Can you transfer Pokémon from HOME back to Pokémon GO?

No. Transfers from GO to HOME are permanent and one-way. A Pokémon sent to HOME can move onward into compatible Switch games, but it can never re-enter Pokémon GO.

How do you get Meltan in Pokémon GO?

Meltan only appears from the Mystery Box, which you receive for transferring Pokémon from GO to Pokémon HOME. Opening the box makes Meltan spawn around you for one hour, and you can earn a fresh box every three days by transferring again.

What is GO Transporter Energy?

It is the meter that limits transfers from GO to HOME. Each Pokémon costs energy to send — stronger and rarer Pokémon cost more — and the bar refills over time, so large clear-outs are best done in batches.

Do Pokémon GO and Pokémon HOME need the same account?

Yes. You must sign into Pokémon HOME in GO using the Nintendo Account that your HOME account is linked to; otherwise the Send Pokémon option cannot find your boxes.

How to Transfer Pokémon from Pokémon GO to Pokémon HOME

Home › Pokémon › How to Transfer Pokémon from Pokémon GO to Pokémon HOME

Pokémon HOME is the series' central storage service — the one place where catches from different games can live side by side. Moving Pokémon out of Pokémon GO is one of its most-used features, and one of the most misunderstood, because the trip is strictly one-way. Here is exactly how it works, and the one reward that makes it worth doing regularly.

Before You Send Anything: Read This First

A Pokémon transferred from GO to HOME can never return to GO. There is no undo. So before you send a Pokémon, check its IVs, its moveset and whether it is doing a job in your GO Battle League teams or raid roster. Once it lands in HOME it can move onward into compatible Switch games instead — but GO is closed to it forever.

How to Transfer Pokémon From GO to HOME, Step by Step

Open Pokémon GO and tap the Poké Ball menu, then Settings.
Go to Connected Devices and Services and choose Pokémon HOME.
Sign in with the Nintendo Account linked to your Pokémon HOME.
Tap Send Pokémon and confirm the receiving account.
Check your GO Transporter Energy — the bar needs enough charge (shown in blue) for the Pokémon you want to send; rarer and stronger Pokémon cost more energy.
Select your Pokémon, tap Transport, then open Pokémon HOME to receive them from the transfer box.

Both apps need to be signed into the same Nintendo Account for the link to work. The Transporter refills over time, so big clear-outs are best done in batches.

The Mystery Box: Why Everyone Transfers

Every transfer session earns you a Mystery Box in Pokémon GO. Open it and, for one hour, Meltan — the Hex Nut Pokémon — spawns around you wherever you are. This is the only way to encounter Meltan in GO: it never appears in raids or the wild. The box refreshes every three days with a new transfer, so a standing routine of sending a few Pokémon to HOME each week quietly farms you Meltan candy toward Melmetal.

What Else HOME Gives You

Logging into HOME itself pays out gift Pokémon: a Pikachu on first login, a Kanto starter with its hidden ability on mobile, and an Eevee for using the Wonder Box. Depositing from other games adds more — the Galar starters for a Sword or Shield deposit, the Sinnoh starters for Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl, and even Alpha versions of the Legends: Z-A starters for depositing from that game.

Which Games Can Send and Receive?

GO sits at the restrictive end of the table: it can deposit into HOME but withdraw nothing. The Let's Go games are similar — deposits yes, withdrawals no. The mainline Switch titles — Scarlet and Violet, Legends: Z-A — and the battle game Pokémon Champions can both deposit and withdraw through the Switch version of HOME, which is what makes HOME genuinely useful as a hub: catch in GO, store in HOME, and field the Pokémon where it is actually playable.