Pokémon Bridges the Gap Between Generations at Last

Transferring Pokémon between games has always been a bit of a hassle, but The Pokémon Company aimed to simplify things with the Pokémon Home app, which serves as a centralized storage solution. Before that, players relied on two 3DS apps, Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter, which enabled transfers from the DS to the 3DS, allowing Pokémon to move all the way from Game Boy Advance titles to the latest systems like the Switch 2. However, The Pokémon Company has now announced that support for these apps will officially come to an end.

This announcement coincides with the confirmation that the FireRed and LeafGreen ports for Switch, released earlier this year, will gain Pokémon Home support in October. This means you’ll be able to transfer Pokémon caught in those GBA games to any compatible game via the app. The Bank service will cease operations on February 25, 2027, at 7 p.m. Pacific/10 p.m. Eastern. Players are encouraged to transfer any Pokémon they wish to keep before the service ends. However, it’s important to note that Bank is currently unavailable for download since the 3DS online services were shut down in 2024. This means that unless you already redeemed the app on the eShop before 2024, you won’t be able to use it before the February deadline.

It’s hard to envision Pokémon Bank seeing much use in 2026, especially as older games have become increasingly difficult to find and play on original hardware. Still, this marks the end of an era. As gaming shifts more towards digital distribution and online services, Bank feels like a remnant of a time when Pokémon were confined to cartridges, requiring convoluted transfer methods—like having to insert both a GBA and a DS game into the same system—to bring old favorites into new adventures. While Game Freak has had its fun with Pokémon transfers over the years, these methods were often cumbersome compared to the straightforward nature of Home.

The ability to transfer Pokémon has become less of a standard feature since Sword and Shield restricted players from trading any Pokémon they wanted, sparking a significant controversy known as “Dexit.” Despite community outcry, Game Freak appears committed to not reinstating the National Dex that would encompass every Pokémon in each game. Many players have relied on Bank to bring Pokémon they caught years ago into modern titles, and now it feels like a significant piece of gaming history is about to be severed. It’s unfortunate that this app, the last link between older hardware and current systems, is being phased out.

Moreover, with the shutdown of the 3DS servers, Pokémon Bank and Transporter were the only apps that retained online functionality, meaning this announcement signals the final farewell to online usage on the 3DS.