Breaking News: Exciting Updates on Pokemon Bank's Future!

Highlights

Pokemon Bank users were informed that the service may be discontinued, urging them to transfer their Pokemon to Pokemon Home as soon as possible.

Pokemon Bank, a paid service for storing Pokemon, has been on borrowed time since the introduction of Pokemon Home in 2020. The imminent shutdown of Nintendo 3DS online services in April 2024 is the reason behind this warning, and transferring Pokemon from Pokemon Bank to Pokemon Home necessitates a Premium Plan subscription.

The Pokemon Company has informed Pokemon players who still use Pokemon Bank that the service's future is uncertain. In a statement on social media, the company stated that although Pokemon Bank will continue to be available online after the shutdown of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii online services in April 2024, there is a possibility that the service will be discontinued in the future. As a result, players are strongly encouraged to transfer their Pokemon to Pokemon Home as soon as possible.

Pokemon Bank, which was launched in Japan on Christmas Day in 2013, is a paid service that allows Pokemon trainers to store their Pokemon in online cloud storage for an annual fee of $4.99. When it was first released, a companion app called Poke Transporter enabled players to transfer Pokemon from Pokemon Black and White, as well as their sequels, and the Virtual Console releases of the first and second generation Pokemon games, into Pokemon Bank. Following the closure of the 3DS and Wii U versions of the Nintendo eShop in March 2023, Pokemon Bank became free for anyone to use. However, with the introduction of Pokemon Home in 2020, the days of Pokemon Bank have been numbered. As the shutdown of the 3DS and Wii U online services draws closer, it seems that the app's time may soon come to an end.

The Pokemon Company is advising Pokemon trainers on social media to utilize Pokemon Bank's one-transfer to Pokemon Home promptly due to the upcoming shutdown of 3DS and Wii U online services in April 2024. However, it is important to note that this one-way transfer from Pokemon Bank to Pokemon Home is exclusively available to Premium Plan subscribers of the latter. The subscription plans for Pokemon Home start at $2.99 per month and go up to $15.99 per year, with the ability to transfer Pokemon on both the Switch and mobile versions of the service.

Once Pokemon players have settled into Pokemon Home, they can take advantage of its features to transfer compatible Pokemon to games like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. As The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC has been divided into two parts, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will continue to receive compatibility updates for Pokemon Home with the release of each part. Although the Winter 2023 release window is the only known timeframe, it remains uncertain how many more Pokemon will be eligible for the journey to Paldea in The Indigo Disk DLC.