How to Get More Pokemon in Pokedex 3D

How to Get More Pokemon in Pokedex 3D
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Among the free applications Nintendo doled out to users to celebrate the opening of the Nintendo eShop on the 3DS was Pokedex 3D. While it’s not the full Pokemon sequel many hope to one day see on the handheld, it does give owners the chance to view and interact with their favorite Pokemon in three dimensions.

One disappointing feature about the application: it only comes with fifteen Pokemon to start. It’s possible to get more, but the game offers little instruction as to how to acquire them. Our guide to Pokedex 3D will walk you through the process of slowly completing your entire pokedex.

What is Pokedex 3D?

Pokedex 3D is not a game. It’s possible to interact with the pokemon you’ve collected in a limited way, but you can’t train or battle them at all. The game is really just a reference tool for players of Pokemon White and Black, and it only contains pokemon from the newest entries in the series.

Like the pokedex in the games and the television series, this program is a resource for trainers to use. A resource that is somewhat handicapped to begin with, certainly, but a resource nonetheless. There are some fun things that you can do with it, like taking AR pictures of your collected pokemon and watching as they pose and strut their stuff at the press of a button, but interactivity is at a minimum here and information is at a maximum.

Still, even if you intend to use the pokedex as a pokedex, you’re going to have to acquire a bunch of new pokemon before it is very useful.

How to Get More Pokemon

Pokedex 3d in action

The easiest way to get more pokemon is straight from Nintendo. The catch is, you can only get three per day.

To get new Pokemon from Nintendo, you’ll first have to connect your 3DS to the Internet and set up the handheld’s Spotpass technology (basically a way for Nintendo to send messages, game updates, and demos to your console automatically). Once Spotpass is set up, your 3DS will receive messages and information any time it is in sleep mode and connected to a wireless network.

The easiest way to ensure your system is always up and receiving messages is to put it in the charging cradle, in sleep mode, any time you aren’t using it. If your home network is up and running, you’ll be able to get your three pokemon a day from Nintendo automatically.

You’ll know you’ve received new pokemon when the Pokedex 3D icon on the home screen has a blue dot on it. Receiving your new pokemon is more complicated than it needs to be, as you’ll have to manually close the program to get all three.

Once you see the blue dot, open up the pokedex and you’ll see a message indicating the game has received new data. Press “yes” to receive your first pokemon. To get the other two, you’ll have to hit the home button, then the “close” button in the bottom left corner of the touch screen. Reopen Pokedex 3D to get the next pokemon, then close it and repeat the process to get the third.

You can only ever have three pokemon in waiting, so make sure you check and receive your new pokemon on a daily basis, lest you miss out on a day’s worth.

Trading Pokemon

You can also receive up to three pokemon per day by trading with a friend. To do this, your friend will want to open the profile of the pokemon you wish to send, press the “settings” button in the top right corner of the touchscreen, then select “Give.”

You’ll do the same thing on your own 3DS, but select “Get” instead of give. The pokemon’s data will be transferred wirelessly.

Legendary Pokemon

The legendary pokemon from the Black and White version are unavailable through the Spotpass download technique. The only way to get them is by scanning special AR codes that will instantly add them to your pokedex. This site has codes for all legendaries, including Victini, Cobalion, Terrakion, Zekrom, Reshiram, and Virizion (you’ll also find AR codes for all pokemon, useful for the techniques described in the next section).

To scan an AR code, open Pokedex 3D and press either the start or select button to bring up the camera.

Using AR Codes

There are other uses for the in-game AR codes. You can find these codes online with a simple Google search, or you can scan them off of a friend’s 3DS screen. Scanning the codes for a specific pokemon will not unlock that pokemon in your pokedex, but it will increase your chances of getting that specific pokemon in a future Spotpass download.

Collecting and scanning these AR codes will also help you fill out your sticker book, which will grant access to progressively unlocked bonuses:

Here are your rewards:

  • AR Viewer

    30 Stickers: Fire notes at Pokemon in AR mode, causing them to emit their signature cry.

  • 50 Stickers: Use images from your SD card as backgrounds in AR mode.

  • 70 Stickers: See up to nine Pokemon simultaneously in AR mode.

  • 100 Stickers: Use the slider in the “Scale Settings” menu to change your pokemon’s size.

  • 150 Stickers: Unlocks the stopwatch, enabling you to pause pokemon mid-animation for premium photo poses.

  • 200 Stickers: Ten pokemon at once in AR mode.

  • 250 Stickers: 11 Pokemon at once in AR mode.

References

All references from Pokedex 3D.

Images courtesy of pokedex3d.com.