Pokemon J.League Club Pairings Revealed, Kashima Antlers Land the Charmander Line

The Pokemon Company has revealed the partner Pokemon assigned to all 60 J.League clubs, confirming the pairings on 6 July as part of the Pokemon J.League Fest ‘EVOLUTION!’ campaign. Pikachu has been matched with the J.League itself, while the Kashima Antlers received the Charmander evolution line, Kamatamare Sanuki were paired with Tangela, and Vissel Kobe were handed the Houndour line, with the remaining pairings spanning Pokemon from across every generation.

Ｊリーグは、進化する。

全国60クラブで「ポケモンＪリーグフェス」開催決定✨
来場者100万人にポケモンのエコバッグ（EVO BAG）をプレゼント❗️

詳しくはこちら⏬https://t.co/NSQ2u39fBj#ポケモンJリーグ pic.twitter.com/0DyxeiRTRY

— Ｊリーグ（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (@J_League) July 6, 2026

The reveal covers all three professional tiers, with 20 clubs each in J1, J2 and J3, ahead of the new season kicking off on 7 August 2026. The campaign forms part of Pokemon’s 30th anniversary celebrations, marking 30 years since the franchise first launched in 1996.

Club and Pokemon Pairings

Each of the 60 clubs has been assigned a Pokemon that ties into the campaign’s evolution theme, echoing the J.League’s current slogan, “Evolution! The J.League is evolving.” The pairings run from franchise icons to more obscure creatures, a spread designed to fuel debate among fans over which club landed the strongest partner.

The full list of all 60 pairings sits on the official J.League campaign page, where each club’s designated Pokemon appears with its own logo. Those logos add to the 1,000-plus new designs the Pokemon Company released earlier this year for the series’ 30th anniversary, one for every Pokemon in the franchise.

One Million EVO BAGs Given Away at Home Matches

To mark the launch, the J.League is giving away one million exclusive EVO BAGs across the season. Each reusable bag features the home club’s official Pokemon on one side and Pikachu on the other, alongside the club badge, making it a stadium-exclusive collectable. The bags are available only at home matches from 7 August until the end of September and will not be sold in shops, so attending a fixture in person is the only way to get one.

The league has confirmed that additional Pokemon merchandise will be released throughout the campaign, though the full contents are still being kept under wraps. Fans can expect official artwork, matchday graphics, social media content and promotional material featuring every club’s designated Pokemon as the season unfolds.

Pokemon’s Growing Football Portfolio

The tie-in is the biggest of several football collaborations Pokemon has run. The franchise previously partnered with South Korea’s FC Seoul for themed fan activities and merchandise, and teamed with the English Football Association in 2019 for the Pokemon Futsal promotion. That campaign produced a five-card Trading Card Game set featuring Pikachu, Eevee, Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble showing off their ball skills, handed to children at the FA Pokemon Youth Futsal Programme before a later release through Game stores in England.

The J.League and Pokemon also share history closer to home, having first collaborated in 2014 on the Family Join Days campaign, which gave young supporters exclusive Pikachu trading cards at stadiums across Japan. Covering every professional side across Japan’s top three divisions rather than a single club or event, the current crossover is comfortably the most ambitious sporting collaboration Pokemon has attempted, arriving as fans await the season opener on 7 August.