Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Change have fans worried

The Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen The eShop site no longer contains the promise of Pokemon Home support. Its removal raised compatibility concerns among fans, although there is precedent that suggests one to come Pokemon titles will eventually acquire a key function.

First generation remakes from the Game Boy Advance era Pokemon the games were announced on February 20. Both will be released via the Switch eShop on February 27th for $19.99 each. Nintendo is planning the launch as part of the series' 30th anniversary celebrations, which falls on the same day. The company has confirmed that it has no plans to add a single game to the Nintendo Switch Online catalog. Separately, their eShop listings stated that Pokemon Home support is “coming soon,” indirectly promising to solve a longstanding compatibility issue with the series: getting Gen 1 mons onto modern devices.

The Pokemon FireRed LeafGreen version covers the Pikachu composite

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are getting an incredible special edition, but with an asterisk attached

Nintendo is unveiling special edition versions of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen for the Switch that feature some stellar goodies, but there's a big catch.

Nintendo is pulling references to pet Pokemon from the FireRed and LeafGreen eShop pages

The pledge was withdrawn within hours of Nintendo's announcement Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen. The development has sparked concern among fans, some of whom have publicly questioned whether this means the feature won't make it to the re-release after all. Considering 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 entirely.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

Official confirmation of what the omission means in practice may come on February 27, when Pokemon Presents 30th Anniversary is scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. PT. Although Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen may not be the focus of a 25-minute show, the event will be ample opportunity for The Pokemon Company to clarify the state of Pokemon Home support in upcoming titles.

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

Creature transfers have been a staple of the series since its inception and Pokemon games have historically focused on forward compatibility. The GBA remakes of the Gen 1 titles buck this trend as they are technically Gen 3 games, thus supporting a much larger number of creatures. However, completing the National Pokedex in the original Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen requires trading from other 3rd generation versions. No announced availability of the switch for Ruby, Sapphireor EmeraldPokemon Home currently seems like the easiest way to complete the National Pokedex in the upcoming Switch re-releases FireRed and LeafGreenassuming the function will eventually run. Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness it also supported mons swapping with GBA era games and is on its way to the Switch, but only through NSO's subscription service and no confirmed Pokemon Home support yet.

The franchise's transfer services have historically operated on their own update cadence, with Pokémon Bank and Home support often included at launch rather than offered from day one. The cleanest illustrations are on the Switch Sword and shield games that launched on November 15, 2019. However, they didn't get Pokemon Home until mid-February 2020. The introduction of the transfer app in version 2.0 in 2022 repeated the pattern, leading to Pokemon Brilliant Diamond, A shining pearland Legends: Arceus they all receive home support at about the same time

original FireRed and LeafGreen from 2004 are already technically 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 a Switch-compatible transfer app requires sending it Pokemon Diamond, Pearlor Platinum to NDS, then to Pokemon blackWhite, Black 2or White 2then to Pokemon Bank on 3DS and only then to Home.