After a long wait, The Pokemon Company has finally confirmed thatPokemon Homecompatibility will be brought toBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearl, as well asLegends: Arceus. Players will soon be able to transfer Pokemon between Sinnoh and Hisui, though some exceptions may apply.
The announcement comes following recent leaks about whenPokemon Homewould be made compatible with the latest game releases, as well as how this would look to players. WithPokemonnow going public about these developments, it seems that initial rumors projectingHome’scompatibility were true, but there’s still some details fans have yet to learn about its rollout.
RELATED:Pokemon Home Should Offer More to Fans After Pokemon Bank Closes
How Pokemon Home Compatibility Rumors Shaped Up in Reality
In April, a Twitter account namedCentroLeaks leakedPokemonHomeintegration withLegends: Arceusas well asBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearl. One initial point of discussion centered whether ot notHomewould recognize the variety of unique Poke Balls introduced inLegends: Arceus.Pokemon’sofficial announcement goes some way to confirm this, citing that Pokemon transferred fromBrilliant DiamondandShining PearlorSwordandShieldtoLegends: Arceuswould appear in “Strange Balls” due to other devices having not been invented by the time of the Hisui region. However, while the reverse is the same for transferring Pokemon fromLegends: ArceustoBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearl, transferring toSwordandShieldwill set Hisui Pokemon in standard Poke Balls. No official artwork or images have been released at present to show how Strange Balls will appear, either as a sprite or as an in-game model.
Further details confirm that starting with version 2.0 ofHome, the National Pokedex will expand to includenative Pokedexes of each region and generation, including forLegends: Arceus. The completion of Hisui’s first Pokedex inHomewill be dependent on the player’s save game data, and will update as the player finishes their Pokedex in-game.
Lastly, as is tradition at this point, when linking newPokemongames toHome, special monsters will be awarded asMystery Giftsto commemorate the update. For linkingBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearl, players will be gifted the 3 Sinnoh starter Pokemon: Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup, all with their Hidden Abilities. Likewise for linkingLegends: Arceus, players will receive the 3 Hisui starters: Cyndaquil, Rowlet, and Oshawott, all with maximum effort values in lieu of abilities.
Transferring Between Sinnoh and Hisui Comes at a Cost
As previously suggested by CentroLeaks, The Pokemon Company hasconfirmed that when transferring Pokemon to a game they were not originally caught in, certain moves and levels are likely to change. This was expected due to the differences betweenLegends: Arceusand other mainline games, having reworked certaingame mechanics for battling and leveling up in Hisui, but this will be a disappointment to some fans who are cautious about changing some of their favorite Pokemon just to see them in later games.
Information regarding howHomemight integrate into the narrative ofLegends: Arceusand extend into the modern-day games remain elusive. Regardless, the update does bring good news to players who will be able to continue bringing their partners along on their journey through allPokemongames, including the upcomingScarletandVioletthat are set to kick off the series' Generation 9.ScarletandVioletare expected to launch by the end of this year.
Pokemon Homeis available now for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, and version 2.0 is expected to be released later this year.
MORE:Recent Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Leaks Explained
