POKÉMON SWORD and SHIELD expansion brings more monsters to Galar

Get ready for more Pokémon Sword and Shield. Expansions were announced Thursday for the two most recent entries in Game Freak’s beloved franchise; also marking the first ever DLC for a main line Pokémon game. A live Nintendo Direct revealed 200 more monsters to catch, two entirely new wild areas for each expansion, loads more fashion (!!!) and even a few refreshed designs for some classic legendaries.

These Sword and Shield expansions, dubbed The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra will be packaged together in one expansion pass. Each one includes new areas with hints at exploration mechanics and the ability to hunt a slew of legendaries in co-op play, including Galarian forms of Kanto’s legendary birds and two brand new additions to the line of Regis; one that looks like an electric friend and another with a big dragon face for an arm.

The Direct also reveals that these new expansions will be similar to the Pokémon Sword and Shield wild areas functionally, but promise more activity than their predecessors. With the addition of 200 more available Pokémon to catch – that’s not hard to imagine. Speaking of which; even though trainers will have to pay for the expansions to catch these newly available monsters, anyone can receive them through trade. I.E., even players who don’t buy the DLC can still fill out their PokéDex with the help of a friend or kind internet stranger.

Additionally, the Sword and Shield expansion will give players an entirely new line of cosmetics to choose from. If, like me, you were disappointed by the lack of emo/punk threads in Spikemuth, for example, you’re in luck.

The Isle of Armor launches June 2020, with The Crown Tundra following up closer to the games’ 1 year anniversary in Fall of 2020. They’re available now for preorder for $30.00.

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