Pokémon fans who have purchased a Switch 2 are reporting that their save data from previous games isn’t transferring correctly to their new Nintendo console, leaving some players heartbroken after losing years-old saves from across Pokémon generations (per IGN).
Reddit user ThatOtaku26 shared their experience with data-transfer issues in the /r/PokemonScarletViolet subreddit, claiming that they’d lost more than 1,000 hours of gameplay and 20 years’ worth of Pokémon due to the problem, and that their Pokémon Scarlet and Violet save file was not accessible on their old Switch 1 OLED or on their new Switch 2.
“I just got a Switch 2, did the startup and initial data transfer with no issues,” the Redditor explained. “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. It went fine. All my other Pokémon data is still there, but not Scarlet. I had ‘mons from my original GBA up to current[-gen] on there. Literally 20 years worth of data. There’s nothing I can do. I don’t even know if I wanna play anymore.”
While it won’t do anything for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet game progression, there’s one way to keep some Pokémon save during the transfer, at least: The Pokémon Home app, which allows players to save up to 30 Pokémon for free. A premium Pokémon Home subscription — available for $15.99 per year — allows players to store up to 6,000 Pokémon, but the app does not store save data for Pokémon games. So although Switch 2 owners can use Pokémon Home to keep beloved Pokémon safe while transferring data between consoles, there’s currently no way to protect Pokémon game data should an issue arise during data transfer between the Switch 1 and Switch 2.
Unfortunately, it seems the data-transfer issue isn’t exclusive to Pokémon games.
“The same thing happened to me but literally all my saved data isn’t there anymore like BOTW, TOTK, MK8, Pokémon Sword and Shield, Scarlet and Violet, and so on,” Reddit user Existing-Possible550 shared in the comments section. “I literally have to play everything from the start like I never played it before just to get back to where I was.”
Nintendo did not respond to Polygon’s questions in time for publication.
