![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Pokemon_World_Championships_ACC-1-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe 2025 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships in Anaheim, California on Aug. 15, 2025. Here’s what to know about the championships, how to get involved and how your commute could be impacted by street closures around SOMA.\u00a0(Courtesy of The Pok\u00e9mon Company International)<\/p>\n
Next week, San Francisco<\/a> will host the 2026 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships \u2014 along with the inaugural Pok\u00e9monXP fan convention \u2014 from Friday, Aug. 28, through Sunday, Aug. 30.<\/p>\n Organizers are expecting more than 50,000 people to descend on Moscone Convention Center throughout the weekend, which will include events <\/a>like scavenger hunts, opportunities to trade pins and playing cards, DJ booths playing classic Pok\u00e9mon tracks and even panels featuring the minds behind this decades-spanning, globe-trotting franchise.<\/p>\n It\u2019s only the second time ever <\/a>that San Francisco has hosted this super-popular annual event, and die-hard Pok\u00e9mon players \u2014 known as trainers \u2014 and fans have been eagerly awaiting the weekend\u2019s events<\/a> for months.<\/p>\n Keep reading for what to know about the championships, how to get involved and how street closures around SOMA could impact your commute.<\/p>\n \nWho competes in the Pok\u00e9mon World Championships, and how does the tournament work?\n<\/p>\n First launched as a video game for the Game Boy console in 1996, Pok\u00e9mon has since expanded to include movies, television, manga, trading cards, clothing and theme parks.<\/p>\n And the franchise will be celebrating its 30th birthday \u2014 along with 10 years since the launch of the hit mobile app Pok\u00e9mon GO \u2014 as part of the big weekend in San Francisco.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Pok\u00e9mon World Championships \u2014 also known as \u201cWorlds\u201d \u2014 feature the best trainers across different Pok\u00e9mon platforms, including the Trading Card Game, Pok\u00e9mon GO, UNITE and the newly released Pok\u00e9mon Champions video game.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is really the cream of the crop \u2014 the best of the best,\u201d said Nick Salazar, from The Pok\u00e9mon Company International\u2019s public relations team.<\/p>\n To get an invitation to compete at Worlds, someone has to earn a certain amount of points, Salazar said. \u201cYou can earn points at your local hobby shop,\u201d he said, adding that you can earn more points by competing at regional or international tournaments held year-round.<\/p>\n Most of the 2026 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships will be held at Moscone, but the final matches will be at Chase Center on Sunday.<\/p>\n At Worlds, both kids and adults compete in their own age-specific categories. The youngest category, junior, features players 12 or younger.\u00a0<\/p>\n \nCan I go check out the 2026 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships myself?\n<\/p>\n Sign-ups for the 2026 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships\u2019 \u201cinterest lists\u201d for badge purchases began months ago, and the last available sign-up list \u2014 for single-day access \u2014 recently closed.<\/p>\n So unfortunately, all that buzz means that if you were hoping to casually check out the festivities as a spectator, entry badges for both the Pok\u00e9mon World Championships and Pok\u00e9monXP fan convention are completely sold out <\/a>\u2014 and you can\u2019t enter Moscone Center next weekend without one.<\/p>\n Thinking about buying a badge from someone else online? Keep in mind that this comes with big risks.<\/p>\n If someone bought a badge, that\u2019s linked to both their name and their Pok\u00e9mon Trainer Central account. When you show up to Moscone Center, you will have to show a government-issued ID to pick up your badge.<\/p>\n On Reddit, users have cautioned<\/a> against paying money for someone else\u2019s badge, with some saying it\u2019s very likely that you would fall for a scam.<\/p>\n \nIf I can\u2019t go in person, how else can I get involved with the 2026 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships?\n<\/p>\n You can watch livestreams of the competitions, panels and award ceremonies for free on PokemonXP.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ahead of the big weekend, the San Francisco Giants will be hosting a Pok\u00e9mon Worlds Night<\/a> \u2014 which includes Pok\u00e9mon GO activations around Oracle Park and a themed drone show \u2014 during their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, Aug. 27.<\/p>\n While tickets for Pok\u00e9mon Worlds Night itself are currently sold out<\/a>, single-game tickets are still available<\/a> for the Giants-Diamondbacks game \u2014 and according to the Giants\u2019 site, you can stay to watch the drone show afterward.\u00a0<\/p>\n But if you were hoping to snag a special Worlds Pikachu Jersey designed for the occasion, bad news: the item has sold out already.\u00a0<\/p>\n \nWill the 2026 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships mean any road closures in San Francisco?\n<\/p>\n Yes: According to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the event will spell street closures and traffic detours in the SOMA neighborhood around the Moscone Center \u2014 not just during the Aug. 28-30 event period, but starting Tuesday, Aug. 19, and lasting into Tuesday, Sept. 1.<\/p>\n The biggest closures will be:<\/p>\n A full closure of Howard Street between Third and Fourth streets (starts 6 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, ends 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1.)A full closure of a stretch of Minna Street by Fourth Street (from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily from Tuesday, Aug. 25, to Sunday, Aug. 30)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Pokemon_World_Championships_Competitors.jpg\")
The 2025 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships on Aug. 15, 2025, in Anaheim, California.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Pokemon_World_Championships_Crowd.jpg\")
The 2025 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships on Aug. 15, 2025, in Anaheim, California.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Pokemon_World_Championships_Pikachu.jpg\")
The 2025 Pok\u00e9mon World Championships on Aug. 15, 2025, in Anaheim, California.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2208881091.jpg\")
Mike Yastrzemski and Heliot Ramos of the San Francisco Giants celebrate after Yastrzemski hit a three-run home run against the Seattle Mariners in the bottom of the fourth inning at Oracle Park on April 6, 2025 in San Francisco, California. <\/p>\n