Pokemon Sun & Moon Guide: how to transfer Pokemon to Sun & Moon

If there's one question that seems to be coming up quite a lot now that Pokemon Sun & Moon is out right across the world following today's European launch of the game it's this one: how on earth do you transfer over your old Pokemon to the new game?

While, yes, it is a bit cheaty to transfer over mega-powerful Pokemon that'll smash everything in Sun & Moon to smithereens, some people just want to transfer over their favourite Pokemon that aren't available in Sun & Moon. We'd never begrudge you for wanting a Charizard.

With that said... we've got sone bad news. Take a seat. So, here's the thing...

How to transfer Pokemon to Sun & Moon

So, here's the thing - the way you transfer Pokemon to Pokemon Sun & Moon is by making use of the Pokemon Bank service. The Pokemon Bank service isn't available yet. It won't be available for a little while, in fact - the service is expected to be launched in January 2017.

That's right: Pokemon Sun & Moon aren't compatible with any of the old Pokemon games directly - not even the 'Generation VI' games X & Y and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. There's no trading or battling between these games and Pokemon Sun & Moon - too much has changed. Pokemon Bank is the middle-man that's stepping in to fill the gap.

The good news, however, is that the Pokemon Bank doesn't just accept transfers from the Generation VI games but will also accept transfers from everything prior - from Black and White right down to the Virtual Console versions of Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow. It does this via a secondary app titled Poke Transporter. Be careful, as these particular transfers are a one-way deal.

Pokemon Bank can contain up to 3000 Pokemon, so to not have enough room you'd actually probably have to be a bit mad.

There is a catch, however - Pokemon Bank costs $4.99 per year to use. That's not much, all told, but be aware that there is a cost involved.

How to transfer Ash Greninja from the Sun & Moon demo to the final game

If you played the demo of Pokemon Sun & Moon you get an additional treat and an extra bit of Pokemon transferring - you'll be able to bring over the main Pokemon from the demo, Ash Greninja, plus a selection of items you can pick up and find in the demo.

To transfer Ash Greninja over, simply open up the demo when you have the final version of the game inserted into your 3DS or downloaded onto it for the digital version. Head to the Pokemon Center, talk to the Professor and he'll do the rest. Be aware that the demo will prioritize the cart over the download if for some reason you have both on your 3DS at once.

It's not too late to grab the demo, so if you want a free Greninja, grab it and play through it now.