Pokémon Sun and Moon will use QR codes to track down Pokémon

Gotta catch ‘em all! THE GRUMPIG…COMMANDS ME TO DO SO! There’re some big changes coming to Pokémon Sun and Moon this year. Changes which so far have looked mostly cosmetic on the surface. More custom characters options, inhabitants who don’t look like extras from that disturbing show Little Women LA and an overall brighter palette for the Alola region.

But there’s also going to be a new way to catch Pokémon. You won’t just be tossing various Pokeballs at the fellas and sweating buckets as you watch that magical orb jiggle as it tries to contain a pocket monster. Because QR codes will also be an option. It’s one of the lesser-known and used features of the Nintendo 3DS, but that handheld device has always been home to a capable QR code scanner, something Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire fans are more than familiar with.

In Pokémon Sun and Moon, the QR scanner can be used to find where specific Pokémon are hiding in the Alola region, says the official website:

By scanning in special QR Code patterns you can register Pokémon of the Alola region to your Pokédex and find out where they live. If you scan in the QR Code for a Pokémon that you haven’t yet caught, you can check its habitat and search it out. You can display the QR Code patterns for Pokémon you have caught in your own Pokédex. If you and a friend show each other the QR Code patterns for Pokémon you have caught, you can both register the Pokémon in your Pokédexes!

Well ok then. It sounds odd, but valuable. Because Pokémon Sun and Moon will be introducing several new critters to the franchise, increasing the number of Pokémon that need to be caught to a well-educated guess of over 800. Ha. Hee. Ho. I’m never going to see natural sunlight again, am I? Pokémon Sun and Moon is out on November 18, with the two games fronted by the legendaries Solgaleo and Lunala.

Last Updated: June 3, 2016