New Pokemon “Sword” and “Shield” Expansions Will Add Over 200 Existing Pokemon

Fans who have been waiting to fill up the entire Pokedex can now add a bit more to their collection when the DLCs for Pokemon Sword and Shield are released. The upcoming expansions will also bring new areas to explore as well as Galarian forms of older Pokemon.

With the Pokemon Sword Expansion Pass and the Shield Expansion Pass, you can enjoy a new story titled ‘The Isle of Armor.’ It will be released in June 2020. The second story called ‘The Crown Tundra’ will be available in Fall 2020.

In ‘The Isle of Armor’, you will get new clothing items, rivals, and Pokemon (including the legendary named Kubfu). Your starter Pokemon will also be able to Gigantamax.

With Charizard already capable of Gigantamaxing, the DLC will allow Venusaur and Blastoise to do the same.

As for ‘The Crown Tundra,’ that specific story will take place in a remote, frozen outpost. Apparently, said story will focus on exploration. The accompanying legendary Pokemon is called Calyrex. It will also bring along a new form of co-op play to let you explore Pokemon dens with other players.

According to Game Freak, the new areas will be bigger and players will have much to do (whatever that’s supposed to mean).

Each expansion pack will cost you $30. Of course, you can’t run the Sword Expansion Pass if you have the Shield base game. The same goes for the Shield Expansion Pass and the Sword base game.

There are fans who have complained about the base games not having much content. So, to them, Nintendo asking for a price to access the DLC seems unfair.

And let’s not forget the fan outrage that was caused by the Sword and Shield base games not having all existing Pokemon.

The Pokemon game series, at its core, is about collecting every known Pokemon. The absence of a lot of the pocket monsters in the latest game titles didn’t sit well with fans.

“We came to the decision that, at some point, we need to be able to prioritize new gameplay ideas,” developer Junichi Masuda told Polygon in October of 2019. “We need to be able to find a way to balance the right number of Pokémon and also still introduce new ways for players to enjoy the game, new gameplay ideas to keep the series fresh and enjoyable far into the future.”

If it was about balance, then why are the older Pokemon being released now? Why not just say they will be added later instead of making such a statement?

Also, from what I can tell (do correct me if I’m wrong), the additional 200 Pokemon can be caught in-game if you buy the DLC. However, if you don’t purchase the DLC you can get them by trading with a friend who has the DLC or if you have the Pokemon Home subscription (which will be released this February). You basically have to accept a paywall, and that’s just unfortunate.

Even with the upcoming 200 Pokemon being added, there are still around 200 missing pocket monsters. So, I guess we will have to wait for them to be added to another $30 DLC that will be released sometime in 2020 or 2021?

If you have played the base Pokemon Sword or Shield games, let me know what your experience was like. 

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary