3DS & Wii U eShop closing: LAST CHANCE for Pokémon Bank & more

The Nintendo 3DS is a great system for Pokémon fans; not only were many great games in the series released for it, but it’s also able to play the many Nintendo DS titles as well. Unfortunately, with the closure of the 3DS and Wii U eShop on Monday, March 27, digital purchases of both 3DS and DSiWare games will cease. The aforementioned Wii U will also suffer, but has a significantly smaller Pokémon library consisting primarily of Virtual Console releases.

How to add funds to buy things on the eShop

Currently, you cannot directly purchase games for the 3DS or Wii U on their respective eShops with credit cards or Nintendo point cards. You must link your Nintendo Network ID to your Nintendo Account and add funds through the account in order to be able to use the shared balance to make purchases.

A Nintendo support article on this process can be found here if you need help doing that.

You can then purchase items from the shared balance through the 3DS or Wii U’s eShop app or, for 3DS titles, online through the Nintendo store.

Priority download: Pokémon Bank & Poké Transporter

If you’d like to be able to bring Pokémon from past generations to Pokémon HOME and then to other games, both Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter are important apps to have on your 3DS. While Bank can be downloaded for free, you must purchase a $4.99 subscription (can be paid using shared Nintendo account balance) to be able to download Poké Transporter. Make sure not to just pay the subscription fee and not download Transporter. There’s no guarantee you’d be able to download it after the eShop closure, even with paid Bank subscription, if you have not followed through and actually downloaded it.

Following the the eShop’s closure, Bank will not require a subscription fee, however it will probably not be operated indefinitely. We recommend moving any Pokémon that are important to you to HOME over the next year.

3DS Pokémon games and Virtual Console titles

Compiled by the official Pokémon site, here is a list of titles that you can buy or download for the 3DS. Some are digital only and will not be available after closure of the eShop unless re-released in the future (not guaranteed).

Links below direct to Nintendo.com game pages and are affiliate links that we may earn commissions on. This does not affect the price you pay.

** Games only available digitally through the 3DS eShop

It is speculated that the Nintendo Switch will add Pokémon titles to its Game Boy collection, but no confirmation that they will be released that way.

Other Pokémon games have had physical releases, but you can check out all downloadable Pokémon games from the eShop here.

Important 3DS demos

There are also two demos of note that you don’t want to miss out on:

• Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Special Demo which will allow players to obtain Glalie
• Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon Special Demo which rewards players with Ash-Greninja

Other 3DS apps and games with Pokémon content

• Nintendo Badge Arcade
• 3DS theme shop

Wii U game (singular) and Virtual Console titles

The Wii U is sparser in its Pokémon titles, but it does have a pretty rich Virtual Console offering for fans who want to play titles from past consoles on the Wii U.

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Remember, the 3DS and Wii U eShops will close on Monday, March 27! Let us know in the comments or on Discord if you’ve been stocking up on titles you’ve missed since the closure was announced last year. I know that I made sure to pick up the free-to-play titles I skipped, as well as some non-Pokémon titles that have gone up in price considerably for their physical copies.