Pokémon Bank closes in February 2027: how to transfer to Pokémon HOME

Pokémon Bank will end at 12:00 p.m. JST on Friday, February 26, 2027. For players in the United States, that is 7:00 p.m. PST or 10:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, February 25. It is 3:00 a.m. UTC on February 26.

The deadline matters because the official route from Pokémon Bank to Pokémon HOME ends at the same moment. The Pokémon Company’s service-end notice asks players who want to carry over Pokémon stored in Bank to send them to HOME before the service closes. The notice is published in Japanese, so the English wording here is a paraphrase rather than an official English quotation.

This is not a reason to panic-transfer every Pokémon immediately. The official announcement says Bank and its HOME transfer function will end, but it does not say that Pokémon left in Bank will be deleted. What is certain is that the official migration route will no longer be available after the cutoff. If your collection matters to you, leave time to check the account, system and one-way consequences rather than attempting the move at the last minute.

The Pokémon Bank shutdown time

• Official time: Friday, February 26, 2027, at 12:00 p.m. JST.
• U.S. Pacific: Thursday, February 25, 2027, at 7:00 p.m. PST.
• U.S. Eastern: Thursday, February 25, 2027, at 10:00 p.m. EST.
• UTC: Friday, February 26, 2027, at 3:00 a.m.

The date difference is a time-zone issue, not evidence of competing deadlines. The primary announcement gives the Japan time; the U.S. and UTC times above are conversions of that same instant. Video Games Chronicle’s same-day report also presents the deadline as 7:00 p.m. PST on February 25.

What ends, and what has not been confirmed

Two things end together: Pokémon Bank itself and the ability to send Pokémon from Bank to Pokémon HOME. Pokémon cannot be sent from HOME back to Bank, and the official announcement says new downloads of Pokémon Bank have already ended. In practical terms, someone who never downloaded Bank while it was available cannot add it now. See the official service-end announcement.

There is no confirmed statement in that notice about what the Bank app will show, or what will happen to data that remains stored there, after shutdown. Do not treat claims that stored Pokémon will definitely be deleted or be “gone forever” as established fact. The supported conclusion is narrower: after the deadline, the official Bank-to-HOME transfer path is finished.

What you need before starting

• A Pokémon HOME Premium Plan. Nintendo says a Premium Plan subscription is required to move Pokémon from Bank to HOME. A free HOME plan is not enough for this migration. Nintendo’s transfer instructions confirm the requirement.
• Access to Bank or the Nintendo Network ID linked to it. Nintendo documents methods for people who still have the original Nintendo 3DS system and for people who do not. For the no-system route, its FAQ says a Nintendo Network ID linked to Bank can be used. Check Nintendo’s Pokémon HOME FAQ before beginning, especially if you no longer have the handheld.
• Enough time to verify the correct HOME account. This is not a transfer that can be reversed later. Pokémon sent from Bank to HOME cannot go back to Bank or be used with Nintendo 3DS titles. Nintendo states this restriction in its transfer guide.
• Poké Transporter, where applicable. Some older collections must reach Bank through this separate application before they can move to HOME.

Which older games need Poké Transporter?

Do not assume every older Pokémon game feeds directly into Bank. Nintendo identifies Poké Transporter as the intermediary for Pokémon from Pokémon Black, White, Black 2 and White 2, as well as the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console releases of Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal. Those Pokémon can be brought into Bank first, then moved onward through the Bank-to-HOME route while it remains available. Nintendo’s compatibility reference lists the supported sources.

If a Pokémon is still in one of those games rather than in Bank, give yourself extra time. You need to establish that the relevant app and account access are already available, then complete the older-game-to-Bank stage before making the final Bank-to-HOME move. Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter can no longer be newly downloaded.

A conservative Bank-to-HOME transfer checklist

1. Check where every important Pokémon currently lives. Separate Pokémon already in Bank from Pokémon still in compatible DS or Nintendo 3DS-era games.
2. Confirm the HOME account you intend to use. Make sure you can sign in and that it has an active Premium Plan before starting the transfer.
3. Confirm your Bank access. If you have the original Nintendo 3DS, keep it charged and available. If you do not, review Nintendo’s linked-Nintendo-Network-ID instructions before relying on the no-3DS method.
4. Move eligible older-game Pokémon into Bank first. For Black, White, Black 2, White 2 and the listed Virtual Console titles, this means using Poké Transporter where required.
5. Review the selected Pokémon before approving the Bank-to-HOME transfer. Once transferred, they cannot return to Bank or be used in Nintendo 3DS games.
6. Finish well before the U.S. deadline on February 25. Do not wait until just before 7:00 p.m. PST or 10:00 p.m. EST to discover an account-access problem, inactive subscription or unavailable system.

One last account warning

Older official support pages may still describe Pokémon Bank’s no-cost service as having “no end date planned.” That wording is outdated. The newer service-end notice from August 13, 2026, gives a precise end time and explicitly says the Bank-to-HOME transfer capability ends that day. For deadline planning, use the newer announcement. Read the current official notice.

The key decision is therefore simple: if you want a legacy Pokémon to continue through the official route, get it into Bank if necessary, confirm your HOME Premium subscription and account details, then send it to HOME before the cutoff. Avoid claiming more than the announcement confirms about anything left behind, but do not wait for a promised replacement route either: none is stated in the shutdown notice.