How to get a free Celebi for Pokemon X and Y

Nintendo has just launched the Pokémon Bank, which allows you to store Pokémon, transfer them between generations and, oh yeah, gives you a free legendary.

Have you found that you've done so much catching of 'em all that you have run out of room in your Pokémon boxes? No, we haven't either. But there's more to the newly launched Pokémon Bank than storing Pokémon.

Available through the 3DS Nintendo eShop as a free download, the Bank does allow you to store up to 3000 Pokémon (although what you're going to do with that many is beyond us. To date, there are only 718 Pokémon). If you have Pokémon you're not using, though, it offers a pretty nice deal: in exchange for each Pokémon you store in your Bank, you receive either Poké Miles, which can be exchanged for prizes or to play minigames in the PokéMileage Club, or Battle Points, which can be traded for rare items. The longer you store your Pokémon, the more Miles or Battle Points you receive.

Actually, the most interesting part of the Bank is an add-on called the Poké Transporter. This means that the Bank is compatible with Pokémon Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 as well, so if you have the game cartridge, you can plug it into your 3DS and use it to transfer your Pokémon from those games (provided the save file is on the same console) to the Bank, and from the Bank to Pokémon X and Y. In doing this, you not only get to play with your old friends in your new game (and flesh out your Pokédex), but you can also trigger special events in-game.

And, of course, there's the Celebi. When you deposit any Pokémon into the Bank, you will receive a Celebi as a free gift. However, you don't get it straight away.

To get your free Celebi, make sure you have your Pokémon game cartridge inserted into the 3DS. Then, you need to download and install the Bank. It will ask you to purchase a pass, which will cost you no money, so do that. Once you've followed the prompts, you will be able to move a Pokémon from the computer in the game to the Bank.

However, you also get a free gift for installing and opening the Bank, so you need to go into your game to retrieve that to make room for your Celebi. Close the Bank and open your game. Instead of choosing your save file, choose Pokémon Link at the bottom of the top screen and retrieve the gift. Close the game and go into the Bank to receive your Celebi.

Now, just to be clear, using the Bank is not free. If you download and install it before 14 March, you will get a 30-day free trial, after which it will cost AU$6.50 a year. If you do not wish to pay this, you can simply delete the Bank after your 30 days are up via Software Management, which can be found in Systems Settings.