Pokémon’s Tamagotchi-Style Poké Ball Virtual Pet Officially Returns With Major New Upgrades
Pokémon is giving its Poké Ball-shaped virtual pet a major upgrade, adding new ways to care for, play with, and communicate alongside the Pokémon living inside.
The original “Pokémon Friends Poké Ball” launched in October 2025, combining the nurturing structure of a traditional virtual pet with a physical Poké Ball that players could stroke to directly pet the Pokémon displayed on its screen.
The new “Pokémon Friends Poké Ball+” builds on Takara Tomy’s touch-based virtual pet concept with voice interactions, meals, baths, room customization, outings, and communication between compatible devices, while increasing the complete roster from 157 to 177 Pokémon.
Takara Tomy has not yet published the full list of 20 additions, but confirmed newcomers include Scorbunny, Alolan Raichu, Quagsire, Mawile, Absol, Emolga, Gholdengo, Zorua and Swirlix.
Scorbunny is particularly significant because it is not only new to the overall roster but also joins the device’s seven Partner Pokémon, which receive more detailed interactions than the remaining species.
The original model’s seven Partner Pokémon were Pikachu, Eevee, Lucario, Sylveon, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly, though Pikachu is the only one retaining its role for “Pokémon Friends Poké Ball+”.
For the new model, Pikachu is joined by Piplup, Rowlet, Scorbunny, Ditto, Dedenne and Gengar as the devices official Partner Pokémon.
Piplup, Rowlet, Ditto, Dedenne and Gengar were already included as Friend Pokémon in the original device, but their promotion to Partner Pokémon means they now receive changing facial expressions and voiced responses when players interact with them.
The remaining 170 Friend Pokémon can also be encountered and played with, although Takara Tomy confirms that the changing illustrations and voiced reactions are exclusive to the seven Partner Pokémon.
Petting remains one of the main ways to interact with them, but a new call-out function now lets players speak toward the device and receive different reactions from their Pokémon.
Daily care has also been expanded with new options for feeding Pokémon, giving them baths, and decorating their room with furniture.
Several activities are included for playing together, including dancing, hide-and-seek, cleaning, making sweets, and ball games, alongside returning Pokémon battles.
Players can also leave the room entirely through a new outing system covering five different destinations.
These trips include shopping for furniture and taking Pokémon on walks, where players can collect Berries and encounter additional species.
Another major addition allows two “Pokémon Friends Poké Ball+” devices to communicate directly with one another.
A friend’s Pokémon can visit through the connection, while two players can cooperate during certain activities and encounter Pokémon that are only obtainable through communication.
The new communication system is limited to matching “Pokémon Friends Poké Ball+” devices and will not connect with either the original Pokémon Friends Poké Ball released in 2025 or the Pikachu Friends Set introduced in July 2026.
Language support has also expanded from Japanese and English to include Traditional Chinese, with users able to switch languages through the settings at any time.
Different language settings do not prevent two compatible devices from communicating with each other, allowing players using separate language options to connect normally.
The upgraded virtual pet has already received recognition ahead of launch, earning an Excellence Award in the Character category at the Japan Toy Awards 2026 for its expanded interaction, communication features, and multilingual support.
The “Pokémon Friends Poké Ball+” will be released in Japan on November 7, 2026, for ¥8,140 (approx. $52 USD / £39 GBP), with pre-orders already available through retailers including the official Takara Tomy online store.
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