Pokemon Direct Announcements Round-Up

Iwata-san, Masuda-san and Ishihara-san, the hosts of Nintendo’s second Pokemon Direct broadcast, took some time to shed some light on a couple of new features in Pokemon X and Y.

First and foremost, the Pokemon Bank was announced. A downloadable piece of software that will allow Pokemon trainers from around the globe to store their hard-trained Pokemon in the cloud. A feature which I’m sure any Pokemon fan will truly appreciate. The catch? Yes, unfortunately, there’s always a catch. The Pokemon Bank software will cost you extra, an annual fee to be precise. Exact pricing details haven’t been announced but I wouldn’t expect it to be anything too unreasonable (this is Nintendo we’re talking about, after all).

Secondly, the hosts also announced the Poke Transfer service. Another downloadable piece of software that will allow players to send their Pokemon from Black/White & Black 2/White 2 to the Pokemon Bank and then to the upcoming X & Y versions. Alas, this feature will require the activation of the Pokemon Bank, so once again, it will cost a little extra.

Furthermore, nearing the end of the broadcast, a few new Mega Evolutions were announced that are sure to make fans of the original games shed a single tear of joy. Mega Charizard, Mega Blastoise and Mega Venusaur will make their grand debut with X & Y (which makes me very, very happy). The Mega evolutions of these Pokemon and the – already announced Mega Blaziken – suggest that all starters from all regions will be Mega Evolution ready, although nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

Finally, the Direct broadcast also provided a little insight into how Mega Evolutions will work. At some undisclosed point, the player will acquire an item called the ‘Mega Ring’. Crucial to Mega Evolutions, acting as a conduit of sorts, the Mega Ring will allow trainers and Pokemon to connect on an emotional level, thus allowing for the ultimate evolution form.

Pokemon X & Y is set for a worldwide release on October 12th 2013.