When will Pokemon HOME connectivity be available in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet? Features and more

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are slated to be released for the Nintendo Switch on November 18, 2022. However, trainers exploring the Paldea region will have to wait for some time before the upcoming games can be integrated with the title-spanning Pokemon HOME application.

According to The Pokemon Company and developers at Game Freak, trainers should expect to be able to link their Scarlet and Violet games with HOME sometime in Spring 2023. This would mean that the linking functionality with Pokemon HOME would only become available for Scarlet and Violet players between approximately March and May next year.

At that point, trainers can expect to enjoy many of the same functions that the HOME app has provided in the past, as well as some new features.

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What will Scarlet and Violet players be able to do in Pokemon HOME?

A Paldean trainer uses the HOME app to bring the likes of Kleavor into Scarlet and Violet (Image via Game Freak)

Trainers familiar with the HOME app's functions in previous titles, such as Sword and Shield and Legends: Arceus, should feel quite comfortable when it eventually gains link functionality with Scarlet and Violet.

Players can transfer their Pocket Monsters caught in Paldea to HOME for use in other games, while other creatures can be transferred from the HOME app and used in Scarlet and Violet, although not every monster can meet the criteria to be transferred.

In addition to moving creatures, players will also be able to view information on trainer competition events, online battle data and rankings, as well as popular moves, abilities, and held items used by trainers around the world. According to a recent blog post by Pokemon GO's developers at Niantic, linking Scarlet and Violet with HOME will also allow the mobile title's players to capture the creature Gimmighoul.

In addition to the previously mentioned features, additional functions for Scarlet and Violet will likely make their way into HOME sometime in the future, but their development may take some time. This works out nicely for trainers venturing into the Paldea region, though, as they'll have time to collect and train Pocket Monsters and prepare them for whatever may arrive next.

HOME's functionality with Scarlet and Violet being earmarked for Spring 2023 is quite a rapid development. The franchise's previous titles took a substantial amount of time before the app was compatible with them, so an announcement this early on, before Scarlet and Violet are even released, took the community by surprise.

Shocking as it may have been, fans are likely rather happy to hear that Pokemon HOME will be receiving the ability to link with the upcoming Generation IX games in such a short period of time.

For the time being, trainers may want to find some great Pokemon from previous games and prepare them for transferring. While creatures from the Paldea region will undoubtedly be interesting and capable in battle, players may sometimes want to bring along their own favorite species that they've trained before.

Once HOME is compatible with Scarlet and Violet, players can bring their entire former battle teams into Paldea alongside them, as long as they meet the upcoming Switch titles' requirements.