When Pokémon Sword & Shield was released, many fans were greatly disappointed with the size of Galar’s Pokédex. Many species weren’t able to come to the new game initially, and the ability to transfer older species through Pokémon Home was still limited by which species happen to appear in Galar.
That said, there is a surprising amount of Pokémon that players can transfer from prior Pokémon games, despite there being no way to catch them in Galar. The two most noteworthy examples were Bulbasaur and Squirtle, which later became available in the Isle of Armor DLC, but there are still many species that can only be obtained through transfers.
11 Mewtwo
Mewtwo is easily one of the strongest legendaries in the game that most trainers can catch without attending an event or receiving through Mystery Gifts. It’s available in several games after beating them, including the, so it makes sense to be transferable.
This is also one of the only legendaries that could be battled in Pokémon Sword & Shield, but cannot be caught. This was during a special anniversary event where players could take on a remarkably powerful Mewtwo in Max Raid Battles, and instead of a chance to throw a Poké Ball, it would instead provide tons of items as a reward.
10 Mew
While Mew is functionally as old as Mewtwo in the series, its availability is much more sparse thanks to its near-exclusive distribution during online and real-life events. Nonetheless, it can be transferred just the same as Mewtwo, meaning these two siblings Pokémon don’t have to be separated.
Unlike Mewtwo, however, there hasn’t been a Max Raid Battle event to fight against Mew. As a result, transferring it through Pokémon Home is the only current way to encounter your own.
9 Jirachi
Another short mythical Pokémon, Jirachi, is about as scarce as the original Mew. The first ways for trainers to encounter it were through movie events and a Pokémon Colosseum bonus disk in North America, and while newer events have provided more Jirachis to the world, they’re still relatively hard to come by.
That said, since Pokémon from Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire can theoretically be transferred to a Nintendo Switch through various consoles and efforts, a Jirachi from these sources can be one of the oldest and rarest Pokémon in a trainer’s collection, dating back as far as 2003. Alternatively, those with a Pokémon Colosseum bonus disk and a lot of time on their hands could also generate new ones to send to Galar.
8 West Sea Gastrodon
There are very few non-legendary Pokémon that are transferable through Pokémon Home, but there are a few alternate versions of Pokémon that are included in this. Originally, Pokémon Home was the only way to obtain Alolan Forms of Pokémon like Ninetales and Diglett, as well as the original forms of Galarian Pokémon like Zigzagoon and Weezing.
These Pokémon are now available through various methods in the Isle of Armor DLC, but one exception is the pink-bellied version of Gastrodon, which is normally is exclusive to the western coasts of each region it’s available in. Galar is full of eastern blue Gastrodons, but getting a pink one requires transferring from an old game.
7 Ash’s Pikachu
Ash’s Pikachu is one of the more recent event-exclusive Pokémon, being a collection of Pikachus each wearing a hat that Ash Ketchum wears in the anime. These Pikachus aren’t special in terms of powers or abilities, but their appearance makes them exceptionally unique collectibles.
Since Pikachu is available in Galar, it makes enough sense for these uniquely clothed versions to be transferable. Thankfully, each of them has their hat intact, meaning their collectability and value remains the same in this new region.
6 The Swords of Justice
The most important Pokémon Home exclusives for competitive battlers would have to be the Swords of Justice, a group of legendaries that first debuted in Pokémon Black & White that included Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion. Those three can only be obtained in through Pokémon Home’s transfer system, but are even legal in online Ranked Battles despite their immense stats.
There’s also a fourth member of this group who is also transferable. This would be the Water-type Keldeo, and while it too is transferable it is not legal for online battles, much likely due to its higher stats. Unlike the other members, Keldeo can also only be obtained from limited events for older games.
5 Reshiram, Kyurem, & Zekrom
From Pokémon Black & White onward, many of the cover legendaries of each Pokémon game have been made transferable. With the help of Pokémon Bank, these generations are some of the easiest to transfer from, and since many trainers capture them in their playthrough it’s wonderful that they can still come over to the most recent games.
This includes Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem, and thanks to an NPC in Stow-on-Side trainers can even obtain a DNA Splicer item to combine Kyurem with Reshiram and Zekrom. Thanks to their high stats, one of these Kyurem forms can make for a powerful partner in Max Raid Battles.
4 Lunala, Necrozma, & Solgaleo
Since the last Pokémon generation was so recent to Pokémon Sword & Shield, it’s only fair that most of Alola’s legendaries are available through Pokémon Home as well. This thankfully includes the cover legendaries Solgaleo and Lunala, but also the legendary Necrozma that surrounds the plot of Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon.
This also includes the lower the earlier evolutions Cosmog and Cosmoem, who will evolve into Solgaleo in Pokémon Sword and Lunala in Pokémon Shield. Additionally, it’s possible to combine Necrozma with Solgaeleo and Lunala just like in Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, as the items that cause these transformations are available from the same NPC in Stow-on-Side.
3 Marshadow
Another short mythical Pokémon like Jirachi and Mew, Alola’s Marshadow also is only obtainable in Galar through Pokémon Home transfers. This small Ghost-type was only ever available in Pokémon Sun & Moon as part of a short event, so not showing up would’ve likely been disappointing to recent fans of the series.
Unlike the other legendaries in this list, Marshadow has only ever been obtainable in one set of events, each taking place in 2017. As a result, this is perhaps the rarest Pokémon that can be obtained in Pokémon Sword & Shield.
2 Magearna
Much like Marshadow, Magearna is an extremely recent Pokémon with few distributions. Players who have obtained one would have only been able to play with it in Pokémon Sun & Moon, so it’s helpful for players to have fun with this Pokémon on their Nintendo Switch too.
However, it’s oddly more attainable than Marshadow, as it’s also available directly from Pokémon Home. Completing its entire National Dex will give the gift of a uniquely colored Magearna that’s colored like a Pokéball, and while Magearna is required to complete that Pokédex, it means those who have owned a Magearna at some point can also obtain this second one.
1 Meltan & Melmetal
The last transferable pair of Pokémon hardly appear in any other games, but aren’t exactly legendaries. These would be Meltan and its evolved form Melmetal, who initially appeared in Pokémon Go rather than a mainline game.
Melmetal is also the only transfer-exclusive Pokémon with its own unique Gigantamax Form, but there is currently no way to make take this form. A later event or expansion will likely unlock this ability sometime later.
NEXT: Pokémon Crystal: The 10 Best Pokémon To Transfer To Home
