Pokemon Crystal Is Back for the Nintendo 3DS

Pokemon trainers can get a big nostalgia kick this week on the Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo officially released a Virtual Console version of Pokemon Crystal, a "companion" game to Pokemon Gold and Silver and the last Pokemon game to be released for the Nintendo Game Boy. Pokemon Crystal remains a fan-favorite decades after its original release.

While the game is set in the Johto region, Pokemon Crystal notably changed Pokemon Gold and Crystal's story by adding a subplot featuring the Legendary Pokemon Suicune. Pokemon Crystal was the first Pokemon game to make interacting with Legendary Pokemon a required part of the plot, which has since become a standard feature of every Pokemon game. The game was also the first to let players pick between playing as a male or female character and was the first to give Pokemon an animation when entering battle.

Notably, the Virtual Console version of Pokemon Crystal adds a new mini-event that wasn't in the original US/European release. After defeating the Elite Four, players can go to the Pokemon Communication Center at Goldenrod City and pick up a special GS Ball. If players take the GS Ball to Kurt at Azelea Town, he'll tell players to take the special Poke Ball to a shrine in Ilex Forest, which causes a Celebi to appear. Players can battle and capture this Celebi, which is only at Level 30. This event was originally included in the Japanese version of Pokemon Crystal (and was triggered by using the Pokemon Mobile System SB, a device only available in Japan,) but was scrapped when Game Freak localized the game. This marks the first time that US and European players can capture a Celebi outside of an event or distribution.

Any Pokemon caught in the Virtual Console version of Pokemon Crystal can be transferred into Pokemon Sun and Moon or Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon by using the Pokemon Bank app. Please note that this is a one way transfer - once the Pokemon gets pulled out of Pokemon Crystal, it can't come back.

Players can purchase Pokemon Crystal for just $9.99 from either a local game store or the Nintendo eShop.