Demystifying the ‘G‘ Symbol in Pokemon Home

As a longtime Pokemon trainer and gaming enthusiast, I‘ve noticed some confusion around the mysterious ‘G‘ icon that appears on certain Pokemon in Pokemon Home. As someone who loves analyzing game data and mechanics, I want to provide a definitive guide to what this symbol means and why it matters.

What Does the ‘G‘ Mean?

The ‘G‘ stands for ‘GO‘ and indicates that the Pokemon originated from the mobile game Pokemon Go before being transferred into Home. It‘s essentially a marker that the Pokemon was caught in Go versus the mainline RPG titles like Sword/Shield.

You‘ll see the G on Pokemon transferred from Go

This ‘GO‘ symbol was first introduced in the Let‘s Go Pikachu/Eevee games on Switch as a way to differentiate imported Go Pokemon. Pokemon Home later adopted the same icon to maintain consistency and provide clear information on where each Pokemon comes from.

How to Transfer Pokemon from Go to Home

To get the G symbol on your Pokemon in Home, you first need to transfer them from Go to Home. There are a couple methods for making this happen:

Direct Transfer

• Open Pokemon Home on your mobile device
• Link it to your Pokemon Go account
• Select ‘Send Pokemon‘ and pick which Pokemon to transfer
• The Pokemon will now live in Home with the G icon

Let‘s Go Transfer

• Catch Pokemon in Go and transfer to Let‘s Go Pikachu/Eevee
• Open Let‘s Go on Switch and send Pokemon to Home
• Pokemon sent via Let‘s Go will also have the G symbol

The direct method is simpler, but the Let‘s Go process also works if you want to get Kanto species into Home that aren‘t yet transferrable directly.

Why Can‘t All Pokemon Transfer from Go to Home?

One major caveat is that not all Pokemon can make the jump from Go to Home at this time. This is because Home only allows Pokemon contained in the Galar Pokedex for Pokemon Sword/Shield. If a Pokemon doesn‘t exist natively in Galar, it gets blocked from transferring.

For example, you can‘t yet transfer something like Cleffa or Wobbuffet from Go because they can‘t be obtained in Gen 8 games. Game Freak has intentionally limited the scope of transfers to match what‘s available in the latest mainline Pokemon titles.

Here are some examples of Pokemon that can currently transfer:

• All original 151 Kanto Pokemon
• Select Johto/Hoenn/Sinnoh Pokemon
• All Pokemon in the Galar Pokedex

And Pokemon that cannot yet transfer:

• Most legendaries and mythicals
• Starters like Chikorita or Piplup
• Many Unova and Kalos Pokemon

It‘s disappointing that the transfer pool is limited, but hopefully it expands over time as more Pokemon get added to Sword/Shield via DLC and updates.

The Pros of Linking Pokemon Go and Home

While incomplete, there are some great benefits to linking your Go account with Home:

• Complete your National Pokedex: Transferring Go shinies and special Pokemon helps fill in missing slots needed to fully complete your National Living Dex in Home.

• Get Mystery Box to catch Meltan: Moving a Pokemon from Go to Home unlocks a Mystery Box that can be opened in Go to attract the mythical pokemon Meltan for a limited time. It‘s the only way to catch Meltan without having Let‘s Go.

• Mass storage: Home offers vastly increased storage over Go, letting you keep Living Dexes of all your favorites. Go caps storage at 3,000 vs 30,000 in Home.

• Unique moves: Some Pokemon transferred from Go learn special moves they can‘t normally obtain, like Last Resort on Eevee evolutions.

Rarity and Value of the G Symbol

Now you may be wondering – does having the G symbol make a Pokemon more rare or valuable?

The short answer is no, not really. Competitively speaking, the G has no impact on a Pokemon‘s strength in battle. And in trading circles, it doesn‘t necessarily increase a Pokemon‘s worth either.

The icon is primarily cosmetic and simply indicates history. However, for hardcore collectors who want a complete living National Pokedex, having this origin mark can be appealing for accuracy and completeness.

In that sense, some players may value a Pokemon with the G symbol a bit higher. But generally it‘s just a fun visual indicator of where the Pokemon was originally caught, not a new variant or form.

Closing Thoughts

I hope this guide gave you some clarity on how to get the G symbol and what it represents. As someone passionate about these games, I‘m eager to see which Pokemon get added over time to the transfer pool between Go and Home.

Connecting Go to Home opens up exciting possibilities, like completing your National Dex across mobile and console games. And the G provides a nice clean way to catalog your collection based on origin game.

Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to chat more about Pokemon mechanics and features with fellow fans.