Japan’s newest mecca for real-world Pokémon Trainers gives the Pokédex a jaw-dropping UI overhaul.

So here’s a question: What storytelling genre does Pokémon fall into? You could call it a fantasy series, since the environments Ash and his pals wander through is filled with “monsters” (of the “pocket” variety), many of whom possess clearly magical powers. But on the other hand, there’s definitely a science-fiction element to Pokémon world too, what with cool gadgets like the Pokédex, a database which gives Pokémon Trainers important information on the various catchable species.

Of course, it’s now been 20-plus years since the start of the franchise, and so the Pokédex, like any piece of tech, could stand to have its user interface spruced up a bit. That’s just what we see in this video which shows an awesome, seemingly holographic Pokédex that real-life Pokémon fans in Tokyo can use right now!

As shown in the video, the touch-controlled Pokédex starts by asking the user to select a Pocket Monster type, such as electric, fire, or fairy. Once that choice is made, the display spits back all of the Pokémon for that classification, with individual species shown on hexagonal icons arranged in a cylinder array that the user can rotate by swiping.

Tapping on one of the icons then brings up detailed data for that species, including its size and battle parameters such as elemental weaknesses.

However, there’s a bit of an optical illusion going on here. While it looks like the icons are floating in air, they’re actually not holographic projections, but instead being displayed on a giant touch screen wall. The screen’s reflective surface makes them appear like holograms, though, and the AR motif seems even more fitting since the man using the high-tech Pokédex is Masa Kawashima, Asia Pacific Director for Pokémon GO developer Niantic.

So where can you try this for yourself? At the brand-new Pokémon Center megastore in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi neighborhood, which is located in the same building as the world’s first permanent Pokémon Cafe…which reminds us, we’ve got dinner reservations, so we’ll be back with a full report on the anime eatery soon!

Source: Twitter/@mask303 via Hachima Kiko
Images: Twitter/@mask303

Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s having trouble deciding what to order for dinner at the Pokemon Cafe.