The long-awaited release of the Nintendo Switch 2 has been met with excitement from fans, but some players are encountering significant issues. Reports have emerged regarding lost save data for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet as players transfer their information to the new system.
A Reddit post highlighted one such case, where the user described their save file disappearing post-transfer. This sparked a thread filled with similar accounts from others experiencing the same troubling situation. One player, identified as ThatOtaku26, revealed that their lost save file included over 1,000 hours of gameplay, featuring cherished Pokemon from past generations, tracing back to titles such as Pokemon Leaf Green and Pokemon Diamond.
They recounted their experience, stating, “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.’”
Others in the community expressed their sympathy and shared similar experiences. Notably, Pokemon titles on the Switch do not support the console’s built-in cloud save feature, which is available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. This means games such as Let’s Go, Pikachu and Let’s Go, Eevee, Pokemon Sword and Shield, Legends: Arceus, as well as Scarlet and Violet, all lack cloud save capabilities.
To mitigate such issues, fans are urged to maintain an active Pokémon Home account, which serves as the franchise’s dedicated backup and transfer service.
Thanks to IGN for the news today.