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Pokémon Home is the new cloud storage service for saving and transferring Pokémon from the different games of the saga, which will work as a paid subscription, although it will have a limited free version in many aspects.
It will be possible to use Pokémon Home on a Nintendo Switch or devices with Android and iOS, connecting Switch games, those of previous portable from Nintendo and, in the future, Pokémon Go.
In Pokémon Home we have the successor to Nintendo 3DS Pokémon Bank, which will allow us to transfer creatures from previous games in the saga. Of course, the procedures are not easy in some cases, since we are talking about cartridges with decades behind them.
In general, sending our captures to Pokémon Home will mean that they cannot be returned to their original platform, and in many cases it requires paying the premium subscription.
Complex Compatibility
The compatibility of the new service is simple and free among the recent Pokémon Shield and Sword of Nintendo Switch, as it allowssend and recover without limitations On the other hand, if we pass a Pokémon from Let's Go Eevee or Pikachu to Sword or Shield we can no longer return it.
If we go to previous generations, the procedure is complicated, and it becomes paid. We will need the Pokémon Bank available on Nintendo 3DS to send the creatures to Pokémon Home, which will never return to their original cartridge.
During the first month of Pokémon Home it will be free to use Pokémon Bank and previous Poké Portkey, to avoid users suddenly having to pay for two subscriptions.
And it is that going through the Pokémon Bank will be the only way to bring the pokémon to Pokémon Home from the previous portable titles. Depending on their age, additional steps may be required, such as cable or infrared transfer from older Game Boys.
4 ways to trade
Another aspect of Pokémon Home is trading with other fans, which in this case works online, and will include 4 modes with subtle but important differences. These are the options:
- Miracle Box: A random exchange with service users.
- Global Exchange System: We will indicate the Pokémon we want in exchange for ours.
- Group sharing: Random sharing in own groups of up to 20 people.
- Exchange with friends: We will add our friends for individual exchanges.
Of course, in Pokémon Home we will have the National Pokédex, which covers all editions of the franchise, something that sparked controversy by not be included in the recent Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Those who use the mobile version will also receive mystery gifts, to use in the Home app itself and in the Shield or Sword games. If we pay for the premium subscription, the function Judge will allow us to see the IV values of each Pokémon, thus determining its potential in combat.
It will also be possible to obtain Home Points by completing the Pokédex, which can be converted into Battle Points for games in the main saga.
Finally, the Pokémon Home app will serve as a notification center regarding the events of the saga, especially those of an online nature.
Pokémon Home, prices and availability
The free version of Home will be extremely basic, barely having capacity for 30 creatures, will not allow you to bring them from previous generations and will not have the Judge function.
On the other hand, with the plan premium we will have up to 6,000 storage spaces, we will access the Nintendo 3DS Pokémon Bank , the Judge function will be enabledand the capabilities of the miraculous box (from 3 to 10 slots) and the Global Exchange System (from 1 to 3 slots) are expanded, apart from allowing us to create exchange groups.
These are the officially announced prices for Pokémon Home:
- 30 days for 2.99 euros.
- 90 days for 4.99 euros.
- 365 days for 15.99 euros.
The Home service will launch in February 2020 for Switch, Android, and iOS, with no date yet set.
Although Pokémon Home is very complex, and it may seem unnecessary to pay for something like this, fans of the saga are very loyal and used to similar systems in the past, so it is to be imagined that Home will work fine.
With the arrival of Battle League in Pokémon Go and the recently announced expansions for Pokémon Sword and Shield, the fan community has plenty of content, and Home cloud storage may be useful to centralize your captures.
What do you think of Pokémon Home? Do you think it makes sense to pay a subscription for the premium version of Home?
