Pokemon Bank Available in Europe, Australia, and North America

Pokemon X and Y fans finally have a reason to turn their game back on. Pokemon Bank, which was originally set to launch world wide in December, has finally released in Europe, Australia, and according to Game Informer via twitter, in North America. Pokemon bank will allow Pokemon X and Y players to store up to 3,000 Pokemon in cloud storage. The service is free until March 14, after which it will require an annual fee of 4.99 USD. Nintendo has made it worthwhile for Pokemon players to try out the new storage system. Everyone who logs into the system will receive Celebi, a fairy type Pokemon, for free. Aside from receiving one via trade, this is the only way to get Celebi in Pokemon X and Y.

Pokemon Transfer has also launched alongside Pokemon Bank. Unless you have never slept since Pokemon X and Y launched, I doubt you have 3000 Pokemon to place in cloud storage. Pokemon Transfer will allow Pokemon players to transfer all their Pokemon from Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 to Pokemon X or Y.

Nintendo has also announced the inclusion of Pokemon in their new Super Smash Bros games for Wii U and 3DS. The dog type Pokemon Lucario will be a playable character, and according to the Official Nintendo Magazine out of the UK, Palkia will be an useable item that will come out of a thrown Pokeball. Palkia made its first appearance in Pokemon Pearl, and is the cover Pokemon for the game box.

Stay tuned for more Pokemon Smash Bros updates!

Note: According to Game Informer, actually getting Pokemon Bank in North America could take a while because the servers are being hit hard by Pokemon fans. I have not been able to access the download page for Pokemon Bank in Canada.