Pokémon Bank Service to End February 26, 2027

The Pokémon Company has announced it will discontinue the Pokémon Bank service for the Nintendo 3DS, marking the end of the last major online functionality for the handheld console. The shutdown is scheduled for February 26, 2027, at 12:00 p.m. JST, which corresponds to February 25, 2027, at 7:00 p.m. PST. The company is urging players to transfer any Pokémon stored in the service to the modern Pokémon Home platform before the deadline.

Pokémon Bank, a subscription-based application launched in Japan in 2013 and globally in 2014, served as a cloud storage and transfer hub for Pokémon caught in 3DS titles. It allowed players to move creatures between compatible games, including Pokémon Black and White, X and Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and Sun and Moon. The service became free to use in 2023 after Nintendo shut down the 3DS eShop, and it remained operational even after the console's broader online play services were terminated in 2024.

The Pokémon Company confirmed that the function enabling transfers from Pokémon Bank to Pokémon Home will cease at the same moment the service ends. Once the deadline passes, any Pokémon remaining in Bank will be inaccessible. The company...