Pokemon veteran loses 1,000 hour save, 20 years of data after Nintendo Switch 2 transfer

For years, fans eagerly awaited the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2,  but for some, the transition hasn’t been entirely smooth. A few players are reporting issues involving Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, specifically with save data being lost during the transfer process to the new system.

A post on Reddit brought attention to the situation, with the original poster saying their save file had disappeared after the move. The thread quickly filled with similar stories from others who claim to have faced the same issue. One user, ThatOtaku26, shared that their lost file contained over 1,000 hours of gameplay and included beloved Pokemon carried over from multiple generations, dating back to Pokemon Leaf Green and Pokemon Diamond on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.

Here’s what they had to say on Reddit:

I just got a switch 2, did the startup and initial data transfer with no issues. My Scarlet save file is gone. It loads straight into the language selection and create a character screens. No data on my OLED. Just all gone.

THERE WAS NO ERROR IN DATA TRANSFER AT ALL. “IT WENT FINE. ALL MY OTHER POKEMON DATA IS STILL THERE, BUT NOT SCARLET. I had mons from my original GBA up to current on there. Literally 20 years worth of data. There’s nothing I can do. I don’t even know if i wanna play anymore.

Some fans expressed sympathy for the player and shared that they experienced similar problems. Pokemon titles on the Switch are among the few games that don’t support the console’s built-in cloud save functionality, which is available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.

In fact, Pokemon games like Let’s Go, Pikachu and Let’s Go, Eevee, Pokemon Sword and Shield, Legends: Arceus, and Scarlet and Violet all lack cloud save support.

To help prevent issues like these, fans are encouraged to maintain an active Pokémon Home account, the franchise’s own backup and transfer service.

Thanks IGN for the news today. You can find much more Nintendo Switch 2 news here.