Trainers who have gone back to Kanto on Nintendo Switch have been waiting for this date. The Pokémon Company has announced it: Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version will be compatible with Pokémon HOME starting Wednesday, October 7, 2026, with version 4.1.0 of the app.

Maintenance on October 7, then a mandatory update

To prepare for this compatibility, Pokémon HOME will undergo maintenance on October 7 from 2 AM to 8 AM (Paris time). During that time, the app will be unavailable, on Nintendo Switch as well as on mobile. Once the maintenance is over, you will need to install version 4.1.0 to keep using Pokémon HOME.

As a reminder, these two 2004 remakes came to Nintendo Switch on February 27, 2026, Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, as a digital-only release.

Pokémon FireRed Version and LeafGreen Version, available on Nintendo Switch since February 27, 2026.

A one-way trip to recent games

Once FireRed or LeafGreen is linked to Pokémon HOME, you will be able to deposit the Pokémon you have encountered in those games, then send them to other games in the series. Be careful, though, it is a one-way trip:

  • a Pokémon that originated in FireRed or LeafGreen and has been sent to another game in the series can no longer return to FireRed or LeafGreen;
  • Pokémon that originated in other games cannot be sent to FireRed and LeafGreen.
La Forêt de Jade dans Pokémon Version Rouge Feu et Vert Feuille sur Nintendo Switch
Viridian Forest, in Pokémon FireRed Version and LeafGreen Version. © Pokémon / Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK

Your Charizard caught in 2026 on Switch will therefore be able to join your modern teams, but it will never be able to go back to Kanto. Think carefully before emptying your boxes.

Celebi for Pokédex masters

This is the big gift of this update: if you have completed the Pokédex in FireRed or LeafGreen, you will be able to receive the Mythical Pokémon Celebi as a gift in the mobile version of Pokémon HOME. It will be level 50, a nod to the 2006 distributions.

Good news: you don’t need to transfer your Pokémon to get it. Once your game is synced with Pokémon HOME, every Pokémon registered in the FireRed or LeafGreen Pokédex is registered in the HOME one too.

L'Île 1 des Îles Sevii dans Pokémon Version Rouge Feu et Vert Feuille
The Sevii Islands, one of the exclusive features of these 2004 remakes. © Pokémon / Nintendo

9,000 Premium slots and GO’s Safari Balls

Version 4.1.0 also brings two new features that concern everyone:

  • the Premium Plan goes from 6,000 to 9,000 Pokémon of storage, with no change in price;
  • Pokémon caught with a Safari Ball in Pokémon GO can finally be sent to Pokémon HOME. On arrival, their Poké Ball becomes a Strange Ball.
Combat contre la Championne Ondine dans Pokémon Version Rouge Feu et Vert Feuille
Battle against Misty, the Cerulean City Gym Leader. © Pokémon / Nintendo

Don’t forget Pokémon Bank

One last important reminder: Pokémon Bank, the 3DS-era storage service, will shut down permanently on February 26, 2027 at 4 AM (Paris time). After that date, no more transfers to Pokémon HOME will be possible. If you still have Pokémon in your Pokémon Bank boxes, you have a few months left to bring them over.

See you on October 7 to send your Kanto Pokémon on a journey. And you, how many entries are you missing to get Celebi?

Source: The Pokémon Company.