The Pokémon Presents for July 22nd, 2025, aired earlier today, detailing upcoming updates for current games and revealing new details for the likes of Pokémon Champions and Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and showing an all-new game, Pokémon Friends. It was also announced that The Pokémon Company and Animation Studio Aardman are working together to bring a new kind of animated show to life with Sirfetch’d and Pichu taking center stage in Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu. Pokémon Concierge will also return for a second season on Netflix and a real-life PokéPark attraction based on the Kanto region was revealed and will be opening up in Yomiuriland Theme Park in Japan.
As you can imagine, there was a segment dedicated to The Pokémon Company’s mobile titles with more updates coming to Pokémon Unite, Pokémon GO, Pokémon Cafe Mix, and Pokémon Sleep. Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet were also mentioned again, with The Pokémon Company reiterating that there is a free upgrade update for the Nintendo Switch 2 that boasts better visuals and performance, as well as a new Mass Outbreak event and Shiny Raids for the game’s mythical Pokémon like Chien-Pao, Wo-Chien, Ting-Lu, and Chi-Yu. Catching them won’t be as simple as defeating them though, as one million players will have to work together to defeat them all before they can be received as a Mystery Gift.
This was just a brief run-through of what was shown during the Pokémon Presents. If you would like a more extensive breakdown, you can find the official press release below the embedded video:
Pokémon Presents Unveils New Details for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Pokémon Champions, and More
Special Pokémon Presents Also Provides Teaser for ‘Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu’ and Reveal of Pokémon Friends, Available Now
LONDON — 22 July 2025 — Today, The Pokémon Company group hosted a special Pokémon Presents streamed online to fans around the world. The video presentation featured new announcements and reveals from across the globally popular entertainment franchise. Highlights include new details for the upcoming video games Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Pokémon Champions; the launch of Pokémon Friends; a teaser for ‘Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu,’ the highly anticipated collaboration between The Pokémon Company International and Aardman; and more.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A: (New details have been announced for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, launching 16 October 2025 on Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch.)
Explore Lumiose City: During the day, Trainers can explore the vibrant city and find Pokémon in wild zones, where they may encounter strong wild Pokémon known as alpha Pokémon. These Pokémon are larger than their regular counterparts, have glowing red eyes, and are particularly powerful and difficult to catch.
At night, players can also compete in the Z-A Royale and aim to climb the ranks, with battles against even more powerful Trainers awaiting as the player advances. One of those Trainers the player will face in a promotion match is Corbeau, the boss of an organisation operating in Lumiose City called the Rust Syndicate.
All kinds of encounters await the player in Lumiose City. Emma is a detective who asks the player to track down missing Pokémon, locate missing items, and occasionally take part in Pokémon battles. Trainers can also assist Mable, the acting director of the Pokémon Research Lab, who analyses Pokémon habits and the reasons behind their growing populations. In return, players can receive TMs and other rewards for their help.
Team MZ: Upon arriving in Lumiose City, players will be invited by either Urbain or Taunie to join Team MZ, a crew dedicated to keeping Lumiose City a peaceful place. In addition to Urbain or Taunie, Team MZ includes Naveen, an up-and-coming fashion designer partnered with Scraggy, and Lida, an aspiring professional dancer who battles alongside her partner Staryu.
Rogue Mega Evolution: A strange phenomenon is happening in Lumiose City—some wild Pokémon are Mega Evolving on their own and going on rampages. Quasartico Inc., the corporation driving Lumiose City’s redevelopment, will task the player and the rest of Team MZ to investigate these strange occurrences. Together, they will battle and calm a variety of Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon. Trainers who succeed will obtain Mega Stones as rewards. Newly Discovered Mega-Evolved Pokémon: Mega Dragonite is a newly discovered Mega-Evolved Pokémon with distinctive Dragonair-like features, including wings on its head and a pearl on its tail. Mega Dragonite can also fly faster and farther than ever before.
New Details Revealed for Pokémon Champions, Coming 2026:
In Pokémon Champions, Trainers can recruit Pokémon to join their teams and battle other Trainers. Trial Recruitment allows Pokémon to join the player’s team for a limited time—letting them try out a Pokémon in battle straight away and test strategies[1]. Permanent Recruitment uses Victory Points (VP)—which are gained from various methods such as Ranked Battles—to add Pokémon to the player’s team permanently. Players can also use VP to train Pokémon according to their own preferences, including altering their stats and Abilities.[2]
There are three different battle modes available in Pokémon Champions, which can be played in both Single Battle and Double Battle formats.
- Ranked Battles: Players can test their skills against other Trainers from all over the world. Trainers are divided into tiers based on their skill level.
- Casual Battles: Trainers can test how their teams perform against Pokémon Trainers from around the world in a relaxed environment.
- Private Battles: Players can battle against friends or family in the same in-game room.
Pokémon Champions is slated for release in 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices. Please visit the official Pokémon Champions website for more information.
Teaser of ‘Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu’:
Pokémon and Aardman have partnered to create a new stop-motion animated series coming in 2027—a series that offers a unique look into the Pokémon world with the signature Aardman sense of character, comedy and craft. A new teaser for the highly anticipated series can be seen on the official Pokémon YouTube channel. Pokémon Friends, a New Puzzle Game, Available Today:
Available today on Nintendo Switch (also compatible with Nintendo Switch 2) and iOS and Android devices, Pokémon Friends is a puzzle game where Trainers can enjoy untangling their minds by solving brainteasers that draw inspiration from the unique world of Pokémon. Players solve puzzles to earn yarn, which can be put into the Plush-O-Matic to create Pokémon plush in the game. The plush-loving residents of Think Town will ask for help via friend quests, and the player can help them out by bringing them plush. Plush toys can also be used to decorate the player’s customisable in-game plush rooms—with options to rearrange furniture and wallpaper to switch up each room’s look and feel.
Developed in collaboration with Wonderfy Inc., Pokémon Friends features over 1,200 puzzles that were designed to bring out the fun in critical thinking. Trainers can also complete friend quests, track daily progress with stamps in their calendar, and collect up to 150 different plush.[3] With up to five separate save files, the game encourages daily play for the whole family to enjoy the fun together. For more information, check the official Pokémon Friends website. New Cards Coming to the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG): Mega Evolution Expansion:
In anticipation of the 26 September 2025 launch of the Mega Evolution expansion for the bestselling Pokémon TCG, The Pokémon Company group offered a look at more new cards that players can look forward to playing with and collecting, including Mega Lucario ex, Mega Kangaskhan ex, and Mega Gardevoir ex. In addition, the Mega Evolution expansion includes cards featuring Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Mega Venusaur ex that reveal a larger image when connected. Promo Cards and Prizes for Pokémon World Championships Participants:
Trainers from around the world will battle across various Pokémon titles at the 2025 Pokémon World Championships from 15 to 17 August in Anaheim, California. Following the previous announcement of the Worlds celebratory Pikachu card, artwork for the Paradise Resort promo card—given to those competing in the World Championships (while supplies last)—was revealed during the Pokémon Presents. For more information, please visit the official 2025 Pokémon World Championships website.
New experiences and updates were also announced for additional Pokémon titles, including the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet video games, Pokémon GO, Pokémon Sleep, Pokémon UNITE, Pokémon Masters EX, Pokémon Café ReMix, and ‘Pokémon Concierge.’ Fans can learn more about the latest announcements by viewing the Pokémon Presents in its entirety on the official Pokémon YouTube channel.
Source: The Pokémon Company PR
