The Pokémon Trading Card Game has been going strong for over 30 years now. Although fans are frustrated with the current shopping experience for the TCG, it’s still a powerhouse, and sets keep coming out.

Right now we’re in the Ninth Generation, squarely in the Mega Evolution era, where Pitch Black is the most recently released set. Then we have the 30th anniversary set and Ruler of the Skies, before moving into a brand-new series.

Thanks to a new official announcement from The Pokémon Company, we know that the series is entering a brand-new era. For fans who have been wanting something different, this couldn’t come at a better time.

Announced live at the 2026 Pokémon World Championships at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, Pokémon: Wild Card is debuting in theaters in 2027.

Pokémon: Wild Card is a monumental effort for multiple reasons. For one, The Pokémon Company International CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara confirmed that it was part of the plan for Pokémon in 2027 “and beyond.” It’s also the first movie for the series in seven years following Secrets of the Jungle, and it will not star Ash as the protagonist.

The new hero has not been named yet, but he does aspire to be a champion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game in-universe, and has a partner Pokémon in Mimikyu. Developed by Story Inc. and animated by CloverWorks, the film is aiming for a 2027 release in Japan, with distributor Toho. Western releases are also expected, but we don’t have specific information about the scope of its release beyond Japan yet.

This is obviously huge for fans of the game, and shows just how healthy Pokémon: The Trading Card Game is internally, even though the product line is still suffering from stock issues. The Pokémon Company clearly thinks of it as an ace in the hole, and we could even see themed sets from the new film series.

It also signals a truly new era for the film series, since OLM (the studio responsible for the other Pokémon movies) is no longer handling animation. The “beyond” part of Ishihara’s tease could signal more to come, especially if this first go-around does well critically and commercially. The company has been moving away from Ash for a while now, so this aligns with its current TV strategy.

After all, Detective Pikachu got its own set in the trading card game, so the Pokémon TCG could be hosting a ton of wild releases in the next year or so.

Released

April 10, 2000

ESRB

e

Developer(s)

Hudson Soft

Multiplayer

Local Multiplayer