The long-awaited feature allowing players to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon GO to Pokémon HOME has finally arrived, but the restrictions developer Niantic has placed on transferring are far worse than anyone had expected. Players can finally transfer all of their favorite Pokémon GO partners to the next generation of Pokémon, but it may take a few days or a few dollars.
Pokémon HOME launched in February of this year, allowing players to transfer Pokémon from their 3DS, and from Pokémon Let's GO, to Pokémon: Sword & Shield. Since its release, however, players have begged for Pokémon GO transfer support. In September, Game Freak answered the call and announced that Pokémon HOME would be receiving Pokémon GO support later this year. The Pokémon community rejoiced for a short time before the leaks surfaced revealing disappointing restrictions. For months, Pokémon GO players have been let down by various HOME support leaks, but the restrictions on transfers are far worse than any leak foretold.
The Pokémon HOME to Pokémon GO compatibility update went live today around 5:45 p.m. EST, and a dedicated group of Pokémon dataminers called PokéMiners have taken a deep dive into the update. The group's findings have been mostly disappointing. The biggest disappointment from the update is that, currently, only level 40 players can use the Pokémon Transporter. The Pokémon Transporter has a max energy of 10,000, and it regains 60 energy per hour. Each Pokémon also has its own energy cost and different factors that affect that cost. There is a base energy cost, a cost if it's shiny, and then two different costs depending on the Pokémon's combat power.
Starting with 10,000 energy may sound like a lot, but it doesn't take much for that energy to quickly deplete. Legendary Pokémon have a base cost of 1,000 energy, but that base goes up to 9,000 if they are shiny. That doesn't include the 300 or 500 energy it will cost to transfer based on its CP. Mythical Pokémon have a similar base of 2,000 energy, but that increases to 8,000 if it's shiny. Mythicals can also have an energy cost increase of 500 to 700 based on its CP. Luckily, normal Pokémon only have a base cost of 10 energy with minor CP energy upcharges. The base cost does increase to 1990 if it's shiny. So, after a player transfers a singular shiny Legendary, they will have to wait over 6 days for their energy to fully recharge.
It's not hard to see that Niantic and Game Freak really missed the mark on this one. Hopefully, the level 40 exclusivity is only for testing purposes, and lower levels players can expect to be able to utilize the feature soon. But the cost of transferring Pokémon is outrageous and is an obvious scheme to force microtransactions on players. This is incredibly disappointing for those who were anticipating Pokémon GO to Pokémon HOME support, and Niantic needs to reevaluate how this affects its consumer.
Source: PokéMiners