Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Get Pokémon HOME Support in October 2026

27 August 2026
Nintendo Switch 2Nintendo Switch
10 min.
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Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Get Pokémon HOME Support in October 2026

Summary:

The Pokémon Company has confirmed that the Nintendo Switch versions of Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version will finally connect with Pokémon HOME beginning in October 2026. Once compatibility becomes available, Trainers will be able to move Pokémon caught during their Kanto adventures into Pokémon HOME and, where compatible, take those Pokémon into other games in the series. There is an important limitation, however. Pokémon that leave FireRed or LeafGreen for another compatible Pokémon game will not be able to return, while Pokémon originating from other games cannot be transferred into FireRed or LeafGreen.

There is also a particularly tempting reward waiting for dedicated Trainers. Completing the FireRed and LeafGreen Pokédex will allow players to receive the Mythical Pokémon Celebi through Mystery Gift in the mobile version of Pokémon HOME. Better still, filling the HOME Pokédex won’t require players to manually transfer every Pokémon they have caught. After connecting the games, Pokémon registered in the FireRed or LeafGreen Pokédex can automatically count toward the corresponding Pokédex in HOME.

The October rollout will arrive alongside Pokémon HOME Version 4.1.0. Premium Plan subscribers will see their storage capacity increase from 6,000 Pokémon to 9,000 without an accompanying subscription price increase. Pokémon caught in Pokémon GO using GO Safari Balls are also being addressed as part of the upcoming changes, making October a rather substantial month for anyone who uses HOME as the increasingly crowded hub of their Pokémon collection.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Will Connect to Pokémon HOME in October 2026

Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version are taking another important step into the modern Pokémon ecosystem. The Nintendo Switch releases will officially gain Pokémon HOME compatibility beginning in October 2026, finally giving Trainers a route for moving Pokémon caught during these classic Kanto adventures into the cloud-based storage service. That connection matters quite a bit for players who have spent months carefully building teams, hunting particular Pokémon or simply becoming attached to the companions they met while revisiting Kanto. Instead of leaving those Pokémon locked inside their respective games, HOME support gives them somewhere to go once their adventure in FireRed or LeafGreen has reached its natural conclusion. For longtime fans, there’s also something wonderfully strange about watching Pokémon originally associated with the Game Boy Advance era make the jump into a service designed to connect generations of modern Pokémon games.

How Pokémon Transfers From FireRed and LeafGreen Will Work

Once Pokémon HOME support goes live, Pokémon befriended in FireRed and LeafGreen can be deposited into HOME and subsequently moved into other compatible Pokémon titles. Exactly where an individual Pokémon can travel will still depend on whether that species is supported by the destination game, as is normally the case with Pokémon HOME. The basic idea is straightforward, though. Catch a Pokémon in Kanto, connect FireRed or LeafGreen with HOME, deposit that Pokémon and it becomes part of your wider collection. This makes the Switch releases much more valuable for players who enjoy maintaining a collection that stretches across multiple adventures. A childhood favorite caught around Viridian Forest or the Sevii Islands no longer needs to remain permanently confined to one save file. HOME becomes the bridge connecting that older adventure with the broader Pokémon ecosystem.

Pokémon Sent to Other Games Cannot Return to FireRed or LeafGreen

There is one rule that Trainers should understand before moving their favorites around. If a Pokémon originating in FireRed or LeafGreen is transferred through Pokémon HOME and then brought into another game in the Pokémon series, it cannot be returned to FireRed or LeafGreen afterward. In other words, taking a Pokémon beyond Kanto can become a permanent farewell to its original save file. Pokémon caught in other Pokémon games also cannot be imported into FireRed or LeafGreen. The connection therefore isn’t a two-way gateway that lets players freely move modern Pokémon into the classic releases. It is primarily an exit route for the Pokémon encountered during these adventures. That distinction is especially worth remembering before transferring members of a favorite in-game team. Your trusty Charizard may have adventures waiting elsewhere, but sending it onward could mean its FireRed journey is officially over.

Transfer Restrictions Players Should Know About

The HOME connection also comes with safeguards surrounding which Pokémon can be transferred. Certain circumstances can prevent Pokémon from being moved, particularly when their data does not meet the requirements expected by the service. That is worth keeping in mind given the history of the original Game Boy Advance releases and the unusual methods players have discovered for manipulating Pokémon data over the years. The Switch versions preserve much of the experience people remember, but connectivity with a modern online service understandably introduces additional checks. Players primarily using Pokémon obtained through ordinary gameplay shouldn’t have much reason for concern. The bigger lesson is simply to check everything carefully before beginning a major transfer session. Moving boxes of treasured Pokémon around is the digital equivalent of packing for a house move – you don’t want to discover halfway through that something important was left behind.

Completing the FireRed and LeafGreen Pokédex Unlocks Celebi

The Pokémon HOME connection isn’t limited to transferring creatures between games. Trainers who complete the FireRed and LeafGreen Pokédex can also receive the Mythical Pokémon Celebi as a special gift through the mobile version of Pokémon HOME. That gives collectors a substantial incentive to work toward filling every available entry rather than simply finishing the main adventure and calling it a day. Celebi has traditionally been one of the harder Mythical Pokémon to obtain through ordinary means, so attaching it to Pokédex completion gives the challenge a reward that actually feels worthy of the effort involved. Completing a Pokédex has always carried its own strange satisfaction, of course. Watching those empty spaces disappear one by one scratches a very specific Pokémon itch. Having Celebi waiting at the finish line makes the final stretch considerably more appealing.

Pokédex Progress Will Be Read Directly From Your Save Data

Thankfully, earning the Celebi reward won’t require transferring every Pokémon individually into Pokémon HOME. After FireRed or LeafGreen has been connected with the service, Pokémon registered in the game’s Pokédex can also be registered toward its Pokédex in HOME. That means the system can recognize progress already made in the Switch game rather than forcing Trainers to empty their boxes simply to prove which Pokémon they have encountered or caught. It is a small design choice that removes what could otherwise have become a tedious piece of bookkeeping. Anyone who has ever reorganized several HOME boxes knows how quickly a supposedly simple transfer can turn into an evening of staring at tiny Pokémon icons and wondering why there are six nearly identical Pikachu sitting in different places.

The setup also makes the reward more accessible to players who want to keep particular Pokémon inside FireRed or LeafGreen. Perhaps you have a carefully assembled team that you don’t want to move, or a Pokémon with sentimental value that belongs exactly where it is. Those Pokémon don’t have to be sacrificed to the cloud-storage gods just to make the Pokédex recognize them. Once the games and HOME are linked, their registered Pokédex data can contribute toward completion. Players who still have gaps can also make use of features such as the Global Trade System in Pokémon HOME to help complete the required collection, providing another route for tracking down stubborn missing entries.

Pokémon HOME Version 4.1.0 Expands Premium Storage to 9,000 Pokémon

FireRed and LeafGreen compatibility will arrive alongside another notable Pokémon HOME change. Version 4.1.0 is planned for October 2026, and Premium Plan subscribers will see the maximum number of Pokémon they can deposit increase from 6,000 to 9,000. That is an additional 3,000 spaces, which should come as welcome news to collectors who treat HOME less like a storage box and more like a digital Noah’s Ark. With dozens of games, regional forms, alternate forms, event distributions, Shinies and increasingly elaborate living Pokédex projects to consider, 6,000 spaces can disappear surprisingly quickly.

The expansion is particularly timely with FireRed and LeafGreen joining the list of supported games. Every additional compatible release creates another potential stream of Pokémon entering HOME, and collectors rarely seem to become less ambitious as the series grows. Some players keep a single representative of every species. Others preserve different forms, genders, abilities, origins or event distributions. Then there are the people who keep six boxes of Eevee because deciding which ones to release feels emotionally impossible. No judgment here. Increasing the limit to 9,000 gives those collections substantially more breathing room without requiring players to dismantle years of carefully preserved history.

The Pokémon HOME Premium Plan price is not changing as part of the storage increase. As a result, existing subscribers receive 50 percent more storage capacity without paying a higher subscription fee specifically for the expanded limit. Free users should keep in mind that this particular increase applies to the paid Premium Plan rather than changing the limitations of the Basic Plan. For serious collectors already using HOME as the permanent home for Pokémon originating across numerous generations, however, the extra space could be one of the most practically useful changes included with Version 4.1.0.

Pokémon GO Safari Ball Pokémon Are Also Getting HOME Support

Pokémon HOME’s upcoming changes aren’t solely focused on FireRed and LeafGreen. Support is also being expanded for Pokémon transferred from Pokémon GO that were originally caught using GO Safari Balls. These special Poké Balls have appeared as part of particular Pokémon GO activities, creating an awkward compatibility question whenever Pokémon caught inside them need to move beyond GO. The upcoming HOME changes provide a clearer route for those Pokémon to join collections outside the mobile game.

When transferred into Pokémon HOME, Pokémon associated with GO Safari Balls can be represented using Strange Balls where necessary. Strange Balls have already served a similar purpose elsewhere in the series when a Pokémon’s original Poké Ball does not exist in the game receiving it. Rather than pretending the original ball never existed, the system has a visual substitute that lets the Pokémon move between environments with different item sets. It isn’t the flashiest feature in an update dominated by Celebi and thousands of additional storage spaces, but it is precisely the sort of compatibility work HOME needs as Pokémon’s interconnected ecosystem becomes increasingly complicated.

That complexity is really the story behind many of these changes. Pokémon HOME now has to act as a translator between games separated by hardware generations, different mechanics and wildly different approaches to catching Pokémon. FireRed and LeafGreen come from an experience rooted in the Game Boy Advance era. Pokémon GO operates through a smartphone and its own constantly changing mechanics. Modern console games introduce their own species availability and Poké Ball rules. HOME sits in the middle of all of them, quietly trying to make sure a creature caught in one corner of the franchise can safely travel to another. When everything works, it feels effortless. Behind the scenes, it is anything but simple.

FireRed and LeafGreen HOME Support Gives Kanto Pokémon a Future Beyond Their Original Adventure

The biggest benefit of the October connection may ultimately be emotional rather than technical. Pokémon has always encouraged players to become attached to individual creatures, and HOME compatibility means the Pokémon caught during the Switch versions of FireRed and LeafGreen don’t necessarily have to stay behind when the credits roll. A starter that carried you through the Pokémon League, a rare encounter that took hours to find or an unlikely team member that somehow became your favorite can become part of a collection that continues across other compatible games.

That philosophy has become increasingly important as Pokémon approaches the challenge of preserving creatures across decades of software and hardware. Individual games eventually stop being current, online services change and consoles move on. Players, meanwhile, may still remember exactly where they caught a particular Pokémon years later. HOME isn’t perfect, and compatibility restrictions mean not every Pokémon can visit every game, but connections such as this one help preserve the basic promise that your collection can remain bigger than any single adventure.

For FireRed and LeafGreen specifically, that feels especially appropriate. These games were themselves created as a way to revisit and preserve the earliest Pokémon adventures for another generation of hardware. Their arrival on Switch repeated that idea once again. Adding HOME support completes an important part of the equation by allowing the Pokémon encountered during those adventures to travel forward rather than becoming isolated inside another recreation of Kanto.

Conclusion

Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version will connect with Pokémon HOME beginning in October 2026, giving Switch players the ability to move Pokémon from their Kanto adventures into HOME and onward to other compatible games. Transfers need to be considered carefully because Pokémon taken into another title cannot subsequently return to FireRed or LeafGreen, while Pokémon from other games cannot be imported into either classic release.

The Celebi reward gives Pokédex completion an additional purpose, while automatic registration means players won’t have to transfer every caught Pokémon simply to receive credit in HOME. At the same time, Version 4.1.0 will expand Premium storage from 6,000 to 9,000 Pokémon without raising the Premium Plan price, and additional compatibility for Pokémon originating from Pokémon GO’s GO Safari Balls further broadens HOME’s reach. For collectors juggling Pokémon from multiple generations, October is shaping up to bring some genuinely useful improvements.

FAQs
  • When will Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen support Pokémon HOME?
    • The Nintendo Switch versions of Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen are scheduled to connect with Pokémon HOME beginning in October 2026. An exact October date has not yet been announced.
  • Can Pokémon from FireRed and LeafGreen be transferred to other games?
    • Yes. Pokémon transferred from FireRed or LeafGreen into Pokémon HOME can subsequently be moved into compatible Pokémon games. Compatibility still depends on whether the destination game supports that Pokémon.
  • Can Pokémon transferred out of FireRed or LeafGreen return?
    • Pokémon that are moved from FireRed or LeafGreen into another Pokémon game cannot return to FireRed or LeafGreen. Pokémon originating from other games also cannot be imported into these releases.
  • How do you get Celebi from FireRed and LeafGreen in Pokémon HOME?
    • Players can receive Celebi through Mystery Gift in the mobile version of Pokémon HOME after completing the FireRed and LeafGreen Pokédex requirements associated with HOME.
  • How many Pokémon can Premium users store after the Version 4.1.0 update?
    • Pokémon HOME Premium Plan subscribers will be able to store up to 9,000 Pokémon following the Version 4.1.0 update, an increase from the previous maximum of 6,000.
Sources
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