Pokémon Home cloud storage service will launch in February for $3 a month
The Pokémon Company is making it easier for players to keep all of their pokémon from every game in one place with a cloud storage service known as the Pokémon Home. The tool will launch in February.
Details about how Home will work were released in a new blog post from the company today. Essentially, people can use their phones and mobile devices to store pokémon from the old Pokémon Bank and transfer them into Pokémon Switch games as long as those pokémon are supported in the newer games. Support for Pokémon Go is in development. There is also a version of Pokémon Home that lives on the Nintendo Switch, but it will only support Switch games including Pokémon Sword, Pokémon Shield, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!. Beware, though: once a pokémon is transferred to the bank and into another game, it cannot be transferred back.
Although Pokémon Home will be free to all players for the first month, the premium plan is what Nintendo is trying to sell. Customers who choose to use the basic, free version of Home won’t be able to transfer pokémon from the Bank system. That means players with pokémon from 3DS games won’t be able to bring those over to Switch titles. Free versions will only allow 30 pokémon to be deposited to Home, while the premium version expands to 6,000. Having a basic plan effectively changes how trading works within Home, too. The company will charge mobile users $2.99 a month, $4.99 for three months, or $15.99 for a year of support. More information is in the graph below.
So, how does it work? Players can use Pokémon Home to trade pokémon in four different ways. Pokémon that are placed in the “Wonder Box” can be traded worldwide. These pokémon will be traded even when Pokémon Home isn’t being used. The “Global Trade System” allows players to identify specific pokémon they want to trade and receive. These players will be matched with others who meet the criteria of their search. “Room Trade” allows players to create a room and trade with others who join. There’s a limit of 20 people per room, and while the trading has no cost, players will only be able to create a room if they’re paying for the premium plan. Finally, “Friend Trade” will let players trade with nearby users who are registered as friends in Pokémon Home.
There are some additional features that accompany Home. Pokémon deposited in Home will be registered to the National Pokédex. Mystery Gifts for Home and Pokémon Sword and Shield can be received in the mobile version of Home. Premium customers can use a feature called “Judge,” which allows them to see how strong their pokémon are, and mobile users will get updates and news via the Home app.
The Pokémon Company doesn’t have a specific launch date for Home, but keep an eye out for more details soon. Additional information can be read on the official blog.
The Pokémon Company is making it easier for players to keep all of their pokémon from every game in one place with a cloud storage service known as the Pokémon Home. The tool will launch in February. Details about how Home will work were released in a new blog post…
