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I know that you can trade Pokemon between games of the same generation (Gold/Silver, Ruby/Sapphire) and even trade between 1st gen and 2nd gen. However, I haven't been able to find a way to trade Pokemon so that I can play with my 1st generation Pokemon in HeartGold, for instance. If it is possible, how many steps would it take and what equipment would I need?

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3 Answers

up vote 15 down vote accepted

It can't be done. The limits on trading are as follows:

Generation 1 (Red/Blue/Green/Yellow)
↑↓ Both directions
Generation 2 (Gold/Silver/Crystal)
X Trade impossible
Generation 3 (Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/FireRed/LeafGreen)
↓ One-way only
Generation 4 (Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/HeartGold/SoulSilver)
↓ One-way only, no items
Generation 5 (Black/White)

There are three main reasons you can't trade between Gen I/II and Gen III:

  1. The Pokémon data format changed significantly in Gen III, so the two are incompatible.
  2. The GBA link cable uses a different voltage to the Gameboy link cable. Even though a GBA can play old Gameboy games, it uses different circuitry than when playing GBA games, so the games' link cable functionalities are fundamentally incompatible.
  3. Even if these weren't an issue, Nintendo never released a product that allowed trade from one to the next.
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Excellent answer, but #2 on your list is not entirely true: it's definitely possible to connect up a GBA and original Gameboy, I've done it. You need a special cable though. – DisgruntledGoat Dec 16 '10 at 23:47
5  
If I recall correctly, you can link a Gameboy to a GBA, but only with Gameboy games. The cable operates either either Gameboy-mode or GBA-mode, but never both at once. Hence it's impossible to trade between generations, even if the game's software supported it. – Jonathan Drain Dec 17 '10 at 11:58
up vote 1 down vote

While it may not be possible to transfer from Gens I and II to III, seeing as Gen III has FireRed and LeafGreen, it would be advisable to just play through that and trade upwards (to gens IV and V) from there..

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up vote 6 down vote

You cannot trade from the 1st Generation or 2nd Generation into the 3rd Generation and onwards.

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