Pokémon Animated Film Wild Card Announced With First Teaser Trailer

The main character will be a card tournament competitor who dreams of winning the championship title.

The Pokémon Company has announced a feature-length anime titled Pokémon: Wild Card. The project was presented at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco. Alongside the announcement, a short teaser was released showing the main character, a competitor in the Pokémon Trading Card Game tournaments, and their partner Mimikyu.

“For the first time in seven years, we have a new Pokémon movie on the way. Its protagonist is a card tournament competitor who battles and strives to become a champion.”

Tsunekazu Ishihara, President of The Pokémon Company

Pokémon: Wild Card will be the franchise’s first feature-length anime since Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle. The previous film was released in Japanese theaters in 2020 and arrived on Netflix outside of Japan a year later.

Katsuhiko Kitada, who worked on The First Slam Dunk, Attack on Titan, and Naruto: Shippuden, is directing Wild Card. Akemi Hayashi, known for Banana Fish and Lazarus, is handling character design. Story Inc. is producing the project, while animation is handled by studio CloverWorks, which worked on Bocchi the Rock! and Spy x Family.

Pokémon: Wild Card will premiere in 2027. An exact release date has not been announced yet.

Related articles