Pokemon Sword And Shield: The Isle Of Armor DLC - What We Know So Far

The first ever DLC is coming to Pokemon Sword and Shield as part of a two-part Expansion Pass. The Isle of Armor, to be followed in fall 2020 by The Crown Tundra, will enlarge the world of Galar with new characters, new landscapes, and new Legendary Pokemon.

Fans are expecting big things from The Isle of Armor thanks to the return of more than 200 older Pokemon that did not appear in the Pokedex of Sword and Shield upon its November 2019 release. Developer Game Freak, after controversially announcing the National Pokedex wouldn't feature in future titles, eventually promised many previous-generation favorites would come back when The Isle of Armor launched.

In addition to old Pokemon, the new island will be an open world defined by a theme of growth and visually inspired by the U.K.'s Isle of Man. The Isle of Armor should flesh out the world of Galar with more adventure, more Pokemon, and more character customization options. Here's what you need to know about this exciting add-on.

Nintendo has said the DLC will be out by the end of June 2020, but no exact date has been announced. There are rumblings that the long-awaited expansion pack is about to be delayed thanks to COVID-19. Like everyone else, Nintendo employees are working from home, and industry watchers say the lack of a set release date could mean the development team at Game Freak is having trouble completing the project.

With so much expected of this downloadable content pack, an additional delay isn't going to make anyone happy. It's also possible that even if The Isle of Armor makes its window, its follow-up, The Crown Tundra, will be postponed from its fall 2020 release date. Either way, it sounds like The Crown Tundra, which was presumably less far along in development, may be more affected by the coronavirus shutdowns.

Not all hope is lost, however. The fact that Nintendo has already started the countdown through some in-game giveaways could be a sign it's expecting to meet the deadline.

The trailer from Nintendo Direct offers some details about Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Isle of Armor, including new looks at its setting and characters, such as Kubfu and Master Mustard. The trailer reveals that once you and Kubfu challenge one of The Towers of Two Fists, Kubfu will evolve into Urshifu. Additionally, your partner Pokemon gets a Gigantimax form, complete with some pretty impressive moves. 

The trailer also teases some of the hairstyles, clothing, and other customizations you can make to your character with this add-on. It says nothing about the older Pokemon that will return, which is what fans will probably be more excited about, but the Gigantamax forms of old friends Venusaur and Blastoise, along with Cinderace, Rillaboom and Inteleon, are noteworthy. You might also be interested in getting the Galarian variants of Slowpoke, Slowbro, and Slowking.

As with all Pokemon games, you'll be given free rein in Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Isle of Armor to explore, capture, and battle Pokemon in Wild Areas. The storyline, as seen in the trailer, has you leveling Kubfu as you train at Mustard's dojo. You'll eventually challenge either the Tower of Darkness or Tower of Waters to determine how Kubfu evolves — into an Urshifu with Single Strike Style or Rapid Strike Style. You also have a rival: Klara, a Poison-type trainer for Sword players, or Avery, a Psychic-type trainer for Shield players.

If these details have you interested in purchasing the DLC now, you can get the Expansion Pass at the Nintendo Switch eShop for $30. You'll be paying for both The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra at the same time, but don't forget that different versions exist for Shield and Sword so choose the game you own.