Pokemon Sword & Shield’s DLC plans are finally available in detail, and fans can expect new Legendaries, regions, rivals, and a Pokedex expansion on top of a slew of other content additions that will span the game’s 2020. Nintendo revealed the future of the franchise during a 20 minute Pokemon Direct in the early days of 2020, spending a lot of time on the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX remake that surprised fans before diving deep on what sort of content additions are planned for Pokemon Sword & Shield.
Pokemon Sword & Shield DLC is critical for Nintendo and developer Game Freak as, despite hiccups during the build-up to launch, the series’ first mainline entry on a console has performed extremely well. Critics heaped praise onto the game and, while it’s not perfect, the majority of reviews indicate one of the better Pokemon experiences of the past decade. On top of that, sales back up the idea that Pokemon Sword & Shield - and, by extension, some of its newer design choices, like Wild Areas - are here to stay. Pokemon Sword & Shield sales were strong at launch and continued throughout holiday 2019, indicating that despite fans looking to boycott the games due to the National Dex controversy that plagued Game Freak during late development, few were turned off enough by the decision to actually avoid the newest iteration of the franchise.
The National Dex scandal is also at the heart of Pokemon Sword & Shield’s DLC plans in 2020, as Game Freak indicated during the presentation that the developer would be addressing fan concerns in a huge way. Pokemon Sword & Shield DLC will add previously unavailable past Pokemon on top of some new ones, to the tune of over 200 Pokemon getting added to the Sword & Shield Pokedex before the year is out. On top of that, each paid DLC expansion will introduce a new region in Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. With so much information to sift through, it’s understandable if Pokemon fans got a little lost in the overload of news, so we’ve put together a handy guide breaking down everything we know about the Pokemon Sword & Shield DLC plans and what they contain.
The Isle of Armor Sword & Shield DLC Details
Isle of Armor will be the first expansion for Pokemon Sword & Shield, and will release in June 2020. According to the presentation, the Isle of Armor is a new region that will be based on new environments like bogs, caves, and sand dunes, all of which new Pokemon will inhabit for players to catch. The island will also feature a training dojo where players will enlist the help of Mustard, a legendary Pokemon trainer under whom Leon also served as a pupil.
Isle of Armor will introduce a new rival for players: either Klara, a Poison-type trainer for Pokemon Sword owners, or Avery, a Psychic-type trainer for Pokemon Shield trainers. Isle of Armor will also introduce Kubfu, a Fighting-type Legendary that players will acquire during their training at the dojo and a creature that has two evolutionary paths as Urshifu. Urshifu will eitehr be a Fighting/Dark-type Pokemon or a Fighting/Water-type Pokemon depending on player choice, and will introduce a new ability as well as a new unique move for each version of the Pokemon.
Isle of Armor will also introduce some Dojo-themed player gear and hairstyles. This expansion will add Gigantamaxing for both the Pokemon Sword & Shield starter Pokemon as well as the original Kanto trio, with new G-Moves added for each Pokemon as well. According to the presentation, new ease-of-life items will be added in Isle of Armor, including an Exp. Charm that will boost the amount of experience earned by a trainer’s team during battle and Apricorns that can be fashioned into Pokeballs. Isle of Armor features a Wild Area that comprises the island, with seamless maps that will connect trainers to each other online and offer up new versions of the popular Raid battling.
The Crown Tundra Sword & Shield DLC Details
The Crown Tundra is the second expansion for Pokemon Sword & Shield, and will release sometime in Fall 2020. The Crown Tundra will take place in a snowy landscape filled with mountains as well as Dens and a giant tree that is rumored to be very out of place in the region. Trainers will be appointed as the leader of an expedition team by a “certain someone” hinted at as important during the presentation, and will have to do a lot more than Raid at Pokemon Dens. The Crown Tundra will also let players actually venture inside Pokemon Dens, and according to the presentation, this will allow players to encounter past Legendary Pokemon and even capture some of them at the end of a Raid battle.
The Crown Tundra will also add new player clothes and gear, this time themed after winter landscapes and exploration. Less is known about The Crown Tundra thanks to the fact that it’s the second expansion, but it appears as though it will have a theme of mystery in it: the giant tree appears to be a reference to a new Legendary Pokemon, Calyrex, which is a Psychic/Grass-type. On top of that, this expansion will give players a chance to explore some mysterious ruins and will bring back the Legendary titan Regis, adding two new types that appear to be Dragon-type and Electric-type.
New Pokemon Coming to Sword & Shield
Both expansion will team up to introduce over 200 new Pokemon to the Galar region Pokedex. These additions will be made up of both new and old Pokemon, with special attention paid to the older Pokemon that fans know and love. It’s not clear exactly which Pokemon will be joining in the expansions, but some confirmed ones through the presentation include Mewtwo, Kyogre, Lycanroc, Zorua, Chansey, and Azurill. Other Pokemon, like the Kanto Legendary birds in Sword & Shield, will be getting new forms.
How Much Will Pokemon Sword & Shield DLC Cost?
Pokemon Sword & Shield DLC also got a price tag during the Nintendo Pokemon Direct. The game offers an expansion pass that contains the two separate pieces of content under one price, which will be $29.99/£26.99. The expansion pass was made available immediately after the presentation and those who decide to purchase it will also receive codes for a Pikachu and Eevee uniform that can be worn over the course of Pokemon Sword & Shield’s adventures.
Players will be receiving essentially the same DLC content, but as is often the case with Pokemon, small details will be different depending on which version of the game consumers own. For now, it’s known that the rivals in Isle of Armor will be different based on the game players own, but there will likely be differences in which Pokemon are available and potentially more as DLC plans become clearer closer to release.
Do Players Need to Finish Pokemon Sword & Shield to Start the Expansions?
Those who haven’t beaten Pokemon Sword & Shield in its entirety will still be able to go to the new areas when Pokemon Sword & Shield’s expansions release. The only requirement that fans will need to meet before accessing the Pokemon Sword & Shield expansions will be getting access to the regular Wild Area in the base game. This is likely because both Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra will be either mostly or entirely Wild Area themselves.
However, it is not yet known if there will be any significant detriments to players who do not finish Sword & Shield before acquiring the DLC. If there are no setbacks, it would seem that both Pokemon Sword & Shield DLC expansions don’t follow the main story too closely and may avoid furthering the story after it concludes in the base game.
Will Some Pokemon Be Locked Behind Sword & Shield DLC?
The presentation indicates that Pokemon Sword & Shield DLC will not exclude players who do not purchase it from access to the over 200 Pokemon being added to the game through the expansions. While the exact details aren’t known yet, Game Freak indicated that players would be receiving free updates timed to go out when the DLC drops, and that these free updates will make it so that players who do not own the DLC can acquire the newly-added Pokemon through systems like trading.
The addition of over 200 Pokemon to Pokemon Sword & Shield is also a welcome one to fans who were upset over the original total available in-game. While Game Freak doesn’t seem likely to add all of them, it’s a nice bonus and one that many weren’t expecting. It also opens the door for future DLC to continue infusing the game with new Pokemon, which could extend Pokemon Sword & Shield’s longevity much further than traditional iterations of the franchise have managed in the past.
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Pokemon Sword & Shield is available now for Nintendo Switch. Isle of Armor will release in June 2020, while The Crown Tundra will release in Fall 2020. Both expansions are available as a bundle in a season pass that costs $29.99 USD.
Source: Nintendo Pokemon Direct January 9
