During today's Pokemon Direct, Nintendo and Game Freak revealed that Pokemon Sword and Shield would be getting an Expansion Pass for 2020 that includes two major DLCs releasing this year: Isle of Armor and The Crowned Tundra. While it seems likely that there's a few things still up Game Freak's sleeves, it did showcase a ton of information concerning the first expansion, Isle of Armor.
It is currently set to release for Pokemon Sword and Shield in June 2020, with the predominant theme of this expansion being described as "growth." The Isle of Armor is a giant island off the shore of the Galar region and comes complete with beaches, bogs, forests, caves, and dunes. It also includes Pokemon that was missing from the base Sword and Shield, although which Pokemon exactly has yet to be fulled revealed. For now, it's known that Galarian Slowpoke can be caught now after a small update, and will evolve into Galarian Slowbro with a specific item from the Isle of Armor.
There, players will find a dojo and take up an apprenticeship under Mustard, a former Pokemon champion who was a mentor to former Champion Leon as well. This expansion also introduces a new rival for players: Klara for Sword, Avery for Shield. It's unknown if Pokemon Sword and Shield's original rival Hop will appear, but it seems unlikely as he is pursuing a different dream at the end of the main game.
Perhaps one of the most exciting features for Pokemon Sword and Shield's Isle of Armor expansion is the inclusion of new Gigantamax forms for Cinderace, Rillaboom, and Inteleon, the game's starters. It's unsure how these are exactly obtained, but they will be appearing in the Isle of Armor DLC. Furthermore, each expansion also comes with a new legendary Pokemon, with Isle of Armor's being Kubfu who is obtained in the game. It's rare for legendary Pokemon to evolve, but Kubfu will evolve into Urshifu at some point, which has two forms. A Single Strike Style Urshifu is a Fighting/Dark-type, whereas a Rapid Strike Urshifu is a Fighting/Water-type.
Other inclusions in this Pokemon Sword and Shield DLC include a new EXP Charm item, new fashion items, and new looks for bike. It stands to reason that more will be revealed in the coming months, so fans of the franchise should stay tuned for more about the Isle of Armor.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.