Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, and a start-up formerly embedded in Google have announced a plan to bring Pokemon into the real world with a smartphone game and optional wearable device.
Called Pokemon Go, the game plays out like a traditional Pokemon game but uses location and map data as the game world.
Players explore the real world looking for virtual Pokemon to catch, other trainers to battle or events in which to participate.
Though not due out until next year, a cinematic trailer released on Friday has social media channels abuzz as Poke-fans imagine catching 'em all in their own backyards via Android and Apple devices.
Pocket monsters - including Pikachu, Charizard and Mewtwo - are shown loitering around in city streets and more exotic locales, waiting for a trainer to find and capture them.
Players are also shown trading Pokemon wirelessly and engaging in epic battles.
Niantic, the San Francisco start-up that began as an internal Google team and was founded by Google Earth co-creator John Hanke, is best known for its augmented reality exploration game Ingress, and is taking on the bulk of development for Pokemon Go alongside Nintendo and The Pokemon Company.
Junichi Masuda, director of the handheld Pokemon games at studio Game Freak, is also contributing to the project.
"The day has finally come when Pokemon appear in the real world," Masuda said at the announcement event, which was also attended by senior Pokemon Company staff as well as Hanke and video game legend Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo.
Since the aim is exploring the real world rather than staring at your phone, Nintendo is manufacturing a device called the Pokemon Go Plus.
Connected to the phone via bluetooth, it can be clipped to clothing or worn on a wrist strap to notify players when a Pokemon or other event is nearby. The device has a button to allow catching and other actions.
With Pokémon Go, Nintendo is showing that it takes mobile seriously http://t.co/HTvSyMrvmI pic.twitter.com/MsdCBiO5Wz
— The Verge (@verge) September 10, 2015
Nintendo has been exploring options for making experiences outside its home consoles and handheld devices for a long time, for example by manufacturing a small pedometer to track users' movements with its Wii Fit software, but Pokemon may be the perfect vehicle to make that move in earnest.
Pokemon is the second most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world, having begun as a Game Boy game in 1996 and since spreading to TV, films, trading cards and toys.
As can be seen in the social reaction to the Pokemon Go announcement, it's a franchise millions of people will stand up and pay attention to.
Pokemon made its mobile game debut this month with puzzle game Pokemon Shuffle.
The most successful game franchise is Nintendo's Mario, which we will also see on smartphones in the near future.
