Nintendo Switch 2 users who claim they've lost Pokémon save files are strongly advising other fans to use the franchise's Pokémon Home storage app before starting their new consoles and performing a system transfer.
A report on reddit describes a fan's experience transferring data from their original Switch to their new Switch 2, only to discover their Pokémon Scarlet save file was lost in the process. Other fans who responded to the post have shared similar issues, and an IGN staff member has also experienced the same problem.
The reddit post, by user ThatOtaku26, states that their save file contained more than 1,000 hours of gameplay and over two decades of cherished Pokémon, transferred from generations of previous Pokémon titles dating back to Pokémon Leaf Green and Pokémon Diamond on the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance.
For Pokémon fans, this is why their save files are so valuable — as some players bring over creatures they have been playing with across multiple previous games, some released years ago. At the same time, Pokémon games on Nintendo Switch are among just a few titles not compatible with the console's built-in cloud save 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, plus Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are all unsupported.
Of course, the Pokémon franchise does have its own cloud save option, the Pokémon Home app, which requires a subscription plan if you want to store more than 30 creatures. And it's this app that fans are now advising anyone wanting to continue their Pokémon save files on Switch 2, just to ensure their virtual creatures survive the move to Nintendo's new console.
"I just got a switch 2, did the startup and initial data transfer with no issues," ThatOtaku26 wrote. "My Scarlet save file is gone. It loads straight into the language selection and create a character screens. No data on my OLED. Just all 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 original GBA up to current on there. Literally 20 years worth of data. There's nothing I can do. I don't even know if i wanna play anymore."
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