Nintendo and the Pokemon Company dropped the first major DLC for Pokemon Sword and Shield, and it is the Isle of Armor. Fans of the series were a bit disappointed when the Pokemon Company announced mid last year that Pokemon Sword and Shield would not have the full Pokedex. As disappointing as that was, the main two games did a lot in regards to making the Pokemon world feel bigger despite the smaller Pokedex, and that had a whole lot to do with the open world nature of the games and especially the Wild Areas and Max Raid Battles.
Now that Isle of Armor has dropped, what does this mean for players of Sword and Shield? Is the DLC worth purchasing? Or is this a hard pass? Well, let me help you understand what you are getting with this first of two entries!
So Many Pokemon
Isle of Armor boasts 107 new and returning Pokemon for its Pokedex in the game, and it is a great mix of different generations, especially ones from Generation 1, and new Pokemon native to Galar.
New Legendary
The new legendary, known as Kubfu, is awesome, and the quest line to obtain it and evolve it is a lot of fun. There are two towers on the island to train Kubfu, but you can only choose one to train at. One will evolve him to a water-type and the other will evolve him to a dark-type. Whichever one you choose, the other tower will be closed in your game forever. This is the approach they took to encourage trading for the different types, and to be honest, it works really well.
Soup Up Your Bike
There is a woman outside the dojo that offers to fix your bike up, and she gives you the choice between a black version or a white version. It puts a proper shine on your bike, with sparkles popping off of it and a stream of beautiful light following you as you race around the island. It is simply cosmetic, but it looks lovely!
Find the Digletts!
One of my favorite things in Isle of Armor is the Diglett mini-game, and mini is kind of insulting to use, actually. Outside the dojo is a man that loves Alolan Digletts, and he tasks you with finding all 150 of his Digletts that are scattered all over the island. You can recognize them by the blonde hair sticking out of the ground. It is a simple side quest, but it is tons of fun and adds so much more to the experience.
New Clothes and Hairstyles
As to be expected, the new DLC also offers new outfits and hairstyles, but chief among them is the new gi you receive from the dojo and Master Mustard. I personally was not a fan of the gi, so I was excited to hear that I could immediately change out of that and back into my sweet Shuckle t-shirt!
Pokemon Can Follow You
Something that was introduced in Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee was the ability to allow your lead Pokemon to follow you around. Isle of Armor brings this to the main series, and it is absolutely awesome! My shiny Jirachi floating behind me made me smile more than it should have. Seeing how they interact with the different environments is also a lot of fun, and I cannot wait to try out more, including my absolute favorite, Shuckle.
Sharpedo Attacks are Terrifying!
Finally, one thing that has made me both laugh and freak out every time it happens is when a Sharpedo catches sight of me in the water and chases me down. Even though it is an easy Pokemon to take down, the lead up is so good. It is like something straight out of a Jaws film, and it has given me a new found respect for Sharpedo.
That is mostly it! The story is mediocre but serves its purpose, but the world around is chock-full of things to do and Pokemon to catch. Did you already get Isle of Armor or are you planning on getting it? Let us know what you think about it in the comments below! And let’s work together to defeat Zeraora a million times so we can all get a shiny version! Happy gaming, everyone.
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