When is Pokémon Day 2026?

The 30th anniversary could include some major announcements

Pokémon Day is always a big event within the creature collector fandom, and with 2026 marking the 30th anniversary of the franchise, some big announcements are likely in the works for the celebratory day. Speculation has been swirling surrounding everything from a release date for Pokémon Champions to a reveal of the next game in the mainline Pokémon franchise, but the Pokémon Company International has given fans no official information regarding what to expect.

Falling each year on Feb. 27, Pokémon Day celebrates the original Japanese release of Pokémon Red and Green in 1996. Past years have seen a slew of important Pokémon announcements, from the reveal of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in 2022 to last year's surprising new competitive game, Pokémon Champions. Though there are already several Pokémon-related things to look forward to, like the March release of life-sim game Pokémon Pokopia and the upcoming Pokémon Lego sets (which arrive Feb. 26), but with the 30th anniversary at hand, there's bound to be more.

Will there be a Pokémon Presents on Pokémon Day?

At the time of writing, a Pokémon Presents taking place on Pokémon Day 2026 has not officially been announced. However, Pokémon Day has featured a Pokémon Presents for the past several years, with the only recent exception being 2021, when it aired on Feb. 26 instead (due to the "holiday" falling on a Saturday). It would be incredibly surprising if there was no presentation for the franchise's 30th anniversary, so fans can likely expect to see a Pokémon Presents on the official Pokémon YouTube channel some time around 9 a.m. EST.

What to expect from Pokémon Day 2026

There are many different announcements within the realm of possibility for a Pokémon Presents this year, with varying levels of likelihood. One announcement almost guaranteed to feature in the presentation is the release date for Pokémon Champions. It's already been confirmed that the game will be used as the VGC software for the Pokémon World Championships this August, meaning it must be released prior to the event. Pokémon Day would be the perfect time to announce it.

Pokémon Presents are also often used to give more information on upcoming releases fans already know about, so it is fairly likely that players will learn more about Pokémon Pokopia. In a similar vein, projects like Detective Pikachu 2 (which has been confirmed to be in development) or Pokémon's expanding collaboration with Universal Studios parks could also be touched on during the presentation.

In addition to Pokémon's 30th anniversary hitting in 2026, this year also reflects another major anniversary: Pokémon Go will turn 10 years old this summer, and with everyone throwing it back to 2016, expect some major events around the mobile gotta-catch-'em-all game's milestone birthday.

Of course, the biggest reveal that could come out of Pokémon Presents is the announcement of a Gen 10 Pokémon title. A recent leak claimed that the next entry would be called Pokémon Wind and Waves, with a release window sometime in 2026. This has been the longest gap of time between generations for quite a while, with the series typically operating on a three-year life cycle. Though the veracity of other claims about Wind and Waves, like its focus on survival elements and character redesigns, is still up for debate, there is arguably no better time to announce the next generation of Pokémon than on the anniversary of the very first game.