Just in time for the release of Pokemon Champions, Pokemon Home compatibility has finally been expanded to include Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Of course, this is because a large part of the battling in Pokemon Champions will involve using your own Pokemon from other Pokemon games, including the new Megas.
While there is an in-game recruitment rental system, the primary intention with Pokemon Champions is that you will use the Pokemon you’ve caught and trained in other games, as they’re already battle-ready. So, dust off those Scarlet and Violet Pokemon, prepare those ZA shinnies, and get to transferring everything to Pokemon Home.
What Is Pokemon Home?
If you’re unfamiliar with Pokemon Home, it’s an app on the Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android stores where you store Pokemon from mainline games. This allows players to transfer Pokemon from a previous game into the next mainline Pokemon game so they can use the original Pokemon that they’ve caught and trained, rather than catch a new one.
For example, if you caught a shiny Pikachu in Sword and Shield that you wanted to use in Scarlet and Violet without hunting for one again, you would transfer that Pokemon out of Sword and Shield and into Pokemon Home, then from Pokemon Home to Scarlet and Violet.
Typically, this isn’t available for a new game right away, and occasionally, it can also cause permanent changes that prevent the Pokemon from being transferred one-to-one. For example, Pokemon are altered when transferred out of Pokemon Go, and the Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee games, and for that reason, they can’t be transferred back into those games.
So, it’s important to know if trades are one-way and how they may affect the Pokemon when they’re transferred. Additionally, not every game can accept any Pokemon. Pokemon games must already have the data for that Pokemon in-game for it to be transferable.
Pokemon Legends Z-A Finally Works With Pokemon Home Six Months After Launch
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How To Transfer Pokemon From Pokemon Home To Pokemon Champions
Since the transfer process for each game is a bit different, the instructions in this article will only outline how to transfer them from Pokemon Home to Pokemon Champions, and back if necessary. So before you do anything else, go into the games of your choice and transfer your Pokemon to Pokemon Home.
When all your Pokemon are loaded into Pokemon Home, you’ll need to complete the Pokemon Champions tutorial before you can do anything else in the game. This involves battling Cordy, recruiting a free Pokemon, and participating in your first Ranked battle. Once you’ve completed all of those tasks and received your initial 10,000 VP, you should finally have access to the main menu.
After you’ve completed the tutorial, go back to Pokemon Home and then select the option for Pokemon Champions at the bottom right. It will attempt to connect to your game, and you should see the trainer name you just set up in Pokemon Champions. As long as the information is correct, select the option to proceed, and you’ll see all the Pokemon you have in Pokemon Home.
Here, you can see all the Pokemon you have an option to transfer. Any Pokemon that has a red circle on it cannot be transferred into Pokemon Champions, at least not yet. Select the Pokemon you’d like to transfer from the ones that are available and then hit the Y button to ‘Send for a visit’. Wait for your Pokemon to finish transferring, and then close Pokemon Home and open Pokemon Champions.
From the Pokemon Champions main menu, select the ‘Recruit’ option to be taken to Roster Ranch. On the Roster Ranch menu, you should see two options for Pokemon Home. One is to transfer Pokemon into the game or ‘collect’ them, and the other is to send them back to Pokemon Home if you no longer need them in Pokemon Champions or want to send them back to another game.
Obviously, if you’re transferring them in, then you need to select the third option in the menu. As long as you did everything correctly in Pokemon Home, that option should have a red exclamation mark on it. When you select it, you should see all the Pokemon you transferred and can select the option to collect them.
How To Change Your Pokemon’s Stats And Moves
After you transfer your Pokemon in, you’ll want to double-check their stats before you actually take them into battle, especially since not all moves are compatible with the game. To do this, head back to the main menu, select the training option, and then the Pokemon you just added to the game. Here, you’ll be able to review their current stats, moves, ability, and nature.
If you’d like to change anything, you can do it here, but you’ll need VP. The costs are as follows:
- Change Nature — 500 VP
- Change Ability — 500 VP
- Change A Single Move — 250 VP (each)
- Increase A Single Stat By One Point — 5 VP (each stat point)
Once you’ve changed everything, hit the + button to commence training. From there, repeat the process with any other remaining Pokemon.
Now that all your Pokemon are ready to compete, head to your box to build your team before hopping into the battle of your choice. Good luck!
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