The massive Pokémon Home update 2.0 is now live, so here is every Pokémon that can’t be transferred from BDSP and Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Although the Pokémon Home 2.0 update has finally brought compatibility to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl as well as Pokémon Legends: Arceus, there is a handful of Pokémon that have restrictions on the storage service. Initially announced in 2021, the massive Pokémon Home 2.0 update has finally begun to roll out across the world. While players can now move over the Pokémon they caught in the Sinnoh Remakes and Pokémon Legends: Arceus to the storage app, there are a few issues with certain Pokémon not being fully transferrable.
Originally launching in 2020, the Pokémon Home app was designed to allow players to store every Pokémon they have caught from all eight generations in one space. Prior to the cloud-based service, players had to rely on the Nintendo 3DS Pokémon Bank app. Pokémon Home introduced many groundbreaking features such as giving trainers the ability to transfer their Pokémon over to other games. For instance, trainers could now move Gen 1 Pokémon from Red and Blue over to 2019’s Pokémon Sword and Shield despite both games being decades apart.
With Pokémon Legends: Arceus released at the beginning of 2022, many players were eagerly awaiting for Pokémon Home to become compatible with the open-world RPG. After the Nintendo Switch Pokémon Home 2.0 update finally launched on February 18th, it was discovered that there were a few Pokémon that had issues with transferring with the app. Below is a list of every Pokémon Home restriction for Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
The first Pokémon to be discovered to not work with Pokémon Home 2.0 is Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire’s Spinda. In what appears to be a glitch, the Hoenn Normal-type can not currently be transferred from Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl to Pokémon Home. Players who catch the red Panda in the Sinnoh remakes will have to wait until a future update fixes the issue and adds its compatibility.
Spinda is iconic in the Pokémon series as having the most alternate forms next to Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Alcremie. Players can catch Spinda in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl after making their way to Route 227, where they can find the bear using the game’s Swarm feature. Despite being available in the Sinnoh remakes though, Spinda can’t be moved over to Pokémon Home.
Another Hoenn Pokémon to hit a snag in the Pokémon Home update is Nincada. The Ruby and Sapphire Bug/Ground-type Pokémon is not able to be moved from Pokémon Home to Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Bizarrely the issue is similar to Spinda, except the transfer issue is reversed.
The Gen 3 Pokémon can also be caught in the Sinnoh Remakes, as players can encounter Nincada in the Sinnoh Underground fairly early into the game. Trainers can also find the Pokémon in the Eterna Forest using the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Poké Radar item. The tracking device is unlocked after trainers beat the game and see every Pokémon in the Sinnoh region.
Pokémon Sword and Shield was also not spared in the Pokémon Home 2.0 update, as a few Gigantamax Pokémon are also not able to be transferred. What is seemingly another bug, is that Gigantamax Pikachu and Gigantamax Eevee can not be moved from Pokémon Home into Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Similarly, Gigantamax Pikachu, Eevee, and Meowth can’t be moved over to Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
While it’s not surprising that the Galar Region’s Gigantamax Pokémon aren’t compatible with other Pokémon games, usually Pokémon with special mechanics just keep their original form when being moved over to another title. Players who transfer Gigantamax capable Pokémon into Pokémon Home are given a special mark on their entry page. So a few random Pokémon with the Gigantamax mark are having issues being moved over to both Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl until an update fixes the issue.
The new Origin forms introduced in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is another feature that has restrictions with Pokémon Home 2.0. While the cloud-based service doesn’t currently recognize all Pokémon forms such as Sword and Shield’s Calyrex fusion, it does recognize Sinnoh Mythical Shaymin’s Skye Form. Players who transfer Shaymin from Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl can keep the Pokémon’s secondary Sky Form while in the app.
Unfortunately Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ Origin Dialga and Origin Palkia do not work the same way and will be reverted to their normal state when being transferred into Pokémon Home. Although the Legendary Pokémon Arceus doesn’t technically transform into a new form, the Pokémon will also change back to its default Normal-type if players have used one of its 18 plates. While not technically a restriction, many completionists desperately want to have every Pokémon form in their living Pokédex.
The final Pokémon to be restricted in the Pokémon Home 2.0 update are Hisuian Voltorb and Hisuian Electrode. Players who want to transfer the Pokémon from Pokémon Legends: Arceus to the storage app will have no problems. Instead, the issue lies with Pokémon GO’s Hisuian Voltorb and Hisuian Electrode which can not be moved over to Pokémon Home.
Unlike some of the other restrictions which either appear to be glitches or temporary decisions, the Hisuian Pokémon should be enabled for Pokémon Home eventually. The decision is up to Niantic and when they want to implement the feature in Pokémon GO. For now, players wanting to add Hisuian Voltorb and Hisuian Electrode to their Pokémon Home account can do so with Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Considering there are now 905 total Pokémon to catch as of 2022, it’s incredibly impressive that Pokémon Home doesn’t have more restrictions. With Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ Alpha Pokémon being the latest species to be introduced, the Pokémon series is getting more complex with every generation. The current restrictions in Pokémon Home will get ironed out eventually with a future patch, players will just have to sit tight.
Brent R. Koepp is a games journalist based out of Los Angeles, CA. An avid Pokemon fan for over 25 years, he has spent his career reporting on the popular Nintendo franchise. Following his role as a Pokemon Content Lead at another company, Brent is now a Pokemon Senior Writer for Screen Rant. You can follow him on Twitter @brentrkoepp.
