While going deeper into the woods one day, primary school student Keita Amano ('Nate' in the English localisation) notices a bizarre capsule toy machine who tells him to insert money which he obeyingly does. But after opening the capsule that came out, a ghostly creature named Whisper materialises. Whisper, who was sealed inside the capsule, rewards his liberator Keita by becoming his Yo-kai butler and gives him a Yo-kai Watch. Whoever wears the watch gains the ability to see supernatural creatures called Yo-kai, each type possessing different kinds of magical abilities, and which are normally invisible to humans. The Yo-kai Watch also allows the wearer to summon any Yo-kai they have befriended, enabling the wearer to make use of the Yo-kai's powers. Using it, Keita and Whisper encounter many mischievous Yo-kai around town, resolving the trouble they're causing and befriending many at the same time.