Pokémon issues warning to Sword, Shield and Home hackers

The Pokémon Company has acknowledged issues with hacked creatures being available in its latest Nintendo Switch games - as well as cloud-based storage service Pokémon Home.

Anyone found using "illegally modified data" will be subject to various punishments, and potentially a loss of access to Home's subscription service even if they had paid up for the privilege.

"We have confirmed that some users are playing Pokémon Sword Shield and Pokémon Home using illegally modified data," the company wrote in a newly-released statement.

"In addition, we will take the following measures for users who are deemed inappropriate in terms of operation, such as causing problems with the operation of software and applications or causing inconvenience to other users."

These measures include restrictions on Sword/Shield online play, being able to trade creatures with Home, and the suspension of Home accounts on both smartphone and Nintendo Switch.

"In the future, we will continue to take similar measures on a regular basis and may implement further restriction measures without prior notice," the company concluded.

"We will regularly monitor and respond to fraudulent and annoying acts so that our users can enjoy themselves with peace of mind. We look forward to your continued support of the Pokémon series."

Pokémon has always suffered from hacked creatures being traded between games, though The Pokémon Company is clearly keen to enforce its own rules more carefully now it has long-term cloud service Home to police. Home looks set to be a hub for your Pokémon throughout the future of the series - including whatever is due this year as part of the franchise's 25th anniversary celebrations.

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