Pokemon HOME app to get anticheat measures following rampant hacking
The Pokemon Company / Game Freak
The eighth generation Pokemon title Sword & Shield was initially met with backlash leading up to its launch in 2019 when developer Game Freak announced they were scrapping to the National Pokedex.
To remedy this, the Nintendo RPG got the HOME service in February which allowed players to transfer their monsters from previous games into one place. In August however, the app has faced problems with hacking.
Game Freak / The Pokemon CompanyPokemon HOME is getting anticheat measures
The HOME app made its debut in February on iOS, Android, and the Nintendo Switch. The paid service costs $3 a month, and allows Trainers to transfer old monsters into Sword & Shield.
However on August 24, users were met with an “important news” update when booting up the app that explained that anticheating measures were being implemented, following recurring hacking problems.
“It has come to our attention that some users have deposited Pokemon with altered attributes to Pokemon HOME, causing the app to function in ways that were not intended. In response, we will be addressing the presence of these altered Pokemon in Pokemon HOME,” it read.
Note: The altered Pokémon addressed in this notice cannot be obtained through any of Pokémon HOME's trading systems or through normal gameplay in any game in the Pokémon series.
Note: We will not be responding to individual inquiries regarding this issue.— Pokemon Home (@PokemonHome_) August 24, 2020
The announcement also clarified that the specific monsters they were talking about could not be “obtained through any of HOME’s trading systems or through normal gameplay in any game” in the series.
Over on the Pokemon subreddit, players praised the move, such as user ‘johntheplaya‘ who exclaimed, “Thank god hopefully there actually getting on top of the hacking problem.” Though, some Trainers wondered what these “anticheat measures” could entail.
Thankfully, it appears hacked ‘mons sent via the Surprise Trade function in Sword & Shield don’t seem to be affected. At the time of writing, it’s not immediately clear whether there will be any punishment to the accounts that have illegal monsters.
