Buying guide
Pokémon trade compatibility chart
By Lenn Hodes · founder — every cartridge tested by hand
The question behind half the Pokémon cartridges we sell: will this trade with the game I already have? The rule is simple once you see it laid out — every game trades freely within its own generation, and between generations there is exactly one door, and it only opens forwards. Below is the chart for all nine generations, the four doors between them, and the cable, console or app each one needs.
The short answer
Same generation: always, by cable (Game Boy, GBA) or wireless (DS onwards). Older into newer: GBA → DS through Pal Park, DS Gen 4 → Gen 5 through Poké Transfer, Gen 5 → 3DS and HOME through Transporter and Bank, and everything from the Switch era through HOME. Newer into older: never. Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges are islands — they reach each other and nothing after Crystal.
Tested Pokémon games in stock
Game Boy to Switch, every cartridge save-tested on real hardware — and the DS Lite that moves your Hoenn team forward.
Pokemon Blue
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Silver Version (3DS eShop box)
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Gold
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Sun
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Yellow
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Alpha Sapphire
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Yellow
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Crystal (Japanse uitgave)
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Emerald
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Emerald
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Fire Red
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Emerald
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon FireRed
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire — officiële Trainer's Guide
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Ruby
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon LeafGreen Version
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Ruby
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon FireRed Version
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Sapphire
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Crystal — officiële Trainer's Guide
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Crystal
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Y
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon X
Personally tested · Good condition
Pokemon Ultra Moon
Personally tested · Good condition
The chart, generation by generation
Read each generation as: these games trade with each other like this, and the only way out is this. The games link opens the English list of that platform’s Pokémon games, with what we have in stock.
Gen 1 · Game Boy
Trades with: With each other over a Game Boy link cable. With Gold, Silver and Crystal through the Time Capsule — Gen 1 species and moves only.
The way forward: None. A Gen 1 cartridge cannot connect to anything after Crystal.
Gen 2 · Game Boy Color
Trades with: With each other over a link cable; with Red, Blue and Yellow through the Time Capsule.
The way forward: None. The chain restarts with Gen 3.
Gen 3 · Game Boy Advance
Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, LeafGreen
Trades with: All five over a GBA link cable. FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald also over the Wireless Adapter — Ruby and Sapphire do not support it. FireRed/LeafGreen need the National Pokédex before non-Kanto Pokémon can come in. Colosseum, XD and Pokémon Box on GameCube connect over the GBA–GameCube cable.
The way forward: Pal Park into Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold or SoulSilver — GBA cartridge in the DS’s second slot, six at a time, one way.
Gen 4 · Nintendo DS
Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, SoulSilver
Trades with: All five with each other over local wireless, no cable. The online GTS closed with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in May 2014.
The way forward: Poké Transfer into Black, White, Black 2 or White 2 — two DS-family consoles side by side, six at a time, no held items, one way.
Gen 5 · Nintendo DS
Black, White, Black 2, White 2
Trades with: All four with each other over local wireless or the cartridge’s infrared link.
The way forward: Poké Transporter on a 3DS into Pokémon Bank, then into any 3DS game or Pokémon HOME — one way.
Gen 6 · Nintendo 3DS
X, Y, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire
Trades with: All four with each other over local wireless. Online trading ended when the 3DS online service closed in April 2024.
The way forward: Pokémon Bank into Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon, or into Pokémon HOME — one way.
Gen 7 · Nintendo 3DS and Switch
Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon · Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee!
Trades with: The four 3DS games with each other locally. Let’s Go only with the other Let’s Go, locally or online, and receives from Pokémon GO.
The way forward: Bank into HOME for the 3DS games; Let’s Go talks to HOME directly.
Gen 8 · Nintendo Switch
Sword, Shield, Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, Legends: Arceus
Trades with: Each pair with itself, locally or online. Between the pairs only through Pokémon HOME, which Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl and Legends: Arceus joined in May 2022.
The way forward: HOME into Scarlet and Violet, if the Pokémon exists there.
Gen 9 · Nintendo Switch
Trades with: Scarlet and Violet with each other locally or online, and with HOME since May 2023. Legends: Z-A trades with other Z-A players; its HOME link is the route to Scarlet and Violet — check the HOME app’s list of supported games for its current status.
The way forward: HOME is the endpoint; there is no later generation yet.
The four doors between generations
Pal Park — Game Boy Advance into Nintendo DS
Put the GBA cartridge in the bottom slot of a Nintendo DS or DS Lite with Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold or SoulSilver in the top slot, and Pal Park lets you catch six of your old Pokémon in a small safari. Diamond and Pearl allow one batch per cartridge per 24 hours; Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver drop the wait. The DSi, 3DS and 2DS have no GBA slot, so this only works on the first two DS models — the cheapest migration machine there is.
Poké Transfer — Gen 4 into Gen 5
Two DS-family consoles next to each other: the Gen 4 game in one, Black, White, Black 2 or White 2 in the other, at the Poké Transfer Lab on Route 15 after the credits. Six Pokémon at a time through a short catching minigame; they cannot hold items. Any DS, DSi, 3DS or 2DS will do for either side.
Poké Transporter and Pokémon Bank — Gen 5 into the 3DS era and HOME
Poké Transporter reads a Black, White, Black 2 or White 2 cartridge in a 3DS and empties Box 1 into Pokémon Bank; Bank then deposits into X, Y, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon, or moves everything on to Pokémon HOME. Both apps have been free since the eShop closed in March 2023 — if they are not on your 3DS yet, check Nintendo’s support pages before you count on them.
Pokémon HOME — everything from the Switch era
HOME on a Switch or a phone is the hub for Let’s Go, Sword, Shield, Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, Legends: Arceus, Scarlet and Violet, and the landing point for Bank. A Pokémon can only go into a game where its species exists, and a few routes are one way — anything that has been in Sword or Shield cannot return to Let’s Go.
What you need for each step
- Game Boy link cable: Gen 1 and 2 — the small plug fits Pocket, Color and Advance; the original brick Game Boy needs the wider plug or an adapter.
- GBA link cable, or the Wireless Adapter: Gen 3. The adapter came in the FireRed/LeafGreen box and works with Emerald; Ruby and Sapphire need the cable.
- GBA–GameCube cable: Colosseum, XD: Gale of Darkness and Pokémon Box on GameCube.
- A Nintendo DS or DS Lite: Pal Park — the only two consoles with a GBA slot.
- Two DS-family consoles: Poké Transfer. No cable; local wireless.
- A 3DS or 2DS with Bank and Transporter: Gen 5 into the 3DS games and on to HOME.
- A Switch, and Nintendo Switch Online for online trades: HOME itself needs a Nintendo Account, not the subscription; local trades need neither.
What this means when you are buying
- Buying a GBA game to feed a DS game? You need a Nintendo DS or DS Lite for Pal Park — a 3DS plays the DS game but has no slot for the GBA cartridge.
- Buying Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver or Crystal? Buy it for itself. The team you build there stays there; the Kanto and Johto remakes are separate games with their own generation’s connectivity.
- HeartGold, SoulSilver and Platinum are one family. Any of the five Gen 4 games trades with any other, so a second DS game from the same generation is worth more to you than one from the next.
- A 3DS game still trades — in the same room. Two consoles, local wireless, no subscription. Online is gone; plan trades with a friend, not a stranger.
- A Switch game trades with its pair; everything else goes through HOME. Sword with Shield, Scarlet with Violet. Moving between families is a HOME job, and a Pokémon only enters a game where its species exists.
Every copy tested before it is listed
Boot, save and reload on real hardware, the board checked against the counterfeit list — a fake cartridge is also the commonest reason a trade refuses to connect. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries. Originals only; if something ever turns out not to be genuine, you get your money back.
Browse tested Pokémon gamesQuestions we get asked
Which Pokémon games can trade with HeartGold and SoulSilver?
Diamond, Pearl, Platinum and each other, over local wireless with no cable. They receive Pokémon from Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed and LeafGreen through Pal Park (GBA cartridge in a DS or DS Lite), and send Pokémon forward to Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 through Poké Transfer. Online trading ended in 2014.
Which Pokémon games can trade with Platinum?
The same set as HeartGold and SoulSilver: Diamond, Pearl, HeartGold and SoulSilver directly, Gen 3 in through Pal Park, Gen 5 out through Poké Transfer. Platinum has no 24-hour wait on Pal Park, unlike Diamond and Pearl.
Which games can trade with Pokémon Emerald?
Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed and LeafGreen over a GBA link cable, FireRed and LeafGreen also over the Wireless Adapter, and Colosseum and XD on GameCube over the GBA–GameCube cable. Forward, Emerald feeds Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver through Pal Park.
Which games can trade with Pokémon Black and White?
Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 with each other, locally or over the cartridge’s infrared link. They receive from Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver through Poké Transfer, and send forward through Poké Transporter into Pokémon Bank — and from there into any 3DS game or Pokémon HOME.
Can Pokémon Red or Gold trade with FireRed or HeartGold?
No. Nothing on a Game Boy or Game Boy Color cartridge can reach Gen 3 or later — the remakes trade with their own generation only. Red, Blue and Yellow trade with Gold, Silver and Crystal through the Time Capsule, and that is where the Game Boy chain ends.
Can 3DS Pokémon games still trade in 2026?
Locally, yes: two consoles in the same room trade as they always did. Online trading and the GTS ended when Nintendo closed the 3DS online service on 8 April 2024. Pokémon Bank still moves Pokémon between the 3DS games and on to HOME.
Do I need Nintendo Switch Online to trade Pokémon?
Only for online trades between two Switch games. Local trades between two consoles do not need it, and Pokémon HOME works with a free Nintendo Account.
Can Legends: Z-A trade with Scarlet and Violet?
Not directly — Z-A trades with other Z-A players. The route between Z-A and Scarlet or Violet is Pokémon HOME, which The Pokémon Company adds to each new game after launch; check the HOME app’s list of supported games for Z-A’s current status.
Do you ship outside the Netherlands?
We ship to all 27 EU countries with track & trace. Parcels leave from the Netherlands, there are no customs charges within the EU, and your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.
Every game on this chart, in release order, is in all Pokémon games in order; the remakes and what they connect to are in all Pokémon remakes in order; how to tell a real cartridge from a fake is in how to spot a fake Pokémon cartridge. Onze Pokémon-games in het Nederlands.