Pokémon HOME Update's Move Reset & Ability Reset Explained

While Pokémon HOME's long-awaited 3.0.0 update brings compatibility with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it also comes with new transfer restrictions.

With the most recent update to Pokémon HOME allowing transfers to and from the newest games in the series, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, there are also some restrictions to keep in mind when it comes to modifying a Pokémon's moves or abilities. Across the multiple Pokémon games now available on the Switch, these restrictions can make it confusing to keep track of any specific Pokémon's capabilities - luckily, however, the rules for what can and can't be transferred are mostly consistent, if somewhat convoluted.

Starting with Pokémon Sword and Shield, series developer Game Freak has started to place significant limits on which moves Pokémon can learn - whereas before Generation 8, games would typically only add new moves to a Pokémon's movepool, Sword and Shield, as well as Scarlet and Violet, have taken away moves from certain Pokémon, in some cases removing moves from the game entirely. The moves Pursuit and Hidden Power, for example, were entirely removed in Pokémon Sword and Shield, and while Toxic is still present in Scarlet and Violet, the amount of Pokémon that can learn it has been reduced significantly. While these move changes might have been made for balancing purposes, they also mean that transferring Pokémon between games is a little more complicated than in past generations.

Related: Every Pokémon You Can't Trade In Pokémon Home

As of the 3.0.0 update for Pokémon HOME, which adds compatibility with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, a new restriction has been added in the form of an ability reset, in addition to the pre-existing move reset. These restrictions mean that, when a Pokémon is transferred between games through HOME, their abilities and moves will not be carried over, so movesets and ability changes will often have to be made on an individual basis between different games. However, while the restrictions might seem mostly straightforward, there are a few particulars to keep in mind.

In addition to the Pokédex restrictions of recent Pokémon games, which mean that, for example, only some Pokémon can be transferred to Scarlet and Violet, transferring Pokémon to or from certain games will also reset their moves. A Pokémon being transferred to or from Legends: Arceus or Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will not retain its original moveset, and will have to have its moves re-learned. However, if that same Pokémon is then transferred back to its original game, HOME will keep track of the different movesets, and change the moves accordingly whenever that Pokémon is moved again between those games.

Abilities work mostly the same, but with some key differences. If a Pokémon's ability is changed through the use of an Ability Capsule or Ability Patch outside the game that Pokémon is originally from, the ability will be reset to whichever ability it originally had when it's transferred to other games, and will need to be changed again if a player wants the Pokémon to have the different ability in another game. Like with moves, however, HOME will keep track of games where a Pokémon's ability is changed, and the Pokémon will retain its changed ability if it's transferred back to the game where it was changed.

Abilities also have an exception case - if a Pokémon's ability is changed in the game that they're originally from, that change will be reflected when the Pokémon is transferred to other games. For example, if a Houndoom with the Flash Fire ability that was caught in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is first transferred to Scarlet and Violet, and then has its ability changed to Unnerve, the Houndoom's ability will only be Unnerve in Scarlet and Violet, and will have to changed again in other games. If the Houndoom's Flash Fire is changed to Unnerve in BDSP, however, then its ability will remain as Unnerve even when transferred.

Overall, the move and ability resets mean that a Pokémon's characteristics will not remain entirely consistent across different games when transferring through HOME. While stats and stat-affecting attributes like natures and EVs will carry over, in many cases moves and abilities will have to be managed on a game-to-game basis - especially in cases where a move's distribution has been changed. For example, while the move Scald is commonly distributed across many Water-type Pokémon in Sword and Shield, Scarlet and Violet removes from every Pokémon except for Volcanion, meaning that players will need to find another move to replace it when transferring to those games.

Related: Pokémon HOME Will Let Users Add An Exclusive Pokémon To Scarlet & Violet

Notably, the 3.0.0 update for HOME also comes with the addition of the Move Reminder, which allows a Pokémon being transferred to a game to re-learn any move available to them in the game that the Pokémon is being transferred to. This can only be done when the Pokémon is being moved from a HOME box to a box in a specific game, and serves as a quicker, more convenient way to get a Pokémon's moves in order than teaching the Pokémon its moves in-game. While convenient, however, the Move Reminder is still subject to the move limitations of the game that the Pokémon is being transferred to.

Additionally, while the various restrictions on transferring Pokémon through HOME can be worked around, they can still be frustrating for players to deal with - especially in comparison to the relative freedom of the games associated with Pokémon Bank, which had no such restrictions on transferring Pokémon species, moves, or abilities. Especially with items like Ability Capsules and Ability Patches being relatively rare find in the games where they're available, having to use more resources across multiple games to customize a single Pokémon can be an additional annoyance.

Although the restrictions on transferring Pokémon can be cumbersome to deal with, the increasingly more granular changes to available moves and species of Pokémon between different games likely means that move and ability resets will be a persistent feature of HOME moving forward. As Pokémon HOME continues to receive further support - especially with DLC for Scarlet and Violet on the way - it remains to be seen what new features or restrictions will be added in further updates to the app.

Source: CentroLeaks/Twitter