Since October 7, 2026, completing the Kanto Pokédex in Pokémon FireRed or LeafGreen on Nintendo Switch earns you a level 50 Celebi, delivered in the Pokémon HOME mobile app. No code to enter, no announced deadline: update 4.1.0 does the work, as long as you know where to look. Here is the full method.
A quick reminder, because everything happened on two dates. On February 27, 2026, the franchise's 30th birthday, FireRed and LeafGreen returned on Switch through the eShop, sold separately at 19.99 dollars each in the United States, with local wireless trading between two consoles but no online play. Then on October 7, Pokémon HOME update 4.1.0 opened the long-awaited bridge: Pokémon from these versions can finally reach the storage service, and a gift came with the opening.
How do you get the free Celebi from FireRed and LeafGreen?
You need to complete the Kanto Pokédex in FireRed or LeafGreen on Switch, then link the game to Pokémon HOME: Celebi arrives as a gift in the mobile app. No Pokémon transfer is required, the Pokédex registration syncs on its own once the link is made.
In detail, the process takes five steps:
- complete the regional Pokédex in your FireRed or LeafGreen save;
- update Pokémon HOME to version 4.1.0 on Switch and on your phone;
- link the game to Pokémon HOME from the Switch, long enough for a sync;
- open the mobile app, then the Mystery Gifts menu and its Gift Box;
- claim the Celebi, which lands directly in your HOME boxes.
The point that changes everything compared with the old distributions: the gift is claimed in the mobile app, not in the game. Celebi will never join your FireRed or LeafGreen save, it stays in Pokémon HOME, from where it can move on to a more recent compatible game.
Do you need Mew to complete the Pokédex?
No. Mew cannot be obtained in the Switch versions of FireRed and LeafGreen, and the game treats the Kanto Pokédex as complete at 150 species. Specialist outlets confirmed it as soon as the update went live: the Celebi gift triggers without the 151st entry.
The remaining 150 still take some planning. Each version keeps its exclusives, so you need a second player or a second console to trade over local wireless. Factor in the four trade evolutions too, Alakazam, Machamp, Golem and Gengar, which cannot be done solo. The Eevee evolutions are settled with stones: the Water Stone is sold at the Celadon Department Store, and if Vaporeon is your favourite of the trio, it also exists as a Vaporeon Pokéball with a wooden base for your desk.
How good is the gifted Celebi: level, ability, moves?
It is a level 50 Celebi, Psychic and Grass type, with the Natural Cure ability and the Quirky nature, a neutral nature that lowers no stat. Its original trainer is HOME, its ID number 60720, and it comes in a Cherish Ball, the Poké Ball reserved for event Pokémon.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Level | 50 |
| Types | Psychic / Grass |
| Ability | Natural Cure |
| Nature | Quirky (neutral) |
| Moves | Leech Seed, Recover, Heal Bell, Safeguard |
| Ball | Cherish Ball |
| Original trainer / ID | HOME / 60720 |
| Shiny | No, locked |
On the summary Pokémon HOME displays, it shows 175 HP, 120 in Attack and Special Attack, 115 everywhere else. The moveset leans entirely on support, true to the character: Leech Seed to drain, Recover to last, Heal Bell to cure the team, Safeguard to block status conditions. Nothing of a battle monster, everything of a collector's piece, and that is exactly why you keep it safe.
How long can you claim Celebi?
No end date has been announced so far. Neither the 4.1.0 update announcement nor the support pages set a deadline: the gift is tied to Pokédex completion, not to a calendar. That is a clean break from the distributions of the 2000s, when a Celebi was earned at a convention, in a store or through a Wi-Fi window of a few weeks.
The other event Pokémon of that era follow the same logic in these versions. Lugia and Ho-Oh at Navel Rock, Deoxys on Birth Island: these encounters, once locked behind tickets handed out at physical events, appear in the Switch versions, official screenshots to prove it. Twenty years on, no need to have queued on a Saturday in 2005 to see them.
What does Pokémon HOME update 4.1.0 change?
It opens transfers from FireRed and LeafGreen, one-way and by whole box, it lets Safari Ball catches from Pokémon GO through, and it raises Premium plan storage from 6,000 to 9,000 Pokémon without touching the price. It all came with a full service maintenance on October 7.
| Transfer to HOME | The rule |
|---|---|
| Direction | One way: game to HOME, never back |
| Transfer unit | The whole box, not a single Pokémon |
| Rejected boxes | Any holding an Egg, a held item or an HM move |
| One-off Pokémon | A single transfer per save for unique encounters |
| Pokémon GO Safari Ball | Accepted, converted into a Strange Ball |
The Pokémon Company says it plainly in its announcement: a Pokémon transferred from these versions will be "unable to return". Before sending a box, settle the question once and for all, especially for unique encounters like Lugia or Deoxys. And if you still have Pokémon stuck on 3DS, the matter is urgent for another reason: Pokémon Bank closes on February 26, 2027, and we covered how to save your oldest Pokémon before Pokémon Bank shuts down.
Where does this gift sit in distribution history?
It is the most accessible Celebi distribution Europe has ever had. The first one goes back to the Mew of July 1, 2000, handed out at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris with "FRANCE" as its trainer name: you had to be there that day. Twenty-six years later, a Pokédex completed from your sofa is enough. If the family of so-called Mythical Pokémon intrigues you, we explained the difference between a Mythical and a Legendary Pokémon, and Celebi holds a special place in it.
Let's be honest about one thing: Celebi is not in the shop's catalogue, we sell no lamp in its likeness. But replaying Kanto stirs up precise attachments. If you restarted with Charmander, the Charmander Pokéball with a wooden base keeps the run going on your desk; team LeafGreen has the Bulbasaur Pokéball, and the Water starter faithful the Blastoise crystal LED Pokéball. All are 29.99 euros, with free shipping across Europe, and the rest of the range lives in the light-up Pokéball collection.
One last piece of advice: claim Celebi even if your Pokédex is not finished today, there is no rush since no deadline is set, but keep it in HOME while you hesitate over its destination. A transfer is a decision for a clear head, not for a maintenance night.
Sources: Pokémon HOME 4.1.0 update announcement by The Pokémon Company (October 7, 2026), Pokémon HOME support pages, Serebii, Pokébip, Pokemon-France. Screenshots and visuals: The Pokémon Company and Nintendo, relayed by the specialist press.
