Pokemon has a "legendary year" in store for 2018
While we probably can't expect any more mainline Pokemon games on the 3DS, Nintendo isn't finished with the platform just yet. Today The Pokemon Company and Game Freak revealed an exciting promotion that will run through most of 2018. If you were around for Pokemon's 20th Anniversary, you know what this means: We're about to get a bunch of legendary Pokemon for free.
Beginning next month, players of Pokemon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon will be able to head into mystery gift and net themselves a free legendary Pokemon. The promotion kicks off on February 2 with Dialga and Palkia, the version mascots from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. Here's the full list of Pokemon that will be available throughout the year:
February: Dialga and Palkia
March: Regigigas and Heatran
April: Raikou and Entei
May: Xerneas and Yveltal
June: Shiny Zygarde
July: Tornadus and Thundurus
August: Groudon and Kyogre
September: Latios and Latias
October: Reshiram and Zekrom
November: Ho-Oh and Lugia
READ MORE: Pokemon UltraSun and UltraMoon Review
Which Pokemon you get ultimately depends on which version you're playing. For instance, with the upcoming Dialga and Palkia promotion, Dialga will be available to Pokemon Sun and Ultra Sun players, while Palkia will be available to those playing Moon and Ultra Moon. The Pokemon Company hasn't yet announced the split for the rest of the months, but don't go into this promotion expecting to get all of these Pokemon if you only own one of the four games.
Furthermore, this promotion will be run through GameStop and other retailers, at least to start. From February 2 to February 28, you'll need to head into GameStop to get a code card for Palkia or Dialga. We've reached out to The Pokemon Company and it has told us that even though it can't share specifics right now, these Pokemon will be given away through a variety of different methods. We'll just have to wait until closer to the launch of each giveaway to learn how we'll acquire these Pokemon.