Pokemon Bank

For many gamers, the unveiling of an upcoming game or feature is truly an exciting time. Waiting for the next big release creates feelings of anticipation unmatched in the industry. For some, one of these times was during the lead up to Pokémon Bank. The ability to transfer Pokémon from previous games and battle and train with them in a full three-dimensional world was breathtaking. Upon release however, the dream was not yet a reality. Now, nearly a month after its scheduled release, there may finally be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Pokémon Bank, a companion application for Pokémon X & Y that allows trainers to store Pokémon in an online cloud, is now once again available on the Nintendo eShop in Japan. According to the @tugaaaru Twitter account, the feature is once again available on the Japanese eShop. For many North American and European gamers, such as myself, there is still no sign of when the feature will be reintroduced in our respective markets.

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According to the @tugaaaru Twitter account, the feature is once again available on the Japanese eShop:

https://twitter.com/tugaaaru/statuses/425748254551052288

@CybertronVGC, a two time Pokemon video game national champion, has followed up the post with this on his main account:

https://twitter.com/CybertronVGC/statuses/425774929296891904

Pokémon Bank was released on 25th December in Japan and scheduled to be released on 27th December in North America and Europe. Following an overwhelming amount of server issues, Nintendo was forced to remove the application from the Japanese eShop and delay the release in North America and Europe. Since the delay, Nintendo has only provided fans with a small amount of information as to when the feature will make its return.

Nintendo of America, for its part, has officially confirmed via Twitter that Pokemon Bank has launched in "certain Asian countries". It also added to stay tuned for updates in relation to availability in North America, Europe, and other regions. Hopefully the wait for other regions will be relatively short.

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/statuses/425815499956445184

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/statuses/425815578436059136

Pokémon Bank allowed trainers to maintain a vast storage system of Pokémon and simplify the process of transferring Pokémon between different games. Users could subscribe to the service for approximately $5 USD following a 30 day free-trial and have full access to their library of Pokémon. Trainers who were lucky enough to access Pokémon Bank upon release will also have their 30 day free-trial reset upon re-release.

Pokémon Bank also planned to introduce the feature of Poké Transporter, allowing trainers to transfer Pokémon from Black & White and Black 2 & White 2 into Pokémon X & Y. This separate application was perhaps one that excited most trainers, allowing Pokémon from older generations to be used and introduced into the Pokémon X & Y ecosystem.

In addition, users of Pokémon Bank were also planned to be given an event Pokémon - Celebi. Any user who accessed the service before 20th September, 2014 would be given this special Pokémon. Following the delay however, it is still unclear what Nintendo and Game Freak plan to do in relation to this promotion.

With no release in sight for North America and Europe, are you still anticipating the release of Pokémon Bank? Let us know in the comments.

[source twitter.com, via twitter.com]