Can You Trade from Gen 1 to Gen 8?

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The answer to the question Can you trade from Gen 1 to Gen 8? is yes, but it’s a complex process that requires several steps and the use of Pokémon Bank and other tools. With the release of Pokémon Home, a new app that allows for trading between different generations, it’s now possible to transfer Pokémon from Gen 1 all the way to Gen 8, although it may take some time and effort to manage.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Trading Questions

1. Can you trade Gen 1 Pokémon to Gen 9?: In theory, players could transfer a Pokémon from generation 1 all the way to generation 9, although it would take a long time to manage it.
2. Can you trade Pokémon down generations?: It’s impossible to trade a new Pokémon to an old game due to the fact they don’t exist in the old game, and there’s no data for them, so at best they would end up becoming a Missingno.
3. Can you trade items from Gen 1 to Gen 2?: The ability for Pokémon to hold items was not introduced until Gen 2, so there is no way to give an item to a Pokémon in Gen 1 and then trade it up.

Trading Between Specific Generations

4. Can you trade Pokémon from Silver to Sapphire?: No, you can’t, as Gold/Silver can trade with Crystal and the 1st Gen games (Red/Blue/Yellow), but not with 3rd Gen games (Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/FireRed/LeafGreen).
5. Can you trade from Silver to Blue?: If you’re trading between Pokémon Gold/Silver and Pokémon Blue/Red or Yellow, you will have to talk to the Cable Club Time Capsule attendant instead.
6. Can you trade Pokémon from Gold and Silver to Red and Blue?: You cannot trade any of the new Gold/Silver Pokémon back to Pokémon Red/Blue and Yellow, and Pokémon (1-151) that have learned new techniques in Gold and Silver that weren’t available in Blue/Red or Yellow cannot be traded back.

Pokémon Trading Restrictions

7. What Pokémon Cannot be traded?: Mythical Pokémon (like Mew) and Pokémon that have previously been traded once before cannot be traded.
8. Can Gen 1 trade with Gen 3?: This effectively means you cannot trade any Generation one Pokémon to Generation three, but you can purchase a virtual copy of Pokémon Red and Blue from the Nintendo eShop for the 3DS and use Pokémon Bank to transfer your Pokémon to current generation games.
9. Can you transfer Pokémon from Gen 1 to Gen 7?: As of 2016, it is possible to trade from the Virtual Console editions of Pokémon Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow to the new Pokémon Sun/Moon (Gen 7) via Pokémon Bank.

Evolution and Trading

10. What Gen is Gen 3?: The third generation of Pokémon games, also sometimes known as the advance or advanced generation, is the third set of Pokémon games released.
11. What do Gen 1 Pokémon trade to evolve?: The player had to trade Kadabra to evolve it into Alakazam, they had to trade Machoke to evolve it into Machamp, they had to trade Graveler to evolve it into Golem, and they had to trade Haunter to evolve it into Gengar.
12. Can you transfer Gen 1 Pokémon to Gen 6?: With the Virtual Console releases of Generation I and II games and an update to Poké Transporter in Generation VII, it became possible for the first time since Generation II to have Pokémon from all generations in a single game.

Trading with Newer Generations

13. Can you transfer Pokémon to Gen 8?: If all you care about is just getting them onto the Switch, then it’s also how you transfer your Generation 5 Pokémon directly to Generation 8, as well as transferring Generation 6 Pokémon to Generation 8, or Generation 7 Pokémon to Generation 8.
14. Can you transfer DS Pokémon to Switch?: On the Nintendo 3DS system (Pokémon Bank), press the Y Button, then Yes, and within three minutes, enter the Moving Key that was displayed on Nintendo Switch.
15. How do you trade in Gen 1?: Once you enter the trade center, face the center of the table and press A, you can now check out your and your friend’s Pokémon data, select the Pokémon you want to trade, and press A to complete the trade.