Pokémon Sun and Moon includes QR code feature

Among the new and returning features in Pokémon Sun and Moon, the latest Nintendo 3DS games in the monster-catching franchise, is the ability to scan QR codes with the handheld's camera. The QR scanner function will give players a very different method of registering Pokémon in their Pokédexes.

The games' website details how the new feature will work: QR codes contain information about Pokémon which, when scanned, then gets added to the Pokédex. Trainers still have their work cut out for them, though — if the QR code scanned belongs to a Pokémon they haven't yet caught, they'll be provided with the monster's habitat so that they can scout it out.

Players can also share their own QR codes with each other. The website states that if friends trade QR codes with each other, they can register those Pokémon to their Pokédexes.

The QR code feature is one of many changes made to the classic Pokédex in Sun and Moon. For the first time, the tool will take on a life of its own, thanks to the electric-type Pokémon Rotom. The monster inhabits the player's Pokédex to perform the usual functions, while also offering advice to its owner.

These are just some of the new pieces of info the Pokémon Company revealed today, ahead of the 3DS games Nov. 18 launch. Also seen for the first time were Solgaleo and Lunala, the games' main legendaries. The psychic/steel-type and psychic/ghost-type, respectively, come with new abilities (Full Metal Body for Solgaleo and Shadow Shield for Lunala) and will play a crucial role in the story.

Last month, we met the starter Pokémon players will have to choose between at the beginning of the games. Polygon deliberated on which of the trio is the best one; find out who we picked after watching their debut in the video below.