On August 13, 2026, The Pokémon Company has announced that Pokémon Bank will soon be shut down, and no longer transfer Pokémon to Pokémon Home, starting February 25th, 2027 at 7:00 PM PST. Users are also advised to move any Pokémon from Bank into HOME or a compatible game before that date to prevent data loss.
What Pokémon Bank Is
Pokémon Bank is the predecessor to Pokémon HOME, and allows users to move Pokémon between the 3DS generation games, transfer Pokémon up from the Gen 5 and Virtual Console games (via related app Poké Transporter), and also transfer Pokémon from Bank to HOME.
Specifically, Pokémon Bank serves as a pokémon management tool, allowing players to access an expanded set of boxes in the Cloud to store/move Pokémon between the 3DS games, and then into HOME.
Poké Transporter is the app that transfers pokémon from the Virtual Console games and Unova/Gen 5 games into a “Transport Box” in Pokémon Bank, and could only be downloaded when accessed through a link in Pokémon Bank.
These two apps together share the same servers, and bridge the transfer gaps between DS, 3DS, and Pokémon HOME.
Unfortunately, Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter are no longer available to new users after the Nintendo 3DS’ eShop closure on March 27th, 2023. These apps only remain accessible if an account downloaded them prior to the eShop closure, or have been installed from prior owners or through use of custom firmware.
Despite the eShop closure, Pokémon Bank continued to function, and use of Pokémon Bank was made free to all users, allowing players to manage their roster of Pokémon and transfer them beyond the end of the 3DS’ lifecycle.
With this recent announcement, however, there is now a hard cutoff date of February 25, 2027 to have all of your older Pokémon Transferred to HOME. Otherwise, they cannot be transferred beyond the Alola region games.
Why it Matters
At first glance, you may not see the impact of this announcement if you don’t have a 3DS or didn’t have Bank downloaded on it. Don’t be complacent though: if you’ve ever played Pokémon prior to any of the Switch games, and have childhood or legacy pokémon you want to bring to the newer games, this affects YOU.
You see, since the series first debuted on the Gameboy, transferring Pokémon and connecting to other games has been a series staple: A Pikachu you caught back on Pokémon Red could be traded to another copy of the same game, or other versions like Blue or Yellow.
When Gold/Silver/Crystal were released, that Pikachu could also be transferred there, despite coming from an older game. This is because each Pokémon is an individual file, and that file can be moved freely without being tied to any one game.
Every game after (with the notable exception of Gens 1 & 2 to the Advance games) has had a method of transferring Pokémon from older games to newer ones, despite changes in hardware. Because of this, pokémon you’ve gotten particularly attached to can journey with you to newer and newer games, being just as relevant and useable as they were in their original games!
This chain of interconnectivity effectively allows players to take any pokémon from across the series’ 30 years of history, regardless of when they found it, and continue playing with it on the latest games and beyond. But with Bank closing outright, that link becomes severed, forming missing links along the process between DS to 3DS and 3DS to HOME.
It’s not uncommon to hear stories from longtime players about their childhood favorites, keepsake trades from cherished friends, legacy pokémon from passed loved ones, and more besides, transcending the collection of digital creatures from a one-off experience into a growing, interactive set of a lifetime’s worth of memories. Bank’s closing effectively divides and permanently separates these memories into “Pre-Switch” and “Post-Switch” games, with no way to move them forward afterwards.
Bank’s closure also means things like older event pokémon, retro shinies, or even unique legacy ribbons and ribbon masters will be lost to history if not moved now. To get a feel of how special both the transferability between games and collection of ribbons can be, you can read about another blogger’s ribbon master journey with their childhood Vaporeon!
Sentimentality aside, if you’re still needing to see the scope of this closure, in simplified terms, Pokémon currently in the following games cannot be transferred to the Switch games after February 25, 2027:
- Red
- Blue
- Yellow
- Gold
- Silver
- Crystal
- Ruby*
- Sapphire*
- Emerald*
- Diamond
- Pearl
- Platinum
- HeartGold
- SoulSilver
- Black
- White
- Black 2
- White 2
- X
- Y
- Alpha Sapphire
- Omega Ruby
- Sun
- Moon
- Ultra Sun
- Ultra Moon
[*: There are rumors that Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald could be re-ported to the Switch eShop.]
This means that of the 26 mainline games listed, (which also don’t include games like Pokémon XD or other games with event distributions), only the past 8 years of the series’ 30 year history of games will be supported, and 65% of the series’ confirmed/announced mainline games to date will lose transferability to HOME. That is not at all a small amount of data lost.
Naturally, anyone with sentimental attachment to any of their Pokémon will need to transfer their Pokémon up, which we’ll discuss at length.
Transferring Up to HOME
The good news is that until February 25th, 2027, you can absolutely transfer Pokémon up to HOME, assuming you have a 3DS with Bank (and Poké Transfer) installed.
The bad news is that you likely aren’t going to be able to do it for free, as transfers from Bank to HOME require a paid subscription plan of HOME.
If you do decide that you want to transfer your Pokémon from prior games to HOME legitimately, just be advised that there is a complex chain of hardware, games, and software involved the further back in the franchise you go.
We’ll briefly detail the general process for each scenario of games below:
Bank to HOME
Since some people may have already transferred up to Bank/the 3DS games already, we’ll start here, at the simplest process.
Generally speaking, anything already in Bank is ready to transfer to HOME, and with direct connection to the Gen 6 and Gen 7 games, anything currently on the 3DS games are ready to transfer at a moment’s notice!
Still, let’s review a few basics…
Pokémon Bank requires a Nintendo Network ID (NNID) to use. This account (used for 3DS and Wii U services) does not have to be the same account that downloaded Pokémon Bank, and even if you don’t have your Nintendo Network ID linked to a Nintendo Account, you can still transfer between 3DS games and into HOME!
Pokémon HOME requires use of a Nintendo Account (used for Switch/Switch 2 services), and can initiate transfers from either a Switch, or a smart device using the app. Transfers from Bank to HOME require a paid membership, however.
You can link the two to initiate a complete transfer of everything in Bank into HOME, even without a 3DS. And with that out of the way, let’s look at the requirements needed for this transfer:
Requirements:
- An internet connection
- A 3DS with Pokémon Bank and a Nintendo Network ID configured
- A Smart Device OR Nintendo Switch with a Nintendo Account configured
- A Paid Membership of Pokémon HOME
Whether you’re moving Gen 6, Gen 7, or anything else within the 3DS ecosystem, if the Pokémon is in a 3DS game, it can be moved up into Bank. Simple, right?
When launching Bank, just make sure to select a target 3DS game to manage, and move the Pokémon you want to transfer into any of Bank’s generous 100 boxes of storage on the top screen. Repeat this process for each 3DS game with Pokémon you want to transfer (if not done already).
Once the Pokémon are safely deposited in Bank, the transfer process differs slightly depending on whether you want to move everything at once (if both Nintendo Account and Nintendo Network ID are linked), or if you want to use a 3DS and select which boxes to use.
The Pokémon Company has a very straightforward support page detailing the Bank to HOME transfer process in either case, so I’ll link to it for brevity’s sake.
Next, we’ll look at transfers for both Gen 1 and 2 to Bank. (Including cartridge saves).
Gens 1+2 to Bank
Collectively, Pokémon generations 1 and 2 refer to the original Kanto games of Red, Green, (Green was released as Blue outside of Japan), and Yellow, (Gen 1), and the original Johto games of Gold, Silver, and Crystal (Gen 2).
While these games were introduced on the Game Boy as physical cartridges, they were also resold on the Nintendo eShop as “Virtual Console” games.
The transfer requirements vary depending on which version of game you’re using, but ultimately unifies once the save is converted for the 3DS and usable in Poké Transporter.
Cartridge Save to Virtual Console Save Conversion:
Fun Fact: This incompatibility is part of the reason FireRed and LeafGreen were made — to reintroduce Kantonian Pokémon to the GameBoy Advance games.
However, since the Virtual Console games on the 3DS are largely the exact same games as the cartridges, both the Pokémon themselves and the main save data from the cartridge releases can be converted and restored into the Virtual Console releases, making it the only way to transfer from these games up to Bank! It just takes a bit of work to convert the files.
Requirements:
- A computer
- A GameBoy Cart Reader (like a GB Operator, the JoeyJR, GBxCart RW, or similar) OR access to existing save file(s)
- A Hex Editor or (online) save conversion tool
- A 3DS with Custom Firmware
- A Virtual Console release of a cartridge game
The Process:
First, you would need to have a way to extract save data from the physical Game Boy games. The most user-friendly methods are with hardware cart readers/dumpers like a GB Operator, the JoeyJR, or the GBxCart RW, which all tend to require a computer to power/use.
With a reader ready, simply insert the cartridge and make a save data backup. These will usually be titled as “[game].sav”. You may also want to keep another copy of this save data file safe just in case.
Important: never delete any save data backups unless absolutely certain, and make copies immediately to mitigate future corruption/loss.
Next, since the Virtual Console games use a different file format of “sav.dat”, and removed a few lines of code for the now-absent physical RTC battery, you would need to convert and rename the file. While guides exist for editing with a hex editor manually, it’s easiest (and safest) to use a online save converter, like Blue Moon Falls’ tool or FM1337’s Save Converter. The main thing is that the imported save needs to be 32.02kb to move into the Virtual Console release.
Important: Always keep a copy of both the original, as well as the converted save files until no longer needed. If there’s an error with any files, you’ll be glad to have a working copy!
After converting the save to a “save.dat” file, you would then copy the .dat file you created, place it on your 3DS’ SD card in a directory used by a homebrew save manager app (like Checkpoint), and then restore the data to the target Virtual Console Game. If you already have save data from a Virtual Console game you were playing, make sure to back it up first before restoring any saves.
If done correctly, the save data should load properly and be identical to your cartridge data! And once the save data is verified to work on the 3DS, the pokémon can be traded to other virtual console games, or even into Bank directly, which brings us to the next point:
Transferring from Virtual Console to Bank:
Requirements:
- A 3DS with Pokémon Bank, Poké Transporter, and a Nintendo Network ID
- An active internet connection to use Bank/Transporter
- A Virtual Console Game with Pokémon in Box 1
- A 3DS Pokémon Game
The Process:
The Virtual Console games transfer to Bank through use of Poké Transporter.
Regardless of which Virtual Console game is used, the transfer is a batch move of all Pokémon stored in Box 1, so be sure to adjust the boxes as needed, then re-save the game.
Once you’re certain you’ve organized everything you want to transfer into Box 1, you’ll need to launch Poké Transporter, connect to the Virtual Console game, and initiate the transfer.
That’s genuinely all there is to it, but there’s a few small catches (no pun intended) with these transfers, though.
Restrictions and Changes to Transferred Pokémon:
The transfers from Poké Transporter need to be moved from the “Transfer Box” in Bank with the use of a core 3DS game. Pokémon Bank does not let you move data without a core game. Additionally, if even one Pokémon is still in the transport box, further transfers will not be allowed until the box is entirely cleared.
Pokémon holding items in the Gen 2 games, or any pokémon flagged as hacked will not be transferred. Pokémon from Gen 1 games can hold items and be transferred, though the items will be deleted and not returned to the bag.
Any Pokémon transferred from the Virtual Console games can only be transferred to Bank or (Ultra) Sun / (Ultra) Moon. X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are not compatible with Virtual Console mons. This effectively limits transfers from Gens 1/2 to Gen 7+ only.
All Pokémon transferred from the Virtual Console games will have their hidden abilities, (if their hidden ability existed as of Sun and Moon) and have a guaranteed 31 IVs in 3 of the 6 main stats. Mew and Celebi will have 5 sets of 31 IVs instead. DVs are removed entirely and IVs are randomly rolled to replace DVs. Shiny status is retained upon transfer. Transfers will also have a Game Boy origin mark.
And lastly, the final major change is that of natures and how they’re calculated upon transfer, which I’ll condense below.
Calculating Natures with an Experience Modulo:
The mathematical modulo used here is essentially the total number of experience points a Pokémon currently has, long divided by 25 (the total number of natures), with the mathematical Remainder (the leftover whole number that couldn’t cleanly divide by 25) matching a specific nature a Pokémon will have upon transfer.
It’s grade school math, but hard to visualize digitally or mentally, and probably just as confusing to understand by reading alone. If you want a simplified calculation, I’ve found it easiest to calculate the modulo by dividing a pokémon’s total current experience value by 25, and then multiplying the resulting decimal value by 25.
Example: A Total Exp of 4182 divided by 25 = 167.28. The decimal of 0.28 multiplied by 25 = 7. 7 would be the modulo, and correlates to the Relaxed nature.
You can reference this further with our table below:
| Virtual Console Experience Modulo Table | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nature Upon Transfer… | when Modulo equals… | or the last 2 digits of total XP equals… | ||
| Hardy | 00 | 25 | 50 | 75 |
| Lonely | 01 | 26 | 51 | 76 |
| Brave | 02 | 27 | 52 | 77 |
| Adamant | 03 | 28 | 53 | 78 |
| Naughty | 04 | 29 | 54 | 79 |
| Bold | 05 | 30 | 55 | 80 |
| Docile | 06 | 31 | 56 | 81 |
| Relaxed | 07 | 32 | 57 | 82 |
| Impish | 08 | 33 | 58 | 83 |
| Lax | 09 | 34 | 59 | 84 |
| Timid | 10 | 35 | 60 | 85 |
| Hasty | 11 | 36 | 61 | 86 |
| Serious | 12 | 37 | 62 | 87 |
| Jolly | 13 | 38 | 63 | 88 |
| Naive | 14 | 39 | 64 | 89 |
| Modest | 15 | 40 | 65 | 90 |
| Mild | 16 | 41 | 66 | 91 |
| Quiet | 17 | 42 | 67 | 92 |
| Bashful | 18 | 43 | 68 | 93 |
| Rash | 19 | 44 | 69 | 94 |
| Calm | 20 | 45 | 70 | 95 |
| Gentle | 21 | 46 | 71 | 96 |
| Sassy | 22 | 47 | 72 | 97 |
| Cafeful | 23 | 48 | 73 | 98 |
| Quirky | 24 | 49 | 74 | 99 |
Alternatively, due to the magic of numbers, you can also look at the total experience point value, and just use the last two digits of that value to match to a specific nature without any math! OR, if you don’t trust my math or the last two digit rule, you can use a free online Modulo calculator. Just use your total XP for Dividend a and 25 for Modulus b.
Lastly, after transfer, the Pokémon’s total experience is then reset to the exact minimum exp needed to reach its current level.
Whew! That all got really technical, really fast. We’ll move onto the Gen 3 to Gen 4 transfers.
Gen 3 to Gen 4
The Generation 3 games (Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald), can transfer save data directly to a Gen 4 DS game (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, or HeartGold/SoulSilver), provided certain criteria and progression are met.
Unlike the Gen 1 and 2 games, however, it isn’t possible to transfer from Gen 3 straight to Bank. You would have to transfer through the generations piece by piece, starting from 3 to 4, 4 to 5, and then 5 to Bank (or 6/7).
For now, let’s just focus on the immediate transfer from Gen 3 to Gen 4.
Requirements:
- A legitimate cartridge GBA game (Gen 4 DS games have counterfeit detection on GBA games)
- An original Nintendo DS or DS Lite (with the SLOT-2 Gameboy Advance reader, other consoles are not compatible)
- A Gen 4 DS Game with the same language as the GBA Game.
- Progress through the DS Game to unlock Pal Park (HeartGold or SoulSilver vastly preferred)
- Exactly 6 Pokémon must be transferred at a time
The Process:
If you’re feeling like there’s a lot to this leg of the transfer based on the requirements, you would be correct!
First off, you would need to prep your GameBoy Advance games by having exactly 6 Pokémon you want to transfer at a time, even if that means catching random things to reach a multiple of 6. This is because the in-game transfer location, Pal Park, will not let you transfer Pokémon if you aren’t sending over 6 at a time.
Next, you would have to reach a significant amount of progress in the DS game(s) to unlock Pal Park:
For the Sinnoh games (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum,) Pal Park is at the end of Route 221 (south of Sandgem Town), but won’t be unlocked until you see all of the Sinnoh Pokédex, and get the National Dex. Sinnoh’s Pal Park also has a 24-hour wait period between successive transfers, with attempts to change the system time resetting the timer again when the game is re-launched.
On the other hand, HeartGold and SoulSilver have Pal Park in Fuschia city (in Kanto), and only requires beating the elite four to unlock it. The Kantonian Pal Park also does not impose time restrictions on transfers, which is why HeartGold and SoulSilver are the recommended games to use.
Next, once you’ve unlocked Pal Park, and have the GBA game inserted into the bottom slot, a new entry will appear from the DS games’ main menu: “Import from [GBA game]”. You would choose it, select your 6 Pokémon of choice, then go to Pal Park, where you have to find and re-catch the Pokémon as if they were new wild encounters.
Important: Pal Park’s transferring will not work if the GBA game is a different language than the DS game. All games prior to X/Y had a pre-set language based on the region the game was sold, and the older games sometimes faced corruption issues due to the absence of alphabet characters found in other languages.
Once the Pokémon are caught in Pal Park, they retain their original trainer ID, Level, Moves, Poké Ball, IV/EVs, and items, but their met location is replaced to either Hoenn or Kanto (the regions of the GBA games), the met level is replaced with the Pokmon’s current level upon transfer, and the date of being met is the date on the DS when they were re-caught.
Gen 4 to Gen 5
The transfers from the Generation 4 games to the Unova region’s Generation 5 games (Black, White, Black 2, White 2) is a bit more straightforward than Gen 4’s Pal Park, but ultimately requires the use of two DS systems concurrently.
Requirements:
- Any two Nintendo DS/Nintendo DSi/or Nintendo 3DS systems (or any combination thereof)
- A Gen 4 DS Game
- A Gen 5 DS Game of the same language as the Gen 4 game
The Process:
There are actually two transfer methods to get to Gen 5. One is the general transfer, via Poké Transfer (later known as Poké Shifter), and the other, the Relocator, is used very specifically to transfer the 2011 shiny event Johto “dogs” and event Celebi to trigger in-game events to unlock Zorua and Zoroark in Black / White.
Important: Regardless of method used, just like the Pal Park migration, you can only transfer Pokémon from same-language games. Ex: A Japanese copy of White will not transfer data from an English copy of Platinum.
Transferring via Poké Transfer:
Next, you would need to initiate the transfer by talking to NPC Andrew Park, saving the game, and having the second DS utilize the DS Download Play option on the main menu of the system itself.
DS Download Play is a feature/applet installed on every model of DS, DSi, and 3DS, and when used in this way, the Gen 4 game will wirelessly transmit Pokémon over to the Gen 5 game, provided you catch them in the transfer mini-game. Thankfully, the Gen 5 transfer game is quite literally a slingshot mini-game, and not hide and seek in the overworld like Gen 4’s Pal Park.
Tip: If you want to transfer less than 6 Pokémon, you can opt to let the time run out, and the uncaught Pokémon will remain on their original game.
While there are no real-time restrictions in this transfer method, items, the Spiky-Eared/Notch-Eared Pichu, and Pokémon that know HM moves in their respective games cannot be transferred.
Transferring Pokémon to Gen 5 will once again reset the level met to the Pokémon’s level upon transfer, change the date met to the day of transfer, and change the location met to Poké Transfer/Poké Shifter. Pokémon from Gen 3 games will have the description of “after a long transfer through time” added to their summary page.
Transferring via Relocator:
Also, while the specific event Pokémon can be transferred using the Poké Transfer method, using the Relocator instead will allow you to encounter a Zoroark and to be gifted a Zorua in Black / White.
Unfortunately, the Relocator has to be unlocked by talking to an NPC in Castelia city, and telling them a specific phrase first, then after saving the game and returning to the main menu.
Transferring Pokémon via Relocator also uses DS Download play, and is also subject to the same-language game restriction.
Likewise, Pokémon transferred via Relocator will have their met location changed to “Relocator”, but will keep their original met level and date from the Gen 4 games they came from.
Gen 5 to Bank/Gen 6/Gen 7
Transfers from Gen 5 to Gen 6 (X/Y and Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire) or Gen 7 (Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, or Ultra Moon) are amongst the simplest transfers, though these transfers require a 3DS with Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter (downloaded through Bank).
Requirements:
- A 3DS with Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter
- An active internet connection on the 3DS
- A 3DS Pokémon Game (for initial deposits)
- A Gen 5 DS Game (any region/langauge)
Thankfully, this is the end of the era of needing two DS systems for transfers, as well as same-language games! Transfers from Poké Transporter follow a few quirks though:
Poké Transporter will only transfer the entirety of whatever is in Box 1 of the Gen 5 game. This means that you will have to identify Box 1 in the game, and make sure only what you want to transfer is in it. There are no individual selection options, it’s all or nothing. Pokémon that fail the legality check will not be transferable, and will remain in Box 1.
Transferred Pokémon are also stored in a “Transfer Box” in Pokémon Bank. Because Pokémon Bank also needs to have a compatible 3DS game just to manage its storage, you must have a 3DS with save data. If no game is present, the box cannot be emptied until a Gen 6 or Gen 7 game is used access Bank’s storage. The transfer box must also be entirely empty before further transfers can be initiated.
With these quirks out of the way, simply make sure you have an active internet connection on the 3DS, have already organized your Pokémon in the DS game into Box 1, and initiate the box transfer from Poké Transporter.
Then, on Pokémon Bank, you can move the Pokémon either to Bank’s main storage boxes, or into a 3DS game. That’s it!
Important: While you can deposit a Pokémon into either Gen 6 or Gen 7 from here, it’s important to note that if a Pokémon is deposited and saved into a Gen 7 game, it becomes permanently unable to transfer to a Gen 6 game. This is crucial to keep in mind if you’re seeking to get ribbons from Gen 6 on your Pokémon, or to use them in Kalos/Hoenn at any point. If you don’t care about any of that, you’re freely able to just transfer them to either game generation or into Bank.
Gen 6 to Gen 7
The final cross-generational 3DS transfer leg is from Gen 6 to Gen 7. It also happens to be the most straightforward, due to only needing Bank.
Requirements:
- A 3DS with Pokémon Bank
- An active internet connection on the 3DS
- A Gen 6 3DS game (physical or digital)
- A Gen 7 3DS game (physical or digital)
There’s really not much to this transfer process. Start by launching Bank from the 3DS’ home menu, and if you need to move Pokémon out of a Gen 6 game, select it when prompted and upload them to any of the 100 boxes in Bank, and then save the changes.
To deposit, return to Bank’s title screen, insert/select the Gen 7 game of your choice, and then deposit the target Pokémon into any free space in your Gen 7 game’s PC. Done!
Important: Again, depositing a Pokémon into a Gen 7 game makes it permanently unable to return to a Gen 6 game. Only deposit to Gen 7 when you no longer need the Pokémon in those games.
Should you then decide to move from Gen 7 to HOME, you can follow the above Bank to Home transfer process, and exhale after you’ve transferred all of your Pokémon to HOME.
What About Backups?
Pokémon does not have any official save data backup methods. In fact, even on the Switch generation of games, the mainline Pokémon series does not allow backup with Nintendo Switch Online’s cloud save service.
And while I would absolutely love to encourage everyone to make save data backups on their own, at every step of the transfer process (so as to keep your Pokémon on each game), unfortunately, most methods would involve using a 3DS with custom firmware, or flash cards for DS systems, which are in in a legal (as in criminal law) gray area, especially depending on local laws in your country. As such, I cannot endorse and will not provide instruction on using such methods.
That being said, backing up your Gameboy era game data is generally considered legal, and can be done with 3rd party tools like the GBxCart RW, the JoeyJR, or the Epilogue GB Operator.
Another generally legal (as in law) tool to use is PkHex, which was primarily developed as a method to preserve and archive actual Pokémon files. By importing save data into PKHex, you can save your individual, unmodified Pokémon as individual files, and add (inject) them to compatible games.
Using PkHex to modify Pokémon is against the developer’s vision, and uploading modified Pokémon can violate the Terms of Service of Pokémon HOME and Bank, leading to potential account restrictions. Do not be the bad apple the spoils the bunch for everyone else.
What If I Miss The Deadline?
We’re hoping everyone who wants to transfer their Pokémon up can do so before Bank’s End of Service, but unfortunately, that isn’t always possible for everyone.
If you should miss the deadline, officially, there isn’t anything that could be done. Gens 5, 6, and 7 would be the last leg of the transfer journey for your older Pokémon.
Unofficially, however, just as players discovered they could import over their older Game Boy cartridge saves to the 3DS’ Virtual Console re-releases, the same could be possible with future re-releases of older games on the Switch. And it’s not just wishful thinking:
On Pokémon Day 2026, The Pokémon Company surprised everyone with the sudden releases of FireRed and LeafGreen, sold entirely separate from Nintendo Switch Online’s Game Boy Advance app. Since the Switch ports of these games are again, largely untouched from the original games, it should theoretically be possible to inject (legitimate) Pokémon from the cartridge saves into the re-released ports, and into HOME that way.
And with the rumors of Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald being re-ported to the Switch, these releases would theoretically allow Pokémon caught from those cartridge games to be injected into those potential Switch ports as well. Should The Pokémon Company continue the trend of re-selling the mainline older games again (as they did on the 3DS), we may potentially see releases of the DS and 3DS era games again, even if they become Switch 2 exclusives.
Of course, it’s always better to be prepared and take action to backup and/or transfer your data now than it is to hope for hypothetical scenarios, so please make sure to prepare sooner than later!
