Pokemon Sword & Shield Expansions Announced - Isle of Armor & Crown Tundra

Pokemon Sword & Shield are getting a couple of DLCs this year. It’s an unprecedented move for the series, and the expansion pass has been announced during the Pokemon Direct broadcast earlier today. The pass is going to contain two DLCs – Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra – and it’s going to cost $30. From what we’ve seen, they’re pretty meaty – both will take place in new areas of the Galar region, and they’ll allow you to keep using your current save data.

The first DLC is called Isle of Armor, and it’s going to be released during June 2020. Its main theme is growth, and it’s going to have various new biomes – beaches, forests, deserts and swamps. It’ll add a dojo where you can train, along with a new mentor called Mustard.

Each version of the game will be getting a new rival as well – for Sword, it’s Klara, a poison type user, while Shield players are getting Avery, a psychic. It’ll also add a new legendary pokemon, called Kubfu. It’s a fighting type that looks like a teddy bear, and it can evolve into Urshifu, which has two styles – single strike (fighting, dark) or rapid-strike (fighting, water). Both of them can Gigantamax. Finally, it’ll allow you to reach the final evolutions of the three starter pokemon, as well as their Gigantamax forms.

The second DLC is called Crown Tundra, and it’s coming out in fall 2020. It’s all about exploration, and it’ll take you through a snowy area where you’ll meet mountain climbers and other explorers. It’ll allow you to go deeper into pokemon dens, where you’ll fight alongside others in a new coop mode. A bunch of old legendary pokemon will appear there, and you’ll be able to catch one of them. There’s also a new legendary coming in Crown Tundra, called Calyrex (psychic and grass type).

The entire expansion pass will also add more than 200 pokemon from older entries. You’ll be able to get them by trading, even if you don’t own the expansions. All of the old pokemon added this way will be available for transfer using Pokemon Home, as well. Finally, the Galarian Slowpoke, which was added today, will be able to evolve into two forms – each only available to either Sword or Shield players.