'I don't even know if I wanna play anymore' - Pokémon player left devastated after Nintendo Switch 2 system transfer lost over 1,000 hours of gameplay and 20 years of data

• One Pokémon player has lost over 1,000 hours of Pokémon Scarlet gameplay and 20 years of progress after transferring their data to the Nintendo Switch 2
• Redditor ThatOtaku26, and other users, have said their save files for the game are gone after completing the transfer process
• Players are recommending backing up data via the Pokémon Home app before beginning the transfer process

Beware if you're planning on transferring your Pokémon data to the Nintendo Switch 2, because one player has lost hundreds of hours of progress.

According to redditor ThatOtaku26 (via IGN), after going through the process of transferring their original Switch save data for Pokémon Scarlet to the new console, after booting up the game, they found that it was lost.

The user claimed that their save file consisted of over 1,000 hours of gameplay and said that they had also lost over 20 years of data brought over from previous generations of Pokémon games.

"I just got a Switch 2, did the startup and initial data transfer with no issues," said ThatOtaku26 in a now-deleted post. "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," the user added. "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."

Other users have also been reporting the same issue, with one Redditor explaining that the same issue happened to them when transferring data to the OLED from the original Switch.

"Tears were shed," said Grouchy-Cress-215.

It seems that Pokémon Scarlet isn't the only game being affected, either, with one user claiming they lost all saved data for games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and more.

Another user wrote, "The same thing happened to me but literally all my saved data isn't there anymore like BOTW, TOTK, MK8, Pokémon Sword and Shield, Scarlet and Violet, and so on," said Existing-Possible550. "I literally have to play everything from the start."

Luckily for those who haven't begun the process of transferring their data to the Switch 2, there is a way to safeguard your save files.

According to multiple users in the thread, backing up your data to the Pokémon Home app is vital if you don't want to lose your Pokémon.

"If I get Switch 2 in the future, I will first transfer all my Pokémon to Home before data transferring," said TheJannikku. "I can't imagine how I would if that happened to me."

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