Does Pokemon Home support Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl and Legends Arceus?

Sam Smith
pokemon home logo

Is the Pokemon Home app supported by Pokemon Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, and Pokemon Legends Arceus?

The Pokemon Company has confirmed that Pokemon Home will support Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, as well as Pokemon Legends Arceus.

Previously, all three games launched without access, with Nintendo stating that the functionality will arrive “sometime in 2022”.

Here’s everything there is to know about Pokemon Home on Pokemon Legends Arceus, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl.


Contents


Pokemon Home
Pokemon Home lets you transfer your ‘mons between games.

Pokemon Home in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

While the Pokemon Gen 4 remakes launched on November 19, 2021, Pokemon Home functionality was nowhere to be found. However, the functionality was added on May 18, 2022, as part of Pokemon Home’s 2.0 update.

The Pokedex as of Pokemon Sword and Shield didn’t include every Sinnoh-based Pokemon. So, adding Home to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is a great way to add more ‘mons to the Nintendo Switch after the Dexit controversy.

Pokemon Home in Legends Arceus

Pokemon Home functionality was also added to Pokemon Legends Arceus on May 18, 2022. However, there are some caveats when it comes to how the app works when compared to earlier entries.

Palkia in Pokemon Legends Arceus
Palkia is a Legendary Pokemon in both recent games.

Pokemon Home 2.0 update

Pokemon Home’s 2.0 update added the functionality to Pokemon Legends Arceus, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

This means that Pokemon caught in-game Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee or Pokemon Sword/Shield can finally be ported to newer games like Pokemon Legends Arceus and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl.

Pokemon caught in the more recent titles will also now be able to be transported to earlier entries, providing that Pokemon is obtainable in that game. Although, it’s also worth pointing out that while a Pokemon will be useable after being transported to Legends Arceus, it will not count towards Hisuian Pokedex until it’s located out in the world.

For example, players could transfer their Palkia and Dialga into the game, but this won’t be recognized by the Pokedex until these legendary ‘mons are met in the story.

The Home app will also be updated with the various Pokedex from the above games, giving players the opportunity to compare their regional Pokedex with the National Pokedex that currently exists with Pokemon Home.

Pokemon Home
Pokemon Home will work with every Pokemon game on the Nintendo Switch.

More Pokemon 2.0 Home features

Pokemon from the Pokemon Bank and Pokemon Go can also still be moved to Pokemon Home, but the transfer will remain a one-way journey even after the update.

As Pokemon caught in Legends Arceus come from a time before Pokeballs were invented, any ‘mons that are transported from that game to Home will arrive in the all-new Strange Balls.

They will then be able to be migrated to other games like regular Pokemon, however, their Strange Ball will mark them as a Pokemon that’s traveled through time.

Pokemon appearing in Legends Arceus from outside of the game will also appear in these green-tinted Strange Balls. However, Strange Balls will appear like regular Pokeballs in Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Players who deposit a Pokemon from Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl to Pokemon Home will be gifted with three special edition Gen 4 starters. A Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup, each with Hidden Abilities will be obtainable via the Mystery Gift feature in the mobile app version of Pokemon Home.

Those who deposit a Pokemon from Legends: Arceus will receive special versions of Rowlet, Cyndaquil, and Oshawott, each with maximum effort levels, as Mystery Gifts in the mobile app version of Pokemon Home. So make sure you’ve got it downloaded on your phone and your Switch.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Gen 9 Starter wallpaper promotional screenshot.
Pokemon Gen 9 will officially release in late 2022.

The next generation of Pokemon games will release towards the end of 2022, likely in late November. It’s been revealed that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will feature Home connectivity, however, it’s unknown if this will be from day one or sometime after.

If it turns out to be day one, then this could imply that Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, and Legends Arceus will already have been added to the service by then. It seems unlikely that Nintendo will release a new Pokemon game with Home connectivity before they add the last two games to the service, but we’ll need to wait and see.

What is Pokemon Home?

Pokemon in the flowers
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl was released on November 19, 2021.

Pokemon Home is an application that allows Nintendo Switch owners to store their Pokemon and move them between each game — for a modest annual fee. It’s an update of Pokemon Bank, which was the Nintendo 3DS version of the software.

Presently, Pokemon Home is supported by Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, Pokemon Sword & Shield, and Pokemon Go — although Pokemon Go can only transfer Pokemon from the app and not back again.

Utilizing Home’s features is an excellent way for players to fill their National Pokedex and move certain Pokemon between titles.

Of course, not all 900+ Pokemon have been updated for the Nintendo Switch era yet. Although gradually, with each release, we get closer to Dexit being a thing of the past.


That’s everything players need to know about Pokemon Home! Check out some of our other Pokemon guides below:

Best starter Pokemon | All Hisuian forms | Hisuian Pokedex | How to catch Darkrai | How to catch Shaymin | Mystery Gift codes | Agile & Strong Styles explained | How to get Garchomp | All Unown locations | All Wisp locations | Shiny hunting guide | How to get all three starters | Mass Outbreaks guide