The Pokémon franchise has been around for 21 years, and seven generations of Pokémon spread over 28 different games make up the main series alone. For longtime players, it's always been worrying to have to leave your Pokémon pals behind. However, if you have a little patience, you can still move your friends from the original Ruby and Sapphire to Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon .
The Pokémon Rescue Team video, from the Japanese Pokémon Official YouTube , dramatizes the experience with a team of dedicated Pokémon professionals that find old Pokémon games and rescue the creatures inside, bringing them forward to the latest entries in the series (Make sure to enable Closed Captioning to see the English subtitles).
If you've stuck with the series over the two decades it's been around, you know how attached you can get to some of your virtual friends—this video will strike a cord with anyone who loves to play a new Pokémon game, but also keep their old team (namely me).
Unfortunately, the Pokémon Rescue Team isn't a real organization, but the Pokémon website features a page that demonstrates the process to bring your past Pokémon from the Game Boy Advance and DS games to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The site is in Japanese, though, so we've taken the time to detail the process here:
Transfer Pokémon From Game Boy Advance to Nintendo DS
First, you'll need one of the 3rd generation Pokémon games: Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Fire Red, and Leaf Green all work here. You'll also need an original Nintendo DS or DS Lite. A DSi or DSi XL won't work because they lack the GBA cartridge slot.
You then need a 4th generation Pokémon game (Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Heart Gold, or Soul Silver ) with a save in which the National Dex is unlocked. Put both carts in your Nintendo DS and start the DS game. Head to the Pal Park, and you can pick six Pokémon to bring over from your GBA game. There is a drawback if you use Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum as these games can only bring over six Pokémon every 24 hours. There are workarounds, but it's just easier to use Heart Gold or Soul Silver .
You'll then need to get a 5th generation Pokémon game (Pokémon Black, White, Black 2, or White 2) with the National Dex unlocked. Grab any model Nintendo DS and a second DS or a 3DS. Start your 5th generation game and head to the Transfer Lab. Use Download Play on the handheld with your 4th gen game inserted to get the minigame. You can then transfer 6 Pokémon each time you play the minigame.
For the next step, just put your 5th generation cartridge with your migrated Pokémon into a 3DS. Download the Pokémon Bank app from the Nintendo 3DS eShop. You then have to spring for the 1 year of service for $5. Download the Pokémon Transporter app, and it'll let you transfer all the Pokémon from Box 1 in your 5th gen game to the bank.
Finally, you're good to go. You can put the Pokémon from the Pokémon Bank into any 6th or 7th gen game (Pokémon X, Y, Alpha Sapphire, Omega Ruby, Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, or Ultra Moon) you want.
