The Pokemon Company has announced today via the Official Pokemon Channel in Youtube that the latest Pokemon game, Pokemon Shuffle, will now be available on iOS and Android. The game can be downloaded for free.

The game was first released on Nintendo 3Ds February this year. To play the game, players are matched according to their levels to complete match-three level challenges, all to catch Pokemon. 

Players select a team of Pokemon from those they have already caught, before pitting them against each other in each level. Their opponents' Pokemon types, strengths, and weaknesses are considered in choosing their Pokemon.The players have to complete the battle stages against other players before catching a wild Pokemon.  Gamers have only a certain number of moves to defeat and catch the wild Pokemon. Each match lowers the Pokemon's life.

If the stages are completed fast, players have a better chance of catching the wild Pokemon. If the Pokemon was not caught, players may start playing the game again, at the level which they left off.

In the game, players have the option to power up their Pokemons for better chances at clearing the stages. The Nintendo version features 'limited edition Pokemon', among other features. 

Online reviews expect the newest version to also have the same features as the Nintendo 3Ds version. The free game will be available in Google Play and iTunes App Stores. No release date has been announced as of this writing. The game is expected to hit mobiles this year.

Pokemon is a widely popular franchise released in 1995. Originating from Japan, it started off as a video game. It became a huge hit around the world, with characters garnering fans. The game franchise later released an animated series, which extended to several seasons. The success also translated into comic books.

Pokemon is said to add more new Pokemons each year, with the total number of pocket monsters reaching close to 1000.

Below is the ad for the new Pokemon Shuffle. Click to watch the video.