The eShop version of Pokémon Crystal is now available to preload on Nintendo 3DS

Players who pre ordered Pokémon Crystal on the European or Japanese Nintendo 3DS eShop will now be able to download their game ahead of time.

Players who pre ordered Pokémon Crystal on the European or Japanese Nintendo 3DS eShop will now be able to download their game ahead of time.

The game is not out until Jan. 26 worldwide, but Nintendo has steadily been allowing different regions to download the game ahead of the release date so that players can start playing the game from midnight local time.

Currently, the US Nintendo 3DS eShop does not allow players to preload the game but it is expected to go live in the next few days.

Pokémon Crystal is the third and final Generation two core series of Pokémon games. It was released as a sister game to Pokémon Gold and Silver in 2001 and was the last main series Pokémon title on the Game Boy.

The game requires 150 free blocks of space on the Nintendo 3DS system (16MB) in order to download the game. It costs $9.99.

The eShop version of the game is available exclusively for Nintendo 3DS from Jan. 26 worldwide.

H/T Serebii