Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Finally Get Home Support and a Free Celebi This October
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are receiving Pokémon Home support this October, allowing players to transfer classic Kanto catches forward and earn a free Celebi for completing their Pokédex, alongside updates to storage limits and a final warning for the impending closure of Pokémon Bank.
As part of the ongoing thirty year anniversary celebrations for the franchise, classic Game Boy Advance remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are finally getting Pokémon Home integration this coming October. Originally launched on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 for twenty dollars each, the titles initially shipped without the ability to move caught monsters into the wider ecosystem. That oversight is soon being corrected, allowing players to pull their classic rosters out of Kanto and forward into modern titles like Pokémon Legends: Z-A. As is standard with these cross-generation transfers, the process is a one way trip, meaning any partner you send forward cannot return to your original FireRed or LeafGreen save file.
To celebrate the rollout, Game Freak and The Pokémon Company are rewarding dedicated players with a free Mythical Celebi. Trainers who register their completed Pokédex data with Home will receive the bonus without needing to physically transfer their entire team out of the games. The October update brings a few extra quality of life changes for digital collectors as well, including an increase to the Pokémon Home Premium storage limit from six thousand to nine thousand slots. Additionally, players will finally be able to deposit Pokémon Go catches housed in Safari Balls, which will automatically convert into Strange Balls upon entering the app.
While the addition of FireRed and LeafGreen support is a massive win for retro enthusiasts, the update also brings a bittersweet milestone for legacy hardware. Nintendo has confirmed that the legacy 3DS application Pokémon Bank will permanently shut down on February 25, 2027, at ten in the evening Eastern time. After that deadline, moving classic creatures trapped on older handheld generations directly into the modern cloud ecosystem will no longer be possible. It is a stark reminder of the fragile nature of digital preservation, making this new FireRed and LeafGreen integration a welcome relief for players wanting to secure their long term digital collections.
Original reporting by Austin Manchester on Polygon
Tags: Pokemon, Nintendo Switch, Pokemon Home, Retro Gaming, Gaming News
Original article: Polygon