With its release month only a few days away, The Pokémon Company has finally announced more details on the upcoming Pokémon Home app.
Firstly, the app will have a free version as well as a premium version, which is $2.99 for a month, $4.99 for three months, or $15.99 for a year. Pokémon Home will be available on both mobile and Nintendo Switch. Players can use both versions by linking the same Nintendo account. If they have paid for premium, it will work on all devices using that Nintendo account.
Pokémon Home’s biggest feature is storage. The app can be used as a hub, storing older Pokémon from Pokémon Let’s Go, Pokémon Bank, and Pokémon GO (this won’t be available at launch, however). Users can also transfer any compatible Pokémon into Pokémon Sword and Shield, as well as send their Sword and Shield Pokémon into Pokémon Home. Backwards compatibility and storage space differ between the free and premium plans. Free users cannot transfer Pokémon from Pokémon Bank, and only have 30 storage spaces in Pokémon Home. Premium users will be able to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon Bank, as well as have 6,000 storage spaces, double the amount in Pokémon Bank. There are also some restrictions on what versions of Pokémon Home can communicate with certain games. Both the mobile and Nintendo Switch versions of Pokémon Home can access Pokémon Bank, but only the Nintendo Switch version can connect with Pokémon Let’s Go and Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Players can also trade Pokémon in Pokémon Home. Trading is only available on the mobile version of Pokémon Home. There are four different kinds of trades available: Wonder Box, Global Trading System, Room Trade, and Friend Trade.
The Wonder Box is like the Wonder Trade/Surprise Trade feature in the 3D Pokémon games but trade more Pokémon at once. Free users can put three Pokémon into the Wonder Box, while premium users can put 10 Pokémon in.
Pokémon Home brings back the Global Trading System, or the GTS. On the GTS, players deposit a Pokémon and specify what Pokémon they would like in return. Players can also browse other players’ Pokémon to make trades. The GTS will let players look for Pokémon they have yet to register in Pokémon Home’s National Pokédex. Free users can put one Pokémon into the GTS at a time, while premium users can put in up to three.
The third kind of trade is called a Room Trade, which is like a ‘white elephant’ exchange of Pokémon. Players can create or join a room of up to 20 players and trade with all the people in the room. Nobody will know which Pokémon they end up with until the trade is over. Free and premium users can join rooms, but only premium users can create rooms.
The last trade feature Pokémon Home offers is called a Friend Trade. This lets players trade directly with any users they have registered as friends on the Pokémon Home app.
Pokémon Home also has some additional features built into the app. Firstly, the app features a complete National Pokédex that fills in as you trade Pokémon in. This Pokédex will also show any forms a Pokémon can take through Mega Evolution or Gigantamaxing. Players can also see a Pokémon’s Pokédex entry from each game the Pokémon appeared in.
Pokémon Home can also receive Mystery Gifts on the mobile version. The app will have its own specific Mystery Gifts, but can also be used to download any current Mystery Gifts for Pokémon Sword and Shield. Pokémon Home can also send Mystery Gifts to Pokémon Sword and Shield through generated codes.
The Pokémon Judge feature will also be included in Pokémon Home for premium users. This allows players to check their Pokémon’s Individual Values (IVs) to see how strong their Pokémon are.
Pokémon Home will also log information about the games you’ve transferred from. This information can be seen in Your Room. Players unlock stickers for decorating their Room through finishing tasks based around what games certain Pokémon were transferred from.
The mobile version of the app will also let players see Pokémon competition or event news, and let players check battle statistics during a competition. The data that can be checked includes the popularity of Pokémon and moves in the competition, as well as show the ranks of participating Trainers.
All versions of Pokémon Home will give the users Pokémon Home Points as they deposit more Pokémon. These points can be exchanged for Battle Points for Pokémon Sword and Shield on the Nintendo Switch app.
The Pokémon Company still claims that the app will be launched in February 2020, but still has not specified the exact release date.
