J.League partners with Pokémon as all 60 clubs receive unique mascot ahead of 2026 season

J.League and Pokémon will pair all 60 clubs with unique mascots, with full lineup to be revealed on July 6

Japan's professional football competition, the J.League, has announced a new collaboration with Pokémon that will see each of its 60 clubs paired with its own official partner Pokémon.

The partnership spans the league's three professional divisions, with all 20 clubs in J1, J2 and J3 receiving a unique Pokémon mascot.

The complete list of club and Pokémon pairings is scheduled to be revealed on July 6 at 18:00 JST, ahead of the 2026 season, which begins on August 7.

The announcement was first teased on the J.League's official X account with a silhouette of Pikachu and the caption "Oh!?". The league later confirmed the collaboration, posting that "The J.League is evolving."

The initiative covers every professional club in Japan's football pyramid rather than focusing solely on the top division, making it one of the largest cross-brand collaborations between the league and a gaming franchise.

This is not the first time the J.League and Pokémon have worked together. In 2014, the organisations collaborated during the Family Join Days campaign, where young supporters attending matches received a promotional Pikachu trading card.

The limited-edition card later became popular among collectors, standing out as one of the few official crossovers between professional football and the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Attention now turns to the July 6 reveal, when supporters will discover which Pokémon has been assigned to each club.