Nintendo quietly pulled an eShop line — could FireRed/LeafGreen block National Dex completion?

Why this matters: FireRed/LeafGreen on Switch may not let you finish the National Dex

This caught my attention because these re-releases are sold as faithful remakes of the early-2000s GBA classics, but a small missing feature could turn nostalgia into a dead end. If FireRed and LeafGreen on Nintendo Switch don’t connect to Pokémon HOME, a chunk of the National Dex will be unreachable without owning a stack of old DS/3DS hardware and cartridges – something many modern players don’t have.

• Key takeaway: There’s no clear, consistent message about Pokémon HOME compatibility – sources disagree.
• What could break: Without HOME support (or another transfer path), many post-game Pokémon originally obtainable only via trade from other GBA/DS/GC titles won’t be accessible.
• Why it matters now: Conflicting eShop text and coverage arrived days before the Feb. 27 launch, and neither Nintendo nor The Pokémon Company has clarified.
• What to watch: Official statements, a launch-day patch, or new Switch Online additions (Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald or 3DS-era titles) could change the picture.

Breaking down the confusion: what the outlets reported

The reporting is messy because the different outlets picked up different versions of the same messaging. Spanish outlet VidaExtra and French outlet Numerama ran copy saying the Switch ports include – or at least “probable” — Pokémon HOME compatibility and local wireless multiplayer without online features. Siliconera, meanwhile, reported that the eShop pages state there is no Pokémon HOME support at launch and that multiplayer is local-only. To complicate things, IGN noted that an eShop blurb promising HOME support briefly appeared and was removed; IGN also said The Pokémon Company declined to comment and Nintendo didn’t respond in time.

Why HOME support (or lack of it) actually changes gameplay

On the surface, HOME is about convenience: it lets you pull Pokémon forward from older entries and keep a collection in the cloud. But for FireRed/LeafGreen the stakes are higher. The games unlock a “National Dex” in the post-game that assumes you can import many Pokémon by trading them in. Several creatures — Johto and Hoenn starters, event legendaries like Mew, Celebi, and Jirachi, and dozens more — were traditionally only obtainable via trades from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald (or later DS/GC titles). Those donor games aren’t broadly available on Switch in a way that supports local transfers to these ports.

So: if the Switch ports can’t move Pokémon into HOME, and if Nintendo hasn’t provided local trading bridges to those older games, theoretical 100% completion of the National Dex becomes practically impossible for many players.

How we got here — and why the rollout feels weird

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company opted to re-release the GBA remakes (FireRed/LeafGreen) rather than the original 1996 Red/Blue — a choice Numerama reports was framed as giving players “the ultimate” versions with Sevii Islands and quality-of-life improvements. But the companies have been patchy on preserving cross-title compatibility. Past efforts — like Virtual Console/3DS-era releases tied into Pokémon Bank/HOME — were more explicit about transfer paths. This time, the messaging flickered between “HOME compatibility coming” and “no HOME at launch,” which is a strange omission for a franchise that treats cross-generation transfers as a core feature.

What to expect next and what gamers should do

All reasonable possibilities are still on the table: Nintendo could have simply misworded the eShop text and will confirm HOME support; compatibility might arrive in a later patch; or Home support may be intentionally absent and the companies expect players to use older hardware transfer chains. There’s also a longshot fix — Nintendo could add the older donor games to Switch Online, which would reduce the friction of transferring certain Pokémon.

For now, if National Dex completion matters to you, don’t assume FireRed/LeafGreen on Switch will be a one-stop solution. Hold off on final judgments until Nintendo or The Pokémon Company issues a clear statement — or until launch day testing confirms whether Pokémon can move into HOME directly.

TL;DR

Conflicting reports and a briefly posted-then-removed eShop line have left Pokémon HOME compatibility unclear for the Switch re-releases of FireRed and LeafGreen. If HOME support is absent, a full National Dex will likely be unobtainable without legacy hardware or additional Switch Online releases. We’ll know more when Nintendo comments or the games hit the eShop on Feb. 27.