Connectivity Timeline

1996 Transfer Method

Link Trade

Two games connected by a Link Cable (or, later, wirelessly) swap Pokemon directly. This is the foundation every other transfer method is built on, and it is the only method that is reliably two-way.

1996 Gen I

Red, Blue & Yellow

The originals. 151 Pokemon, a Link Cable, and the trades that started it all.

1999 Transfer Method

The Time Capsule lets Generation II games (Gold, Silver, Crystal) trade back and forth with Generation I games (Red, Blue, Yellow) - the only time the franchise allowed a brand-new generation to trade with the previous one.

1999 Gen II

Gold, Silver & Crystal

Held items, breeding, day and night - and the Time Capsule back to Gen I.

2002 Transfer Method

The Great Divide

There is no way to move a Pokemon from Generation I or II directly into Generation III. The jump from the Game Boy to the Game Boy Advance changed the save hardware and the entire data format, severing the link forever.

2002 Gen III

Ruby, Sapphire & Emerald

A clean break. New hardware, new data format, the start of the modern lineage.

2004 Gen III

FireRed & LeafGreen

The Kanto remakes that brought the originals into the GBA era.

2006 Transfer Method

Pal Park

Pal Park is an in-game area in the Generation IV games that imports Pokemon from a Generation III cartridge slotted into the bottom of a Nintendo DS. It is strictly one-way: once a Pokemon migrates, it can never return to the GBA game.

2006 Gen IV

Diamond, Pearl & Platinum

The DS era begins, with Pal Park pulling the GBA games forward.

2009 Gen IV

HeartGold & SoulSilver

The beloved Johto remakes, fully part of the Gen IV transfer web.

2010 Transfer Method

Poke Transfer

The Poke Transfer Lab in Generation V (Black, White, Black 2, White 2) pulls Pokemon up from a Generation IV game. Like Pal Park before it, it is permanent and one-way.

2010 Gen V

Black & White

The Poke Transfer destination, and the last fully Game-Card generation.

2012 Gen V

Black 2 & White 2

Direct sequels, and the first games Poke Transporter ever supported.

2013 Transfer Method

Pokemon Bank Deposit

Pokemon Bank is the 3DS-era cloud box service. Generation VI and VII games deposit and withdraw freely with Bank, making it the central hub of the 3DS era.

2013 Gen VI

X & Y

The 3DS leap to 3D models - and the debut of Pokemon Bank.

2014 Transfer Method

Poke Transporter

Poke Transporter is a free 3DS application that moves Pokemon from Generation V cartridges - and later from the Virtual Console releases of Generations I and II - up into Pokemon Bank. It only flows one way: into Bank.

2014 Gen VI

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire

The Hoenn remakes, fully wired into Pokemon Bank.

2016 Gen VII

Sun & Moon

Tropical Alola, regional forms, and continued Bank support.

2016 Mobile

Pokemon GO

The mobile phenomenon that feeds into HOME and Let's Go.

2016 Gen I

Virtual Console: Red/Blue/Yellow

The 3DS re-releases that let classic Pokemon time-travel forward.

2017 Gen VII

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon

The final mainline 3DS games and a key bridge into HOME.

2017 Gen II

Virtual Console: Gold/Silver/Crystal

Generation II reborn on 3DS, with a road to Pokemon Bank.

2018 Transfer Method

GO Park

GO Park is a complex in Let's Go, Pikachu! & Eevee! that receives Kanto Pokemon sent from a nearby Pokemon GO account. It is one-way and limited to the original Kanto species (and their Alolan forms).

2018 Gen VII

Let's Go, Pikachu! & Eevee!

The Switch debut that bridges Pokemon GO and Pokemon HOME.

2019 Gen VIII

Sword & Shield

Dynamax, the Galar dex, and the launch partner for Pokemon HOME.

2020 Transfer Method

Move to HOME

Pokemon Bank can send its entire collection up into Pokemon HOME, but only in one direction. Once a Pokemon moves from Bank to HOME, it can never go back down to Bank or the 3DS games.

2020 Transfer Method

Pokemon HOME Transfer

Pokemon HOME connects the Nintendo Switch games to one cloud. Compatible games deposit and withdraw two-way, but every game only accepts the species that appear in its own regional dex.

2020 Transfer Method