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First confirm which version of FireRed or LeafGreen you used: the original Game Boy Advance cartridge or the Nintendo Switch release. The Switch versions were announced as linking with Pokémon HOME in October 2026, but the announcement does not establish the exact transfer steps or confirm that the feature is live as of October 7, 2026. Nintendo’s list of Poké Transporter-compatible games does not include the original GBA cartridges. Then check every box in the source game and Pokémon HOME, review HOME’s Notebook, and make sure you are viewing HOME with the right account.
Start by identifying the game and transfer route
The troubleshooting depends on whether you used the original Game Boy Advance (GBA) game or the Nintendo Switch release, and on which app or device initiated the transfer. Note whether you saw a transfer-complete message.
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- Original GBA cartridge: Nintendo’s published list of games compatible with Poké Transporter names selected Nintendo DS and Virtual Console titles, but not the original GBA FireRed or LeafGreen cartridges. The available official information does not establish a direct transfer route from those cartridges to HOME. Nintendo’s compatibility list
- Nintendo Switch release: The Pokémon Company announced that the Switch releases would link with Pokémon HOME in October 2026. The announcement does not provide a complete transfer guide or establish that the feature is live on October 7, 2026. Do not assume the GBA transfer route applies to the Switch version. The Pokémon Company’s announcement
- Pokémon Bank: If Bank was involved, use the Bank-specific checks below; that route has account requirements and is one-way.
If you cannot identify the route, write down the game version, the app or device you used, and any completion message or error. Those details will help Pokémon Support narrow down what happened.
Check the source game and every Pokémon HOME box
A Pokémon you expected to transfer may still be in a source-game box, may be in a different HOME box, or may have been moved out of HOME after arriving. Nintendo’s general missing-Pokémon checklist recommends checking all available boxes in the original game and every box in Pokémon HOME. Nintendo’s missing-Pokémon checklist
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- Join up to 39 other wireless Trainers in the Union Room for a free-for-all, or connect with just two or three in the Direct Corner
- Prove yourself in the region's Pokémon League while single-handedly bringing down Team Rocket - then open up all-new storylines with unexpected twists
- Bring the Pokemon you capture in Fire Red to the worlds of Leaf Green, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, or Pokemon Colosseum for more challenge
- Open the game or save data you transferred from and inspect all its available boxes for the Pokémon.
- Open Pokémon HOME and inspect every box, not just the box you last used or the one you expected the Pokémon to enter.
Use the HOME Notebook to check transfer history
HOME’s Notebook is a record log that can help distinguish a transfer that did not complete from a Pokémon that entered HOME and was later moved out. Nintendo recommends checking the log for both transfer-in and transfer-out entries. It does not promise that the Notebook identifies every cause or provides a way to recover a Pokémon.
“Check your Notebook in Pokémon HOME to view your record log, and verify whether the Pokémon was transferred into and/or out of Pokémon HOME.”
Confirm the account and console user
Check the account on mobile and console
If you use both the mobile and Nintendo Switch versions of Pokémon HOME, check that both are linked to the same Nintendo Account. Nintendo says the versions will not share Pokémon boxes if the mobile app is linked to a different account or to no account. Nintendo’s missing-Pokémon checklist
Ask who else used the console
Another person using the same Switch may have moved Pokémon from compatible save data into their own HOME boxes. If others use the console, check whether they accessed the relevant save data or HOME account.
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For the Bank-to-HOME route, confirm that the Nintendo Network ID used with Pokémon Bank is linked to the Nintendo Account used with HOME. Pokémon Support says HOME Premium is required for this transfer route. Pokémon Support’s Bank connection instructions
Know which Bank transfer method you used
- Without a Nintendo 3DS: Pokémon Support says this option moves all Pokémon in Bank at once. “Please be aware that all Pokémon in Pokémon Bank will be moved at once in this case.”
- With Bank and a Nintendo 3DS: HOME displays a Moving Key to enter on the 3DS. The key expires after three minutes, so it must be entered before then.
A Bank-to-HOME transfer cannot be rolled back: Nintendo says Pokémon moved from Bank to HOME cannot be returned to Bank or used with Nintendo 3DS titles. Nintendo’s transfer instructions
Know the Pokémon Bank deadline
Nintendo says Pokémon Bank will end on February 25, 2027, at 7:00 p.m. PST. After service ends, transfers from Bank to HOME will no longer be possible; Nintendo also says Bank is not currently available for download. If your Pokémon are still in Bank, do not wait until after the announced end of service to move them. Nintendo’s Pokémon Bank end-of-service notice
When to contact Pokémon Support
If the Pokémon is absent from all source-game and HOME boxes, the Notebook does not clarify what happened, and the account and console-user checks do not resolve the issue, contact Pokémon Support. Include which FireRed or LeafGreen release you used, the transfer route and app or device, whether you saw a completion message, and what you found in the boxes and Notebook. Nintendo’s missing-Pokémon guidance directs players to Pokémon Support when its checks do not resolve the problem. The official general checklist does not provide a separate recovery procedure for the newly announced Switch connection, so use the available HOME record and Support rather than relying on unverified menu steps.
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