Nintendo unveils subscription-based Pokemon X and Y cloud storage

Nintendo has announced the Pokemon Bank for Pokemon X and Y, a premium downloadable application that stores players' collected Pokemon online.

Pokemon Bank will require an annual subscription, though Nintendo did not divulge the fee. A free trial of the service will be available, Nintendo adds.

Pokemon Bank lets players upload up to 3000 Pokemon into the cloud, view them online, and then transfer them back into Pokemon X and Y when the 3DS is connected to the Internet.

The application will also allow users to use the Pokemon Transporter, allowing players to carry over collected Pokemon from Pokemon Black and White to Pokemon X and Y.

Along with Pokemon X and Y's three starter Pokemon--Chespin, Froakie, and Fennekin--the upcoming 3DS game will allow players to pick from either Charmander, Bulbasaur, or Squirtle from the original Pokemon Red and Blue.

Iwata also confirmed that the limited edition red Pokemon X and blue Pokemon Y 3DS XL models, previously only confirmed for Japan, would be released in North America and Europe on September 27.

Pokemon X and Y will be released worldwide on October 12, alongside Nintendo's new budget-focused revision of the 3DS: the Nintendo 2DS.