When it launched on July 30th 2001 in the US, Pokémon Crystal introduced many new and exciting elements to the beloved franchise. Pokémon Crystal, an expanded version of the popular Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver games, was the first in the franchise to allow players to choose between a boy or girl playable character, as well as being the first game to introduce animations during battle scenes. In this version, players will also have the chance to encounter the mythical Pokémon Celebi in an event after completing the game. In the original game, Celebi could only be obtained by using a special accessory.
On the new virtual launch day, Pokémon Crystal will also be compatible with Pokémon Bank, a paid service that lets players bring select Pokémon from classic core games to the newest core games in the series. With the addition of Pokémon Crystal to this service, it is now possible for players to bring Pokémon from all 29 core games in the series to the most recent games Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon.
As with the Nintendo eShop editions of Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver, Pokémon Crystal will take advantage of the wireless communication capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, allowing players to enjoy Link Trades and Link Battles with each other. With the Time Capsule feature, players can trade and battle Pokémon from Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition, which are all also available in Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS.
Pokémon Crystal is often regarded as the successor to some of the most beloved entrants to the Pokémon franchise, with the new features introduced that have continued on with later titles. The trend-setting game is coming to Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo 3DS family of systems on January 26th, 2018 for only $9.99 USD but will still only be playable in 2D.
