Credit: Pokémon bank
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Next Year Will Officially Be the End of an Era for Pokémon Fans
August 14, 2026·3 min read
Pokémon fans still holding old collections on Nintendo 3DS now have a final deadline. Pokémon Bank will shut down on February 25, 2027, ending one of the last remaining ways to move Pokémon from older games into Pokémon HOME.
Anyone with rare Pokémon, old teams, or childhood favourites stored on a 3DS should start sorting them soon. When the Bank closes, transfers to Pokémon HOME will stop. Nintendo also says Pokémon Bank is no longer available for new downloads.
Pokémon Bank can hold Pokémon from Nintendo 3DS titles including Pokémon X, Pokémon Y, Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon Sun, Pokémon Moon, Pokémon Ultra Sun, and Pokémon Ultra Moon. It also provides the route those games use to reach Pokémon HOME.
Players who already have the app can move Pokémon from Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black Version 2, and Pokémon White Version 2. Several Pokémon games released through the 3DS Virtual Console are supported too.
Once a Pokémon reaches HOME, it cannot return to the Bank. A paid Pokémon HOME Premium Plan is also required, so anyone preparing an older collection should sort their boxes before starting the transfer.
Nintendo ended purchases on the Nintendo 3DS eShop in March 2023, but Pokémon Bank kept running for existing users and became free. New users could no longer download it, so access already depended on having the app before the eShop closed.
Most Nintendo 3DS and Wii U online services ended on April 8, 2024. Pokémon Bank was one of the exceptions and stayed active after online play and other network features disappeared. Pokémon players gained several more years to move their collections into HOME. The bank therefore lasted almost three years beyond the wider 3DS shutdown.
For longtime players, Bank kept a link open between different generations of Pokémon games. Creatures caught years ago could still pass through Bank and reach compatible newer titles through HOME. The 2027 shutdown will remove that transfer route for games that depend on Bank.
Players with Pokémon stored in the Bank should check their boxes before the shutdown. Nintendo recommends moving anything they want to keep into Pokémon HOME before service ends. Large collections may take time to sort, especially when Pokémon are spread across several old saves.
Poké Transporter can still bring supported Pokémon into the Bank for users who already have the required software. From there, they can move to HOME, but the process cannot be reversed once the transfer is complete.
Pokémon Bank will stop working at 7:00 p.m. PST on February 25, 2027. Bank-to-HOME transfers will end with it, closing one of the last remaining online links between Nintendo 3DS Pokémon games and the current storage system.
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