Pokemon Sword and Shield's Crown Tundra expansion finally has a release date and a shiny new trailer. The second part of the Sword and Shield expansion pass releases October 22, bringing every Legendary Pokemon in the series to Galar.

Crown Tundra tasks players with exploring the region's overworld and delving into mysterious Pokemon Dens. Unlike in the main game, these investigations involve navigating inside the Dens.

In the Dynamax Adventure mode, players head inside Dens and encounter numerous Dynamax Pokemon in a bid to reach the end where a Legendary Pokemon awaits. Like other Dynamax battles, these involve three other people, but everyone uses rental Pokemon.

After winning the battle, one trainer can swap a rental Pokemon for the one they just caught. Losing kicks the whole team out of the Den.

In true Pokemon fashion, the Legendary Pokemon encountered in these Dens varies depending on the version of the game, though The Pokemon Company hasn't announced which Legendary Pokemon are exclusive to Sword and Shield.

There's more to Crown Tundra than crawling around in Dens, though. Back on the Galar mainland, trainers can take part in the Galarian Star Tournament. It's a multi-part competition where players choose a battle partner from among the Leaders and Elite Four members encountered in the main game and face off against Galar's finest.

Last is the Ability Patch. It's a rare item that, when used, brings out a Pokemon's Hidden Ability (assuming they have one). Combined with Max Soup from the Isle of Armor, the Ability Patch can bring out a Pokemon's true potential, including the three starter Pokemon.

Speaking of the Isle of Armor, those with a special Slowpoke from the Isle can evolve it into Galarian Slowking in the Crown Tundra. It's a Poison/Psychic like Galarian Slowking, with a new move called Eerie Spell — damages and reduces the foe's PP — and a new ability named Curious Medicine that resets allies' stat changes.

Pokemon Sword and Shield The Crown Tundra releases October 22 in the U.S. Bundle versions of the games with their respective expansion passes will launch on November 6.

[Source: The Pokemon Company]

The Isle of Armor is the first-ever DLC for a Pokemon game, and it adds a significant new location to Sword and Shield, more Pokemon from previous games, and lots of extra stuff to do.

But is The Isle of Armor DLC worth it? That’s probably something you’ll ultimately need to decide for yourself, but I’d say yes — absolutely. The Isle of Armor is cracking good DLC for Pokemon, especially since there’s even more to come in the Expansion Pass with The Crown Tundra later this year.

Pokemon Sword and Shield Isle of Armor Review: Whipped Dream on Top

Getting started in The Isle of Armor is easy (check out our guide to see for yourself), and you can access it at basically any point in the game. That’s pretty handy overall, but what The Pokemon Company and early previews don’t tell you is that you’re sort of out of luck if you access the Isle of Armor before becoming Champion.

It doesn’t scale levels after all, so pre-Champion, you see everything ranging from Level 10 through Level 20 or so — even if your party is way above that. Post-Champion, you’ll see wild ‘mon and other trainers coming at you with Level 60 teams and up.

So my first adventure on the island was a bit of a disappointment then, compounded by the Fields of Hope being one of the most boring areas on the island. Well, at least at first.

You’ll be greeted by armies of Bunneary and Jigglypuff, with a few other Pokemon aside from that. It’s admittedly not the best introduction to something that’s supposed to be exotic and new.

But you’ll get glimpses of something better — islands out at sea, a massive Wailord hanging out in the ocean, lots and lots of Max Raids waiting in the distance, and the Master Dojo itself, just up ahead.

Sure it's a fair fight.

You can go in and start The Isle of Armor’s plot at once, or you can ignore it and go exploring, which is, naturally, what I did. And I’m glad I did. The rest of the Isle of Armor is pretty excellent, and it’s a whole lot bigger and more varied than you’d think. 

Better yet, the whole island is like the Wild Area in that you can fully rotate the camera, which is a much bigger touch than it might sound like. There are also Dens nearly everywhere.

Unlike the Wild Area, these Dens seem to be active more often as well. Where I’ll enter the Wild Area on a given day and see maybe four active Dens across the whole expanse, there’s sometimes that many in just one segment of the Isle of Armor.

The Pokemon variety is good throughout as well. Just when I’d think I was bored with the same three Pokemon showing up in an area, something new popped up — or there’d be a final evolved form of a Pokemon you normally can’t get without trading or special items. That’s when playing before beating the Champion comes in handy, so you can actually raise these fully evolved Pokemon from a low level.

Just uh... ignore the innuendo kids.

Having said that, I don’t know what to do with all these new ‘mon. There’s no room for them on my primary team, but using them in a new playthrough would be nice. The logical thing to do would be to buy a Pokemon Home subscription and funnel them back and forth as I please. Maybe that was Game Freak and The Pokemon Company’s nefarious goal all along, but seeing all these classic Pokemon as DLC is surprisingly lovely.

It keeps the main game from feeling overwhelming with so many monsters to catch, and it makes seeing them in a new location feel fresh and somewhat exciting again. That’s quite a feat when we’ve seen these same critters again and again for decades now.

In short, it’s precisely what DLC should be — an extra treat on top of the main course.

That works pretty well for describing the rest of The Isle of Armor as well. The story is short and revolves around training at the Master Dojo and raising Kubfu. There’s a post-game story too, also about raising Kubfu, but it’s really all a cover for battling and a handful of new features.

The Isle of Armor’s theme is “growth,” and that’s pretty apparent in playing. You’ll battle a lot. One of the features unlocked at the end is a kind of Battle Factory substitute, and you can grow your skills through managing new team combinations.

The Battle Factory substitute is called Restricted Training, where you choose a type of Pokemon to fight with while building a team around it from your roster. You usually battle against a stronger type, and it offers a decent challenge.

Outside of that, there are still some additional features to take advantage of. The Cram-o-Matic is an excellent excuse to offload crud you don’t want and get a rare item in return. There’s actually a recipe book if you want, though experimenting is a fun way to obtain some rarer Technical Records.

You can upgrade the Dojo’s Rotom machine too and turn it into a mini-Pokemon Center of sorts. You can challenge the Dojo Master to some battles. Or you can find more Max Mushrooms to turn “select” Pokemon into Gigantamax forms of themselves. 

One area The Isle of Armor improves on over the base Sword and Shield game is with its characters. They’re much more interesting on the island, and the stories around them are just quirky fun. The writing helps with that too. It’s a lot smoother and more varied than Pokemon usually is, with your island rival being a particular treat.

This kind of structure and focus on more episodic scenarios in a Pokemon adventure are what I'd like to see more of in the future. It's not shackled to the usual limitations of the Gym journey, so The Isle of Armor is free to create a goofball slice-of-life adventure set in a Pokemon world that still retains classic Pokemon elements.

Pokemon The Isle of Armor Review — The Bottom Line

Pros

• Expansive new island to explore
• Lots of Pokemon to catch
• Makes it exciting to see these decades-old Pokemon again
• Fun localization and quirky characters

Cons

• Not all that much new content
• Level scaling is bruh.gif

And that’s it, though it's important to remember this is just DLC and not a full game.

The Isle of Armor is very much just one part of the Expansion Pass, and I suspect The Crown Tundra will be the beefier addition. That means that by itself, The Isle or Armor would be a bit difficult to recommend for the price compared to the Fire Emblem: Three Houses expansion pass or Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s pass.

As one half of an even more expanded adventure, though, The Isle of Armor is a well-rounded and satisfying topping to the main games — assuming you like catching new Pokemon, battling, and exploring. And if you don’t, then you’re probably playing the wrong game anyway.

[Note: The reviewer purchased their own copy of The Isle of Armor used in this review.]

Nintendo has really been pushing the new Pokemon, Kubfu, in a lot of their recent promotional material for Pokemon Sword and Shield and the Isle of Armor Expansion Pass DLC. That adorable little martial arts bear is a legendary Pokemon, and it can evolve.

Adding this scrappy bear cub to your Pokemon list is the easy part. The tough part is making it evolve, because you're given a choice between two strong evolution: a single strike style and a rapid strike style Urshifu.

Pokemon Isle of Armor: How to Get a Kubfu and Evolve it into Urshifu

How to Get Kubfu on the Isle of Armor

The Isle of Armor expansion will, unsurprisingly, have you play through a self-contained story. You'll need to play through a small chunk of it to get to the point where Kubfu can become a member of your team.

Upon arriving on the isle, you'll be greeted (battled) by one of two new trainers, depending on which version of Pokemon Sword and Shield you own: Klara for Pokemon Sword and Avery for Pokemon Shield. Once that interaction is over, you'll need to make your way up the hill to the Master Dojo.

From there, the master of the dojo, Mustard, will task you with completing three trials in order for you to obtain a secret armor. It turns out that he isn't being literal, because Kubfu is the armor he's referring to.

The trials will have you chase after and defeat three Galarian Slowpoke, collecting some Max Mushrooms, and winning a battle against the new version exclusive trainer. You'll finally be rewarded with Kubfu for your troubles in the end.

How to Evolve Kubfu into Urshifu

Raise Your Friendship Level

Evolving Kubfu has a few more extra steps in it than you'd think. First of all, Mustard will tell you that you have to become good friends with Kubfu. Thankfully, you won't be forced to do this the old-fashioned way.

Instead of racking up battles together and cooking meals for Kubfu, you can simply travel around the map to marked "scenic" locations. Each location will have a member of the dojo on-site that you speak to.

A cutscene will play as you and your fighting bear take in a nice view. Your friendship level with Kubfu will rise automatically when you visit each of these marked spots.

Challenge One of the Towers of Two Fists

This is the point where that aforementioned tough decision shows up. Depending on which tower you decide to climb, Kubfu will evolve into a different version of Urshifu.

Kubfu will evolve into Single Strike Style Urshifu if you climb the Tower of Darkness, or Rapid Strike Style Urshifu if you climb the Tower of Waters.

The former will turn Kubfu into a Fighting/Dark Type Pokemon, while the latter will turn it into a Fighting/Water Type Pokemon. Each Urshifu has an exclusive move along with different strengths and weaknesses.

Single Strike Style learns Wicked Blow, an 80 power Dark Type move that always results in a critical hit. Rapid Strike Style gains a Water Type move called Surging Strikes, which delivers three critical hit attacks at 25 power each. Take your time and choose wisely.

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That's all there is to know about where to find Kubfu in Isle of Armor and how to evolve it into Urshifu the expansion. Check out the articles above if you're looking for more Isle of Armor tips. And be sure to check out our growing guides hub for more. 

Pokemon games are full of items. They're absolutely littered with them, and the Pokemon Sword and Shield Isle of Armor Expansion Pass DLC just added another new item for you to collect on your travels. That new item is called Armorite Ore.

If you're wondering where to find Isle of Armor Armorite or what to do with it, look no further and wonder no longer. Read on to find the answers to all of your Armorite-related questions in the guide below.

Pokemon Isle of Armor Armorite: Where to Get It & What It's For

Where to Find Isle of Armor Armorite Ore 

The first time you obtain Armorite, it's simply handed to you. The lady in green above, Honey, will give you five pieces of Armorite Ore after you've completed the first task at the Master Dojo. From there, you're mostly on your own when it comes to finding more pieces of Armorite.

Armorite Ore can be found randomly at the sparkling search points found on the ground all throughout the Isle of Armor. They're found in the exact same way as the Galarica Twigs. You'll need to keep your eyes peeled and be ready to mash that "A" button to pick up all of the items at your feet.

What Armorite Ore is Used For

Digging Parents

Armorite Ore can be exchanged for a variety of things on the Isle of Armor. It all depends on which NPC you're talking to. Remember the Digging Duo on the Galar mainland in the Sword and Shield base game? Well, you're able to meet their parents.

Digging Ma will appear seemingly at random, while Digging Pa can be found in the Training Lowlands.

They'll each offer you a different service in exchange for Armorite. Digging Ma will take an Armorite Ore in exchange for digging up even more of it for you. The catch here is that her shovel can break, in which case, you won't get any ore at all.

Digging Pa, on the other hand, will trade Armorite for Watts. That doesn't exactly seem like a fair trade, though, since the ore is much rarer than Watts. Nevertheless, the option is there.

New Move and Stat Changes

As far as we know, there are two more uses for Armorite Ore. One of which comes from the girl in the above image. She's located on a small island in the Workout Sea, near the station where you first enter the Isle of Armor.

In exchange for 10 pieces of Armorite Ore, she'll clear all of your Pokemon's base stats for it to start "with a clean slate." This is useful if you want to build up your stats from scratch in specific ways.

The last use for Armorite will be made available after you choose either Squirtle or Bulbasaur. The man to the right of the door at the back of the Master Dojo will teach new moves to your Pokemon for five Armorite pieces each.

His list of moves includes the following:

• Terrain Pulse
• Burning Jealousy
• Flip Turn
• Rising Voltage
• Grassy Glide
• Triple Axel
• Coaching
• Corrosive Gas
• Scorching Sands
• Dual Wingbeat
• Expanding Force
• Skitter Smack
• Meteor Beam
• Poltergeist
• Scale Shot
• Lash Out
• Steel Roller
• Misty Explosion

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That's everything you need to know about where to find Isle of Armor Armorite Ore and what it's used for. If you're looking for more tips on the expansion, check out the links above or head over to our Isle of Armor hub for more! 

The Pokemon Sword & Shield Isle of Armor Expansion Pass DLC just launched, so you may be asking yourself one simple question: how do I actually start Isle of Armor after I download and install it? 

Luckily for you, there's no real travel or discovery involved in getting to your destination. You'll be taken to the Isle of Armor automatically after a few simple steps. Follow the guide below, and you'll be catching new Pokemon on the Isle of Armor in no time.

How to Get to the Isle of Armor in Pokemon Sword and Shield

Getting to the Isle of Armor is actually pretty simple. Once you've purchased, downloaded, and installed the Isle of Armor expansion from the Nintendo eShop, you'll need to update Pokemon Sword and Shield. The software update shouldn't take too long.

After the update is completed, you'll be given an Armor Pass automatically once you enter the game. Just take that pass to Wedgehurst Station, and you'll take a Corviknight taxi to Armor Station on the isle.

You won't even need all of the gym badges to experience the expansion DLC. Leave that gym challenge behind if you want. You can even fast travel between the Galar mainland and the Isle of Armor at any point after you make your first trip there.

Getting Started on the Isle of Armor

Upon your arrival, your Pokedex will be conveniently updated by Klara, who is located in Armor Station, so that it can keep track of all the new Pokemon you'll be catching.

As you'd expect, there's a battle waiting for you as you attempt to exit the station. It'll be either Klara for Pokemon Sword or Avery for Pokemon Shield. They both have Pokemon with levels in the low 60s, so make sure you're ready.

Klara specializes in Poison Type Pokemon, while Avery likes to use Psychic Type Pokemon. You won't have to deal with any Fighting Type Pokemon or Fire Type Pokemon. 

This battle should be no sweat at all either way. Make short work of them, and head to the Master Dojo straight ahead of you to officially start the main quest of the Isle of Armor.

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That's it for our guide on how to start Isle of Armor in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Follow the steps above and you'll be well on your way to catching 'em all on the Isle of Armor. If you're looking for more tips on the expansion, check out the links above or head over to our Isle of Armor guides page for more!

Pokemon Sword and Shield's Expansion Pass DLC is finally upon us with the release of Isle of Armor. Some players have been wondering how to find and get their hands on Galarica Twigs. Why? Because Isle of Armor Galarica Twigs are important if you want to evolve Galarian Slowpoke to Galarian Slowbro. 

Galarica Twigs are a brand-new item used to craft another brand-new item: the Galarica Cuff. Below, we go over how and where to find Galarica Twigs, as well as how to evolve Galarian Slowpoke in Isle of Armor.

Pokemon Isle of Armor Galarica Twigs: How to Evolve Galarian Slowpoke

Where to Find Galarica Twigs in Isle of Armor

Galarica Twigs are scattered throughout the Isle of Armor, and you'll run across them as sparkle spots on the ground. They're only found under trees. It's completely random if the sparkle is a Galarica Twig or some other item.

But there's a chance you'll find a Galarica Twig under any full-sized tree (not those weedy things in the Soothing Swamp). There's certainly no shortage of them on the island, especially in the Forest of Focus.

On the off chance you don't manage to get eight Galarica Twigs in one go (the amount you need for the Galarica Cuff), these gathering spots respawn every day at midnight, so you can always check back the next day if you need more.

Finally, you can go ahead and start hoarding Galarica Twigs before chatting with the island NPC, so if you've already found some, they still count towards the eight total requirement for evolving Galarian Slowpoke.

How to Evolve Galarian Slowpoke to Galarian Slowbro

To evolve Galarian Slowpoke (Psychic Type), you'll need to make sure your Rotom Bike has the Route 9 upgrade and can cross water.

Head to the Master Dojo and go east to the coast. Ride out over the water until you reach the island there, and speak with the NPC you find on the island. They tell you they can make a special cuff if you give them eight Galarica Twigs. That's the cuff you'll use to evolve Galarian Slowpoke into Galarian Slowbro (Poison/Psychic Type).

You won't get Galarian Slowking until the second part of the Expansion Pass, The Crown Tundra, launches later this year, so you might as well go ahead and get Galarian Slowbro.

The Galarica Cuff is like an Evolution Stone; you can just use it to evolve Galarian Slowpoke. It's not a hold item, and there is no trading is required.

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That's all you need to know about Pokemon Isle of Armor Galarica Twigs and how to evolve Galarian Slowpoke. Now you can add Galarian Slowbro to your Pokedex! For more tips and tricks, be sure to check our other Isle of Armor guides, or head over to our Pokemon Sword and Shield guides for more strategy on the base game.

Once you meet Mustard at the Isle of Armor's Dojo in the Pokemon Sword and Shield Isle of Armor, you're tasked with a number of trials. Trial 2 of the Expansion Pass DLC is finding Pokemon Max Mushrooms to make Max Soup, a special concoction that lets Pokemon turn into Gigantamax versions of themselves.

But the Isle of Armor isn't small, and knowing how and where to find Max Mushrooms can be a bit difficult, especially after the trial is over.

That's why we've put together our Max Mushrooms Pokemon Isle of Armor strategy guide, which includes how to find the Mushrooms, the team rosters for Klara/Avery, and when and where Mushrooms respawn.

Max Mushrooms Pokemon Isle of Armor Guide

Luckily, the Max Mushrooms you're looking for are clustered together in the same place, making your trip across the island more bearable. Make sure to put your team in order, though. There's a fight on your hands once you get to the Mushrooms.

The Mushrooms are in the Warm-Up Tunnel near the Training Lowlands. If you don't know how to get there, the directions are below. 

How to Get to the Warm-Up Tunnel in Isle of Armor

Head out of the Dojo. Go northwest into the Soothing Swamp. Keep going north, but stick to the western side of the swamp. The eastern exit leads you somewhere else.

Eventually, you'll enter the Forest of Focus. Immediately take the bridge to your left, then stick to the river. Keep the river to your right and go left at the next fork. 

Keep going. Cross the next bridge. You'll enter the Training Lowlands. Go down the incline to your left and make your way to the tunnel at the northern end of the Lowlands.

This is the Warm-Up Tunnel. Keep on the main tunnel path, and you'll find a cluster of Max Mushrooms near the end. But you can't get them just yet.

Pokemon Isle of Armor Klara/Avery Battle Tips

Before you get your paws on the Max Mushrooms, Klara or Avery appear, depending on which version of the game you're playing. 

It's not completely clear exactly how their level scaling works at this point, if at all, but the general consensus is that their team levels are in the low 60s, even if your team is in the 40s or at 100.

Luckily, you won't have to worry about many Pokemon types in this battle; there aren't any fighting type or grass type Pokemon to deal with, for example. We've listed the levels and types below, four out of six being psychic, and the other two poison. 

Klara's Pokemon List

• Galarian Slowpoke — Level 62 Psychic Type
• Koffing (regular) — Level 62 Poison Type
• Whirlipede — Level 63 Bug/Poison Type

Avery's Pokemon List

• Galarian Slowpoke — Level 62 Psychic Type
• Woobat — Level 62 Psychic/Flying Type
• Kadabra — Level 63 Psychic Type

Both typings have plenty of weaknesses, so these shouldn't give you too much trouble. Psychic's weaknesses are Ghost and Dark, while Poison is weak to Ground and Psychic.

Max Mushroom Respawns

After the battle, you'll be able to grab the cluster of three Max Mushrooms and go through the ritual of making Max Soup back at the dojo.

You're told your rival found some mushrooms, too, but don't be fooled. There's only one place to find Max Mushrooms, and it's where you found the first bunch.

An NPC tells you they mysteriously re-appear after Max Raid battles happen. So far, the track record with that is a bit iffy. Some players report that they do indeed reappear, while others are saying it hasn't actually happened yet. We'll update this guide with any new information about Max Mushrooms that comes out.

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That's it for our Max Mushroom Pokemon guide, but be sure to check out our other Pokemon Sword and Shield guides for more tips and tricks for the main game. Or head over to our growing list of Isle of Armor guides for more expansion pass DLC content.