A closed the show with a new trailer, though it might not have been what everyone was expecting. Instead of focusing on multiple new Pokémon or deep diving features, we only saw one new Mega Evolution and got a deeper look at the game’s story, plus a few tidbits on how you will be battling in Lumiose City. 

Mega Dragonite was the major reveal for this trailer, with several others potentially hinted at by appearances from other trainers and Pokémon if the previous leaks about the number of new Megas in the game are accurate. We also saw more returning characters, such as Emma and Mabel, who will be integral parts to the story as you help protect Lumiose and grind up the Z-A Royale rankings. 

For gameplay, the big new element is Rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon, which are going to act as raid bosses much like Noble Pokémon from Legends: Arceus. You will take them on alongside other NPC characters in dangerous arenas where you will also need to dodge attacks while commanding your Pokémon.

We also saw Alpha Pokémon in the wild again, which might point to other Legends: Arceus mechanics returning. We will likely see a few more trailers leading up the game’s Oct. 16 release, potentially showing more content and Mega Pokémon along the way.