Update News
Nintendo Direct 09-04-2013
BELLEVUE, WA—September 4,
in the year of our Lord 2013—In a surprising twist
announced this morning during a special Nintendo Direct
presentation, Pokémon X and Pokémon Y players do not receive
Chespin, Fennekin, or Froakie from Professor Sycamore but are in
fact given the choice of a classic partner Pokémon—Bulbasaur,
Charmander, or Squirtle—from the very first Pokémon games,
Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue! Once a player has morphed this
Pokémon into Venusaur, Charizard, or Blastoise and obtained its
unique Mega Stone, the Pokémon will be able to Mega Morph while
in battle. Mega Venusaur, Mega Charizard, and Mega Blastoise
will possess overwhelming powers never before seen in a Pokémon
game. Players can choose fan favorite Bulbasaur, Charmander, or
Squirtle when Pokémon X and Pokémon Y launch worldwide October
12, 2013, for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
More secrets about Mega Morphing were also revealed today. It
was previously announced that certain Pokémon needed to hold a
unique Mega Stone in order to Mega Morph, but now it’s known
that there is a second requirement players must fulfill for Mega
Morphing to occur. Trainers must also obtain a bracelet called
the Mega Ring that holds a mysterious stone called a Key Stone.
The Trainer’s Key Stone resonates with the Mega Stone held by
his or her Pokémon, and together they trigger the Morphing that
is normally impossible—Mega Morphing.
Director from GAME FREAK inc., Mr. Junichi Masuda, also
announced Pokémon Bank—a new Nintendo 3DS application and
service that allows Pokémon X and Pokémon Y players to
conveniently store up to 3,000 of their beloved Pokémon on the
Internet. Pokémon Bank gives players the flexibility to store
and deposit 100 Boxes worth of Pokémon. This is in addition to
the Boxes found within Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, just like in
previous Pokémon titles.
Additional features of Pokémon Bank include the ability to
deposit and withdraw Pokémon from multiple copies of Pokémon X
and Pokémon Y. Once a Pokémon X or Pokémon Y Game Card is
inserted into a Nintendo 3DS system or the downloadable version
of the game is opened, the Pokémon Bank software can be turned
on for use. Players can then transfer Pokémon from multiple
copies of the game via Pokémon Bank to one copy of Pokémon X or
Pokémon Y.
Pokémon Bank software is activated upon payment of an annual
service fee. This charge will support maintenance of the online
server that allows players to store up to 3,000 Pokémon
conveniently, and will provide the application's support for
future Pokémon titles.
Players who activate Pokémon Bank, will be able to use its
linked application, Poké Transporter, which makes transferring
many Pokémon caught in other Pokémon games easy. What used to be
a lengthy process to transfer Pokémon from a previous Pokémon
game to the latest titles is now a breeze with Poké
Transporter—just insert Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon
Black 2, or Pokémon White 2 into your Nintendo 3DS system and
use Poké Transporter to transfer Pokémon from those games into
Pokémon Bank.
Pokémon Bank will be available in North America on Nintendo
eShop. More details about this software, including a free trial
period, will be added in the near future.
Also announced in this morning’s Nintendo Direct presentation
were details for the North American release of two special
Nintendo 3DS XL hardware designs featuring imagery from Pokémon
X and Pokémon Y. These systems come in Red or Blue and feature
brand new Legendary Pokémon Xerneas and Yveltal. The systems
will launch on September 27 at a suggested retail price of
$199.99 each.
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