The Pokémon Thread

I don't need Pokémon Bank. Can I buy Poké Transporter separately?

No, that is not possible. Poké Transporter is companion software that works together with Pokémon Bank to transfer Pokémon from your copies of Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, and Pokémon White 2 to your own private Boxes hosted online through the Pokémon Bank service. After downloading Pokémon Bank, you can download Poké Transporter for no charge.

What are the details of the trial period for Pokémon Bank?

If you download and open Pokémon Bank by January 31, 2014, you will be able to obtain a pass that will allow you to use the software for no charge for 30 days.

Before February 1, 2014, you will need to:
1. Download Pokémon Bank from the Nintendo eShop.
2. Open Pokémon Bank.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to obtain your pass.

This pass unlocks a 30-day trial period. During this time, you will be able to use all of the features in both Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter without charge. If you download Pokémon Bank but do not open the software and obtain your pass by the end of January 31, 2014 (Friday), you will not be able to obtain the pass. Please be sure to take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts.

Can I deposit Pokémon holding Berries or other items in Pokémon Bank?

If you try to deposit Pokémon that are holding Berries or other items, the items will be removed and sent to your Bag. If your Bag is full, the items will disappear.

Can I use Pokémon Bank as soon as it finishes downloading, or must I reach a certain point in my Pokémon X or Pokémon Y game first?If you download Pokémon Bank to your system in the Nintendo 3DS family, you will be able to use it at any point after obtaining your Pokédex in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. You cannot use it if you have Pokémon X or Pokémon Y but have not begun the game.

I'm worried that if I deposit my Pokémon on the Internet, they could disappear or I might not be able to get them back again due to something like a server error or cyber attack. If the worst happened, would I be compensated for my Pokémon?

In order to prevent our players from losing their Pokémon, we will have security measures in place and will be providing regular maintenance to manage this system securely. Regarding the potential of losing your Pokémon due to natural disaster, unexpected incidents, cyber attacks, or other circumstances, however, we ask that you please read the warnings and stipulations for using Pokémon Bank that we will announce in mid-December, and decide for yourself whether you wish to use the service.

Until Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, I could transfer Pokémon by using the functions of my Nintendo DS system. Why do I now have to bother with an application that costs money and requires the Internet?

There are a number of differences between the functions and specifications of the Nintendo 3DS family of systems compared to other systems in the Nintendo DS family (DSi XL/DSi/DS Lite/DS), meaning that it is unfortunately not possible to communicate directly between software made for the two different systems (models).

Meanwhile, we have had requests from many players in the past for a Box program that would go beyond the limitations of the Box functions in the games, so we decided to release Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter both to resolve these technological limitations and to fulfill the needs of our players.

We have made Pokémon Bank a paid application so that our many players will always be able to use it with ease. We plan to offer long-term services of management and maintenance that will allow players to deposit their Pokémon online and ensure that future Pokémon games are compatible, and so we have decided to ask for an annual usage fee ($4.99). We will be providing a 30-day trial that will allow players to use the application at no charge if they download and open the software by January 31, 2014. We hope that our players will understand our reasons for this decision.

While there are no idle animations for Pokémon during battles, the camera travels around a lot, which helps keep things feeling alive. It will pan around, zoom in on the opposing Pokémon, and essentially do its best to make the scene look cool as the Pokémon stand around waiting for you to finish inputting your commands. In trainer battles, this effect is intensified, with more intense close-ups and a fancy face-off screen reminiscent of fighting games.

As for the animation of the Pokémon themselves, X and Y’s animation is amazingly fluid, but with a catch. The game will lag if you have either the stereoscopic 3D turned on. Additionally, if you have more than two Pokémon facing off such as in Double or Triple battles, the 3D effect will turn itself off. Perhaps this is why the game seems to actively avoid any Double Battles, even if it would make more sense in a situation…

That having been said, this didn’t always mean I was stronger. Interestingly, I found that, despite the level difference between Pokémon, I didn’t always overpower my opponent. I’m not sure if there were other factors involved such as IVs (the hidden stats that are part of the Pokémon metagame), but I remember doing more damage in past games to the opponent when I was this overlevelled. Not only is the damage reduced in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, a number attacks have been modified, with status effects, buffing, and debuffing being emphasized, and the AI for enemy trainers takes advantage of these possible strategies.

An example of this is Water Sport being used by a bug trainer, preventing me from making efficient use of my Fennekin’s Fire attacks. Now that’s something you don’t see often in non-competitive Pokémon play.

1. Something I recently found out is that the more you change hairstyles either for yourself or your Furfrou, more options will open up. Boutiques change their clothing stock over time. I’m not sure if it’s on a rotational, randomized basis or if it’s based on the number of badges you have, which is how regular stores work.

2. According to an NPC, the horde Pokémon sometimes have rare Abilities. Knowing Pokemon, I think these are talking about Dream World abilities.

So disappointed that there are only 69 new Pokémon, but since there are 456 total Pokémon in the game, according to my aforementioned source, Game Freak was probably just overwhelmed when it came to creating new Pokémon.