Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Change have fans worried

The Pokemon FireRed and Leafy green eShop pages no longer include the promise of Pokemon Home support. Its removal raised compatibility concerns among fans, although there are precedents that suggest its coming Pokémon titles will get the key feature eventually.

Game Boy Advance era remakes of the first generation Pokémon game was announced on February 20. Both will be released via the Switch eShop on February 27, priced at $19.99 each. Nintendo is framing the launch as part of the series' 30th anniversary celebration, which falls on the same day. The company confirmed that there are no plans to bring any of the games to the Nintendo Switch Online catalog. Separately, their eShop listings stated that Pokemon Home support is “coming soon,” indirectly promising to solve a long-standing compatibility issue with the series: getting Gen 1 mons to modern devices.

Pokemon FireRed LeafGreen versions of covers with Pikachu composite

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Nintendo pulls Pokemon mentions from FireRed and LeafGreen eShop pages

The promise was pulled within hours of Nintendo's announcement Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen. The development sparked concern among fans, some of whom are publicly wondering if this means the feature won't make it to the re-releases after all. Given recent history, an equally plausible explanation is that Pokemon Home compatibility is still on the way, but Nintendo is currently focusing its marketing efforts on features that will actually be available at launch. The company initially described its support as “coming soon” before removing the line altogether.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

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The official confirmation of what the omission means in practice may come on February 27, when the 30th anniversary Pokémon Presents is scheduled to take place, starting at 6 a.m. PT. Fixed Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen may not be the focus of the 25-minute show, the event will be a big opportunity for The Pokemon Company to clarify the status of Pokemon Home support in the upcoming titles.

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen may not be completely beatable without Pokemon Home

Creature transfers have been a series staple since its inception, and Pokémon games have historically focused on forward compatibility. The GBA remakes of the Gen 1 titles defy this trend, as they are technically Generation 3 games thus supporting a much larger pool of creatures. But fills out the National Pokedex in the original Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen requires trading from other third generation releases. With no announced Switch availability for Ruby, Sapphireor EmeraldPokemon Home currently seems to be the easiest way to complete the National Pokedex in the upcoming Switch re-releases of Fire red and Leafy greenassuming the feature is eventually launched. Pokemon Coliseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness also supported the exchange of mons with GBA-era games and is headed to the Switch, but only through the NSO subscription service and with no confirmed Pokémon Home support yet.

The franchise's transfer services have historically operated on their own update cadence, with Pokemon Bank and Home support therefore often included post-launch rather than offered from day one. On Switch are the cleanest illustrations Sword and shield game, which launched on November 15, 2019. However, they didn't get Pokémon Home until mid-February 2020. The 2022 version 2.0 launch of the transfer app repeated the pattern, resulting in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond, Shining gemand Legends: Arceus everyone receives home support at about the same time

The original Fire red and Leafy green from 2004 are technically already compatible with Pokemon Home, but not directly, not even close. The current process of getting a creature from one of the two GBA titles into the Switch-compatible transfer app requires sending it to Pokemon diamond, GEMor Platinum on NDS, then to Pokemon BlackWhite, Black 2or White 2then to Pokemon Bank on 3DS, and only then to Home.