Game Freak’s all-encompassing Pokémon Home is now available to download for Nintendo Switch and Android/iOS devices, the developer has announced.
The app, a successor to existing transfer service Pokémon Bank, allows Trainers to organize and migrate Pokémon from across different games in the franchise, though it’s not without limitations and, if you want everything it has to offer, there’s an entry fee to pay, too. Subscriptions range from a modest $2.99 for 1 month of full access to Pokémon Home‘s suite of features to a more contemplative yearly subscription of $15.99 for year-round access. At just over a buck a month, the price is certainly fair, though some fans have taken umbrage with Game Freak’s decision to tie what are arguably core features behind a paywall.
For a breakdown of what both free and paid users receive, check out the chart below:
Most of the benefits available to paying customers largely amount to increased convenience, then, but there are some valid complaints being made here.
Firstly, only by paying for a subscription can players migrate their existing collections in Pokémon Bank to Home. Not a dealbreaker, considering a one-off $2.99 payment for a month’s subscription will provide more than enough time to make the move. That is, however, only applicable if you have 30 or less Pokémon to store. It’s a laughably small amount for a franchise primarily about collecting in excess of 800 different creatures and especially so, considering the increase to 6,000 for reoccurring subscribers.
Perhaps the most major omission of all for free users, however, is the Judge function. The term refers to a stat sheet that details all of an individual Pokémon’s base stats and abilities. For competitive players, such information is vital to making an informed choice, so it’s hardly surprising that Game Freak’s intentional decision to withhold information has gone down like a lead balloon with the community.
Above grievances aside, however, Pokémon Home promotes itself as good value for money for superfans looking to centralize their ever-growing collections in one safe place. If you’ve already had the chance to have a nose around, let us know your first impressions of the service down below!
