Pokémon Go guide: How to transfer to Pokémon Home

Pokémon Go now lets you transfer Pokémon from the game to the Pokémon Home app.

In this Pokémon Go guide, we will explain how to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon Go to Pokémon Home, how much it costs to transfer Legendary Pokémon, and how to transfer Pokémon to Pokémon Sword and Shield.

Pokémon Home transfers

Doing this lets you transfer eligible Pokémon to Pokémon Sword and Shield (and presumably, future games). Keep in mind that transfers are permanent. Once you move your Pokémon from Go to Home, you can’t move them back.

Image: The Pokémon Company/Nintendo

Using the Pokémon Home transfer system also rewards you with a Mystery Box to obtain Meltan.

Set up Pokémon Home on your Phone

Download Pokémon Home on your phone, launch it, and log in with your Nintendo account. Pokémon Home is available on iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch. Pokémon Home has a subscription system. It costs $2.99 a month, $4.99 for three months, and $15.99 for 12 months. The subscription allows you to store more Pokémon. Without it, you’ll only be able to hold 30 at a time. With a subscription, you can hold up to 6,000 Pokémon.

You don’t need the subscription to transfer Pokémon, but you will if you plan on holding more than 30 Pokémon in Pokémon Home.

Linking your Pokémon Go and Pokémon Home

To link your accounts, open your settings in Pokémon Go by tapping the settings gear (visible at the top right when you tap the Poké Ball menu icon). Scroll down until you see “Pokémon Home.” Tap that, and sign in with your Nintendo account. Make sure the Nintendo account you use here is the same one you use on your Pokémon Home account.

Transferring Pokémon from Go to Home

Image: Niantic/The Pokémon Company via Polygon

Once your accounts are linked, you can transfer Pokémon using the Go Transporter. To do this, go to your settings, select “Pokémon Home,” and hit “Send Pokémon.”

From here, you can select any of the Pokémon you want to move. Keep in mind that you cannot transfer hat- or costume-wearing Pokémon, as well as Shadow or Mega Evolved Pokémon.

You can only transfer a limited number of Pokemon, as the Go Transporter only has a certain amount of energy. The energy recharges over time, but you can also opt to spend 1,000 Pokécoins to fill it back up instantly. It takes a little bit less than one week to refill the Go Transporter when it’s completely empty.

Transferring a Shiny Pokémon or Mythical Pokémon costs about 1/4 of the bar, and transferring a Shiny Legendary Pokémon depletes the entire bar. Transferring a regular Legendary Pokémon costs less than 1/6 of the bar.

You can only transfer Legendary Pokémon to Sword and Shield if you’ve already obtained them in that game, so don’t get your hopes up if you’re just trying to quickly complete your Pokédex.

If the Pokémon has a higher combat power, it will also cost a bit more.