Image via The Pokémon Company International
Published Aug 30, 2026, 3:50 PM EDT
Hannah has been writing about horror, sci-fi, and all things nerdy since 2021. At Collider, she covers news and conducts interviews, along with contributing features that dive deep into genre storytelling and why it works. If there’s something lurking in the shadows, she’s probably already writing about it if she's not too busy watching a tape from her VHS collection.
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There are a lot of things to do at the Pokémon World Championships, even if you never step foot near the competitive floor. This year's event in San Francisco has taken over the Moscone Center with Pokémon activities, merchandise, demos, and plenty of collectibles for fans to hunt down over the weekend. One of those biggest activities was the Pokémon Pin Rally, which sent attendees across the event in search of event exclusive pins. It was supposed to continue through the final day of Worlds on Sunday, August 30, but fans hoping to finish their collections discovered Sunday morning that the hunt was already over.
The Pokémon Company International informed attendees Sunday morning that the 2026 Pokémon World Championships Pin Rally had officially ended, bringing the free activity to a close one day earlier than originally planned. The email sent to attendees did not provide a reason for the early shutdown. The rally encouraged attendees to visit different locations throughout the event to collect a series of twelve unique Pokémon pins. Unsurprisingly for an event packed with collectors, demand for some of those pins, such as the jetpack-wearing Charizard, became substantial as fans attempted to complete their sets before the end of the weekend.
Pokémon Worlds Ends 2026 Pin Rally Early
Image via The Pokémon Company InternationalSpeaking to Collider and other members of the press Saturday, Chris Brown, The Pokémon Company's Director of Global Esports and Events, acknowledged that demand for the pins had created an unexpected challenge for organizers. Brown explained that the company had elected to expand its pin offerings after pin trading became the second-highest-rated activity at the previous World Championships, with 12 stations and 300,000 free pins available at this year's event.
“Now we've had a new problem,” Brown said. “Very big lines and a lot of demand for those pins.”
He added that organizers would “learn and try to make that better.” The lines Brown mentioned were rapidly apparent throughout Saturday. Collider observed exceptionally long queues forming at several Pin Rally locations, with crowds at times extending beyond designated queue areas. Staff repeatedly instructed attendees not to form additional lines, but some fans continued to gather anyway. Collider also observed attendees gathering in and around designated fire exit areas as staff attempted to keep those pathways clear. At multiple points, staff had to direct fans away from areas where they had been told not to queue.
This is a developing story. Please refresh your page for updates directly from Collider at Pokémon Worlds.
Release Date 1997 - 2023-00-00
Network TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC
Directors Shigeru Omachi, Koji Ogawa, Fumihiro Ueno, Hideki Hiroshima, Maki Kodaira, Makoto Ooga, Ayumi Moriyama, Keitaro Motonaga, Shigeru Ueda, Fumihiro Yoshimura, Minoru Ohara, Yoshitaka Makino, Kiyoshi Egami, Makoto Sokuza, Bjarne Heuser, Naoki Murata, Kenichi Nishida, Tomoe Makino, Masahiko Watanabe, Hiroaki Takagi, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Ryohei Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Oda, Hiromichi Matano
Writers Junki Takegami, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hideki Sonoda, Yukiyoshi Ôhashi, Yuka Miyata, Takeshi Shudo, Shouji Yonemura, Shinzo Fujita, Michihiro Tsuchiya, Deko Akao, Reiko Yoshida, Aya Matsui, Junichi Fujisaku
Franchise(s) Pokemon
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Rica Matsumoto
Satoshi (voice)
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Ikue Otani
Pikachu (voice)
English (US) ·