Pokemon Rumble U announced, launching spring 2013 on Wii U eShop in Japan

Pokemon Rumble U, the third entry in the Pokemon Rumble series, was announced today in CoroCoco magazine and is set to launch this spring in Japan on the Wii U eShop, reports Serebii.net.

It will be the first Pokemon title on Wii U. In Japan, it will be known as Pokemon Scramble U.

The game's roster will consist of the 649 current Pokemon — it is scheduled to launch before Pokemon X/Pokemon Y, which is set for release in October. According to Serebii, Pokemon Rumble U will be a download-only title in which up to 100 Pokemon can fight at once and, like its predecessors, it will support four-player multiplayer action.

The original Pokemon Rumble launched in November 2009 on WiiWare in North America. Its sequel, Pokemon Rumble Blast, was exclusive to Nintendo 3DS; it was released in October 2011 in North America, and came out on the 3DS eShop last December. Both titles allowed players to take Pokemon and fight with them through dungeons and arenas; the combat areas are interspersed with towns that serve as recovery and refueling locations.

Update: We reached out to representatives for The Pokemon Company for comment. A spokesperson for the company told Polygon, "We don't have any official news to share at this time."