While the hotly anticipated seventh generation of Nintendo's handheld Pokémon games, Sun and Moon, are now available for players in North America and Japan, it doesn't seem like full functionality with the Pokémon Bank internet-based storage service is ready just yet.
According to a recent announcement on the Sun and Moon website, Pokémon Bank, the storage service which allows players the ability to transfer Pokémon from the fifth generation of games (Black, White, Black 2, and White 2), and store and withdraw Pokémon from the sixth generation of games (X, Y, OmegaRuby, and AlphaSapphire) - will not have compatibility with Sun and Moon until a patch is released sometime in January of 2017.
In addition, this patch will allow owners of the Virtual Console versions of Red, Blue, and Yellow to transfer their Pokémon from those titles into the storage service using Poké Transfer, where they can then be withdrawn onto copies of Sun and Moon. A complete chart showing the functionality of the storage service with various titles from the franchise is viewable below.
Dedicated traders and competitive players have already started compiling lists of legal species, movesets, and Hidden Abilities that players will have access to in Sun and Moon until the patch update is released. If you receive something in a trade that isn't on one of these lists before the patch update goes live in January, then that likely means what you received was transferred over using a program other than Pokémon Bank.
This information comes out after a rumor earlier today said that GameFreak was developing a third version of the game for the upcoming Nintendo Switch. Codenamed Pokémon Star, this version would be an updated release, much like Pokémon Yellow was back for the first generation, and would be the first time a mainline entry in the series was available on a Nintendo home console, if accurate.
Our European readers can look forward to playing Sun and Moon for the Nintendo 3DS on November 23, 2016.
Stay tuned to TechRaptor for more news and information on Pokémon Bank, Sun and Moon, and the rest of the Pokémon franchise.
Quick Take
I'm honestly surprised that seventh generation compatibility wasn't available at launch. The storage service has been around since 2014, and the entirety of 2016 has been celebrated as the franchise's 20th anniversary - you would think Nintendo would make sure that players would have full access to all of Sun and Moon's features on launch, to truly celebrate the anniversary. Hopefully, this patch will be available in January and won't be pushed off for sometime later in the year, as was the case when the storage service was first launched for X and Y - I don't think people will be happy having to wait any longer than they already are.What are your thoughts on this compatibility delay? Do you think it should have been available at launch? Will this impact your decision to purchase any of the games in any way? Let us know in the comment section below.
