Pokemon Home launches in February, Details Released - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 05 March 2020 / 2,342 Views

The Pokemon Company announced the Pokemon cloud service app, Pokemon Home , will launch for the Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android in February.

The Pokemon Company on the official website has revealed information on the service:

Pokemon Home is a cloud service for Nintendo Switch and compatible mobile devices designed as a place where all Pokemon can gather. By linking the same Nintendo Account to both the Nintendo Switch version and mobile version of Pokemon Home, you’ll be able to access the same Pokemon Boxes on both versions!

With Pokemon Home, you can move Pokémon between compatible games, trade Pokemon on the go, and more!

Move Pokemon to Pokemon Home

The Nintendo Switch version of Pokemon Home supports connectivity with the Nintendo Switch games Pokemon Sword, Pokemon Shield, Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee!

Both the Nintendo Switch version and mobile device version of Pokemon Home support connectivity with the Nintendo 3DS software Pokemon Bank.

There are plans to support Pokemon GO in the future as well.

* Once a Pokemon from Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! is moved into Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield, it cannot be moved back to Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee!

However, you can move Pokemon from Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! to Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! (or vice versa).

Connect with Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield

Both the Nintendo Switch version and mobile device version of Pokemon Home support connectivity with the Nintendo 3DS software Pokemon Bank.

There are plans to support Pokemon GO in the future as well.

However, you can move Pokemon from Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! to Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! (or vice versa).

Connect with Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield

Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield can link to the Nintendo Switch version of Pokemon Home. Once the games are linked, you can deposit or retrieve Pokemon that can be obtained using those games.

Connect with Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee!

Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! can link to the Nintendo Switch version of Pokemon Home. You can move Pokemon back and forth between Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! or into Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield.

Once a Pokemon from Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! is moved to Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield, it cannot be returned to its original game!

Connect with Pokemon Bank

If you are enrolled in a Premium Plan (paid), you’ll be able to move Pokemon from Nintendo 3DS Pokemon titles to Pokemon Home using Pokemon Bank.

Once a Pokemon from Pokemon Bank is moved into Pokemon Home, it cannot be moved back to Pokemon Bank.

To commemorate the release of Pokemon Home, we will make Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter available at no cost for a one-month period after Pokemon Home is released. You’ll be able to bring Pokemon from various Pokemon series games using Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter. Once you’ve got your Pokemon in Pokemon Bank, you’ll then be able to move them to Pokemon Home!

Trade Pokemon

Use your mobile device to trade Pokemon anytime, anywhere! There are four ways to trade Pokemon using Pokemon Home on your mobile device.

Wonder Box

Pokemon placed in the Wonder Box can be traded with people around the world before you even know it! The Pokemon placed in the Wonder Box will be traded even when you’re not using Pokemon Home.

You’ll be able to increase the number of Pokemon you can trade at once by enrolling in a Premium Plan (paid).

GTS

With the GTS, you’ll be able to specify which Pokemon you want to trade and which Pokemon you want to receive and then be matched with a Trainer whose requests meet your criteria. You’ll even be able to request Pokémon that you haven’t yet registered in Pokemon Home’s National Pokédex!

You’ll be able to increase the number of Pokemon you can trade at once by enrolling in a Premium Plan (paid).

Room Trade

Room Trade lets you create a room and trade Pokemon among the people who join. Each room can hold up to 20 people. To add a little suspense, you won’t know what Pokemon you’ll receive until the trade is complete.

Trading in rooms has no cost, but you’ll only be able to create rooms when enrolled in a Premium Plan (paid).

Friend Trade

Friend Trade allows you to trade your Pokemon with other users who you’ve become friends with in Pokemon Home. You can add friends using the Add Friend feature in Pokemon Home.

The features related to adding and managing friends in Pokemon Home cannot be used by users under the age of 16.

More Features:

Pokemon Home is full of features that you can use to connect with games in the Pokémon series and more!

National Pokedex

Pokemon will be registered to the National Pokedex when you deposit them in the Boxes in Pokemon Home. If you move a Pokemon that can Mega Evolve or Gigantamax, then these forms will be registered, too! In the National Pokedex, you’ll be able to see Pokedex entries from various different games in one place.

Mystery Gifts

You can receive Mystery Gifts in the mobile device version of Pokemon Home! With this feature, you can receive Mystery Gifts for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield as well as gifts specifically for Pokemon Home. Pokemon received in Pokemon Home can be directly deposited in a Box in Pokemon Home.

Notes: You must be at least 16 years old to use the Local Event Check option for Mystery Gifts.

Depending on your device and OS version, some features may not be supported.

You can also get some gifts, such as items for Pokemon, by receiving a code for a Mystery Gift in Pokemon Home and then using that code in Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield.

Judge Pokemon

If you’ve enrolled in a Premium Plan, you’ll have access to the Judge function, which allows you to check how strong your Pokemon are.

Your Room

In your room, you’ll be able to see all sorts of information about events or the games you’ve connected to Pokemon Home. You’ll also be able to edit your profile using stickers. You can obtain stickers when you meet certain conditions or perform certain tasks in Pokemon Home known as Challenges.

Battle Data

In the mobile app version of Pokemon Home, you can check out how Ranked Battles and various Online Competitions in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are going, as well as the rankings of the Pokemon being used in them. By going to Battle Data, you’ll be able to see the battle records of each Trainer as well as information about what moves are popular among the Pokemon in the competitions.

Note: The Battle Data function is expected to become available sometime after the February 2020 launch of Pokemon Home.

News

In Pokemon Home for mobile devices, you’ll be able to receive news about Pokemon being distributed as gifts and information about Online Competitions for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield.

Pokemon Home Points

Pokemon Home Points are points that accumulate in Pokemon Home as you deposit more Pokemon. When using the Nintendo Switch version of Pokemon Home, you’ll be able to exchange your Pokemon Home points for BP (Battle Points) to be used in core Pokemon series games.

Version Features

Feature Description	Switch Version	Smartphone Version
Move Pokemon with Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee!	Feature available	Feature unavailable
Move Pokemon with Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield	Feature available	Feature unavailable
Move Pokemon with Pokemon Bank	Feature available	Feature available
Judge Pokemon	Feature available	Feature available
Trade Pokemon	Feature unavailable	Feature available
Receive Mystery Gifts	Feature unavailable	Feature available
Check Battle Data	Feature unavailable	Feature available
Check News	Feature unavailable	Feature available
Exchange Pokemon HOME Points for BP (Battle Points)	Feature available	Feature unavailable

Premium Plan (Paid)

You can enroll in the Pokemon Home Premium Plan for even more great features.

	1 month(30 days)	3 months (90 days)	12 months (365 days)
Nintendo eShop Price (excluding tax)	$2.99	$4.99	$15.99

Prices are subject to change.

Overview of Basic Plan features versus Premium Plan features.

Category	Description	Basic	Premium
Premium Plan Upgrades	Moving Pokemon from Pokemon Bank	Unavailable	Available
	Number of Pokemon that can be deposited	30 Pokemon	6,000 Pokemon
	Number of Pokemon that can be placed in the Wonder Box at once	3 Pokemon	10 Pokemon
	Number of Pokemon that can be placed in the GTS at once	1 Pokemon	3 Pokemon
	Room Trade	Participate	Participate and host
	Judge function	Unavailable	Available

Some features are not available for users under the age of 16.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.

6 Comments

Chazore (on 28 January 2020)

jfc, so a charge for Switch online, the game, bank and now Home...

I know some defend the whole season pass crap, but when you add it all together, it's honestly just as bad, and hardly different than having 3 versions of a game.