Nintendo has revealed the release window and price for their new Pokémon Home service, which will allow trainers to port their existing Pokémon from previous games to a one shared location. The service is a touch more complicated than you’d expect, however.
There will be two versions of Pokémon Home debuting in February, and subscribing offers additional benefits.
Prospective Pokémon trainers will have two versions of the Pokémon Home app to contend with when it arrives in February. There will be a version on the Nintendo Switch that will allow trainers to move Pokémon from the Switch titles around (though, Pokémon from Let’s Go, Eevee!, and Let’s Go, Pikachu! can only be transferred one-way). Furthermore, for anyone looking to synchronize their Pokémon Bank from the 3DS with the new service there will be the mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Support for Pokémon Go will be added at a later date.
The mobile app of Pokémon Home also comes with more features than the Switch app, with trading, Mystery Gifts, news, and Battle Data all being exclusive to it. Once a Pokémon is stored in the bank it can be moved by either app into a compatible game, though all transfers into Home cannot be reversed.
Additionally, there will be a free and premium version of the app, with premium entry starting at $3 a month, or $16 a year. Dedicated trainers may need to pay up, because the free “Basic” options are limited. If you opt to not pay you can only store up to thirty Pokémon in the bank instead of 6,000, place one Pokémon up for global trades at a time, and you cannot use the Judge function (which allows trainers to see how powerful their Pokémon are).
Of course, there are more features included for both the free and paid tracks, such as customizable profiles and access to the National Pokédex . Overall, it’s looking like a solid tool for ardent Pokémon trainers, assuming they want to pay in and juggle two versions of the app. For more information check out the press release from Nintendo here.
