Singapore to Host World Pokémon Championships, Indonesia Challenged to Strengthen Creative Economy
The global gaming and esports industry continues to grow as a vital part of the creative economy, including in Southeast Asia. The region’s large fan base and expanding digital ecosystem have made it increasingly recognised as both a market and a hub for hosting international-scale gaming events.
This development is exemplified by The Pokémon Company International’s announcement that Singapore will host the Pokémon World Championships 2027. The global Pokémon competition will be held at Singapore EXPO, with the final matches or Championship Sunday taking place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The announcement was made during the Pokémon World Championships 2026 in San Francisco, United States, which brought together Pokémon players from various countries.
Singapore’s selection as host demonstrates the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific region in the development of the gaming and esports industry. For Southeast Asian countries, this momentum opens opportunities for developing competitive gaming ecosystems, creative industries, player communities, and event-based economies.
In addition to announcing next year’s venue, Pokémon also introduced several projects and product updates that will be released in the coming years.
One of these is a new animated film, Pokémon: Wild Card, set for release in 2027. The film will tell the story of a Pokémon Trading Card Game player and Mimikyu. Its production involves Story inc. together with Japanese animation studio CloverWorks.
Pokémon also announced the arrival of several Mega Z Evolution Pokémon in Pokémon Champions starting 9 September 2026. Mega Lucario Z, Mega Garchomp Z, Mega Absol Z, Baxcalibur, and Rillaboom will join the game. Heatran is scheduled to appear in the next battle.
In the animation sector, the series Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu is scheduled to air exclusively on Disney+ in 2027. The series is being developed with Aardman, the British animation studio known for works such as Shaun the Sheep and Wallace & Gromit, set in the Galar region.
Meanwhile, Pokémon GO, which is entering a decade since its launch in 2016, is also receiving updates. Mega Evolution Pokémon will be usable in the GO Battle League next season, opening up new strategic opportunities in player-versus-player competition. Armoured Mewtwo will also return to the game.
Expansion is also taking place in the card game ecosystem. The Pokémon Trading Card Game will feature Mega Lucario Z ex as the first Mega Z Evolution Pokémon in the series, followed by Mega Rayquaza ex, Mega Darkrai ex, Mega Greninja ex, and Mega Zygarde ex. Meanwhile, Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket will introduce dual-type Pokémon starting October 2026.
For Pokémon UNITE, several new characters announced include Morpeko, Toxtricity, Jolteon, and Flareon.
The Pokémon World Championships 2026 in San Francisco also crowned champions across various categories. In VGC Master, Takuma Yamazaki from Japan took first place, while Andrew Hedrick from the United States won the Trading Card Game Master category.
In the Pokémon GO category, Hiroki GGs489hiromaru Yamauchi from Japan became the first-place winner. Meanwhile, in Pokémon UNITE, Zeta Division from Japan emerged as the champion.
This series of announcements shows that the Pokémon ecosystem is no longer solely reliant on video games, but has expanded to encompass esports, card games, animation, applications, merchandise, and various digital entertainment activities.
With the increasing number of international events being held in Asia, this development also presents an opportunity for Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, to strengthen their gaming industry and creative economy ecosystems, whether through player communities, esports talent, game developers, or the hosting of international events.