Pokemon Sword/Shield replacing Pokemon Global Link support with in-game features, Pokemon Home
Unlike past games, Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield won’t make use of Pokemon Global Link. In its place, players will be able to use in-game features “equivalent to the current Rating Battle and Online Competitions”. Additionally, Pokemon Home will provide “services such as Rankings, Distribution Regulations”.
Here’s the full notice from The Pokemon Company:
Hello there, Trainers! Thank you for using our products and services. We have some information regarding Pokémon Global Link (PGL) and the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games, which will release for Nintendo Switch on November 15, 2019.
For Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, services equivalent to the current Rating Battle and Online Competitions are planned to be supported. However, PGL will not support Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.
These battles and Online Competitions can be enjoyed in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield using just the connectivity features of Nintendo Switch Game Sync will not be required for these new games. For more information on Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, visit the official site.
In addition, functionality from PGL to view services such as Rankings, Distribution Regulations, and the events calendar will be provided through Pokémon HOME, which is planned for release on iOS and Android devices in early 2020.
Please look forward to more details about Pokémon HOME coming soon!
