Pokémon Bank Service to End in February 2027, Final Chance to Move Your 3DS Pokémon
After more than a decade of helping Pokémon travel between generations, Pokémon Bank is officially coming to an end.
The Pokémon Company and Nintendo have announced that Pokémon Bank will discontinue its service on February 26, 2027, at 12:00 PM JST.
When the service ends, the ability to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon Bank into Pokémon HOME will also be discontinued.
For anyone who still has Pokémon sitting inside a Nintendo 3DS game—or already stored in Pokémon Bank—this is an important deadline.
Pokémon Bank Is Finally Shutting Down
Pokémon Bank originally launched on Nintendo 3DS in December 2013, providing players with an online storage system capable of holding up to 3,000 Pokémon.
It became an important part of the Pokémon series, allowing Pokémon from games including:
- Pokémon X and Y
- Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
- Pokémon Sun and Moon
- Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
- Pokémon Virtual Console releases of the original Pokémon games
to be stored and moved between compatible games.
Pokémon Bank also worked alongside Poké Transporter, allowing Pokémon from earlier generations to eventually make their way into the newer games.
The Nintendo 3DS eShop Already Closed
The end of Pokémon Bank’s service isn’t completely unexpected.
When the Nintendo 3DS eShop closed in March 2023, new downloads of Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter were discontinued.
However, players who had already downloaded the applications were still able to use Pokémon Bank, and the service was made free. The Pokémon Company confirmed at the time that Pokémon stored in Bank could continue to be transferred to Pokémon HOME.
That remaining connection has now been given an end date.
February 26, 2027 Is the Deadline
According to the latest official announcement, Pokémon Bank will terminate at:
February 26, 2027 – 12:00 PM JST
From that point onward, the Pokémon Bank service will no longer be available.
More importantly, Pokémon Bank → Pokémon HOME transfers will also stop.
The official notice therefore recommends that anyone wishing to preserve Pokémon currently stored in Pokémon Bank transfer them to Pokémon HOME before the service ends.
What Happens to Pokémon Already in Pokémon Bank?
This is the big question for collectors.
The official announcement specifically tells players who want to transfer Pokémon stored in Bank to move them to Pokémon HOME before the service ends.
So if you’ve got Pokémon sitting in Bank that you’ve been holding onto for years, now is the time to start planning the transfer.
Pokémon HOME’s official instructions confirm that Pokémon can currently be moved from Bank into HOME, but this requires a Pokémon HOME Premium Plan.
And remember: the transfer is one-way.
Pokémon can be moved from Pokémon Bank to Pokémon HOME, but Pokémon cannot be sent back from HOME to Bank.
You Cannot Download Pokémon Bank Anymore
If you don’t already have Pokémon Bank installed, there’s another important problem.
New downloads of Pokémon Bank have already ended.
The same applies to Poké Transporter.
The official Pokémon website confirms that downloads ended alongside the Nintendo 3DS eShop changes in 2023.
So this isn’t a case of waiting until February 2027 and downloading Bank at the last minute.
If you don’t already have access to the software, you can’t simply download it now.
Pokémon HOME Becomes the New Home for Your Pokémon
The shutdown further establishes Pokémon HOME as the modern destination for Pokémon collected across generations.
HOME is designed as a cloud-based service where players can store Pokémon from compatible Pokémon games and move compatible Pokémon into supported titles.
The Pokémon Company describes Pokémon HOME as a place where Pokémon from across the series can be brought together.
For longtime players, this means Pokémon that have travelled with them through multiple generations can continue their journey beyond the Nintendo 3DS.
A Sad End for an Important Part of Pokémon History
For many players, Pokémon Bank is much more than an old storage application.
It has been the bridge that allowed Pokémon to travel from games such as Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, through the Nintendo DS and 3DS generations, and eventually into the modern Pokémon ecosystem.
That means some Pokémon sitting in Bank could have been caught well over a decade ago.
A shiny Pokémon, a favourite competitive Pokémon, an event Pokémon or even a Pokémon that has been transferred through several generations could still be sitting in one of those 3,000 storage spaces.
Once the Bank-to-HOME transfer service ends, that particular route will be closed.
What You Should Do
If you still use Pokémon Bank, there are a few things worth checking now rather than waiting until the final weeks.
1. Check whether Pokémon Bank is installed
If you don’t already have the application on your 3DS, you cannot newly download it.
2. Check what’s stored inside
You might have forgotten about Pokémon that have been sitting in Bank for years.
It’s worth going through your boxes and deciding what you want to keep.
3. Make sure Pokémon HOME is ready
You’ll need a compatible Pokémon HOME setup to receive your Pokémon from Bank.
4. Check your Nintendo Account connections
Pokémon HOME’s official transfer instructions include requirements involving your Nintendo Account and the Nintendo Network ID that was used with Pokémon Bank.
5. Transfer your Pokémon before the deadline
Don’t leave it until February 26, 2027.
The official advice is to transfer Pokémon you want to keep to Pokémon HOME before Pokémon Bank shuts down.
One Other Thing to Remember
Poké Miles stored in Pokémon Bank cannot be transferred to Pokémon HOME.
So if you’ve got any remaining Poké Miles, they won’t follow your Pokémon into HOME.
The End of an Era
Pokémon Bank has been part of the Pokémon experience since the Nintendo 3DS era, and its eventual shutdown marks the end of one of the longest-running pieces of Pokémon’s modern online infrastructure.
The service was originally created to ensure that players could keep their Pokémon with them even as they moved between different games and hardware generations.
More than 13 years after its original launch, that era is finally coming to an end.
Pokémon Bank will officially shut down on February 26, 2027 at 12:00 PM JST.
If you’ve got Pokémon sitting in Bank, don’t wait until the last minute.
Their journey can continue through Pokémon HOME—but you’ll need to make the move before the door closes.
Have you still got Pokémon sitting in Pokémon Bank? Let us know which Pokémon have been waiting there all these years.
