Pokémon Bank

Pokémon Bank
The logo of Pokémon Bank
Provider	Nintendo
Launched	December 25, 2013 (initial launch) January 22, 2014 (second launch) (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong) February 4, 2014 (Europe, Australia, and New Zealand) February 5, 2014 (The Americas)
Shutdown	March 27, 2023 (new users)
Service provided	Online Pokémon storage
Accessible by	Nintendo 3DS family of systems
Website	Official site (Japanese) Official site (English)

Pokémon Bank (Japanese: ポケモンバンク Pokémon Bank) is a downloadable online application for the Nintendo 3DS that is available on the Nintendo eShop. It serves as a complement to the Pokémon Storage System, and is compatible with Pokémon X and Y, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon Sun and Moon, and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

A companion application, Poké Transporter, allows the player to transfer Pokémon from other core series games to Pokémon Bank; specifically, it can connect with the Generation V core series games as well as the Virtual Console releases of the Generation I and II core series games.

Pokémon Bank was originally a paid service. The annual charge was ¥500 in Japan, $4.99 in the United States, $6.99 plus tax in Canada, £4.49 in the United Kingdom, €4.99 in the Eurozone, CHF 7.00 in Switzerland, $6.50 in Australia, $8.50 in New Zealand, ₩5000 in South Korea, $150 in Taiwan, ZAR60 in South Africa, and $40 in Hong Kong.

On February 16, 2022, due to the discontinuation of the Nintendo 3DS eShop on March 27, 2023, it was announced that Pokémon Bank would become free to use on this date (though it is only available to users who downloaded the application prior to the eShop discontinuation). After the discontinuation of Nintendo 3DS online services in April 2024, Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter will be the only Nintendo 3DS software (other than the Nintendo eShop) to retain online functionality.

Usage

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Before v1.5 (HOME compatibility) existed, what did the app do without a core series save file (both with and without a pass)? Did it give the player the option to purchase a pass?

When the application is first started, the user must select a language. Pokémon Bank supports the nine languages that the Generation VII core series games support: Japanese, English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. This language selection cannot be changed easily.

Pokémon Bank will then check for save files of 3DS core series games; if none exist, it will still give the player the option to perform a transfer to Pokémon HOME (but no other menu options, including Poké Transporter). If the player chose yes, it would prompt them to purchase a pass if they did not have one. (Virtual Console games do not count as compatible save files. Only a save file is needed; the save file does not need to have obtained the Pokédex yet.)

If the player does have a save file, the app would prompt the player to purchase a pass (it will not mention HOME first). Afterward, the app will proceed to the main menu, where Poké Transporter can be downloaded (and performing a transfer to HOME can be selected normally).

To view or move the Pokémon inside Pokémon Bank (other than transferring to HOME), the player must have a save file of a 3DS core series game that has obtained the Pokédex.

Due to the discontinuation of the 3DS's Nintendo eShop on March 27, 2023, it is no longer possible to purchase a pass, with all of Pokémon Bank's features now being free to use due to an indefinite free trial period.

Pokémon storage

Pokémon Bank being used in a copy of Pokémon X

Pokémon Bank allows players to store up to 3,000 Pokémon from the games in an online cloud. This storage and user interface are similar to the Pokémon Storage System provided by PCs and has 100 Boxes capable of carrying 30 Pokémon each, named "Bank 1" through "Bank 100". Boxes can also be assigned to one of 10 groups with customizable names. The box and group names are set based on the language chosen when the player logs into Bank for the first time, and will not be renamed if the player changes their Bank language. (However, the player may manually rename the boxes and groups.)

The player can move Pokémon between the game and Pokémon Bank, or rearrange the Pokémon they have in them. Pokémon Bank also features extensive search options and filters.

Pokémon in Pokémon Bank appear only as minisprites, which exclude (for example) Shininess.

Poké Transporter

Main article: Poké Transporter

Poké Transporter allows the transfer of Pokémon from the Generation V core series games and the Virtual Console releases of the Generation I and II core series games to Pokémon Bank. It was able to be downloaded separately after purchasing a pass for Pokémon Bank and connecting a 3DS core series save file to it.

The Transport Box, which is effectively the 101st Box, is reserved for use by Poké Transporter. Pokémon cannot be placed in it, except by Poké Transporter; the player can only move Pokémon out of the box, not into it (the app will display "Cannot be transported there.") The Transport Box cannot be renamed and its name will automatically change if the language of Pokémon Bank is changed.

Rewards

The player receives 100 Poké Miles when Pokémon are deposited for the first time into Pokémon Bank. Additional Poké Miles are awarded for the length of time that a given Pokémon is deposited into Pokémon Bank. The amount of Poké Miles earned by the player increases if more Pokémon are deposited into Pokémon Bank.

Accumulated Poké Miles may be transferred to the currently selected game via Pokémon Link either directly as Poké Miles or as Battle Points (at a rate of 1 Battle Point for every 10 Poké Miles). If the player chooses not to transfer their Poké Miles, they will simply continue to accumulate. A maximum of 65,535 unclaimed Poké Miles may be held at once before they will stop accumulating.

Restrictions

Items cannot be stored in Pokémon Bank. If the player deposits a Pokémon that is holding an item, the item will be removed and sent to the player's Bag. If the Bag is full, the item will disappear.

Eggs, Cosplay Pikachu, Black Kyurem, White Kyurem, Dusk Mane Necrozma, Dawn Wings Necrozma, and certain Totem-sized Pokémon introduced in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (specifically Togedemaru, Araquanid, Ribombee, and Alolan Marowak) cannot be deposited in Pokémon Bank.

Pokémon with moves that were introduced in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire cannot be moved to Pokémon X and Y. Likewise, Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and Pokémon with moves introduced in said games cannot be moved to Pokémon Sun and Moon.

Any Pokémon that has ever been placed in a Generation VII game, or that was transferred from a Generation I or II game, cannot be transferred to the Generation VI games. Such Pokémon are outlined in a white square when using a Generation VI game with Pokémon Bank.

Pokémon Bank does not display the specific met location of any Pokémon, only displaying a region name depending on the Pokémon's game of origin. This applies even if Bank is currently connected to that game of origin.

Any Pokémon transferred from Pokémon Bank to Pokémon HOME cannot be transferred back to Bank.

Connectivity

Any number of physical or digital copies of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon can be used in conjunction with Pokémon Bank.

The Pokémon Bank account that a Nintendo 3DS system accesses depends on the system's Nintendo Network ID, which can only belong to one Nintendo 3DS system at a time. There is no way to transfer Pokémon directly between Pokémon Banks belonging to different Nintendo Network IDs.

While the Generation VI and VII core series games are region-locked and cannot be played if their region does not match the region of the Nintendo 3DS they are inserted in, Pokémon Bank is still able to communicate with these games regardless of their region. However, Nintendo does not make any guarantee for the performance of software or systems in the Nintendo 3DS family when used outside of their intended regions.

When Pokémon Bank (along with Poké Transporter) got downloaded, any restrictions on the Nintendo 3DS system for Shopping Services need to be removed within the Parental Controls before Pokémon Bank can be utilized. Any restrictions set in place pertaining to usage of the Nintendo 3DS's Internet browser also require removal each time that the Pokémon Bank software is used.

Version 1.5 added connectivity with Pokémon HOME, allowing Pokémon stored in Bank to be transferred to HOME. Once the player chooses which Pokémon to transfer, they will be prompted to enter a key that is generated by HOME. This key only lasts three minutes before expiring. Any transfers may take several minutes.

Passes

While downloading the Pokémon Bank application was free, usage of its services required the purchase of a pass. A pass lasted for 365 days from purchase. If a previous pass had not expired when a new pass was purchased, the number of remaining days from the old pass was added to the new pass. Pokémon Bank prompted the player to purchase a new pass when the current pass was within 14 days of expiring.

When Pokémon Bank launched, the application's official site stated that if the player allowed their pass (free or annual) to expire, the Pokémon they have stored in Pokémon Bank will be deleted after an unspecified set amount of time. In January 2017, when the site was updated for Pokémon Sun and Moon, this statement was removed from the official site. Players have reported a variety of experiences, ranging from claiming that their Pokémon were deleted after letting their pass lapse for only a few days to claiming that their Pokémon have not been lost despite not renewing their pass for multiple years.

National Pokédex

Introduced in the version 1.3 update, Pokémon Bank features a National Pokédex that collects and consolidates information on Pokémon that have been registered as "seen" or "caught" in the Pokédexes of any Generation VI or VII core series game updated with Pokémon Bank. Users can view basic information and Pokédex entries from the Generation VI and VII core series games of Pokémon they have registered. Pokédex entries from other languages and alternate forms of Pokémon can also be registered, with the exception of Cosplay Pikachu.

This Pokédex also includes an extensive search filter that provides, among other options, the ability to search for Pokémon by their availability in the Generation VI and VII core series games, as well as their appearances in various regional Pokédexes, including the Kanto, Johto, Good Old Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Central Kalos, Coastal Kalos, Mountain Kalos, Hoenn, and Alola (both SM and USUM) Pokédexes.

The five Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have blank Pokédex entries in Bank, though other information such as height and weight is still shown.

Event distributions

Main article: List of game-based Pokémon distributions (Generation VI)

Main article: List of game-based other distributions in Generation VII

Main article: List of game-based Pokémon distributions (Generation VII)

Celebi

If the player accessed Pokémon Bank before September 30, 2014, they could receive a special event Celebi. This Celebi knew Hold Back, an event-exclusive move similar to False Swipe.

#0251 Celebi Level 10 Type: Ability: Natural Cure Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Link Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Recover Normal Status Heal Bell Normal Status Safeguard Normal Status Hold Back Normal Physical
Games Method Region Location Duration XY Pokémon Link Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese Pokémon Bank December 25, 2013 to September 30, 2014 XY Pokémon Link PAL Pokémon Bank February 4 to September 30, 2014 XY Pokémon Link American Pokémon Bank February 5 to September 30, 2014
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder if forgotten.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Hidden Ability Johto starters

These Pokémon were available to players who accessed Pokémon Bank from February 27 to November 30, 2015. These Pokémon could then be transferred to Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire using the Pokémon Link option. This marked the first time the Johto starter families had legitimate access to their Hidden Abilities.

Meganium

#0154 Meganium ♂/♀ Level 50 Type: Ability: Leaf Guard Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Link Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Solar Beam Grass Special Sunny Day Fire Status Synthesis Grass Status Body Slam Normal Physical
Games Method Region Location Duration XYORAS Pokémon Link Japanese, American, PAL, and Korean Pokémon Bank February 27 to November 30, 2015
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder if forgotten.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Typhlosion

#0157 Typhlosion ♂/♀ Level 50 Type: Ability: Flash Fire Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Link Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Overheat Fire Special Flamethrower Fire Special Flame Charge Fire Physical Swift Normal Special
Games Method Region Location Duration XYORAS Pokémon Link Japanese, American, PAL, and Korean Pokémon Bank February 27 to November 30, 2015
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder if forgotten.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Feraligatr

#0160 Feraligatr ♂/♀ Level 50 Type: Ability: Sheer Force Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Link Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Ice Punch Ice Physical Crunch Dark Physical Waterfall Water Physical Screech Normal Status
Games Method Region Location Duration XYORAS Pokémon Link Japanese, American, PAL, and Korean Pokémon Bank February 27 to November 30, 2015
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder if forgotten.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Hidden Ability Legendary giants

These Legendary giants were available to players who accessed Pokémon Bank from March 4 to October 31, 2016. They all have their Hidden Ability and may be transferred to Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire via Pokémon Link.

Regirock

#0377 Regirock Level 50 Type: Ability: Sturdy Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Link Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Explosion Normal Physical Ice Punch Ice Physical Stone Edge Rock Physical Hammer Arm Fighting Physical
Games Method Region Location Duration XYORAS Pokémon Link Japanese, American, PAL, and Korean Pokémon Bank March 4 to October 31, 2016
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder if forgotten.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Regice

#0378 Regice Level 50 Type: Ability: Ice Body Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Link Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Thunderbolt Electric Special Amnesia Psychic Status Ice Beam Ice Special Hail Ice Status
Games Method Region Location Duration XYORAS Pokémon Link Japanese, American, PAL, and Korean Pokémon Bank March 4 to October 31, 2016
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder if forgotten.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Registeel

#0379 Registeel Level 50 Type: Ability: Light Metal Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Link Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Iron Head Steel Physical Rock Slide Rock Physical Gravity Psychic Status Iron Defense Steel Status
Games Method Region Location Duration XYORAS Pokémon Link Japanese, American, PAL, and Korean Pokémon Bank March 4 to October 31, 2016
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder if forgotten.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Pokémon Bank Mewnium Z

A Mewnium Z was available to players who accessed Pokémon Bank from January 24 to October 2, 2017.

Mewnium Z ×1

Games Method Region Location Duration SM Mystery Gift Japanese, American, PAL, and Korean Pokémon Bank January 24 to October 2, 2017

Hidden Ability Alola starters

These Pokémon were available to players who accessed Pokémon Bank from March 8, 2018 to October 31, 2018. These Pokémon could then be transferred to Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon via Mystery Gift.

Decidueye

#0724 Decidueye ♂/♀ Level 50 Type: Ability: Long Reach Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Bank Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Leaf Blade Grass Physical Phantom Force Ghost Physical Shadow Sneak Ghost Physical Brave Bird Flying Physical
Games Method Region Location Duration SMUSUM Mystery Gift Japanese, American, PAL, and Korean Pokémon Bank March 8, 2018 to October 31, 2018
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder as a special move if forgotten.
Date received is the date on the system when the gift is picked up from the deliveryman.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Incineroar

#0727 Incineroar ♂/♀ Level 50 Type: Ability: Intimidate Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Bank Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Fake Out Normal Physical U-turn Bug Physical Darkest Lariat Dark Physical Flare Blitz Fire Physical
Games Method Region Location Duration SMUSUM Mystery Gift Japanese, American, PAL, and Korean Pokémon Bank March 8, 2018 to October 31, 2018
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder as a special move if forgotten.
Date received is the date on the system when the gift is picked up from the deliveryman.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Primarina

#0730 Primarina ♂/♀ Level 50 Type: Ability: Liquid Voice Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Bank Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Hyper Voice Normal Special Moonblast Fairy Special Icy Wind Ice Special Perish Song Normal Status
Games Method Region Location Duration SMUSUM Mystery Gift Japanese, American, PAL, and Korean Pokémon Bank March 8, 2018 to October 31, 2018
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder as a special move if forgotten.
Date received is the date on the system when the gift is picked up from the deliveryman.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Hidden Ability Pokémon Bank Pokémon

These Pokémon were available to players who accessed Pokémon Bank from March 28 to October 31, 2019. These Pokémon could then be transferred to Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon via Mystery Gift.

Oranguru

#0765 Oranguru ♂/♀ Level 50 Type: Ability: Symbiosis Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Bank (fateful encounter) Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Instruct Psychic Status Foul Play Dark Physical Trick Room Psychic Status Ally Switch Psychic Status
Games Method Region Location Duration SMUSUM hide all Pokémon Bank March 28 to October 31, 2019
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder as a special move if forgotten.
Date received is the date on the system when the gift is picked up from the deliveryman.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Passimian

#0766 Passimian ♂/♀ Level 50 Type: File:IC SM.png Ability: Defiant Held item: None	ID: (Player's) OT: (Player's) Met: Pokémon Bank (fateful encounter) Nature: Random Ribbon: Classic Ribbon
Close Combat Fighting Physical U-turn Bug Physical Knock Off Dark Physical Gunk Shot Poison Physical
Games Method Region Location Duration SMUSUM hide all Pokémon Bank March 28 to October 31, 2019
Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder as a special move if forgotten.
Date received is the date on the system when the gift is picked up from the deliveryman.
This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it.

Release

Initial launch

On December 25, 2013, Pokémon Bank and the Poké Transporter were both released in Japan, South Korea, and other Asian territories. Due to high volumes of traffic throughout the Nintendo Network caused by a large volume of Nintendo Network IDs being created, the Nintendo eShop was temporarily inaccessible. When the Nintendo eShop was accessible again on December 29, 2013, Pokémon Bank was removed from the Nintendo eShop (although players who had previously downloaded Pokémon Bank could still download Poké Transporter, which can only be downloaded through Pokémon Bank).^{[citation needed]} In addition, the release of Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter for the Americas, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand—originally set to be December 27, 2013—was delayed due to the aforementioned issues.

On January 21, 2014, Pokémon Bank was re-released in Japan, South Korea, and other Asian territories.

The service was launched in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand on February 4, 2014.

The service was launched in the Americas on February 5, 2014.

Upon initial launch, a free trial was available between December 25, 2013 and January 31, 2014. After the re-launch, this was extended to February 22, 2014 in Japan/South Korea and March 14, 2014 in North America/Europe/Australia. (The North America trial period ended at 23:59 PST and the Europe/Australia trial period ended at 23:59 CET.)

An additional one-month free trial was made available between February 12, 2020 and March 12, 2020 in conjunction with the launch of Pokémon HOME. Players who already had a paid Bank subscription at this time did not receive any extension.

Version history

Version	Release date	Changes
1.1	December 25, 2013 January 21, 2014 February 4, 2014 February 5, 2014	Initial release
1.2	November 18, 2014 November 21, 2014	Added compatibility with the Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire games. Other adjustments have also been made to make for a better gaming experience.
1.3	January 24, 2017	Updated to work with Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon. A new Pokédex feature has been added. Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese is now available.
1.4	November 19, 2017	Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon are now supported. An error in the Pokédex that indicated that the non-Alolan forms of Rattata, Raticate, and Raichu lack gender differences has been corrected.
1.5	February 12, 2020	Adds connectivity with Pokémon HOME, allowing one-way transfer of Pokémon from Bank to HOME.

Gallery

• 

  Interacting with Brigette in Pokémon Bank

• 

  Japanese logo

• 

  Home Menu icon

Trailers

English

By Pokemon

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Trivia

• Pokémon Bank's services are maintained by Brigette, who was previously the host of Pokémon Box Ruby and Sapphire.
• Cosplay Pikachu, certain Totem-sized Pokémon, fused Necrozma, and fused Kyurem are the only Pokémon available in the Nintendo 3DS core series games that cannot be stored in Pokémon Bank. The fused Necrozma and fused Kyurem, however, can still be viewed in the Pokédex as different forms.
• The only way to change the language in Pokémon Bank is to delete its save data. This also applies to changing between kana and kanji in Japanese. However, since Pokémon Bank does not support the 3DS's save data backup feature, and the 3DS does not provide a standalone way to delete the save data of a digital game/app, the only officially supported way to do this is to delete the software and redownload it from the 3DS eShop. Deleting Pokémon Bank's "extra data" from the 3DS Data Management menu is insufficient.
  • Since the save data of Pokémon Bank is stored on the 3DS's SD card, and the goal is to only remove the save data (rather than modify it), it is also possible to work around the above issue by inserting the SD card into a computer, navigating to Nintendo 3DS/<32 characters>/<32 characters>/title/00040000/000c9b00/data/00000001.sav, and manually replacing the file with 128 KiB of zeros.

See also

• Pokémon HOME

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 寶可夢虛擬銀行 Pokémon Hēuiyíh Ngàhnhòhng Mandarin 寶可夢虛擬銀行 / 宝可梦虚拟银行 Pokémon Xūnǐ Yínháng French Banque Pokémon German Pokémon Bank Italian Banca Pokémon Korean 포켓몬 뱅크 Poketmon Baengkeu Portuguese Pokémon Bank Russian Банк Покемонов Bank Pokémonov* Spanish Banco de Pokémon

External links

• Pokémon Bank website

References

Inter-generational transfer
Gen I Time Capsule • Poké Transporter → Bank Gen II Gen III Dual-slot mode → Pal Park Gen IV Dual-slot mode → Pal Park • Poké Transfer • Relocator Gen V Poké Transfer • Relocator • Poké Transporter → Bank Gen VI Poké Transporter → Bank Gen VII Poké Transporter → Bank • GO Park • HOME Gen VIII Bank → HOME • GO Transporter Gen IX

Side series games

Stadium series

Stadium (Japanese) • Stadium • Stadium 2

Storage software

Box RS • My Pokémon Ranch • Bank (Poké Transporter) • HOME

Orre games

Colosseum • XD: Gale of Darkness

Other games

Battle Revolution • Pokéwalker • Dream World • Dream Radar

Pokémon games

Core series • Side series • Spin-off series • Pokémon mini • Individual spin-offs • Betas • Demos

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.