A patent filed by Nintendo, along with The Pokemon Company and Ambrella, suggests that the companies are working on a handheld device specifically built for Pokemon. Much like Nintendo's amiibo figures , the device would utilize NFC and RFID figurines, as well as smart cards to call your Pokemon into battle.

Spotted by a user over on NeoGAF , the patent was filed back in March, but it wasn't until yesterday that it was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

As seen in the diagram above, the 3DS X and Y buttons are absent, and the A and B buttons have switched positions -- adding to the speculation that this is a standalone device, rather than a peripheral.With over seven hundred Pokemon , the potential is huge for Pokemon's own version of Skylanders. Stay tuned to IGN for the latest on the proposed Pokemon handheld.

Jordan Sirani is a freelance news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter to discuss everything from games to goats.