After 20 years, we’ve still gotta catch ’em all. So far, 2016 is shaping up to be a good year for Pokémon fans.
On Tuesday, Nintendo announced they will release a Pokémon-themed New 3DS, which will include two faceplates featuring the Charizard and Blastoise artwork from the original games, will be coming to North America as part of the Pokémon 20th anniversary celebration. The bundle will also include Pokémon Red and Blue pre-installed, so you won’t need that pesky Link Cable. You’ll be able to nab this rad bundle on February 27.
There still hasn’t been any word on whether North America will get the special Pokémon-themed 2DS that we reported on recently.  Only Japan and Europe have been confirmed to get the handhelds thus far.
Nintendo also announced a year of mythical Pokémon distribution. In layman’s terms, that means a bunch of incredibly rare pocket monsters will be made available through distribution events each month. The festivities will commence in February, when you’ll be able to nab Mew at select GameStop locations. You can check out the schedule on the official Pokémon site.
Look, Red and Blue are all well and good, but I want to know where all the Yellow love is at? I get that it’s the least popular of the original trio of games, but the title is also part of the celebration, so it seems like a strange oversight. Hopefully, a Pikachu faceplate goes up for sale at some point. Maybe we’ll just have to wait until that game’s 20th anniversary in 2018 (or 2019 if you’re going by the North American release date).
Since the 3DS will come withe Blue and Red pre-installed, I’m wondering whether you’ll be able to transfer Pokémon between games on the same handheld using the Pokémon Bank app. Yes, this is important to me. I want to be the very best, like no one ever was, and so I need to catch em’ all. We also don’t know whether we’ll be able to duplicate Rare Candy and Master Balls the way we were able to in the original releases. Only time will tell.
Are you guys planning on buying this New 3DS? Which faceplate are you planning on using? Let us know in the comments below!
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HT: Pokémon
Image: Nintendo
How do Pokéballs really work?
