Pokémon Poke-nade Monster Ball may sound like the world’s weirdest energy drink crossover, but it is in fact the translated name for Pokémon’s latest venture, a Tamagotchi-style interactive keychain pet, albeit far more complex than the Tamagotchis of old. Which of course raises two all-important questions: Can you let the Pokémon starve to death? And will it poop?
This isn’t a Pokémon x Tamagotchi situation, it should be said. That has happened before, as a matter of fact: an official crossover with Bandai Namco’s pocket toys happened in 2019, with the retro devices selling out day one on the Pokémon Center. YouTuber UnlistedLeaf once found himself trapped caring for a teeny pixel Eevee that incessantly demanded food, but instead of pooping would cough up furballs. And no, that one didn’t die if you failed to look after it, but instead ran away. Which is kind of horrifying in its own right.
This new venture (spotted by Essential Japan), which is with Bandai rival Takara Tomy looks like a much more advanced toy. First of all, it’s in color, but also encased in a Poké ball shell, with a touch-sensitive screen. The latter is because a part of looking after your pocket-sized pocket monster is stroking it (that’s the “Poke-nade” part of the name, which is a portmanteau of Pokémon and “naderu,” to stroke).
Apparently, poking at the screen will get the Pokémon to react in various cutesy ways. According to Essential Japan, “the Pokémon will react differently depending on the length and speed of the petting,” and you are fully able to make your own revolting jokes right here.
The Monster Ball sounds pretty impressively in-depth compared to the Tamagotchi, which could only eat, sick up fur, and eventually evolve. This new toy will let you play with the Pokémon, and even take part in Pokémon battles. There’s also a diary feature that’ll remember all your previous interactions, and the device will apparently offer 157 different Pokémon to choose from. Some of them—Pikachu, Eevee, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, Quaxly, Lucario and Sylveon—will even be voiced and come with more detailed animations.
That inclusion of Sylveon on the list does suggest one peculiar aspect, however. If you can start with an Eevee or a Sylveon, it does indicate that the monsters might not be able to evolve. An odd choice if true, especially given the Paldean starter Pokémon included get far more entertaining as they grow.
It looks like these will be a Japan-only release for now, but despite featuring a touch screen and far more complexity than a Tamagotchi, they’re surprisingly cheap. ¥7,480, which works out to just over $50. However, I’m absolutely certain they’ll sell out almost instantly, and go for far higher resale prices to the rest of the world.
But can they die?! Do they poop?! We don’t know. It seems incredibly unlikely, given The Pokémon Company overrode the usual rules for Tamagotchi when it partnered with them, but it’ll be interesting to learn how the game responds to a bad owner. Or a messy one.