Old Pokémon Games Are Dominating The 3DS eShop Charts - Is It Thanks To Pokémon Bank?

This is definitely due to all the Pokémaniacs who want to be sure that they can truly "catch 'em all" while they still can.
I definitely understand, as I'm currently trying to rush my way through Pokemon Crystal and Pokemon Omega Ruby.

I’ve long since hacked my 3DS so I can’t be going online with it. Those shiny Pokémon I caught along the way will just have to stay in their OG games.

I think it's people just grabbing the games while they can. I think you need a Pokemon Bank sub to be able to download Poketransporter, so if they wait for Pokemon bank to go free, Poketransporter will no longer be available and they won't be able to transfer anything out of the old games.

I was tempted as well, but I can't even transfer all of my Pokémon into the current gen games.

Would rather not transfer my Pokémon if they're held hostage by a Pokémon Home subscription.

They were already at the top when I checked the charts a month ago.

I doubt it's related to bank. It's probably a combination of:

• Deadline to purchase digital games on 3DS
• A lot more FOMO on digital-only since people can buy carts later
• No guarantees that GB/GBC will be added to NSO
• Even if it does, there's still a chance that Pokemon doesn't.
• 2 back-to-back Pokemon games which targets lapsed fans and also the 2 latest flagship releases on Switch.
• Pokemon had already been charting great prior to this.

Maybe also to do with Pokemon being the biggest selling franchise In the world and a lot of people want to experience where It all started without buying fakes or spending an Insane amount of money for the cartridge

Nice to see the oracle games on there

Please read the article before repeating things I said in the article in the comments, folks 😭

I already have Pokemon X, Y, Alpha Sapphire, Omega Ruby, Sun, Ultra Moon in retail copy.
Sun Moon series are my least favorite so I can ignore to get Moon and Ultra Sun version.
Not a fan of very old Pokemon games on Gameboy machines so I can ignore them.

I'd assume everyone, like me is just trying to pick up games while they still can. I wish Home allowed more connectivity, and there was a main game where we could use the whole pokedex worth of pokemon. If I can't use my Mons in a game I ain't sending them to die in Home. When the Bank breaks down eventually, I'll probably just transfer them back to the physical carts. Though they arent safe there either, I've already had Alpha Sapphire crap out on me, I don't want to think about all the event exclusive pokemon I lost in there.

I’m thrilled to see the oracle games on the list too, they deserve it

I'm definitely doing this. I already have USUM digitally and I've wanted them all digitally for a while now. I'm probably going to do the same for Switch games at some point. I also recommend getting all of the Nintendo Selects digitally.

I’m not surprised. The old Pokémon games are one of the best Virtual Console offers. 10 bucks each is a great deal, honestly. And the Celebi event being unlocked in Gen 2 is such a fun bonus.

Personally, when I heard the eshop was closing, I went ahead and bought Blue and Gold, the only two I was missing. I already had the other four and I know I’ll want to do a new play through of those gens somewhere down the line, so might as well get them while I can.

Aren't most Pokemon games stupid expensive in physical form? Better on the wallet to get digital before you can't.

@KateGray Well as someone who did read the article, thank you for making me realise that Dream Radar still works. I thought it was useless but I'll be grabbing that before it disappears!

I completely understand why the Oracle games are on that list. Buying GBC copies of those games is prohibitively expensive these days.

@jorel262

Good copies are. Especially if you have the box with the manual. Carts alone routinely hit 100 bucks or more.

Mystic (a PlayStation centered YouTuber) bought a boxed copy of Gold. He paid 400 dollars for it. And he honestly got a decent deal on it. I’ve seen them go for more by watching eBay auctions.

If by some miracle you locate a sealed copy, it goes for thousands easily.

Want to complete the Gen 1 and 2 Pokedexes with the least games possible? The minimum is three - Yellow, Crystal, and either Gold or Silver. You'll also need at least two 3DS systems since games on the same system cannot trade with each other. Crystal and Gold / Silver have to trade so they must be on different systems.

Crystal is necessary because it's the only G2 game with Celebi. It's also the only G2 game where you can get multiple Fire, Leaf, Water, and Thunder Stones. (By registering certain NPCs' phone numbers.) Gold & Silver only get one of each stone per save file. (Unless you're lucky with Mystery Gift.)

Yellow is preferred because it can get all three Kanto starters in one playthrough and all of its missing Pokemon are available in both Crystal and Silver. (Gold is missing the Vulpix and Meowth families.) If you use Red or Blue instead you must be careful which G2 game you get - Red MUST be paired with Silver and Blue MUST be paired with Gold. Swapping them will make you miss one evolution family. (Crystal + Red + Gold cannot get Vulpix & Ninetales, while Crystal + Blue + Silver cannot get Mankey & Primeape.)

One of the G2 games must be played twice to get all of the Johto starters, but it won't take long. Take different starters in each game, play until you unlock trading (deliver the Mystery Egg to Professor Elm and catch at least one Pokemon), trade Game B's starter to Game A, reset Game B's save file, pick the third starter.

Yellow must be played twice to get both the Dome and Helix Fossils. This will take a long time, since in both playthroughs you need to reach Cinnabar Island (7th gym) and resurrect the fossils into Kabuto and Helix. Red or Blue will need a third short playthrough to get the third Kanto Starter.

Any G2 game that is going to trade with a G1 game will need its Time Capsule unlocked. Reach Ecruteak City (4th gym), go in the Pokecenter, talk to Bill, and wait 24 hours. (I don't know if advancing the 3DS's clock will work.) When trading with G1 games all the Pokemon in your G2 party must be G1 species with only G1 moves. You may need access to the Move Deleter in Blackthorn City (8th gym). He's in the house west of the Pokemart.

I can't believe the whole brewhaha over this.

@KateGray Sorry, we're only here to comment on what we think the title says 😂

Oh wow, I just downloaded Crystal about 2 hours before this.

This has very little to due with Pokemon Bank or the 3DS eShop closure. The old Pokemon games have been dominating the 3DS eShop for the last 6 years.

Pokemon Crystal in particular has effectively been the best-selling 3DS eShop game since its Jan 2018 launch.

I wonder why Nintendo hasn't opted to at least keep the essential options available on a limited version of the eShop. If you look at the Wii Shop Channel, they had the courtesy of giving us a tiny, condensed version for the store that featured the Skyward Sword Update Channel and a small number of other essential apps. Why not do the same with Pokemon Bank, the only link that connects GBA all the way to the Switch?