Specifically, I want to know if the following situations are possible.
Can I have played pokemon X on a cartridge, make a save file and play the game to completion, then download a DIGITAL copy of the game and continue the previous game on the digital copy instead of the cartridge?
Or,
Can I have played pokemon X on a cartridge, make a save file and play the game to completion then buy ANOTHER cartridge of the same game and continue my previous game on the new cartridge?
Best Answer
The first scenario (transferring a save game to a digital copy) should be possible. In the 3DS's E-Shop there is a free app called "Save Data Transfer Tool". To quote the store page:
This would seem to move the save from the cartridge to the digital version, not copy. Note that it would probably require an exact game match; as in transferring the save from the Pokemon X cartridge to the Pokemon X digital, not from X to Y. Also as the store description indicates, this is a one-way transfer only. from physical to digital, no going back.
The second scenario (transferring from one cartridge to another) is not, to my knowledge, possible. However, with the Pokemon bank, it might be possible to withdraw stored pokemon on different cartriges, so long as it is your Nintendo Network ID. As the bank will not store items, this is only usefull for transferring pokemon. Your progress throughout the story, and items in your backpack will remain with the save file on the cartridge.