Is Pok Ball Plus Still Relevant With Sword Shield

Should you get a Poké Ball Plus? That depends on what you plan to do with it.

The Poké Ball Plus arrived along with Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu & Eevee as a new way to play the Pokémon games. Rather than interact through the Joy-Cons on the Switch, you could just use this Poké Ball-shaped controller. You’d be able to do everything using the Poké Ball Plus that you would normally, but with some added features.

In Let’s Go, Pikachu & Eevee, you could store a Pokémon inside the Poké Ball Plus and walk around with it. While the Poké Ball Plus registers each step, your stored Pokémon would be earning XP and acquiring items for use in-game. You can even touch the Ball’s buttons to interact with your stored Pokémon.

Things get even better when you combine the Poké Ball Plus with Pokémon GO. By connecting to your phone via Bluetooth, the Poké Ball Plus essentially automates much of the game by spinning Poké Stops and capturing wild Pokémon while you walk around. This allows you to passively gain experience while you just go about your day, although it does mean having both a Poké Ball Plus and a phone in your pockets.

You can also use the Poké Ball Plus with the new Sword & Shield, but with much more limited capabilities. You can still store a Pokémon in the Ball, but your stored ‘Mon will only acquire basic items and won’t gain any experience. That said, every new Poké Ball Plus comes with a Mew inside, and if you want a Mew in Sword & Shield, this is the only way to get one.

So is it worth it? That depends. If you want to get the most of your Let’s Go experience, then sure. It’s definitely worth it for serious Pokémon GO players that want to always be grinding out experience and candies even when they’re not playing the game.

For those starting with Sword & Shield, the Poké Ball Plus is a much harder sell. For some reason, Nintendo didn’t bother to do much integration with the Poké Ball Plus for the latest generation of Pokémon, and we’re really not sure why.

On the other hand, if you really want that Mew, you can get one easily by buying a Poké Ball Plus. Although at $49.99, that’s likely the most expensive Mew ever.