‘Pokémon Sword and Shield’ Isle of Armor: Every new…

‘Pokémon Sword and Shield’ Isle of Armor: Every new and returning Pokémon

The first part of Pokémon Sword and Shield’s two-phase expansion pack — The Isle of Armor — was released Wednesday. Anyone who purchased the $29.99 DLC bundle from the Nintendo Switch eShop will gain access to an all-new campaign, never-before-seen Pokémon, and a major expansion of the Pokédex that veteran players have been begging for since the release of Sword and Shield in November 2019.

A roster of 100 Pokémon from past generations will be arriving in the Galar Region as part of the Isle of Armor expansion. These will include classic pocket monsters from Gen 1 to more recent fan-favorites from Gen 7, plus five newcomers and a handful of new Gigantamax forms.

This is a step in the right direction towards appeasing fans who were dismayed that Game Freak and The Pokémon Company had cut the number of usable Pokémon from previous games in Sword and Shield. This controversial announcement was nicknamed “Dexit” by fans and caused an uproar from long-time Pokémon players who chose not to buy Sword and Shield because many of their favorite pocket monsters weren’t included in the new installments.

In response to the outrage, Game Director Junichi Masuda stated that his team reduced the number of Pokémon to deliver on “high-quality animations” in Sword and Shield. However, many fans were less than impressed by the game’s quality once it shipped. Wednesday's announcement feels like one way the franchise can win back players, but buying the base game plus the expansions will cost gamers around $90 total.

Pokémon mega-fan Joe Merrick, who is the founder of the franchise’s biggest fan hub, Serebii.net compiled a list of all of the critters returning to Sword and Shield hours after the Isle of Armor was shipped to Switch consoles worldwide.

Here’s a complete list of all of the new and returning Pokémon trainers will be able to catch if they picked up the DLC bundle: