The Pokemon Company and Nintendo announced a good bit of new content for Pokemon Sword and Shield from this mornings direct. Pokemon Sword and Shield would be doing paid DLC with The Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass that will contain The Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra expansions, are two new seperate adventures that will let fans be able to meet brand new characters from both versions of the games, catch new Pokemon, and explores some brand new areas within the Galar region.

Another big announcement that was presented in todays Pokemon direct was the return to the Mystery Dungeon series, with Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX. The game revists classic Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, such as Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, which were originally released back in 2006 in Europe, almost being 14 years since.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team D will be an exclusive Nintendo Switch title with new updated visuals with a very stunning picture-book art style, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX will launch in March 6th, 2020.

The Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass

Trainers will be able to jump right into their new adventures with the same save data they have been using to play Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield. They will also be able to begin exploring the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra at almost any point in the main games. Whether a Trainer has just started their adventure in the Galar region or is well along the path to becoming Champion, they will be able to enjoy the new content as soon as it’s released.

The Isle of Armor is scheduled to be released by the end of June 2020, and The Crown Tundra in the autumn of 2020. The Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass and Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass, which include both sets of content, will be available for prepurchase for £26.99 starting later today, January 9, 2020. Both expansions will include a new area to explore, newly discoverable Pokémon, clothing items, handy features, and more. In addition, fans can receive special bonuses when purchasing the Expansion Pass: a Pikachu Uniform and an Eevee Uniform. Fans will be able to receive the Pikachu and Eevee Uniforms in Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield by using codes that they will receive after they purchase the Expansion Pass.

Game Director at Game Freak, Ohmori-san, said:

“The Galar region in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield was inspired by the United Kingdom. In the Expansion Pass, players will visit two brand new areas, the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra. The Isle of Armor is a location inspired by the Isle of Man, an island situated just off the coast of the United Kingdom, and the Crown Tundra is a snowy landscape inspired by Scotland.”

The Isle of Armor

In this expansion, Trainers will head to the Isle of Armor, the stage of a new adventure in the Galar region. The Isle of Armor is a giant island full of environments not seen in Galar before. There players will find wave-swept beaches, forests, bogs, caves, and sand dunes. There are also plenty of Pokémon that make this island their home, living freely amid the lush natural surroundings. There’s even a dojo here that specializes in some very particular training styles. Trainers and their Pokémon will take up an apprenticeship under the master of this dojo and train hard to become even stronger.

The Crown Tundra

This expansions set in the snow-swept realm of the Crown Tundra. The Crown Tundra features a beautiful shining, silvery landscape. In this frigid area, with its jagged winter mountains, people live in small communities where they support and rely on one another. A certain person will appoint the player as the leader of their exploration team in the Crown Tundra, where Trainers will be tasked with investigating the reaches of this frozen land. Here, Trainers will be able to explore the full depth of Pokémon Dens, which they’ve so far only been able to glimpse in Max Raid Battles.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is set in a world inhabited only by Pokémon. When players first open their eyes, they see a Pokémon in front of them, and they can understand what it’s saying. Upon closer inspection, players will realize that they themselves have become a Pokémon. According to the Pokémon they meet, natural disasters have suddenly started occurring all over this world, causing all kinds of problems. Players and their partner Pokémon decide to form a rescue team to go help Pokémon that are in trouble. 

Players will answer a few questions that appear at the beginning of the game to help determine which Pokémon they will be. Next, they will decide the Pokémon that will be their partner on this adventure. The main character and their partner can be chosen from 16 different Pokémon. Players will get job requests in various forms—like on the Bulletin Board at Pelipper Post Office or from letters that will be delivered to the mailbox at the player’s rescue team base. As players complete jobs, their rescue team’s rescue points will increase. When they collect enough points, their rescue team’s rank will go up. When they first form their rescue team, they’ll be Rookie Rank. Players can gain experience as a rescue team on their way to what all rescue teams aspire to—the Gold Rank.

In this world, Mystery Dungeons can be found in various places, such as mountains, canyons, forests, and more. Each time players enter a Mystery Dungeon, the layout is slightly different. They’ll need to adventure through these dungeons to complete the jobs they will receive requests for one after another.

Inside dungeons, players will find various useful items—such as Seeds, Berries, and TMs—which will help them on their adventure. As with the layout of the dungeons, the kinds of items and their locations will change each time players enter a dungeon. Players will need to use the right items at the right time to help out Pokémon that are in trouble.

Dungeons are inhabited by many Pokémon that will attack the main character. Inside dungeons, battles are turn based, meaning that for each move you make, your opponents will also make a move. Since opponents won’t move unless the player moves in these turn-based battles, the player will have plenty of time to think about what their next move should be. If the player panics and presses a button or walks a bunch of steps carelessly, they could find themselves in a scrape they weren’t anticipating. Making decisions calmly and carefully considering how the opposing Pokémon are moving are the keys to successfully navigating a dungeon.

This title can be played in any mode on the Nintendo Switch—TV mode, tabletop mode, or handheld mode. In addition, the following features have been added that can assist players with controlling their Pokémon and progressing through the game, so even if it’s their first time, they can easily adventure through a dungeon.

• Auto mode: Starting with this title, an auto-mode feature has been added that lets players progress through their adventures more easily. By just pressing the L Button, the main character and their team will move efficiently. When a player approaches an enemy, auto mode will turn off automatically.
• Unleash moves automatically with the A Button: Ordinarily the player would select from one of four moves to use on an enemy. When players aren’t sure which move to use, they can get the enemy right in front of them and press the A Button to automatically unleash the best move to use on that foe.
• Up to eight Pokémon can travel with you: When Trainers depart for a dungeon, they can have three members on their team as usual, but in this title, they can also add Pokémon they encounter as they go through dungeons to get up to eight teammates walking through a dungeon with them.
• Fainting in a dungeon: If a player is defeated in a dungeon, they can ask for other players to rescue them, or they can rescue themselves with another of their own rescue teams. Then they’ll be able to resume their adventure from where they fainted.

SOURCE via The Pokemon Company