Game Freak Extends the Galarian Experience with the First Ever Expansion Pass for a Pokémon Game

Yes they finally did it, a Pokémon DLC!

One of my BIGGEST problems I have with some japanese titles I love (*cough* Monster Hunter *cough* Pokémon *cough*) is the release of an “updated” version of the same game with extra bells and whistles. For MH, you have the “ultimate” versions of their titles, and for Pokémon, at least the latest that they have is the “ultra” versions of their titles.

But with yesterday’s Pokémon Direct, we’re introduced to the first ever DLC pack for a Pokémon game.

So let that sink in first. Yes, you read it right, a Pokémon honest to goodness D.L.C.

Instead of getting a new “ultra’ version of Pokémon Sword and Shield, we’re now getting two separate DLCs that would extend the Galar region experience instead of letting you start from scratch and add-on to that save file.

Here’s a video rundown of what’s happening with the expansion pass:

From the video here’s the list of what you can expect from the expansions:

    • New fashion items
    • New Trainers to face (for Pokémon Sword – Poion type user Klara, and for Pokémon Shield – Psychic type use Avery)
    • New Galarian Legendaries (Kubfu to Urshifu, and Calyrex)
    • +200 old Pokémon and their respective legendaries
    • Additional Rotom Bike forms
    • Addition of Other Pokémon Gigantimax forms (heavily shown was the Gigantimax forms of Galar starters)
    • Addition of old Pokémon with Gigantimax versions (currently (and most importantly shown) is the Gigantimax Venusaur and Blastoise)

The expansion pass is titled as The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra and will be priced at around 29.99 usd  each. The Isle of Armor expansion pass will be available in June of this year, while the Crown Tundra will be avaialble later on this year.

What’s exiting at least for me about the whole expansion pass is the addition of co-op stages where you can join other people just like in the wild area. This has been one of the biggest plus I have with the game since this is the first time we’re experiencing a Pokémon game that allows you to interact with other players with more than just trading and battling. This adds more dimension to the whole Pokémon experience that I’ve been looking for since I’ve restarted playing the core gamest way back in Pokémon X and Y.

Another notable game feature is that you are not forced to get the expansion pass to get the Pokémon from these islands. You can as easily acquire all the Pokémon in The Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra just by trading, which will be made available as a free game update.

So if you’re on the camp where you don’t want to support Game Freak with another purchase of their game by buying the expansion pack but still want the Pokémon from those islands, you can just as easily get them from a friend who’s nice enough to gather them for you.

That’s what we have so far from GF about the expansion packs, and to be honest, I am so excited for these passes to come out! How about you guys what do you guys think?