Everything You Need to Know Before Playing Pokemon Sword and Shield's Crown Tundra DLC
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield have a brand-new DLC launching this week which will whisk players off to the frozen landscape of The Crown Tundra. This DLC has a heavy focus on uncovering secrets and unraveling all the mysteries found in the Tundra, so Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield players should be prepared to scour the land in search of clues while hunting for all the returning Pokemon.
The DLC will also feature a chance for players to see new sides of their favorite Gym Leaders and other characters from the base game, so here is everything players need to know before diving into The Crown Tundra DLC.
The Crown Tundra DLC takes place in the titular Crown Tundra, located to the East of the Galar region mainland. Players will venture into the snowy mountains and meet up with Peony who will appoint the player as the leader of his expedition team. Together with Peony, players will venture out to uncover all the secrets that the Crown Tundra has to offer, including diving into Dynamax Dens, which players have only had a peak into up until this point.
Not much is known about what will be found in the Crown Tundra, hence the idea of uncovering the secrets, but the Crown Tundra is home to many Legendary Pokemon, including new Galarian Forms of the Kanto Legendary Birds. How these new Pokemon will fit into the narrative is unknown, but they seem to have some larger role to play. Additionally, the new Pokemon Calyrex plays some part in the Crown Tundra story, but this new Pokemon is surrounded in mystery. There will likely be some significance to the large tree nestled at the center of the Tundra, but players will have to play the DLC to find out.
Much like the Isle of Armor DLC, the Crown Tundra is bringing back a slew of Pokemon from previous generations that were absent from the base Sword and Shield experience. In case players don't want to be spoiled, and would rather find out the rest of the Pokemon in the DLC, we're only going to list the ones shown off in the promotional materials and trailers. Datamined Pokemon have a chance to not be in the game (like Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion who were added last DLC but were not catchable), so we're going to break down all the Pokemon that are confirmed to be coming back with this DLC:
- Nidoran (f)
- Nidorina
- Nidoqueen
- Nidoran (m)
- Nidorino
- Nidoking
- Zubat
- Golbat
- Magmar
- Dratini
- Dragonair
- Dragonite
- Magby
- Crobat
- Slowking (Galarian)
- Swablu
- Altaria
- Lileep
- Cradily
- Absol
- Spheal
- Sealo
- Walrein
- Beldum
- Metang
- Metagross
- Gible
- Gabite
- Garchomp
- Magmortar
- Audino
- Tyrunt
- Tyrantrum
- Amaura
- Aurorus
- Carbink
- Bergmite
- Avalugg
Those are all the Pokemon shown off so far coming with the Crown Tundra DLC, with many of them making an appearance in the latest Crown Tundra showcase video. This list does not include Legendary Pokemon making a return, as those will be covered further down.
There are also some new Pokemon making their debut with the Crown Tundra. We've already mentioned Calyrex and the three Galarian/Kanto Birds, but there are more Pokemon confirmed to be making a new appearance with this DLC. Starting with the three birds: Galarian Articuno will be Psychic/Flying with the Competitive ability, Galarian Zapdos will be Fighting/Flying and have the Defiant ability, and Galarian Moltres will be Dark/Flying and have the Berserk ability.
Calyrex, the King Pokemon, is a Psychic/Grass type with the Unnerve ability. Galarian Slowbro is making its debut in this DLC as well, featuring a new signature move and ability. It will have the Psychic move Eerie Spell which will deal damage and lower the opponents last-used move by 3 PP. Its unique ability is Strange Medicine, which resets ally stat changes when Slowking enters the field.
In addition to these additions, Game Freak also confirmed the debut of two new Regi Pokemon: Regieleki and Regidrago. Regieleki is Electric type with the ability Transistor, and has the unique move Thunder Cage. In addition to dealing damage, Thunder Cage also traps the target on the field and deals damage every turn for 4-5 turns. Regidrago, as the name would imply, is a Dragon Type which has the ability Dragon's Maw. Regidrago's signature move is Dragon Energy, which deals more damage if the user has more HP remaining.
Dynamax Adventure is the big selling point for the Crown Tundra DLC. It is a co-op game mode that focuses on exploring the Max Raid Dens with three other players. Players will choose a team of rental Pokemon and work together to choose paths and navigate the twisting caverns of the Raid Den to find more Dynamax Pokemon and even Legendary Pokemon.
As the journey progresses, team members will be given opportunities to swap out Pokemon for ones they've caught along the way, but be warned, if players lose a single battle they will be ejected from the Den. The following Legendary Pokemon have been shown to be returning with this DLC and are presumed to be catchable in the Dynamax Adventure game mode.
- Articuno (Kanto)
- Zapdos (Kanto)
- Moltres (Kanto)
- Mewtwo
- Raikou
- Entei
- Suicune
- Lugia
- Ho-Oh
- Regirock
- Regice
- Registeel
- Latias
- Latios
- Kyogre
- Groudon
- Rayquaza
- Uxie
- Mesprit
- Azelf
- Dialga
- Palkia
- Heatran
- Regigigas
- Giratina
- Cresselia
- Cobalion
- Terrakion
- Virizion
- Tornadus
- Thundurus
- Reshiram
- Zekrom
- Landorus
- Kyurem
- Xerneas
- Yveltal
- Zygarde (50%)
- Silvally
- Tapu Koko
- Tapu Lele
- Tapu Bulu
- Tapu Fini
- Solgaleo
- Lunala
- Necrozma
- Eternatus
- Zacian
- Zamazenta
- Urshifu
- Articuno (Galar)
- Zapdos (Galar)
- Moltres (Galar)
- Regieleki
- Regidrago
- Calyrex
The other big feature showcased for the Crown Tundra is the Galarian Star Tournament. This event unlocks after progressing past a certain point in the Crown Tundra. Players will be able to compete in a 2-on-2 tournament against Gym Leaders, Rivals, and other characters from previous parts of the game to see who the strongest trainers in all of Galar are. The best part is, players will be able to pick who they team up with, so players will get to see what sort of teammates the leaders are really like. All the trainers will have updated teams, though likely still featuring some staples from their previous iterations, so players should be prepared for some high-octane battles with (and against) their favorite characters from the game.
That should be everything you need to know to be ready for when The Crown Tundra launches on October 22. At first glance it seems like there is a lot of content to digest, so hopefully this DLC will keep fans occupied long enough for Game Freak to announce whatever comes next for Sword and Shield or perhaps even a new title in the series. Fans will just have to wait and see.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are available now for Nintendo Switch.
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