Do You Want Pokemon Home Premium? Or Need?
Today the folks at the Pokemon Company released Pokemon Home for real. This system allows users to store and transfer and trade Pokemon across multiple platforms, from game to game. Users can find the app available for iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch now. There's a free version of the service as well as a PREMIUM tier – that'll cost you some money.
Cost and Features
If you want to enroll in the Premium Plan (Paid), you'll find a cost per month, per 3-month period, or for a year at a time. The Nintendo eShop Price (excluding tax) for these plans is approximately $3, $5, or $16 USD. These prices are "subject to change." The differences between the "Basic" and the "premium" plans is in the number of Pokemon you can deposit, the size of your Wonder Box, GTS size, Room Trade abilities, and Judge Function.
OF NOTE: Dependent on the user's age (and perhaps some other factors of which we're not yet aware), the following is true: "some features may not be available to all users in accordance with Pokémon HOME's Terms of Use and Privacy Notice." For example, you can't host a Room Trade if you're 5 years old.
If you're a free member, you can not move Pokemon from Pokemon Bank, you've got a deposit allotment of 30 Pokemon, and you can only place 3 Pokemon in the Wonder Box at one time. Basic allows a single Pokemon to be placed in the GTS at once. Basic allows Room Trade participation, but not hosting – and Judge Function is unavailable.
Premium members have the ability to move Pokemon from Pokemon Bank where Basic members do not. Premium members get to deposit up to SIX THOUSAND Pokemon in Pokemon Home, where Basic is limited to 30.
Premium users can place up to 10 Pokemon in the Wonder Box at one time, and up to 3 Pokemon in the GTS at one time. Premium members are allowed to both participate in and host Room Trades. Judge Function is available for Premium members, but not for Basic.
Pricing for Basic is free – it costs users nothing to use Pokemon Home Basic. If you're looking for Pokemon Home Premium, you'll pay $2.99 for 30 days, $4.99 for 90 days, or $15.99 for 365 days.
Do you need Pokemon Home Premium?
Pokemon Home is a "free" app, but its prices are so "inexpensive" that The Pokemon Company and/or Nintendo are expecting users to pony up cash without much resistance. The quality of the app and the ecosystem at launch seem to be pretty OK, with great potential for the future.
If I were you, I'd download one or more of the apps and give it a whirl before paying for Premium. Starting with a Basic account does not change your account and/or affect the pricing of the subscription for Premium in any way at all. The Pokemon Company is currently doing the decent thing with their "freemium" model, avoiding advertisement incentives altogether – so good on them!
You can attain three apps for Pokemon Home here at launch. Tap in to the Nintendo Switch in the Nintendo store. Download the Android app in Google Play or get the iOS app for iPhone or iPad on the Apple App Store.