What is Pokemon Bank?

Pokemon Bank made its debut almost a decade ago, in December 2013, for Nintendo's 3DS platform. Since then, it has facilitated the storage of countless Pocket Monsters and their transfer through the use of its companion app, Poke Transporter. The two were downloadable from the Nintendo eShop, but their status has been thrown into flux with news that broke on October 4, 2023.

Specifically, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U consoles will have their online services shut down in April 2024. Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter will remain active after this date, but Nintendo has stated its intent to shut down these apps in the future.

Since this is the case, if you have any Pokemon from the 3DS titles you'd still like to use in the future, you may want to transfer them at your convenience.

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How to use the Pokemon Bank app on Nintendo 3DS

Friendly warning: you only have 1 day to download Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter on your 3DS and transfer your favorites Pokémon to Pokémon Home on Switch. byu/MoonieSarito inPokemonHome

Unfortunately, due to the shutdown of the Nintendo eShop this year, Pokemon fans who haven't already downloaded the Bank/Transporter apps beforehand won't have access to them now. Those who have downloaded the software before will still have access, but the Nintendo eShop is effectively down to brass tacks as of March 2023.

In light of this, Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter are still fully functional and will remain functional past the April 2024 closure of the 3DS and Wii U's online services. Be that as it may, the two applications will likely be phased out in the future, which would invalidate the ability to transfer Pocket Monsters from the 3DS era games to Nintendo Switch.

Since this is the case, it's best for you to transfer any Pocket Monsters existing from games like X/Y, Black/White, Black 2/White 2, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, Sun/Moon, and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon to Pokemon Home as soon as possible.

You can follow the steps below to do so:

1. If you don't have both apps downloaded, be sure to do so via the Nintendo eShop. As previously noted, you'll have to have downloaded them before March 2023 to make use of them now, as the eShop has shut down most of its services already.
2. Open the game app and choose "Use Pokemon Bank" from the menu.
3. Select the game whose Pocket Monsters you'd like to move.
4. From here, you'll find the storage boxes for the bank app on your top screen and the storage boxes for your chosen game on the bottom. Use your buttons or stylus to move the stored 'mons from the bottom screen to the bank storage at the top.
5. If you'd like to send the creatures in your bank to the Home app, return to the main menu and select "Move to Pokemon Home."
6. Choose the boxes within your bank that you'd like to send to Home and press Done. Keep in mind that all Pocket Monsters in the bank box will be moved at once, and you won't be able to send them back to the bank after the transfer.
7. You'll receive a transfer key after confirming your choices. Open your Home app on mobile or Nintendo Switch. On mobile, open your settings and select "Move Pokemon" or tap the 3DS icon on the Switch version. Select "Begin Move" and enter your transfer key. After a short duration, your Pocket Monsters will now reside in Home's cloud storage.

You can use Poke Transporter to send creatures to your Pokemon Bank by following these steps:

1. If you'd like to transfer creatures from games like the Generation I/II Virtual Console ports or Black/White and Black 2/White 2 to Pokemon Bank, open the chosen game and head to the nearest PC.
2. From there, move all the Pocket Monsters you'd like to transfer to the first storage box on the PC.
3. Save the game and exit. Launch the Poke Transporter app. Keep the game you want to transfer Pocket Monsters from inserted in your device. The Transporter will recognize all the creatures you placed in the first box. Move them from that box to the Temporary Transfer box on your top screen.
4. Save and close the Transporter app. Open Pokemon Bank and access your storage boxes once more. You should find the Temporary Transfer box filled with your chosen Pocket Monsters. From here, simply move them to one of your Pokemon Bank boxes, which can then be sent to Home at your leisure following the steps outlined above.

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Is Pokemon Bank shutting down?

As previously mentioned, Pokemon Bank and the Poke Transporter software will remain online and functional after the 3DS and Wii U online shutdown in April 2024. However, the two applications will not remain active indefinitely and will eventually be phased out as well. Nintendo hasn't provided a concrete date when this will occur, but it shouldn't be long after April 2024.

Fortunately, the timeframe provided before Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter go offline is more than charitable. Trainers shouldn't feel rushed to catch or transfer creatures as long as they do so in a relatively timely fashion. However, the sooner players move their important Pocket Monsters over to the Home app, the less they'll have to worry about in the future.