Nintendo reveals paid Pokemon cloud-storage service

Nintendo today announced an annual paid cloud-based service for its Pokemon series, that allows players to upload their creatures to the internet and store them. Pokemon Bank will allow Pokemon X and Y players to upload their Pokemon to the cloud, sort through them online, and download them back to their game through a wireless connection. Up to 3,000 Pokemon can be stored online. Creatures from past Pokemon games -- Pokemon Black and White and Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 -- can also be transferred to the cloud via a service called Poke Transporter, and then transferred over to X and Y if required. The Pokemon Bank service will initially launch in Japan on December 25, and will cost an annual fee of 500 yen (around $5), although it will be free to begin with -- the annual fee will start on January 31. U.S. and European prices and dates are yet to be revealed. Nintendo also revealed more details regarding the upcoming game's "Mega Evolutions." Essentially, any fully-evolved Pokemon, including Pokemon from previous generations, can now be evolved even further to create "Mega" states and unlock new abilities.