Pokémon Bank Developer: Game Freak

Publisher: Nintendo

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Released in JP: December 24, 2013

Released in US: February 5, 2014

Released in EU: February 4, 2014

Released in AU: February 4, 2014

Released in KR: December 24, 2013

This game has revisional differences.



This page covers both the Pokémon Bank application and the PokéTransporter partner application.

Pokémon Bank is essentially Pokémon Box for the new generation of Pokémon games, except using a special Internet cloud-based storage. When used in conjunction with the PokéTransporter, Pokémon from the Generation V games (and later the Virtual Console releases of the Generation I and II games) could be transferred into the Bank and then ported to current games.

However, its long-anticipated (and perhaps quite poorly thought-out) release date led to problems, as the Christmas 2013 season crippled Nintendo with a serious eShop server crash. Pokémon Bank was taken off the eShop in Japan mere hours after its release to avoid further problems. After being polished up in order to prevent another crisis, it returned to the Japanese eShop after nearly a month.

"sounddebug"

Present in the root of the RomFS is a folder called sounddebug, containing two files: out.txt and out2.txt. Both files' contents consist of comma-delimited lists of numbers that appear to be arranged in triplets, due to the particular pattern in which the numbers increment (increase by one). Their precise use, besides likely being the output of some kind of debugging process, is unknown.

Revisional Differences

Version 1.1

The Japanese rerelease and subsequent international releases were branded as "Ver. 1.1", as shown on the bottom-left of the top title screen in both applications.

Kalos Native Pokémon

Due to the nature of X and Y's available Pokémon versus the various Pokémon unobtainable without Bank (and perhaps to avoid complaints about hacked Pokémon), every Pokémon that is caught in X and Y is labeled with a small pentagon indicating that it is a native of the Kalos region. Additionally, a slightly-larger pentagon in the Pokédex indicates the Pokémon was caught in X and Y, while a Pokéball in the Pokédex indicates that the Pokémon was ported through Bank and PokéTransporter.

However, when Bank was originally released in Japan (before it was taken down from the eShop temporarily), if a Pokémon in a Generation V game was tweaked slightly through hacking, when it was ported through PokéTransporter it would be seen as a Kalos native.

This was fixed for the rerelease and international releases.

Server Connection

In the original release, multiple connections to multiple servers had to process separately while using the Bank, requiring a connection to the Nintendo Network server, then the eShop server, then the Bank cloud server in order to function. The rerelease and international releases fixed this by running one connection through the Nintendo Network server before connecting to the Bank server.

(Source: Serebii)

Version 1.2

Released internationally on November 18, 2014.

Updates data and compatibility to coincide with the release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Version 1.3

Released internationally on January 24, 2017.

Adds compatibility with Sun and Moon , including all new Generation VII Pokémon and all new abilities and moves introduced. Note that any Pokémon from Generation VI moved into Sun and Moon cannot be moved back into a Generation VI game. Also note that while connected to Sun and Moon , PokéMiles cannot be received as this feature is not present in those games. The user must either receive Battle Points or connect to a Generation VI game.

, including all new Generation VII Pokémon and all new abilities and moves introduced. Note that any Pokémon from Generation VI moved into and cannot be moved back into a Generation VI game. Also note that while connected to and , PokéMiles cannot be received as this feature is not present in those games. The user must either receive Battle Points or connect to a Generation VI game. Adds the National Pokédex feature, which not only catalogues the Pokémon in the Bank but also compiles all of the Pokémon registered in the in-game Pokédexes as seen and caught in the Generation VI and VII games.

but also compiles all of the Pokémon registered in the in-game Pokédexes as seen and caught in the Generation VI and VII games. Adds an Adventure Records comparison feature.

PokéTransporter is updated to Version 1.1 to allow transfer from the Virtual Console versions of Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow. These Pokémon are automatically given three perfect IVs and their Generation VII Hidden Ability, as well as a special icon in the shape of a Game Boy. (Illegitimacy checks were included, meaning any Pokémon obtained from glitching the games cannot be transferred.)

Version 1.4

Released on November 19, 2017.

Adds compatibility with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon .

. PokéTransporter was updated to Version 1.2 to add compatibility with the Virtual Console versions of Gold, Silver, and Crystal.

Version 1.5

Released on February 11, 2020.

Adds connectivity with Pokémon HOME.

Oddities

Shiny Jirachi

A Jirachi can be legitimately obtained as Shiny by chance from downloads from the Pokémon Colosseum Bonus Disc (in North America) into Ruby and Sapphire. When Bank was released, Shiny Jirachi were blocked from online interactions, thus blocking the transfer of any previous-generation Shiny Jirachi.

The transfer ban was lifted on August 1, 2014, when a Shiny Jirachi event was distributed in Japan to X and Y.

Event Arceus

While Bank's legitimacy checks usually take into account event-exclusive moves, the Arceus distributed to HeartGold and SoulSilver through official events, which knows the moves Spacial Rend and Roar of Time, cannot be transferred to Bank via PokéTransporter, as it is treated as hacked.

Pokémon Name Oddities

In all Generation I games, Mr. Mime is called MR.MIME - the dot being not the period that can normally be entered on the name entry screen, but the decimal point that only occurs in the game's text but is not otherwise accessible. As such, when a Mr. Mime without a nickname is given to PokéTransporter, it will be automatically given the nickname MR-MIME , with a hyphen.

While the only way to obtain Mr. Mime in the Generation I games without glitching is through an in-game trade, where it'll already have a nickname, Mr. Mime can be caught in the wild in GSC, transferred back to RBY via the Time Capsule and then sent to Bank, allowing this behavior to be seen.

Pokémon transferred from the French versions of RBY which would contain one of the French special characters (which Generation I games lacked in their character set) will be treated as nicknamed, even if they aren't.

Item List

Despite items not being able to be stored in Bank, there is a full item list with every item used and unused in the Generation VI games.

(Source: SciresM)