Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Why does Pokémon Bank have a yearly fee of $4.99?
We have decided to implement a $4.99 annual usage fee so our many users will always be able to use Pokémon Bank with ease. We wish to offer this service over the long term, which means management and maintenance will be necessary to ensure that everyone can store their Pokémon online and that the service will be compatible with future Pokémon games. The annual fee will support this maintenance.
What happens to my Pokémon if the no-charge trial period ends or my paid pass expires when my Pokémon are still deposited in Pokémon Bank? Will my Pokémon be lost?
More details about how this functionality will operate will be announced closer to launch.
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.
Is there a limit to how many games I can use Pokémon Bank with?
No, there is no limit, although the software currently works only with Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. If you have Pokémon Bank downloaded to your system in the Nintendo 3DS family, you can use it with any number of Pokémon X or Pokémon Y Game Cards or downloadable versions.
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.
There are some Pokémon that evolve by trading them between different games. Will those Pokémon evolve if I deposit them in Pokémon Bank using one game and then withdraw them in a different game?
No, depositing Pokémon in Pokémon Bank will not cause them to evolve.
If I transfer my Pokémon from Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2 to Pokémon Bank using Poké Transporter, can I later move them back to those games?
No, that is not possible. Pokémon moved to your online Boxes using Poké Transporter cannot be returned to Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2.
Can I transfer Pokémon to Pokémon X or Pokémon Y from older games in the Pokémon series by using local communications between two game systems?
No, you cannot.
Can I still play Pokémon X and Pokémon Y if I don't have Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter? Will I be missing out on ways to play and things to enjoy compared to other players?
You can fully enjoy Pokémon X and Pokémon Y without Pokémon Bank or Poké Transporter.
Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter enable you to store far more Pokémon online than you can in the Boxes within Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, and to bring your Pokémon from Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, and Pokémon White 2 to these games. Even without the ability to store far more Pokémon or bring Pokémon from these previous games, you can fully enjoy what Pokémon X and Pokémon Y have to offer.
Can I use Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter to bring Pokémon from Pokémon games released prior to Pokémon Black and Pokémon White into Pokémon X and Pokémon Y?
You cannot use Poké Transporter to directly transfer Pokémon to your Pokémon X and Pokémon Y games from any previous titles aside from Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2.
However, here are some steps you can follow to reach your goal.
Use the GBA Game Card slot on a Nintendo DS Lite or Nintendo DS to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon Ruby, Pokémon Sapphire, Pokémon Emerald, Pokémon FireRed, and Pokémon LeafGreen to an area called the Pal Park in Pokémon Diamond, Pokémon Pearl, Pokémon Platinum, Pokémon HeartGold, or Pokémon SoulSilver.
Then, using two systems from the Nintendo DS family, transfer your Pokémon from Pokémon Diamond, Pokémon Pearl, Pokémon Platinum, Pokémon HeartGold, or Pokémon SoulSilver to Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2 using the Poké Transfer facility that exists within those games.
For more details on how to use these functions, please refer to the instruction manuals for the games in question or visit support.pokemon.com.
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.
Does Pokémon Bank include a legitimacy checker that will prevent people from depositing "hacked" Pokémon or Pokémon that have been created using unauthorized methods?
We cannot go into details of the checks we intend to put in place, as such information could be used in an effort to circumvent such checks in the future. In order to protect the Pokémon that you worked so hard to raise and to preserve your save data, we ask that you please enjoy playing Pokémon in the correct way, as described in the game manual.
Will I have to transfer my Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection ID when I want to transfer Pokémon from these older titles to Pokémon Bank?
If you want to continue playing Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2 on a system from the Nintendo DS family (and not on your Nintendo 3DS XL/3DS), you need not worry—there is no need to transfer your connection ID.
On the other hand, if you expect that you will continue playing Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2 on your Nintendo 3DS XL/3DS, then you will need to transfer your Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection ID.
Please note, however, that once you transfer your Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection ID from a system in the Nintendo DS family to a Nintendo 3DS XL/3DS, you will be unable to transfer your Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection ID to any other system from the Nintendo DS family, including other Nintendo 3DS XL/3DS systems.
FYI: Warnings when changing Nintendo DS systems
Please also note that Poké Transporter is an application that you can download only onto a Nintendo 3DS XL/3DS that has also downloaded Pokémon Bank, and it cannot be downloaded to any other system in the Nintendo DS family.
You can use Pokémon Bank with a Nintendo 3DS XL/3DS system that has Pokémon X or Pokémon Y inserted into it or downloaded onto it, and Poké Transporter can be used on the same Nintendo 3DS XL/3DS system with Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2 inserted into it.
Can I use Pokémon Bank without connecting to the Internet?
Pokémon Bank provides you with your own Boxes on the Internet, and allows you to deposit and withdraw your Pokémon from these Boxes, so you will need to have an Internet-ready environment not only to download the application but also to use it.
Can I use Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter if I do not have Internet at my home? Are there other places where I will be able to use it?
You can connect to Pokémon Bank anywhere where you can connect your system in the Nintendo 3DS family to the Internet.
Why can't I Link Trade Pokémon between Pokémon X or Pokémon Y and past Pokémon titles?
Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, and Pokémon White 2 were developed to be compatible with the Nintendo DSi system, while Pokémon X and Pokémon Y were developed exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Due to differences in the functionality and specifications of the two families, including their communications systems, it is not possible to carry out communications directly between software designed for the two different families.
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.
I have set Parental Controls on my child's Nintendo 3DS or 3DS XL system. Will these need to be removed in order to download Pokémon Bank or Poké Transporter, or to use Pokémon Bank or Poké Transporter day to day?
Yes. When you download Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter, you will need to remove the restrictions on system in the Nintendo 3DS family for Shopping Services within the Parental Controls.
After you complete the download, you will also need to remove the restrictions on using the Internet browser each time the software will be used.
For a more detailed guide to System Settings, please refer to any of the following sources.
Nintendo home page
Select the Nintendo 3DS website, then select Parental Controls under Nintendo 3DS Support
Nintendo Online Customer Support
Nintendo Customer Service
1-800-255-3700