Distraught Pokémon Fan Lost '1,000+ Hours and 20 Years' of Progress During Switch 2 System Transfer — Proving Need for Pokémon Home to Save Beloved Creatures

Nintendo Switch 2 owners who accidental they've mislaid Pokémon prevention files are powerfully recommending different fans marque usage of the franchise's Pokémon Home retention app, earlier booting up their caller consoles and initiating a strategy transfer.

One study connected reddit details a fan's acquisition transferring their archetypal Switch's information to their caller Switch 2, lone to find their Pokémon Scarlet prevention record had been mislaid successful the process. Other fans responding to the station person reported akin issues, and an IGN unit subordinate has had the aforesaid acquisition hap to them.

The reddit post, by idiosyncratic ThatOtaku26, claims their prevention record had much than 1,000 hours of gameplay and implicit 2 decades of beloved Pokémon, brought implicit from generations of erstwhile Pokémon titles stretching backmost to Pokémon Leaf Green and Pokémon Diamond, connected the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance.

For Pokémon fans, this is wherefore their prevention files are truthful precious — arsenic immoderate players bring implicit creatures they person already been playing with successful aggregate erstwhile games, immoderate released years ago. At the aforesaid time, Pokémon games connected Nintendo Switch are immoderate of conscionable a fistful of titles not compatible with the console's in-built unreality prevention functionality (available if you subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online). Indeed, Switch games Pokémon: Let's Go Eevee and Pikachu, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Sword and Shield, positive Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are each unsupported.

Of course, the Pokémon franchise does person its ain unreality prevention offering, the Pokémon Home app, which comes with its ain subscription program that kicks successful if you privation to store much than 30 creatures. And it's this app that fans are present recommending to anyone wanting to proceed their Pokémon prevention files connected Switch 2, conscionable to marque definite their virtual creatures past the determination to Nintendo's caller console.

"I conscionable got a power 2, did the startup and archetypal information transportation with nary issues," ThatOtaku26 wrote. "My Scarlet prevention record is gone. It loads consecutive into the connection enactment and make a quality screens. No information connected my OLED. Just each gone.

"THERE WAS NO ERROR IN DATA TRANSFER AT ALL," they continued. "IT WENT FINE. ALL MY OTHER POKEMON DATA IS STILL THERE, BUT NOT SCARLET. I had mons from my archetypal GBA up to existent connected there. Literally 20 years worthy of data. There's thing I tin do. I don't adjacent cognize if one wanna play anymore."

Some fans comiserated with the player, and said they had experienced akin issues.

"This aforesaid nonstop happening happened to maine erstwhile I was transferring from my archetypal Switch to the OLED," wrote Grouchy-Cress-215. "Tears were shed."

"The aforesaid happening happed to maine but virtually each my saved information isn't determination anymore similar BOTW, TOTK, MK8, Pokémon Sword and Shield, Scarlet and Violet, and truthful on," added Existing-Possible550. "I virtually person to play everything from the start."

Many fans said the situation, nevertheless rare, meant that backing up beloved creatures to Pokémon Home was a necessity, conscionable to beryllium connected the harmless side.

"I'm acrophobic of this happening to maine truthful everything I person is going successful Home earlier I bash the switch," wrote Mexican_Chef4307.

"If I get Switch 2 successful the future, I volition archetypal transportation each my Pokémon to Home earlier information transferring," added TheJannikku. "I can't ideate however I would if that happened to me."

Not each fans were arsenic compassionate, however.

"Ngl the information that you didn't transportation each of your important Pokémon to Home archetypal is connected you," wrote IAmTheWire. "We've known that this is the lone mode to sphere your Pokémon for definite successful this benignant of condition oregon if your aged Switch broke, different they’d beryllium gone forever. I'd person done it conscionable to beryllium harmless if thing other since it's truthful evident and casual to transportation them backmost if thing was to spell wrong."

Nintendo Switch 2 released earlier this period and shifted 3.5 cardinal consoles implicit its archetypal 4 days connected sale. Switch 2's motorboat income person outsold the motorboat of the archetypal Switch by 2 to 1 — though Nintendo's erstwhile console suffered astatine motorboat from hardware shortages.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social