The Armor of Beginnings was an online Pokemon Sword and Shield competition that Game Freak hosted to celebrate the release of the Isle of Armor DLC. It promised to reward 50 Battle Points to every player who took part in it, and it allowed anyone to participate, including those without a Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield Expansion pass.
The competition started on July 23 and wrapped up on July 26, and the points are now available for pick up through a new Pokemon Sword and Sheild Mystery Gift. Battle Points can usually only be obtained through victory in ranked trainer battles, but the new Mystery Gift will hand them out to anyone that participated in at least one Armor of Beginnings match; they didn't even have to win it.
Grabbing the points is simple. Players just need to do the following:
- Boot up Pokemon Sword and Shield.
- Open up the Options menu.
- Select "Vs." near the bottom right to open Victory Station.
- Choose Battle Menu at the bottom left.
- Pick Online Competitions.
- View the Armor of Beginnings competition results or move on to the next step.
- Close the results screen and go to Mystery Gift, this will automatically grant you 50 Battle Points.
Battle Points can be spent on all kinds of end-game level Pokemon items, and 50 is quite a hefty sum to get for participating in only a single match. It usually takes a much longer time just to get half of that amount, as players need to win multiple matches in a row to increase their rank and receive more BP awards. For reference, players have to reach the final rank (Master Ball) just to get 50 BP as a reward.
Trainers can spend Sword and Shield Battle Points at the BP shop in the Battle Tower or at the BP Shop located in the Pokemon Center at Hammerlocke. Each location offers its own items for players to spend on. However, the Battle Tower arguably has more important items, as Hammerlocke sells things that aren't as useful in the long run, or can be obtained without BP.
At the Battle Tower, there's a man and woman in the middle of the left counter. The man sells powerful held items for competitive play while the woman sells Mints, which allow trainers to change a Pokemon's Nature or the trait that determines which stats are its best and worse. The Hammerlocke BP shop sells Pokemon evolution items that are hard to find and items that boost a specific state that a Pokemon has.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are available now for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Serebii