How to Move Forgotten Pokémon Before Bank Closes

Pokémon Bank is scheduled to shut down on 25 February 2027. The Nintendo 3DS service, launched in 2014 (2013 in Japan), has stored Pokémon across several generations and provided the only official route for moving creatures from older games—including Ruby and Sapphire—to Nintendo Switch titles.

After the closure, Pokémon left in 3DS games and earlier releases will no longer have an official path to Switch systems. If you want to preserve those older teams, now is the time to start. The process can be complicated, especially when your Pokémon are still sitting in cartridges rather than in Bank.

Pokémon Home is the continuing storage service. It is available on Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android, and can send eligible Pokémon to Pokémon Champions and later games. Your final deadline for arranging those transfers is 25 February 2027.

For readers who enjoy tracing how older hardware connects, RETROCADE’s arcade and gaming news offers more guides and industry coverage.

What you need before starting

You need Pokémon Home installed on at least one supported device: the Nintendo Switch app, the iOS app or the Android app.

A Pokémon Home Premium Plan is required to move Pokémon from Bank. It costs $2.99 for one month, $4.99 for three months or $15.99 for 12 months. Premium storage holds up to 6,000 Pokémon, compared with 30 on the free plan. If you are moving only a small number, one month may be enough; transferring hundreds will require enough subscription time and storage.

You must also have a Nintendo 3DS with Pokémon Bank already installed and configured. Since Nintendo 3DS online services ended in 2023, new downloads such as Bank are no longer available through the normal route. Existing installations can still be used free of charge, but anyone without access to the app would need to consider modifying a 3DS.

If your Pokémon are already in Bank, you can check that before collecting the other equipment. Transfers from older games require additional hardware and software:

• The relevant game, either as a physical copy or already downloaded on the 3DS.
• The Poké Transporter app for Virtual Console transfers and several DS-era routes. Like Bank, it must already be installed.
• A second DS or 3DS for transfers from Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold or SoulSilver. Only one system needs Pokémon Bank.
• A Nintendo DS with a GBA cartridge slot when transferring from Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed or LeafGreen.

Transfers from GameCube titles such as Colosseum or Wii software such as My Pokémon Ranch are outside this guide.

Moving Pokémon directly from Bank to Home

This is the easiest route if your Pokémon are already waiting in Bank.

1. Activate a Premium Plan in Pokémon Home, then open the app and complete any required setup.
2. Start Pokémon Bank on the 3DS.
3. In the Switch version of Home, choose Move from the main menu. In the mobile app, open Options and select Move Pokémon.
4. Choose Begin Move, followed by Begin, Ready! and Display Moving Key.
5. On the 3DS, select Move Pokémon to Pokémon Home, choose the boxes to transfer, press Y and confirm with Yes.
6. Enter the Moving Key shown in Home into Bank. The selected Pokémon will then be transferred.

If your Pokémon are still in older games

The route depends on which game contains them. A useful visual overview is this flowchart covering transfers from 2002 to 2024. The main pathways are outlined below.

Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon, X, Y, OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire

Insert the physical cartridge into the 3DS if necessary, open Pokémon Bank, choose Use Pokémon Bank and select the game. Select the boxes you want to send into Bank and confirm. Once they arrive, use the direct Bank-to-Home instructions above.

Virtual Console Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal; Black, White, Black 2 and White 2

You need the previously installed Poké Transporter app. In the game, place the Pokémon you want to move in PC Box 1 and remove anything you want to leave behind. Open Poké Transporter and follow its prompts to send the contents to Pokémon Bank. For the DS games, the relevant cartridge must be inserted. From there, transfer them from Bank to Home.

Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver on DS

This route requires two systems: one 3DS and a second 3DS or standard Nintendo DS. You also need Black, White, Black 2 or White 2 with the Elite Four defeated and the PokéTransfer Lab unlocked, plus Poké Transporter.

Put the compatible fifth-generation game in one system and the game you are transferring from in the other. Speak with the scientist at the PokéTransfer Lab. On the other system, select DS Download Play from the home menu and follow the instructions on both consoles. The transfer uses a Poké Ball-catching minigame. Once the Pokémon reach Black, White, Black 2 or White 2, move them through Poké Transporter to Bank, then use Home.

Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed and LeafGreen on GBA

This is the longest route. You need a standard Nintendo DS, a Nintendo 3DS, one of Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold or SoulSilver, Poké Transporter, and Black, White, Black 2 or White 2 with the Elite Four defeated.

Insert the GBA game into the DS’s GBA slot and the fourth-generation game into the DS cartridge slot. In that fourth-generation game, unlock the National Dex, visit Pal Park and follow the instructions to move six Pokémon at a time from the GBA title.

Next, transfer them from the fourth-generation DS game to Black, White, Black 2 or White 2 using the PokéTransfer Lab. Then use Poké Transporter to send them to Pokémon Bank, before completing the final move to Pokémon Home.

The original cartridge versions of Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal cannot transfer directly to Bank. Once Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and every earlier game are disconnected from the modern series, those original releases will have no official link to the Switch generation unless Nintendo provides another compatible option.

Managing several generations of hardware can be a project in itself. If you are building a dedicated retro setup alongside your Pokémon collection, RETROCADE’s arcade-machine buying guide can help with planning, while arcade parts and repair components are available for older cabinets.