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How to Restart a Pokémon Game on Nintendo Switch

Use the Switch’s Delete Save Data setting to start a Pokémon game over. Understand user-specific saves, software deletion, cloud support, and why not to initialize the console.
Length2 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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To start a Pokémon game over on Nintendo Switch, delete that game’s save data: open System Settings → Data Management → Delete Save Data, select the correct game and save entry, then confirm. This erases progress in the selected save. Check the game and user carefully before proceeding; deleting the game software or resetting the entire console is not the same thing.

Delete a Pokémon save to start over

  1. Close the Pokémon game and return to the Switch HOME Menu.

  2. Open System Settings → Data Management → Delete Save Data. Nintendo’s official Data Management instructions describe this console-level route for deleting saved data.

  3. Select the Pokémon title you want to restart, then choose the save-data or user entry shown on the console.

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  4. Read the confirmation prompt. Continue only if the selected title and save are the ones you intend to erase.

  5. Launch the game and follow its start-up prompts. The exact in-game screens may differ by title; the Switch system instructions establish the deletion route, not a universal Pokémon reset shortcut.

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Save data is stored in the Switch’s system memory—not on the game card or microSD card. Nintendo also says save data is associated with a console user: one user cannot use another user’s save, and saves cannot be copied between users on the same console. See Nintendo’s Data Management guidance.

Know what each option does

Action What it affects Use it to restart one save?
Delete save data Erases the selected game save. Yes. This is the relevant option.
Archive or delete software Removes or organizes the installed game software; save data remains. No. The save must be deleted separately. Nintendo explains the distinction.
Create or use another console user Provides a different user context; saves are user-specific. It does not erase the existing save. Pokémon-specific save limits or behavior are not established here.
Initialize the console Removes broad console data, including saves, software data, screenshots and videos, user information, and settings. No. Nintendo describes initialization for transferring or disposing of a console, not restarting one game. See Nintendo’s initialization guidance.

Check whether the save can be restored

Deleting a save is destructive. Nintendo Switch Online’s Save Data Cloud requires a subscription, and not every game supports it. Nintendo’s support list, dated July 30, 2026, identifies Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Sword and Shield, Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Legends: Arceus, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A as software that does not support Save Data Cloud. The list is subject to change; check Nintendo’s Save Data Cloud support information for your exact title before deleting anything. Do not assume a deleted Pokémon save can be recovered from the cloud.

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