The latest Pokémon Home update is now going live, adding compatibility with recent games Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Pokémon Home launched for Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS-compatible mobile devices in February 2020 as a means for fans to store and trade their assortment of collectible creatures through cloud technology - though many have complained about how Pokémon Home isn't compatible with the latest games at launch. This is said to be due to the developers at Nintendo prioritizing the actual release of titles like Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Pokémon Legends: Arceus over making them work with Pokémon Home, as well as preventing players from accessing their strongest Pokémon from previous games too early.
Still, many Pokémon fans feel that it’s high time that Pokémon Home gains support for Pokémon BDSP and Legends: Arceus, and The Pokémon Company recently announced that such compatibility would be coming in Home’s next update patch. Before this announcement, dataminers uncovered Strange Balls hidden in Pokémon Legends: Arceus’s code, which are meant to serve as a lore-friendly way to transfer Pokémon from other games to Arceus via Pokémon Home. Additionally, fans who link Pokémon Home to BDSP or Arceus will be able to access new stickers and achievements, as well as an extra Starter Pokémon from their respective title.
The wait for compatibility between Pokémon Home, BDSP, and Legends: Arceus is ending today, May 18. According to a post from SerebiiNet, the Pokémon Home Version 2.0 update is starting to go live across Nintendo Switch and mobile devices today, although it's being rolled out at a slowed pace to avoid server issues. As mentioned before, this new update will allow players to transfer their Pokémon from BDSP or Arceus to and from Home, including Pokémon Legends: Arceus’s new Hisuian forms. Additionally, players will be able to access new features like an updated Regional Pokédex.
The ability to transfer caught and collected Pokémon to and from Pokémon Home will certainly come in handy in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, as the recent updates to the 2006 Generation Four Pokémon games feature many creatures that are exclusive to one title or the other - thus requiring players to either own both games or trade with their friends if they wish to complete their Pokédex and collect the full list of available Pokémon. Meanwhile, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is noteworthy for introducing new, alternate Hisuian forms for existing Pokémon like Zoroark and Sneasel, which are proving to be every bit as popular as their original variants.
Fans have been waiting a long time for Pokémon Home to gain compatibility with the recently launched Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and now this wait is finally over. The latest Pokémon Home update will give players the chance to store and trade all of their Pokémon in preparation for the impending release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Source: SerebiiNet/Twitter