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Pokémon Home has launched, letting players connect to Pokémon Sword & Shield and Let’s Go, Pikachu! & Let’s Go, Eevee! to store and send Pokémon through its cloud service app (via Serebii).
The app is manned by Grand Oak, who seems to be the answer to “what would happen if Ditto started microdosing?” Home gifts the player with a Pikachu on the Switch app, and offers one of the Kanto starters on the mobile app. The Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle will have their hidden ability, too, which is a boon. If players transfer a Pokémon from Bank to Home, they’ll be awarded 3,000 Home Points. These are different to house points from school, I’m assuming. And finally, there is a Mystery Gift for Home players that contains a special Pichu if they’ve gotten a sticker for their Binder through completing a challenge on the mobile app.
Home lets players move monsters from Pokémon Sword & Shield, Let’s Go, Pikachu! & Let’s Go, Eevee!, Pokémon Go, and Pokémon Bank. These will then be available in Pokémon Sword & Shield, upping the finite Galar Pokédex to include new entries. There was an uproar when it was revealed that Sword & Shield wouldn’t have every single Pokémon present in the game, which was a departure from the norm for the series. Plenty of people called for a boycott, which didn’t work, seeing as Pokémon Sword & Shield became the fastest-selling Switch game of all time. And, The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra DLCs are adding even more ‘mons to Galar, when they are released in the coming months.
Right now, Pokémon Sword & Shield players are able to transfer 35 new Pokémon into the game. These include Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Meltan, and legendaries and mythical Pokémon from games like Black & White and Sun & Moon. Pokémon Home is priced at $2.99 for a 30-day subscription, $4.99 for a 90-day subscription, or $15.99 for an annual subscription. Most of the features are unlocked with a paid subscription, but a free plan lets the player store 1,000 Pokémon and take one Pokémon to the Global Trade Station, which just might be enough for most players.
Pokémon Home is out now on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.
