It's only been about six months since the release of Pokémon Black and White, but true Pokémaniacs are almost certainly already getting the itch to catch 'em all once more. If an upcoming announcement related to the franchise turns out to be what I think it is, you may not have to wait much longer.

Serebii.net is reporting that Junichi Masuda, the head of Pokémon developer Game Freak, will be appearing on an episode of Japanese TV show Pokémon Smash on Sunday, September 18 for a "massive shock announcement." It's entirely possible that this announcement is something to do with the franchise that's not a new game, but previous appearances of Masuda on the show have coincided with showing off a brand new release.

Adding fuel to the flames, next week is Tokyo Game Show, and Nintendo is scheduled to have a major press conference on Tuesday focusing on the 3DS. Could a 3DS Pokémon title be one of the big announcements at the show? We'll find out soon enough.

[via My Nintendo News, @markmacd]