Pokemon Sword & Shield Will Add Over 200 Old Pokemon, Free Updates On The Way

Sword and Shield's Pokedex is about to get a little bigger. During the January 2020 Pokemon Direct presentation, The Pokemon Company revealed that additional Pokemon are coming to the Switch Pokemon games with the arrival of two new expansions, Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. These Pokemon include both brand-new creatures and over 200 older ones that previously didn't make the cut into the Galar Pokedex, and even if you don't plan on buying the DLC, you'll still be able to get those Pokemon into your game with a little extra work (and no extra cash).

Each expansion comes with its own Pokedex to complete, though we don't know exactly how many Pokemon will be in the Isle of Armor or the Crown Tundra Pokedexes. These include new Gen 8 Pokemon--even Legendaries--that are not currently available in Sword and Shield, as well as new Galarian forms of old Pokemon and Pokemon from previous generations that aren't in the Galar Pokedex. While you have to pay for the expansions themselves, the added Pokemon are not locked behind that paywall.

Free updates are planned for the same day as the launch of each expansion, and these updates will enable players who don't own the DLC to acquire the Pokemon added in each through methods like trading. This means that a player with the Isle of Armor expansion can catch the newly added Pokemon there and trade them with friends who don't own the expansion but have downloaded the update, giving them a chance to expand their collections. Similarly, you'll also be able to transfer Pokemon from Pokemon Home so long as they appear in the expansion pass. Pokemon Home is a paid subscription service, though this method of transfer is nearly identical to how it worked in previous Pokemon games with a National Dex.

Old Pokemon shown off for The Isle of Armor include Venusaur and Blastoise with Gigantamax forms, Lycanroc, Kingdra, Volcarona, and Dedenne. The Crown Tundra section revealed the Regis (with two new forms as well), Aurorus, Nidorino, Sealeo, Garchomp, and what appears to be Galarian forms of the Legendary Birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Also shown was a render of Talonflame, though it wasn't clear which expansion it would be added in.

Additionally, The Crown Tundra expansion allows players to encounter Legendary Pokemon from previous games in a new co-op gameplay mechanic. Nearly all the existing Legendary Pokemon were shown (that does not include all Mythical Pokemon, like Celebi or Jirachi, however). You can see the full list of Pokemon currently confirmed for the DLC in our roundup.

Each expansion also has its own set of Raid Dens, where players can find Pokemon that aren't available in the current Wild Area in Galar. Like with the expanded Pokedexes, players don't necessarily need to own the expansions to experience these new raids; a player with the required expansion can invite others to a raid, and anyone can join whether they own the expansion or not.

There were quite a few new details about the upcoming expansions and more in today's Pokemon Direct. You can catch up on the news and more below.