TL;DR
- You cannot start the transfer from inside Pokemon Champions — you must do it from Pokemon Home
- First link your accounts inside the Pokemon Home app on Nintendo Switch
- Then select your Pokemon in Home and send them for a visit
- Finally, collect them inside Pokemon Champions via the Recruit menu
- Pokemon from Champions cannot be sent back to Pokemon Home
- Only fully evolved or single-stage Pokemon currently supported in Champions
Pokemon Champions launched on April 8, 2026, and one of its biggest features is the ability to bring your own Pokemon from older games right into battle. You do not have to start from scratch. If you have spent years building a team in Scarlet and Violet, Legends Z-A, or even Pokemon GO, you can bring those Pokemon with you.
But the transfer process trips a lot of people up. It does not work the way you might expect. You cannot start it from inside Pokemon Champions. This guide walks you through every step so you do not waste time hitting error screens.
And while you are getting set up, make sure to check our Pokemon Champions Mystery Gift Codes guide to grab all available free Pokemon right now.
What You Need Before Transferring Pokemon to Pokemon Champions
Before you touch the transfer feature, you need a few things in place.
1. A Pokemon Home account Pokemon Home is a free app available on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. Download it from the Nintendo eShop or your phone’s app store. You will need a paid Pokemon Home Premium plan to access full transfer features.
2. The same Nintendo Account on both apps This is where most players go wrong. Your Nintendo Account must be the same one used in Pokemon Home and Pokemon Champions. A mismatch will cause errors every time.
3. Complete the Pokemon Champions tutorial You cannot access the Recruit menu — which is where you collect transferred Pokemon — until you finish the tutorial. This includes battling Cordy, recruiting your first Pokemon, and completing your first Ranked Battle.
4. Pokemon already deposited in Pokemon Home Your Pokemon need to be sitting in a Pokemon Home Box before you can send them to Champions. Move them from whichever game they are in first.
Which Pokemon Games Are Compatible with Pokemon Home?
All mainline Pokemon games on Nintendo Switch are compatible with Pokemon Home. This includes Pokemon Sword and Shield, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch.
You can also transfer from Pokemon GO. However, transfers from GO into Pokemon Home are one-way — you cannot send them back to GO once they have moved.
Older games on Nintendo 3DS are not directly supported, but you can move Pokemon from those titles into Home via Pokemon Bank first.
Step 1 — Link Pokemon Home to Pokemon Champions
This is the step that confuses most people. You must link the accounts from inside Pokemon Home, not from inside Pokemon Champions.
If you try to transfer from within Champions first, you will see a pop-up telling you that a Pokemon Home account needs to be connected. That pop-up does not tell you where to actually do it. Here is where:
- Close Pokemon Champions completely on your Nintendo Switch
- Open Pokemon Home and sign in with your Nintendo Account
- On the main screen, select the Pokemon Champions icon in the bottom-right corner
- Confirm that the Nintendo Account shown is correct
- Your accounts are now linked
That is it for the linking step. It takes under two minutes. You only need to do this once.
Step 2 — Send Pokemon from Pokemon Home to Pokemon Champions
Now that your accounts are linked, you need to select which Pokemon will visit Champions. This also happens inside Pokemon Home, not inside the Champions app.
On Nintendo Switch:
- Open Pokemon Home on your Switch
- Go to your Boxes and find the Pokemon you want to transfer
- Press A to select a Pokemon
- Once you have selected all the ones you want, press Y
- Choose Send Pokemon for a Visit to Pokemon Champions
- Confirm your selection
On Mobile (Pokemon Home app):
- Open the Pokemon Home mobile app
- Tap the Menu option
- Go to Options
- Under Link with Pokemon Champions, tap Send for a Visit
- Select your Pokemon and confirm
Your chosen Pokemon are now queued up and waiting to be collected inside Pokemon Champions.
Step 3 — Collect Your Pokemon Inside Pokemon Champions
Now switch over to Pokemon Champions to finish the process.
- Open Pokemon Champions on your Nintendo Switch
- From the main menu, select Recruit
- You will see the Roster Ranch screen
- Select Collect from Pokemon Home — it should have a red exclamation mark if Pokemon are waiting
- Select Collect from Pokemon Home again to confirm
- Your Pokemon will now be added to your team
If you do not see the red exclamation mark, make sure you completed Step 2 correctly inside Pokemon Home.
How to Send Pokemon Back to Pokemon Home
You can return a visiting Pokemon to Pokemon Home at any time. Here is how:
- Go to Recruit from the main menu in Pokemon Champions
- Select Send Back to Pokemon Home
- A list of your transferred Pokemon will appear
- Select the ones you want to return and confirm
Once sent back, the Pokemon are available again in your Pokemon Home Boxes. You can then move them to another game or send them back to Champions again later.
Important Rules to Know Before You Transfer
There are some things you need to understand about how transfers work in Pokemon Champions. These are not obvious at first.
Pokemon are visiting, not permanently transferred Your Pokemon do not leave Pokemon Home. They are considered visitors. They will still appear in your Pokemon Home Boxes, but you cannot modify or move them while they are visiting Champions. You must return them to Home first if you want to do anything else with them.
Training changes do not carry back to Pokemon Home Any stat training, move changes, or Ability changes you make in Pokemon Champions will not carry back to Pokemon Home. However, if you send the same Pokemon back to Champions in the future, those training changes will reapply inside Champions.
Not every Pokemon can be transferred Only Pokemon that appear in Pokemon Champions can visit from Home. At launch, Champions supports around 153 Pokemon, mostly fully evolved or single-stage forms. Pokemon that cannot transfer will show a cross mark on their icon in Pokemon Home. More Pokemon will be added in future seasons.
Moves may need to be changed If your transferred Pokemon knows moves that do not exist in Pokemon Champions, you will need to change those moves through in-game training before you can use the Pokemon in battle.
Pokemon recruited in Champions cannot go to Home Pokemon you recruit through the Roster Ranch inside Champions cannot be sent to Pokemon Home at all. Only Pokemon brought in from Home can be sent back.
No Nintendo Switch Online needed You do not need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to transfer or redeem rewards in Pokemon Champions.
Bonus: Transfer Specific Pokemon from Legends Z-A for Free Mega Stones
There is a special promotion running right now. If you transfer Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, or Eternal Flower Floette from Pokemon Legends: Z-A into Champions, you will receive the corresponding Mega Stones — Chesnaughtite, Delphoxite, Greninjite, and Floettite — directly in your Pokemon Champions account.
These must be the Legends: Z-A versions of those Pokemon specifically. Versions caught in other games will not trigger the reward.
Troubleshooting: Transfer Not Working?
Getting an error pop-up inside Champions? This means your Pokemon Home account is not linked yet. Close Champions and complete the linking step inside Pokemon Home first.
Pokemon not appearing in the Collect menu? Make sure you completed the “Send for a Visit” step inside Pokemon Home. The red exclamation mark in the Collect menu will only appear once Home has queued Pokemon for you.
Pokemon showing a cross mark in Pokemon Home? That Pokemon is not currently supported in Pokemon Champions. It may become available in a future season or format update.
Move incompatibility errors? Go to the training feature in Pokemon Champions and change the incompatible move before attempting to enter battle.
Accounts not matching? Double-check that both Pokemon Home and Pokemon Champions are signed into the exact same Nintendo Account. This is the most common cause of linking failures.
Quick Summary: Full Transfer Process at a Glance
| Step | Where to Do It |
|---|---|
| Deposit Pokemon from your game | Inside Pokemon Home (Switch or Mobile) |
| Link accounts | Inside Pokemon Home on Nintendo Switch |
| Send Pokemon for a Visit | Inside Pokemon Home (Switch or Mobile) |
| Collect Pokemon | Inside Pokemon Champions → Recruit menu |
| Return Pokemon to Home | Inside Pokemon Champions → Recruit → Send Back |
The transfer system in Pokemon Champions is a little different from what longtime fans are used to. But once you run through it once, it becomes second nature. Link your accounts from Home, send your Pokemon over, and collect them in Champions. Then go win some Ranked Battles.
And if you have not grabbed the free Machamp code yet, head over to our Pokemon Champions Mystery Gift Codes page — it is a free battle-ready Pokemon that you can add to your roster right now.
