Pokémon Home’s launch is plagued by frequent crashes and disappearing characters

Pokémon Home launched last night, and users are already reporting technical issues in both the Switch and mobile versions of the app. Some of the issues are linked to Home’s login process, locking some users out completely, while other issues affect in-game behavior. If the prospect of losing your Pokémon in cyberspace alarms you, it may be best to wait a while before subscribing.

Pokémon Home is a paid service, which means its creators will need to move quickly to resolve these issues if they hope to keep users invested.

Crashes left and right — Once users have managed to log in — which can take a few tries — the most commonly reported issue thus far is crashes across the Pokémon Home app. These crashes happen with alarming frequency at random points in the app. This is quickly becoming a frustration for users who take the time to log in repeatedly, only to be greeted by more crashes.

Missing Pokémon — When the app isn’t crashing, it’s often sending users various error codes. The most popular of these seems to be “Error code: 992.” The error message gives no detail as to why the error occurred, nor does it provide any method to fix the issue. But the more pressing issue with Error 992 is that it often leaves users’ Pokémon missing completely. The error is often seen when transferring Pokémon from the Pokémon Bank to Pokémon Home — and, once the application has been restarted, the Pokémon shows in neither place.

Yes, it’s still new — It’s by no means unusual for a new app to be buggy, but these problems are being reported by an exceptional number of users. Besides crashing and losing Pokémon, users have also reported plenty of other bugs. And Pokémon Home is a paid subscription app — so its developers will need to resolve these issues swiftly if they want Home to do well.