Around the same time in the '90s that Pocket Monster turned Japan upside down, another phenomenon from the Far East caused people all over the globe to go a bit potty.

Bandai's Tamagotchi may have enjoyed a relatively short-lived degree of popularity when compared to Pokémon, but it still retains some fame - as was evidenced recently by the launch of a new virtual pet device to celebrate 20 years since the first units hit the market.

While Tamagotchi and Pokémon were arguably never in direct competition (that honour would fall to another Bandai property, Digimon) the two brands are products of the '90s that many people will have a lot of nostalgia for - so the news that The Pokémon Company and Bandai might be collaborating on a special Tamagotchi has pretty much made our day - we can finally forget about Pocket Pikachu, at least.

Leaked images and info have appeared online that suggest this collaboration takes the form of a special Eevee Tamagotchi, which is basically a Tamagotchi Nano with the famous Pokémon inside. You'll be able to raise it just like a normal Tamagotchi and guide it through one of its eight evolutions. This special device will apparently come in two different case designs - brown Eevee and a 'Colourful Friends' edition which includes images of Eevee's evolutions.

As this isn't officially confirmed at present it might be wise to avoid getting too excited - and even if it does happen, there's no guarantee it will make it out of Japan. Let us know if you'd like to get your hands on this by posting a comment below.