Following the announcement of the Nintendo 3DS eshop closure, The Pokemon Company released a PSA recommending that players start transferring their Pokemon from the 3DS games up to Pokemon HOME, in anticipation for when the service may eventually no longer be supported.

The ability to transfer Pokemon from the 3DS games to Pokemon HOME is handled by the currently free 3DS app Pokemon Bank, and many players may have begun scrambling to transfer up their most prized Pokemon so they can be used in future games. However, there is one category of special Pokemon that could be negatively impacted by being transferred: the Totem Pokemon from Pokemon Ultra Sun/Moon.

For those who may not be aware, the Totem Pokemon were larger than normal Pokemon that served as “boss battles” in Pokemon Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Moon. They were among the first Pokemon to be visually larger than usual, paving the way for future “large boss Pokemon” such as Pokemon Legends Arceus‘ Alpha Pokemon. Totem Pokemon could be obtained as gifts in Ultra Sun/Moon, and most of them can be transferred up to Pokemon HOME through Pokemon Bank.

However, as highlighted by databases such as Bulbapedia, Totem Pokemon that are transferred to Pokemon HOME currently lose their Totem status and are transformed into their normal-sized counterparts. Unlike Alpha Pokemon, the Totem Pokemon do not retain any indication of their former status, be it a special mark (e.g. Former Alpha Mark) or a guaranteed Max Size that would make them visually larger than other members of their species. This issue has presumably persisted throughout the entirety of the Switch Pokemon games, with little acknowledgement from The Pokemon Company.

Unless this issue is addressed, it seems Pokemon Ultra Sun/Moon players will be faced with a difficult decision regarding Totem Pokemon: either transfer them up and sacrifice their Totem status, or leave them stuck in their home games forever when Pokemon Bank eventually stops being supported. That said, the Pokemon Company has previously addressed sizing issues from Pokemon transfers before, so perhaps all hope is not lost yet.

Stay tuned for more updates as they come.

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