Heartbroken Pokemon fans send off the 3DS era with memorial art
The Pokemon CompanyThe Gen 6/7 Pokemon games have lost online functionality, thanks to the demise of the 3DS and Wii U servers, prompting fans to share their fondest memories with each other.
April 8, 2024 was the day when Nintendo finally shut down 3DS/Wii U’s servers. This wasn’t a big deal for most people, considering the 100+ million Nintendo fans who moved over to the Switch, but for Pokemon fans, this was a huge blow, considering the still-active online scenes for the Gen 6/7 titles.
While Pokemon Bank and Transporter will stay active for the foreseeable future, the 3DS Pokemon games will lose a lot of their online functionality, most importantly, the ability to battle and trade online. Thankfully, battles and trades can still be done in person.
A user on the Pokemon Reddit named Awesomesauce210 shared a piece of memorial artwork depicting sad versions of the main Gen 6/7 Legendary Pokemon (save for Zygarde, who is likely getting its own Switch game in 2025.) Fans shared their sadness over the demise of the 3DS online modes in the thread.
“Wonder Trade, you will be missed,” one fan wrote, while another said, “RIP to the GTS, good memories of how offering a Growlithe gives you any Pokemon you wanted.”
“This actually breaks my heart. Surely it doesn’t cost much to keep running,” one fan lamented, while another wrote, “Listening to Hau’oli city theme is making me tear up.”
One fan summarized their memories of the Gen 3 remakes on the 3DS. “I’ll never forget buying Pokémon Alpha Sapphire as my first game and playing it. That game was the gateway that introduced me to this franchise.”
While the official servers are down, fan-operated ones are available to those willing to put the time and energy into connecting to them. Their legal status is dubious, so we won’t link to them here.
It’s the end of an era for Pokemon fans, but such is the fate of all online console servers. The big three want you to continue buying new consoles and games, which means the old ones will all be left behind in the end.
