Pokémon Tretta Lab (Nintendo 3DS)

Titles	Pokémon Tretta Lab (in full, Pokémon Tretta Lab for Nintendo 3DS) ポケモントレッタラボ for ニンテンドー3DS (Pokémon Toretta Rabo for Nintendō Surī Dī Esu) Software: Pokémon Tretta Lab Main System ポケモントレッタラボ メインシステム
Platform	Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL (3DS LL) only, through the Tretta Scanner accessory and a free Nintendo eShop download; not usable with the New Nintendo 3DS, New 3DS XL, 2DS or New 2DS XL
Developers	Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. and Marvelous AQL (credited as “Developed by T-ARTS and MAQL”)
Publisher	Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.
Players	1 (Auto Battle lets two people use their own Tretta on one system)
Genre	Arcade companion and Tretta reader
Price	¥3,800 including tax for the kit (Tretta Scanner, trays for the 3DS and 3DS XL, three Rookie Tretta); the Main System software was free
Tretta sets	8 arcade sets (Pokémon Tretta 1–5 and Pokémon Tretta Fes 1–3), plus promotional Tretta
Modes	Tretta Analyser · Type Checker · Auto Battle · Challenge Battle, with seven hidden Special Challenge rivals
Released	10 August 2013 (Japan)
Updates ended	Last new Tretta data on 29 November 2013; no further updates, as announced in January 2014
Service ended	Software taken off the Nintendo eShop in 2017; the 3DS eShop closed to all downloads on 27 March 2023
Companion to	Pokémon Tretta (arcade, 2012–2016)
Sales	Never published

Overview · Quick Answers · How the Scanner Worked · Modes · Pokémon · Updates · Glitches · Trivia · Legacy · Reception

Overview

Pokémon Tretta Lab is a Nintendo 3DS accessory, sold only in Japan, that let children take home the Tretta they had won from the Pokémon Tretta arcade machines and study them there. Tretta are the collectable pucks the machines dispense, each carrying a Pokémon, its stats and its moves. The Lab was made by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. and Marvelous AQL, the same partnership behind the arcade game, and went on sale on 10 August 2013 for ¥3,800. There was no game card: the box held a chunky Tretta Scanner, trays to seat either a 3DS or a 3DS XL, three Rookie Tretta of Mewtwo, Eevee and Lucario, and a QR code for the free Pokémon Tretta Lab Main System software on the Nintendo eShop.

With the 3DS docked in the scanner, the console’s cameras could read up to two Tretta at a time. The Tretta Analyser laid out a puck’s type, class, stats and moves, along with tips for the arcade such as where that Pokémon tended to turn up; the Type Checker worked out match-ups, even for Tretta the player had yet to win; and Auto Battle let two scanned pucks fight it out on their own. Challenge Battle pitted a single Tretta against ever-tougher computer opponents and could uncover hidden Special Challenge rivals, while new Tretta data arrived by SpotPass as fresh sets reached the arcades.

It is an unusual corner of Pokémon history, a piece of 3DS hardware built entirely around an arcade game, and its life was short. It could only ever read Tretta up to the Pokémon Tretta Fes sets of 2013, and in January 2014 the official site confirmed that no more updates were coming, so the relaunched series that began with the Chespin, Fennekin and Froakie set a few weeks later was never supported.

The download was taken off the eShop in 2017, and the arcade game it served had already given way to Pokémon Ga-Olé in July 2016. A working set-up today means an original 3DS or 3DS XL with the software still installed, a second-hand scanner and a stack of Tretta from 2012 and 2013.

Quick Answers

The questions people ask most about Pokémon Tretta Lab, answered first and explained further down the page.

Can you still play Pokémon Tretta Lab in 2026?

Only with kit you already own. The free Main System software was taken off the Japanese Nintendo eShop in 2017, and the 3DS eShop stopped all new purchases and downloads on 27 March 2023. You need an original 3DS or 3DS XL that still has the software installed, a Tretta Scanner and Tretta from the arcade sets of 2012 and 2013. More →

Was Pokémon Tretta Lab released outside Japan, or on Switch or phones?

No. It was only ever sold in Japan, as an accessory for the Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL, and was never translated. The Tretta arcade machines later opened in Taiwan, Hong Kong and parts of South-East Asia, but the 3DS kit stayed at home, and there has never been a version for Switch, iOS or Android. More →

How much did Pokémon Tretta Lab cost, and was the software free?

The kit cost ¥3,800 including tax, for the Tretta Scanner, trays for the 3DS and 3DS XL, three Rookie Tretta and a QR code. The Pokémon Tretta Lab Main System software itself was a free eShop download, but it could do very little without the scanner, which also needed three AA batteries bought separately. More →

Which Tretta can Pokémon Tretta Lab read?

Tretta from the five original Pokémon Tretta sets, released from July 2012 onwards, and the three Pokémon Tretta Fes sets of 2013, plus promotional Tretta. Support for Fes 2 and Fes 3 was added after launch. Nothing from The Pokémon Tretta onwards, beginning with the Chespin, Fennekin and Froakie set, can be read. More →

Does Pokémon Tretta Lab work on a New 3DS or a 2DS?

No. The trays were shaped for the original Nintendo 3DS and the 3DS XL (the 3DS LL in Japan), and the official site warns that the kit cannot be used with the New Nintendo 3DS or New 3DS XL. The Nintendo 2DS and New 2DS XL are not supported either. More →

Does Pokémon Tretta Lab connect to Pokémon X and Y or Pokémon HOME?

No. It only reads data from physical Tretta and never sends Pokémon to any other game. ConnecTretta, the later link between Pokémon X and Y and the arcade, was a feature of the machines themselves, and Pokémon HOME, which arrived in 2020, has no connection with Tretta Lab at all. More →

Which Tretta came in the Pokémon Tretta Lab box?

Every box had three Rookie Pokémon Tretta, Mewtwo, Eevee and Lucario, promoted alongside the summer 2013 Pokémon films. First-run copies, while stocks lasted, added a Rookie Pichu, which was Pichu’s first appearance anywhere in Pokémon Tretta. All four are Normal-class Rookie Tretta with the promotional set code P. More →

How the Tretta scanner link worked

Tretta Lab never had a game card, and it never swapped data with the arcade machines. Instead it turned the 3DS into a reader: the console sat in a tray against a battery-powered scanner box, and its own cameras read the Tretta placed inside. Everything else, from the software itself to the data for each new set, came over the internet. It was a neat solution, but it tied the kit to two particular consoles and to Tretta made before 2014.

• ¥3,800for the scanner, trays and three Tretta
• 2Tretta read at once
• 3AA batteries, not included
• 8arcade sets it can read

The kit and the set-up

What was in the boxThe box, 305 by 90 by 155 mm, held the Tretta Scanner, two trays (one for the original 3DS and one for the 3DS XL), a manual, a QR code and Rookie Tretta of Mewtwo, Eevee and Lucario, with a Rookie Pichu added to first-run boxes. There was no console in it, and no game card at all.

Seating the consolePlayers slotted in the tray that matched their console and stood the 3DS in it, with the scanner sitting over the top of the system. Swapping trays was all it took to change models, so one boxed product served owners of both the standard 3DS and the larger 3DS XL.

PowerThe scanner ran on three AA batteries, which were not included, so buyers had to find their own before a single Tretta could be read. The 3DS itself did the reading and ran all of the software.

Reading the TrettaThe scanner had room for up to two Tretta at once, and the 3DS’s cameras picked up their data. One puck was enough for the Tretta Analyser or Challenge Battle, while Auto Battle and the Type Checker could take two, one for each side of a match-up.

Getting the softwareThe Pokémon Tretta Lab Main System was never sold on its own. Players opened the camera from the 3DS HOME Menu, picked the QR code reader at the bottom left of the screen and scanned the code from the box, which led to the free download on the Nintendo eShop. An internet connection was needed.

Keeping up, and where it stopped

Keeping up with new setsFresh arcade sets arrived every two to three months, so once SpotPass was switched on from the main menu, the software picked up new Tretta data by itself. Data for Fes 2, a batch of promotional Tretta and Fes 3 followed the launch, and two patches, Ver. 1.1 and Ver. 1.2, made the scanning more reliable.

Where the link stoppedOnly Tretta up to the Pokémon Tretta Fes series can be read. In January 2014 the official site announced that the software would get no more updates, so the ninth set, Chespin! Fennekin! Froakie!, and every set after it cannot be scanned. The download itself stayed on the eShop for a few more years, until 2017.

Consoles that do not fitThe trays were made for the original 3DS and the 3DS XL, and the official site warns that Tretta Lab cannot be used with the New Nintendo 3DS or New 3DS XL, which reached Japan in October 2014. The Nintendo 2DS and New 2DS XL are not supported either.

Not the same as ConnecTrettaConnecTretta, which came later and let owners of Pokémon X and Y link a 3DS to special arcade machines to fill the X Power or Y Power gauge faster, belonged to the cabinets themselves. Tretta Lab played no part in it and never exchanged any data with the machines.

The Tretta sets it can read

Tretta Lab recognises the eight arcade sets released between July 2012 and November 2013. The ninth, which relaunched the series as The Pokémon Tretta, is where support ends:

Modes & features

Tretta Lab is less a game than a toolkit for Tretta collectors. Its Tretta still had to be won in the arcade, at ¥100 a play, so it was really aimed at children who already had a sizeable collection and wanted to study it at home. The software never had an English release, so the mode names below are translations of the Japanese ones.

Tretta Analyser トレッタアナライザーThe Analyser reads a single Tretta and spreads its data across several screens: its type and class, from Rookie up to the star ranks; its Energy, HP, Attack, Defence and Speed; its moves and their types; and the types it is strong or weak against. The Pokémon appears in 3D on the top screen, while the Tretta itself, which can be turned round, sits on the bottom screen. It also gives tips for the arcade, such as where a Pokémon is most likely to appear in the machines, which combos it forms and whether it has a form change.

Type Checker タイプチェッカーThe Type Checker compares two Pokémon to show how well their moves would work against each other, judged on type alone. Players pick the attacker, the move it uses and, where it applies, its form. Besides scanned pucks, it holds a catalogue of every supported arcade set, promotional Tretta included, so players could plan which Pokémon to hunt for on their next visit to the machines. Only part of each set’s list shows at first, and more entries open up the longer the software is used.

Tretta ListEvery Tretta scanned is logged in the Tretta List, a record of the player’s collection at home. Entries are grouped by arcade set so the list is easy to scroll through, and each puck the player owns gets a blue light beside its name. Since the Type Checker draws on the same catalogue, the list doubles as a checklist of what is still missing from each set. New sets and promotional Tretta reached it through SpotPass downloads rather than through the scanner.

Auto Battle オートバトルAuto Battle has rules of its own, quite unlike the arcade’s three-on-three fights. Two Tretta go into the scanner, the number of wins needed is chosen, and the software plays the battle out by itself as a simple exchange of hits and damage, with no input once it starts. That makes it a way for two friends to pit their own pucks against each other on a single 3DS. Form-changing Tretta cannot use their form change in the first battle.

Challenge Battle チャレンジバトルChallenge Battle sends one scanned Tretta against a run of computer opponents on a chosen stage. Stages come in four classes that match Tretta rarity, Normal, Super, Hyper and Master: Normal and Super are open from the start, and Hyper and Master unlock with progress. Every fight is best of three, the Pokémon in use can be swapped before it begins, and the opponents are tough, rare Pokémon. A finished run earns a high score built from the stage, a bonus for HP left over and a bonus for Energy used.

Special Challenge rivals

Partway through Challenge Battle, a “mysterious Tretta” can suddenly appear and open a Special Challenge against one of seven strong rivals, and the more battles a player wins in a row, the better the odds. Each rival can also be guaranteed by scanning a particular Tretta in Challenge Battle and then winning that battle:

Triple Battle contest rules

The official site also published Triple Battle, a contest format for taking on friends or rivals through Auto Battle with teams of three Tretta. The three had to be of different types, a team was fixed until the contest was over, and victory went to whoever turned every opposing Tretta face down. Four regulations followed the class ladder, Normal, Super, Hyper and Master: each allowed three Tretta of that class, or two plus one from the class above, so the Master regulation let a team include one Legend-class Tretta.

Pokémon

Tretta Lab has no roster of its own: it recognises whichever Pokémon appear on the Tretta it can read. That means the eight arcade sets released between July 2012 and November 2013, the five original Pokémon Tretta sets and the three Pokémon Tretta Fes sets, plus promotional pucks from magazines, films, events and Happy Meals. It launched knowing the first six sets, and SpotPass added Fes 2 in September 2013, more promotional Tretta in October and Fes 3 in November. Seven Pokémon double as hidden Special Challenge rivals, and four Rookie Tretta were made for the kit itself.

The Rookie Tretta in the box

The three Tretta in every box, and the Pichu that came with first-run copies:

Pokémon of note

The Pokémon that play a part of their own in Tretta Lab, from the boxed Tretta to the Special Challenge rivals:

• MewtwoRookie Tretta in the box
• EeveeRookie Tretta in the box
• LucarioIn the box; Special Challenge rival
• PichuFirst-run bonus Tretta
• PikachuSpecial Challenge rival
• MeowthSpecial Challenge rival
• BlazikenSpecial Challenge rival
• GarchompSpecial Challenge rival
• DragoniteSpecial Challenge rival
• WobbuffetSpecial Challenge rival
• RayquazaFes 2 Tretta; guarantees Garchomp
• GenesectStar of the summer 2013 film

Updates & data downloads

Tretta Lab’s updates came in two kinds: patches to the Main System itself, and SpotPass data that taught it to recognise new Tretta. SpotPass was switched on from the main menu, and a blue notification on the software’s HOME Menu icon showed when new data had arrived. Everything came within four months of launch:

Glitches, exploits and oddities

Tretta Lab’s one well-known teething problem was with the scanning itself:

Scanning accuracy at launch

The Main System’s first patch, Ver. 1.1, arrived in late August 2013, within three weeks of release, to fix problems with how accurately the scanner read Tretta. As the software was a download, the fix came through the Nintendo eShop, and players were pointed to it the same way they had installed the software in the first place: by opening the 3DS camera from the HOME Menu and scanning a QR code. A second patch, Ver. 1.2, brought further improvements to scanning in November 2013, shortly before the Fes 3 data arrived.

Trivia & facts

• The box measured 305 by 90 by 155 mm, and the scanner looked so bulky that Siliconera’s report on it made a joke of the huge contraption in its headline.
• The four Rookie Tretta made for Tretta Lab are easy to pick out of a collection: all of them are coloured orange and carry the promotional set code P.
• Lucario does double duty: it is one of the three Rookie Tretta in every box, and also one of the seven Special Challenge rivals, the one guaranteed by a tournament Trophy Tretta.

  

  

• The Rookie Pikachu Tretta that visitors took home from the Pokémon Game Show 2013 was more than a souvenir: scan it in Challenge Battle and win, and Meowth, one of the hidden Special Challenge rivals, was sure to appear.
• The ¥3,800 price was set while Japan’s consumption tax stood at 5%. When the rate rose to 8% on 1 April 2014, the official product page added a note that the higher rate applied to purchases from that date.
• The official site promised that the Main System would stay on the eShop after The Pokémon Tretta began, while warning that it could be withdrawn without notice. It hung on until 2017.
• The official Triple Battle rules billed the Master regulation as the ultimate battle for the top Tretta League players.
• The full product name was Pokémon Tretta Lab for Nintendo 3DS, and the free download had a name of its own, Pokémon Tretta Lab Main System, a reminder that the software was only half of the product.

• 

  Tretta Lab never left Japan, even after the Tretta arcade machines opened in Taiwan in April 2016 and in Hong Kong and several South-East Asian countries in 2017.

Legacy

What came after

• Announcement – 9 May 2013. The Pokémon Company, Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. and Marvelous AQL announce it together, with a ¥3,800 price and a Pichu bonus for early buyers
• Japanese launch – 10 August 2013. A scanner kit for the 3DS and 3DS XL, with a free eShop download
• Pokémon Game Show 2013 – 17–18 August 2013. Tretta Lab on show at Tokyo Big Sight, with a Rookie Pikachu Tretta for visitors
• Last supported set – 29 November 2013. Pokémon Tretta Fes set 3 data arrives by SpotPass
• End of updates – January 2014. The official site confirms that the ninth arcade set and later will not be supported
• The Pokémon Tretta begins – February 2014. The arcade relaunches with Chespin! Fennekin! Froakie!, the first set Tretta Lab cannot read
• Pokémon Ga-Olé takes over – 7 July 2016. Pokémon Tretta’s run in Japan ends with its Ultimate Z sets, and Pokémon Ga-Olé takes its place in the arcades
• Removed from the eShop – 2017. The Main System download is withdrawn from the Japanese Nintendo eShop
• 3DS eShop closes – 27 March 2023. Nintendo ends all new purchases and free downloads on the 3DS eShop

Where to play it today

As of October 2026, Pokémon Tretta Lab cannot be bought or downloaded new. The Main System software was taken off the Japanese eShop in 2017, the 3DS eShop stopped all new downloads on 27 March 2023, and Nintendo ended the 3DS’s online services, SpotPass included, in April 2024. Second-hand Tretta Scanner kits still turn up in Japan, but they only work with an original 3DS or 3DS XL that already has the software installed, and only with Tretta from the arcade sets of 2012 and 2013.

How it was made

Tretta Lab was made by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. and Marvelous AQL, the companies that had launched the Pokémon Tretta arcade game in July 2012, and the product credits them simply as “Developed by T-ARTS and MAQL”. The idea was straightforward: to let children enjoy the Tretta they had collected in the comfort of their own homes. The Pokémon Company and the two makers announced it together on 9 May 2013, two months before the arcade’s relaunch as Pokémon Tretta Fes in July.

Rather than putting software on a game card, the team built a battery-powered scanner that relied on the 3DS’s own cameras and paired it with a free eShop download that took in new set data by SpotPass. An introduction video showing the Tretta Analyser, Type Checker and Auto Battle went up on the official Japanese Pokémon YouTube channel on 29 July 2013, less than a fortnight before launch.

Tretta Lab elsewhere

Popularity & reception

Sales and the arcade behind it

No sales figure has ever been released for Tretta Lab. It was sold through the toy trade as an accessory, with its software given away free, so it never showed up in the Japanese software charts. What the numbers do show is the size of the audience it was made for: on 2 August 2013, eight days before launch, Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. and Marvelous AQL announced that more than 87 million Tretta had been shipped, from machines in over 2,000 shops and amusement venues across Japan.

What the press said

English-language sites reported on Tretta Lab as news rather than reviewing it, and mostly treated it as a curiosity. Gematsu’s announcement story presented it as “the 3DS game, which is more of a companion app to the arcade game”. Siliconera marvelled at the bulk of the hardware before adding: “Despite the size of the scanner, the package costs only 3,800 yen.” Anime News Network picked out the main attraction: “The 3DS edition comes with a scanner add-on that can read the same Tretta tiles that the full-sized arcade machines use.”

As a free download tied to a toy accessory, Tretta Lab was never the sort of release that collects review scores. Its coverage came around the announcement and launch, and it centred on the novelty of reading arcade Tretta on a 3DS and on the size of the scanner. A Japanese price-comparison review published the following year judged it a product mainly for players who already owned plenty of Tretta, which is a fair verdict on a kit that could do very little without a collection behind it.

Further reading

More of Pokémon’s arcade games, and more small 3DS downloads, on the site: