5 things you need to do in Pokemon Sword & Shield before Isle of Armor

Pokemon Sword & Shield is getting its first major DLC titled The Isle of Armor on June 17th. Here is everything you should get done in the base game before the major expansion drops. 

Pokemon entered its eighth generation with the release of Sword & Shield in November 2019. The latest game in the beloved Nintendo franchise introduced players to new mechanics such as Max Raids and Dynamaxing.

However in a series first, developer Game Freak is foregoing a third title and is instead releasing an Expansion Pass. The first addon, The Isle of Armor, makes its debut soon. Here are list of things Trainers should do to be ready for the DLC.

5 things you need to do before Isle of Armor

Sword & Shield is getting upgraded in a major way on June 17 for those that have bought the Expansion Pass. The DLC brings new G-Max forms, items, features, and greatly boosts the number of Pokemon in the game.

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Before jumping into the new region, you might have a couple of loose ends to tie up. While we imagine most people have long since been crowned the Galar region Champion, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.

Get another Master Ball

Every Pokemon player knows that the Master Ball is one of the most coveted items in the game, in that you only get one. The jacked up Pokeball guarantees a 100% catch success rate. However in Sword & Shield, you can actually get more by playing the daily lottery.

Every day, go to your local Pokemon Center and on the left wall is the Rotom PC. Select ‘Loto-ID’ and see what you win. To get a Master Ball, the five digit number has to match an ID code. To increase your odds of winning, you will want to trade as much as possible and breed.

Having other Trainers’ IDs tied to the monsters in your boxes will substantially boost your chances. Going into Isle of Armor with even a single extra Master Ball will guarantee you one of the newly added Legendary Galarian form birds, Articuno, Zapdos, or Moltres.

Obtain a Shiny Charm

If you’ve already beaten the game’s main campaign, you might as well go all the way and complete your Pokedex. The Shiny Charm is rewarded to players who manage to register all 400 monsters in their trusty device.

The item increases your chances of running into a Shiny Pokemon. These special types of critters sport an alternate color scheme, and are highly coveted amongst players and traders.

If you are going to be exploring The Isle of Armor for the first time, why not increase your odds of running into Shiny version of all the new monsters being added to the game? The item changes the odds from 1/4096 to 1/1365.33.

Capture every G-Max form

The Gen VIII title introduced Dynamaxing – a feature that transforms your Pokemon into a towering giant. However, some monsters can also Gigantamax, which sees their physical form change while also gaining a special move.

Up to this point, G-Max characters have only been available during one-off events. But to celebrate the release of Isle of Armor, Sword & Shield is having a Gigantamax Raid event that is running from June 2 at 1PM UTC, and ends on the 29th at 11:59PM UTC.

For the first time ever, players can get a second chance at obtaining all of these incredible monsters. So what better time than now to catch every G-Max you’re missing before the DLC adds more to the RPG.

Stock up on EXP items

Trainers will no doubt be familiar with the iconic Rare Candy item, as it automatically jumps your character up to the next level. However, Sword & Shield has other items which can increase your ‘mon by multiple levels at once.

• Read More: 5 things you missed from Pokemon’s last Isle of Armor trailer
  

The 2019 title introduced players to the Wild Area. The open-world section has Raid dens, and participating in them can yield you EXP Candy. Players will want to tackle five-star battles, as you are given the XL and L versions of the experience-boosting food.

Going into the Isle of Armor with a pocket full of these candies will ensure your favorite monsters get leveled up quickly. If nothing else, it will lessen the time you spend grinding so you can be catching instead!

Prepare your team

Currently, it’s unknown which type of foes you will be facing in the DLC, however the addon is introducing new rivals. For Sword, players will be getting Klara, who is a Poison-type Trainer. Psychic-type character Avery will be exclusive to Shield.  Here’s our picks on best monsters to possibly counter them.

Sword

• Flygon (Ground / Dragon)
• Excadrill (Ground / Steel)
• Espeon (Psychic)
• Beheeyem (Psychic)
• Rhyperior (Ground)

Shield

• Dragapult (Ghost / Dragon)
• Golurk (Ground / Ghost)
• Tyranitar (Rock / Dark)
• Hydreigon (Dark / Dragon)
• Grimmsnarl (Dark / Fairy)