If you have Pokémon sitting in your 3DS cloud storage right now, The Pokémon Company just handed you a six-month countdown. Pokémon Bank will permanently end service on 26 February 2027 — and when it goes, any Pokémon still inside will be stranded there for good. The announcement came bundled with a wave of genuinely exciting Pokémon HOME updates arriving in October, so there’s plenty of reason to pay attention beyond the bad news.
What Is Pokémon Bank and Why Does the Shutdown Matter?
Pokémon Bank is a 3DS cloud storage app that has kept collections from every major Pokémon game on the platform — X and Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Sun and Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon — alive and accessible since 2013. For competitive Singapore trainers especially, Bank has been the last official lifeline connecting decade-old 6IV catches and event Pokémon to the modern HOME ecosystem.
Once the service ends, the Bank-to-HOME transfer function shuts down at the same time. Any Pokémon still in Bank’s online Boxes at the cutoff will be permanently inaccessible. There is no offline workaround and no extension is expected. The Pokémon Company is advising all players to transfer their stored Pokémon to Pokémon HOME before the service ends.
Your Deadline: 26 February 2027
The exact shutdown time is 11:00 AM SGT on 26 February 2027 (7:00 PM PST on 25 February). That gives Singapore trainers roughly six and a half months from today. It sounds like a comfortable buffer — but Pokémon Bank’s previous shutdown of the free period in 2024 caught a lot of players off guard, so do not leave this until the final week.
To transfer: boot Pokémon Bank on a 3DS system (the app itself remains free to use until the shutdown date), send your Pokémon to the Home boxes, then open Pokémon HOME on Switch or mobile to receive them. Pokémon HOME itself is not closing — it continues on Switch, iOS, and Android.
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Connect to HOME This October
The Bank announcement was tucked inside a bigger Pokémon HOME news post, and the bigger news is genuinely great. Pokémon HOME version 4.1.0, arriving in October 2026, will add connectivity with Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version — the remakes that dropped on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 back in February 2026.
From October, players will be able to transfer Pokémon caught in FireRed and LeafGreen forward into HOME and from there into other compatible Pokémon games. The official announcement on Pokémon.com does carry one important caveat: the transfer is one-way only. Once a Pokémon leaves FireRed or LeafGreen, it cannot return to that game, and Pokémon from other titles cannot visit Kanto.
Complete the Kanto Pokédex, Claim a Free Celebi
Here is the part worth circling: if you complete the FireRed or LeafGreen Pokédex, you can claim the Mythical Pokémon Celebi via the Pokémon HOME mobile app. The reward does not even require you to transfer anything — simply registering all 151 Kanto species in-game is enough to unlock the claim in the app. For Singapore trainers who picked up the Switch version at launch and have been grinding towards completion, that is a meaningful payoff.
More HOME 4.1.0 Upgrades Worth Knowing
The October update brings a few other quality-of-life wins alongside the FRLG connectivity:
- Premium storage raised to 9,000 Pokémon (up from 6,000) at no extra cost — useful if Bank transfers push you close to the current cap.
- Safari Ball transfers from Pokémon GO are now possible for Premium users. The ball will change to a Strange Ball on arrival in HOME, so factor that in if ball authenticity matters for your collection.
A Game News reminder: Pokémon HOME Premium is not expensive, and the storage bump alone makes October a worthwhile time to subscribe if you have been holding off.
What Singapore Trainers Need to Do Right Now
The action list is short but time-sensitive. Check whether you have a working 3DS and a Pokémon Bank subscription (the app is free to use until shutdown). Open the app and review your online Boxes — anything you want to keep needs to move to HOME before 26 February 2027 at 11:00 AM SGT. If you have been hoarding competitive Pokémon from the XY or ORAS era, this is your window.
For players on the Switch versions of FireRed and LeafGreen, October will open the door to moving your Kanto catches into the wider Pokémon ecosystem — and if your Pokédex is close to complete, the free Celebi gives you an extra reason to finish the job before the update drops.