Pokémon Bank is shutting down. This helpful app, which has existed since 2014 (2013 in Japan), has served as both a storage facility for individuals catching way too many monsters across multiple games, and a way, the only way, to transfer Pokémon from older Pokémon games to the newer ones on Nintendo Switch systems, going all the way back to Ruby and Sapphire. Beginning February 25, 2027, all that’s going away, and there will be no way to bring Pokémon from the 3DS games and earlier onto the Switch. So you’d better get on top of that now, if it’s something you care about.

Unfortunately, it’s a massive pain in the ass, which is probably why you haven’t done it yet.

If you’re worried about your precious monster friends being stuck on an old system and gathering dust in your closet for the rest of forever, I’m here to help walk you through the obnoxious process of getting everyone assembled in Pokémon Home, which is the new, up-to-date storage system for Pokémon that will continue being usable after Bank has been shuttered. It’s through Home that you’re able to send Pokémon to Pokémon Champions, or use them in your teams in later games if they’re eligible. The time between now and February 25 is your last window to make sure you can do that.

Stick with me here, because depending on what games your Pokémon are in, we could be here a while.

What you need

First off, you need Pokémon Home, which you can access either as an app on the Nintendo Switch, or on iOS or Android. It doesn’t matter which of these three versions you have, you just need it downloaded.

Unfortunately, you’re going to need to spend some money for any of this to work at all. Moving Pokémon from Bank to Home is only available to individuals with a Home Premium Plan, which costs $2.99 for one month, $4.99 for three months, and $15.99 for a year. The Premium Plan also gives you the ability to store up to 6,000 Pokémon, while the free plan only allows up to 30. So if you’re only bringing a couple guys, you can get away with Premium for one month and let it lapse. But if you intend to store hundreds of monsters through this process, you’ll have to cough up for a subscription.

Next, you need Pokémon Bank, which means you need a Nintendo 3DS that has it installed and set up already. If you don’t have that, you’re out of luck entirely. Back in 2023, when the Nintendo 3DS ended online services, the ability to download new apps like Bank was lost. On the bright side, that does mean that if you own the app already, using it is free. But outside of that boon, anyone who doesn’t already have a way to access it is screwed here, unless you’re able and willing to mod a 3DS to get it on there.

If the Pokémon that you want to move up are already sitting in Pokémon Bank (and you can check this for free if you have the app before you get too in the weeds with this), then this is all you need. However, there are a number of other things you’ll need for anything more complex, such as moving Pokémon currently sitting in boxes in older games up to Home. For these sorts of transfers, you’ll need:

• A copy of whatever game your Pokémon is sitting in, obviously, either physical or already purchased and downloaded on the 3DS system
• For virtual console games, you’ll also need to have the Poké Transporterapp downloaded on the Nintendo 3DS already
• If you’re transferring from Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, SoulSilver,orHeartGold, you need a second DS or 3DS in addition to the first one (fortunately, the second one does not also needPokémon Bankon it, you just need one copy)
• If you want to transfer from a GBA game such as Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, orLeafGreen, one of those systems must be a Nintendo DS, because it needs to have the GBA cartridge slot
• Do not ask me how to get Pokémon from GameCube games like Colosseumor Wii games likeMy Pokémon Ranch. If that’s what you’re trying to do, it’s probably possible, but you’re too far gone and no one can help you.

Simple transfers from Bank to Home

For those who just have a bunch of guys in Bank they forgot about and need to move to Home, I’m happy to tell you that this is as simple as it gets.

• First, make sure you’ve got that premium plan subscription on Pokémon Home. Open upHomeon whichever app you have it installed on. If you haven’t used it in a while or haven’t opened it on the device you’re using before, there will be some setup to get through.
• Get Pokémon Bankfired up on the 3DS and ready to go.
• If you’re on a Switch app, select Move from the main menu. If you’re on mobile, this button is hidden in the Options menu as Move Pokémon. Once you’ve selected either of those, then choose Begin Move, and Begin, Ready!, Display Moving Key in that order.
• Now switch over to the 3DS, choose “Move Pokémon to Pokémon Home,” and select the boxes you want to move to Home. Press Y, and then Yes.
• Enter the Moving Key displayed on your Home app into the field on Bank. Once it’s in, the move will take place. Done. Easy.

Okay, so you never even put your Pokémon in Bank in the first place

Well, great. Here’s where it can get crazy.

I’ll start with this gorgeous flowchart made by Reddit user CengizMan, which should be sufficient to terrify you, but we’ll keep it as simple as we can by focusing on the main games connecting up through Pokémon Bank:

Find the subheader below that applies to you and buckle up.

From Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon, X, Y, OmegaRuby, or AlphaSapphire

Good news, these more modern games only require one extra step. Make sure you have the cartridge in question inserted in your 3DS (if using a physical copy), open up Pokémon Bank, choose “Use Pokémon Bank,” and select the game you want to use with Bank. From there, it’s as easy as choosing the boxes you want to transfer into Bank and confirming. From here, you can scroll up the page to “Simple transfers from Bank to Home” and follow the instructions there to finish the job.

From the Virtual Console versions of Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, or Crystal, or from Black, White, Black 2, or White 2

You folks will unfortunately need the Poké Transporter app installed on your 3DS as well, which again is not available anymore if you don’t already have it. But if you do, open up the game you want to move monsters out of and shove any Pokémon you want moved into Box 1 of the PC, and take any Pokémon you don’t want moved out of Box 1. Then open the Poké Transporter app and follow the prompts to get everything into Pokémon Bank (you’ll need the Black, White, Black 2, or White 2 cartridge inserted, obviously). You can then scroll up and follow the instructions above to move Pokémon from Bank to Home.

From Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, or SoulSilver on DS

Sorry, you need two systems for this, at least one 3DS and then another 3DS or a regular Nintendo DS. You’ll also need a copy of Black, White, Black 2, or White 2 in which you’ve beaten the Elite Four and unlocked the PokéTransfer Lab, and the Poké Transporter app. Have that game plugged in on one console, and then the game you want to extract from on the other. Speak to the scientist in the PokéTransfer Lab. On your other DS, select the DS Download Play button from the home screen menu on your DS for that game. Follow the prompts on both games, and it will let you move your Pokémon from the older game up to Black, White, Black 2, or White 2 by playing a pointless minigame where you shoot Pokéballs at your Pokémon.

From there, you can follow the instructions above to get the Pokémon into Pokémon Bank, and from there to Pokémon Home.

From Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, or LeafGreen on GBA

Ugh. Why.

You need a regular Nintendo DS and a Nintendo 3DS to complete this entire process, plus a copy of either Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, or SoulSilver for DS, plus everything listed in the sections above including the Poké Transporter App and a copy of Black, White, Black 2, or White 2 in which you’ve beaten the Elite Four. Put the GBA game of your choice in the GBA slot and whichever fourth-generation game you own in the DS slot. Visit the Pal Park in your fourth-generation game (you’ll have to have unlocked the National Dex in whichever game it is, which requires a significant amount of game completion in any case) and follow the instructions there to move six Pokémon at a time (agh) from your GBA game to the DS game you’re playing.

With the Pokémon securely in your DS game, you can now slowly scroll up the page and follow the instructions to move them from the DS game to Black, White, Black 2, or White 2, and then from there to Bank, and then from there to Home. Godspeed, this is a ridiculous thing to do in 2026.

You cannot transfer Pokémon from the original Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, or Crystal games to Bank, which you probably know already if you’re this deep into a guide like this. Hopefully they release them on Nintendo Switch Online soon, because with this change, every game from Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon on back is going to be fully disconnected from the rest of the series.