Deep dives for collectors
The stories, the gotchas, and the long journeys - explained properly.
The Great Divide: Why Gen II Pokemon Can't Reach Gen III
The one gap the franchise never bridged - and the clever way around it.
There is exactly one hard wall in 30 years of Pokemon transfers. Here is why it exists and the only way past it.
One-Way Streets: How Transfer Ratchets Work
Why you can move a Pokemon forward but almost never back.
Most transfer methods only flow in one direction. Understanding this "ratchet" is the key to planning any route.
Reviving a 1999 Pokemon into Scarlet & Violet
The longest legal journey in the franchise, step by step.
Follow a single Pokemon from the Virtual Console games all the way to the current generation.
What Gets Left Behind: Items, Ribbons & Friendship
The fine print of every upward transfer.
Transfers are not lossless. Here is what survives each hop and what gets stripped.
Pokemon GO to the Mainline Games
Two doors out of GO, and the Meltan secret.
Pokemon GO connects outward in two very different ways. Here is how each works.
Pokemon Bank vs Pokemon HOME
Two cloud services, two eras, one big one-way door between them.
They look similar but serve different generations. Here is how they relate.
Do Shiny Pokemon Survive the Trip?
Good news for hunters: shininess travels.
Spent hours hunting a shiny? Here is what happens to it when you transfer forward.
Mythical & Event Pokemon: The Special Cases
Mew, Celebi and friends play by extra rules.
Event and Mythical Pokemon often have transfer quirks the regular roster does not.
The Mystery Box & How to Get Meltan
The little hex-nut Pokemon born from connectivity itself.
Meltan only exists because of the bridge between Pokemon GO and the Switch. Here is how to get one.
The Pre-Transfer Checklist
Five seconds of prep saves a lost Master Ball.
A quick checklist to run before you send any Pokemon up a one-way step.
Pokemon HOME: Free vs Premium
What you can do without paying, and what needs the upgrade.
Pokemon HOME has two tiers. Here is what each one unlocks for transferring.