Pokemon Home blocks specific Pokemon from Scarlet & Violet in latest update

Pokemon Home has received a new update alongside The Indigo Disk DLC for Scarlet & Violet, preventing some certain Gen 8 Pokemon from moving to Gen 9.

While the mainline Pokemon games might not feature all of the Pokemon in the franchise, one title does: Pokemon Home. With the Pokemon Home phone app, players can move their Pokemon between compatible games while also giving you a way to store them between releases.

Not all Pokemon will be compatible with future games. This is due to the Pokemon games cutting features over time, like Mega Evolutions and Dynamaxing. Pokemon tied to those mechanics will lose those features in games where they’re not present.

The Indigo Disk DLC for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet has brought several returning Pokemon into Gen 9. Unfortunately, one specific Pokemon from Gen 8 cannot be moved into Gen 9 due to changes to the mechanics.

Gigantamax Duraludon cannot be moved from Pokemon Home into Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

Duraludon is a returning Pokemon in The Indigo Disk DLC, as it received a new evolution called Archaludon. Unfortunately, according to the Serebii Twitter/X page, a Gigantamax Factor Duraludon cannot be brought into Pokemon Scarlet & Violet via Pokemon Home.

Serebii Note: It is confirmed that you are unable to deposit Gigantamax Factor Duraludon into Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. You will need to remove Gigantamax in the Isle of Armor in order to deposit ithttps://t.co/1ysktIAGaH pic.twitter.com/8ninqG0T13

— Serebii.net (@SerebiiNet) December 15, 2023

The Gigantamax Factor means Duraludon can turn into a special form when Dynamaxing. Unfortunately, Dynamaxing isn’t present in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, as it was replaced with Terastallization. This means Gigantamax Factor Duraludon isn’t compatible with the Gen 9 games.

There is one way to bring this Pokemon into Gen 9, but you need the Gen 8 games and DLC. If you take a Pokemon into the Isle of Armor DLC for Pokemon Sword & Shield, you can remove the Gigantamax Factor by giving them Max Soup. Once the Gigantamax Factor is gone, the Pokemon can be put into Gen 9.

It’s not 100% clear why Gigantamax Pokemon won’t work in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. The most likely answer is that it causes issues with the game code, especially as Pokemon can have unique Tera types, potentially creating a conflict with the Gigantamax Factor.

Luckily, players can catch Duraludon in The Indigo Disk, so they don’t need to mess with any competitive Duraludon they may have bred. It’s just annoying that they need to mess about at all when moving Pokemon from Pokemon Home into Gen 9.