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How to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon Go to Pokémon Home

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The introduction of Pokémon Home gave players a chance to trade and store all their Pokémon in one place. Now, players can bring their Pokémon from Pokémon Go into cloud storage via the Pokemon Home phone app. Storing Pokémon with this app gives players a chance to trade, store, and view all of their Pokémon across compatible games. For games such as Pokémon Go, players will be able to free up some of their Pokémon space to catch more Pokémon than ever before! You’re also able to trade Pokémon on the go, which is helpful for impromptu trading with friends.

But transferring Pokémon from Pokémon Go to Pokémon Home isn’t as straightforward of a process as you’d think. There are quite a few restrictions and things to think about before starting to transfer. Luckily, we’ve gathered all of the need-to-know facts on how to transfer Pokémon from Go to Home, and important notes to keep in mind.

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Connect Pokémon Go to Pokémon Home

Pokemon Go
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Before starting to transfer Pokémon, you’ll need to connect your Pokémon Go account to the same Nintendo account that is linked to Pokémon Home. Turn on Pokémon Go and tap the Poké  Ball icon on the bottom of the screen. Then go into the Settings option in the top right corner. Scroll until you see Pokémon Home, which will prompt you to sign in with your Nintendo account.

Niantic has changed the system a little bit since Pokémon Home’s initial release. Originally, only players at level 40 could transfer Pokémon from Go to Home. But now, all players can use this system regardless of their level.

Transferring Pokémon

Once you’ve linked your Pokémon Go and Pokémon Home accounts, you’ll have the ability to transfer most of your sweet Pokémon from the game to the storage service. There are a few exceptions, which we talk about a little farther down, but most Pokémon will be able to head to the cloud storage if needed.

To start transferring Pokémon, go to the Pokémon Home section in the Settings of Pokémon Go and tap Send Pokémon. This will open the Go Transporter. Then you can simply tap on the Pokémon you want to send to Home and select Transport to move them.

A few restrictions on transferring

As mentioned before, there are a few restrictions and workarounds to transfer mass amounts of Pokémon from Go to Home. One of the first things to note is that the Go Transporter requires energy to send Pokémon to Home. Different Pokémon will require different amounts of energy. Legendary and shiny Pokémon, for example, will require different amounts of energy to transfer them. The Go Transporter will be fully energized when you first use it but, after every use, the energy level will go down and you’ll have to wait a set amount of time (generally, seven days) before the Go Transporter to build up all of its energy again. You also have the option of buying Go Transporter energy with PokéCoins, but it’s a bit costly to do this. The cost to fully charge the Transporter is 1,000 PokéCoins, which feels a little outrageous.

Additionally, not every Pokémon can be transferred from Go to Home. Pokémon that are special or exclusive to Go, such as Armored Mewtwo, costumed Pokémon that were part of an event, Shadow, Purified, or Lucky Pokémon, cannot be transferred to Pokémon Home. It’s important to keep this in mind when selecting Pokémon to transfer, because you may have selected a Pokémon that cannot actually move to Home.

There are also certain Pokémon who will change appearance once they’ve been transferred from Pokémon Go to Pokémon Home. For example, Sunny or Rainy Castforms will revert back to their normal appearance. Origin Forme Giratina will transform into Altered Forme Giratina once it’s been moved from Pokémon Go to Pokémon Home. However, these forms are not treated as separate Pokémon from the main games. They can take their alternate forms again once you transfer the Pokémon from Pokémon Home to Pokémon Sword or Shield and meet the right conditions.

Most importantly, remember that each Pokémon that is transferred from Go to Home cannot be returned to its original game. Each transfer is a one-way ticket for these Pokémon, so be absolutely sure before you start moving them around. Otherwise, you may lose a key Pokémon in Pokémon Go with no way to bring it back.

Receiving transferred Pokémon

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Once you’ve sent Pokémon via the Go Transporter, you’ll need to hop into Pokémon Home and receive them. To receive them, open the Pokémon Home app on your mobile device and hit the menu button on the bottom of the screen. Then select Options and scroll down until you see the Pokémon Go link. Then, tap Receive to complete the transfer process. And voila! Your Pokémon from Pokémon Go have found their way safely to your Pokémon Home account.

Additionally, first-time transfers will give you a chance to get a gift in both Pokémon Home and Pokémon Go. It’s more incentive to start transferring and storing Pokémon, as these gifts are well worth the struggles of trying to transfer Pokémon.

If this is your first time transferring Pokémon, you’ll get a special gift in Pokémon Home once the transfer is complete: a Melmetal that’s capable of Gigantamaxing. To get this special gift, open the mobile version of Pokémon Home and hit the menu button on the bottom of the screen. Then, select Mystery Gift. Once you do this, you’ll find the special Melmetal waiting for you in your Gift Box.

If you haven’t already transferred Pokémon from Pokémon Go into Let’s Go, Pikachu, or Let’s Go Eevee, you’ll get another Mystery Box in Pokémon Go. The Mystery Box is a special item that causes Meltan to spawn in the wild for a limited amount of time. Unfortunately, this is the only way to catch this mythical Pokémon in Pokémon Go.

Good luck out there, trainers!

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Leijah Petelka
Leijah Petelka
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Leijah Petelka is a freelance gaming guides writer for Digital Trends. She covers a variety of game types, but she does love…
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