There are two different transfers: use Pokémon HOME to move eligible Pokémon between supported game saves, or use Nintendo’s console-transfer and Save Data Cloud tools to move your game progress to another console. HOME does not transfer a game’s story progress, and transferring a save does not move Pokémon into a different game.
Choose the transfer you actually need
| Your goal | Use this method | What it moves |
|---|---|---|
| Move Pokémon into another compatible game | Pokémon HOME on Switch or Switch 2 | Eligible Pokémon between HOME boxes and supported game saves; not the game’s story progress. |
| Continue your game on another console | Nintendo’s nearby console save-data transfer or Save Data Cloud | The game’s save data; this does not move Pokémon between separate game titles. |
If you are moving to a new console and want both your game progress and Pokémon available in another title, you may need to do both operations.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Pokémon Pokopia - Nintendo Switch 2 | $69.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Pokémon Legends: Arceus - US Version | $54.26 | Buy on Amazon |
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Pokemon Shining Pearl - Nintendo Switch Shining Pearl Edition | $52.49 | Buy on Amazon |
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Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! - Nintendo Switch | $53.87 | Buy on Amazon |
Move Pokémon between supported games with Pokémon HOME
The console version of Pokémon HOME is available on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Nintendo lists these compatible games: Pokémon Champions, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Pokémon Scarlet, Pokémon Violet, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, Pokémon Shining Pearl, Pokémon Sword, Pokémon Shield, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! Compatibility is not universal for every Pokémon: a Pokémon can move only to games in which it appears, and other restrictions may apply. Check its compatible-games list in HOME before transferring. See Pokémon HOME game compatibility and Nintendo’s Pokémon HOME FAQ.
Use the console app for transfers with the listed Switch games. The mobile app has other HOME features, including Pokémon GO transfers and trading, but Nintendo identifies moving Pokémon with Switch games as a console feature.
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- Shape the world and build a cozy new life with Pokémon as a Ditto transformed to look like a human.
- Use other Pokémon’s moves, like Bulbasaur’s Leafage, to revitalize and navigate the world around you.
- Meet and befriend more Pokémon as you help nature flourish.
- Gather materials to create items and furniture, till the fields to grow delicious crops, build homes for the Pokémon you meet, and more—there’s so much to do!
- Experience a world with varied weather, real-time days and nights, and other surprises.
- Open Pokémon HOME on the Switch or Switch 2 that has the game save you want to access.
- Select Pokémon, then choose the compatible game and the user whose save data you intend to use.
- Move eligible Pokémon between the game’s boxes and HOME boxes. Pokémon in your party cannot be transferred through this workflow.
- Review each Pokémon’s summary and compatible-games list before placing it in the destination game.
- Save your changes and exit HOME.
Take care when choosing a user and game: HOME can access compatible save data belonging to other users on the same system. Nintendo Support warns, “Please be careful not to transfer other players’ Pokémon on your console without their permission.” The workflow is described in Nintendo’s transfer instructions.
Move game progress to another console
Nintendo documents two routes: a transfer between nearby consoles, or a cloud download for supported games. The right choice depends on whether both consoles are available and whether the game supports cloud saves.
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- Action meets RPG in this new take on the Pokémon series
- Study Pokémon behaviors, sneak up on them, and toss a well-aimed Poké Ball to catch them
- Unleash moves in the speedy agile style or the powerful strong style in battles
- Travel to the Hisui region—the Sinnoh of old—and build the region’s first Pokédex
- Learn about the Mythical Pokémon Arceus, the key to this mysterious tale
Nearby console transfer
Use this route if you have both consoles. Nintendo says both need internet access, and the same Nintendo Account must be linked to a user on each console. Place the systems near each other and follow the system’s transfer prompts. Nintendo Switch Online is not required. Follow Nintendo’s nearby console transfer instructions.
Restore a Save Data Cloud backup
Use cloud restore only if the game supports Save Data Cloud and the relevant user has an active Nintendo Switch Online membership. Check the backup timestamp before downloading: an older backup can replace newer progress on the target console. Nintendo Support states, “Save data downloaded from the backup will replace the existing save data on the console for that game.” The target save that is overwritten cannot be recovered.
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- Revisit the Sinnoh region from the original Pokémon Pearl Version game and set off to try and become the Champion of the Pokémon League
- The Pokémon Shining Pearl game brings new life to this remade classic with added features
- Explore the Grand Underground to dig up items and Pokémon Fossils, build a Secret Base, and more.
- Test your style and rhythm in a Super Contest Show
- A reimagined adventure, now for the Nintendo Switch system
- Confirm that the game supports Save Data Cloud using Nintendo’s compatibility list.
- On the target console, check that the correct user and Nintendo Account are selected and that the Nintendo Switch Online membership is active.
- Check the latest backed-up timestamp for that game before downloading.
- Download the backup only if it is the version of progress you want to keep; the download replaces the target console’s existing save for that game.
See Nintendo’s Save Data Cloud download instructions for the current system steps.
Decide between the two save-transfer routes
- Both consoles are nearby: the direct transfer is the documented option that does not require Nintendo Switch Online.
- You cannot use both consoles together: cloud restore may work if the game supports it, the membership is active, and a suitable backup exists.
- The target console already has a save: compare the cloud backup timestamp with that save before restoring, because the downloaded backup replaces it.
- You are moving between Switch and Switch 2: Nintendo recommends transferring console data, including saves, when migrating systems. For HOME to connect to a game on Switch 2, Pokémon Support says the game’s save must be present on the console where HOME is being used. See Pokémon Support’s Switch 2 guidance.
Keep Pokémon HOME linked to the right account
When setting up HOME on another device, start the app and sign in with the same Nintendo Account previously linked to HOME. Pokémon Support warns that if the old HOME account was an unlinked guest account, its Pokémon, changes, and progress may be permanently lost and cannot be recovered. See Pokémon HOME account-transfer guidance.
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- Don the role of a Pokémon Trainer as you travel through Kanto
- Discover a new species of Pokémon with the Pokémon Lets Go series
- Catch Pokémon in the wild using a gentle throwing motion with either a Joy-Con controller or a Poké Ball Plus accessory, which will light up, vibrate, and make sounds to bring your adventure to life
- See the world in style by customizing Pikachu and your Trainer with a selection of outfits
- Connect to Pokémon GO* to transfer caught Kanto-region Pokémon, including Alolan and Shiny forms, as well as the newly discovered Pokémon, Meltan, from that game to this one
If you want to see the same HOME boxes in the console and mobile apps, link both to the same Nintendo Account. Pokémon Support warns that if you first use the mobile app without linking the Nintendo Account intended for console HOME, you cannot later link those mobile and console versions to that account. See Pokémon Support’s linking instructions.
Do you need paid subscriptions?
A paid Pokémon HOME Premium Plan is not required to transfer Pokémon with HOME on Switch or Switch 2. Nintendo Switch Online is required for Save Data Cloud, but not for the nearby console save transfer. Neither subscription is a prerequisite for the Pokémon HOME transfer itself.
If storage limits matter, check Nintendo’s current HOME plan details. Nintendo’s FAQ says that when a Premium subscriber moves to Basic after depositing more than 30 Pokémon, only the 30 most recently deposited or traded Pokémon are in the Basic Box.
Quick Recap
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