How Pokemon GO works with the Pokemon Home app

Pokemon Go is a mobile game where you can capture Pokemon in the real world, going to actual locations and finding the Pokemon you need to capture to complete Field Research events and battling against gyms! It’s a really fun game. But what if you are a huge Pokemon fan, with Pokemon Sword or Shield and Pokemon Go - and you want to share your Pokemon between these games? Well, that’s where Pokemon Home comes in.

What is Pokemon Home?

Pokemon Home is a cloud-based service that allows you to store and transfer Pokemon between modern Pokemon games. You can bring all your favourite Pokemon to one game and make sure that you have the team you’d like from platform to platform. This service has both free and premium options, so it is worth considering what you are planning on using it for!

It is a separate app on mobile or Nintendo Switch that you need to download and log into the app, syncing it with your Nintendo Switch account and your Trainer account for Pokemon Go. There is a whole setting up process, but once it is done it is done.

What games does it work with?

Pokemon Home works with different games in various ways. If you are playing Pokemon Go, Pokemon Bank (on Nintendo 3DS), Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee, you can only transfer your Pokemon into Home. With Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield, however, you can transfer your Pokemon into Pokemon Home, and transfer the Pokemon in your Pokemon Home out into those two games.

Using Pokemon Home

There are a lot of reasons to use Pokemon Home to keep track of your Pokemon and to move them between your Nintendo Switch and your phone.

As you use Pokemon Home to collect Pokemon, your Pokedex will track your entries (including Mega Evolve and Gigantamax forms) which can help you complete a Pokedex much more efficiently. While using the app, you can unlock mystery gifts for Pokemon Home, Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. It’s also a great base for news on the Pokemon games and collecting stickers for your profile if you complete challenges within Pokemon Home. You can earn Pokemon Home Points, which can be exchanged for BP in core Pokemon Games.

If you are looking for an edge up in Pokemon Sword and Shield, you can see progress on Ranked Battles and Online Competitions and look at Trainer battle data as well as popular moves that are used in competitions, to then plan accordingly. You can search your Pokemon by ability or move, giving you a better idea of what Pokemon to use when.

Trading with Pokemon Home

You can also trade in Pokemon Home with other Pokemon Home users, to continue to build up your Pokedex. You can do this in four different ways: Wonder Box trading allows you to trade even when Pokemon Home is not being actively used. The Global Trading System allows you to specify which Pokemon you’d like to trade and what Pokemon you’d like to receive for it. Using Room trade will allow you to trade in a private room with up to 20 others, while Friend Trade will allow you to trade with someone nearby you.

Basic plan vs Premium plan

In the basic (free) plan, you are able to deposit a total of 30 Pokemon and trade 3 Pokemon at a time in the Wonder Box. You can only place 1 Pokemon in the Global Trading System at once and can participate in Room Trades. If you upgrade to Premium, you can move Pokemon from the Pokemon Bank (which you cannot do in Basic), as well as place 6000 Pokemon in the deposit box. You can leave 10 Pokemon in the Wonder Box, 3 in the Global Trading System at once, and both participate and host Room Trades. You will also have the Judge Function. So, if you’re into trading and collecting loads of Pokemon, you might want to consider going premium!