Nintendo and The Pokémon Company will add Pokémon HOME support to Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen in October 2026, the companies confirmed on the official Pokémon website.
The two titles—remakes of the original Generation I games developed by Game Freak and historically released for the Game Boy Advance—have been available on Nintendo Switch in GBA-format form since their recent release on the platform.
The October 2026 update allows players who link their FireRed and LeafGreen games to Pokémon HOME to move captured Pokémon into the cloud for long-term storage and to transfer them into other compatible Pokémon titles, helping trainers complete Pokédex entries across multiple regions.
The companies clarified that Pokémon transferred from the GBA releases to other games cannot be moved back to their original FireRed or LeafGreen cartridges once sent to another title.
The Pokémon Company also confirmed a capture incentive tied to full Pokédex completion in the Switch GBA releases: players who register all 251 Pokémon across FireRed and LeafGreen will receive a Celebi on the mobile version of Pokémon HOME that can be moved to other compatible games.
The company noted players do not need to physically transfer each Pokémon to HOME in order to claim the Celebi; any Pokémon registered in the in-game Pokédex of the FireRed and LeafGreen titles will count toward the reward.
That clarification means event Pokémon such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Deoxys can be registered in the Pokédex without requiring a physical capture for the Celebi eligibility.
Separately, The Pokémon Company issued an End of Service notice for Pokémon Bank, the long-running 3DS-era cloud storage app.
Pokémon Bank will cease operations on February 25, 2027 at 7:00 p.m.
PT.
After that date and time, users will no longer be able to move Pokémon between Pokémon Bank and Pokémon HOME.
The notice reminds users that Pokémon Bank has not been available to download since the closure of the Nintendo 3DS eShop in March 2023, so players who previously did not use Bank will not be affected by the download limitation.
With HOME connectivity arriving for these GBA-format Switch releases and the scheduled retirement of Pokémon Bank, trainers should review their collections and plan any necessary transfers well ahead of February 2027 to avoid losing access to stored Pokémon.
The two titles—remakes of the original Generation I games developed by Game Freak and historically released for the Game Boy Advance—have been available on Nintendo Switch in GBA-format form since their recent release on the platform.
The October 2026 update allows players who link their FireRed and LeafGreen games to Pokémon HOME to move captured Pokémon into the cloud for long-term storage and to transfer them into other compatible Pokémon titles, helping trainers complete Pokédex entries across multiple regions.
The companies clarified that Pokémon transferred from the GBA releases to other games cannot be moved back to their original FireRed or LeafGreen cartridges once sent to another title.
The Pokémon Company also confirmed a capture incentive tied to full Pokédex completion in the Switch GBA releases: players who register all 251 Pokémon across FireRed and LeafGreen will receive a Celebi on the mobile version of Pokémon HOME that can be moved to other compatible games.
The company noted players do not need to physically transfer each Pokémon to HOME in order to claim the Celebi; any Pokémon registered in the in-game Pokédex of the FireRed and LeafGreen titles will count toward the reward.
That clarification means event Pokémon such as Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Deoxys can be registered in the Pokédex without requiring a physical capture for the Celebi eligibility.
Separately, The Pokémon Company issued an End of Service notice for Pokémon Bank, the long-running 3DS-era cloud storage app.
Pokémon Bank will cease operations on February 25, 2027 at 7:00 p.m.
PT.
After that date and time, users will no longer be able to move Pokémon between Pokémon Bank and Pokémon HOME.
The notice reminds users that Pokémon Bank has not been available to download since the closure of the Nintendo 3DS eShop in March 2023, so players who previously did not use Bank will not be affected by the download limitation.
With HOME connectivity arriving for these GBA-format Switch releases and the scheduled retirement of Pokémon Bank, trainers should review their collections and plan any necessary transfers well ahead of February 2027 to avoid losing access to stored Pokémon.
