Author: Trafficblast

Pokemon Home, the cloud-based Pokemon storage service, will release in February 2020.

Designed to essentially replace Pokemon Bank, Pokemon Home is compatible with Pokemon Go, Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, and Sword and Shield. It can also be linked to Pokemon Bank, which means that it is effectively compatible with all the 3DS Pokemon games, too.

Because of the link to Pokemon Bank, theoretically, Pokemon you have collected from as far back as the Sapphire and Ruby generation on Game Boy Advance could be transferred into Pokemon Home.

With all your monsters in Home’s storage, they can then be transferred into Pokemon Sword and Shield, provided the game supports them. And with the new Sword and Shield Expansion Pass adding more older Pokemon to the game, you should be able to take even more of your collection into battle.

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Pokemon Sword and Shield are getting brand-new Pokemon post-release. During today’s Pokemon Direct, three new creatures were revealed: Kubfu, Urshifu, and Calyrex. The first two will arrive with Isle of Armor expansion coming in June, while Calyrex is coming with The Crown Tundra in Fall 2020. The two DLC packs comprise the contents of the newly announced Sword and Shield expansion pass.

Kubfu and Urshifu are classified as the Wushu Pokemon. Kubfu is a pure Fighting-type with the ability Inner Focus, and according to lore, it used to live in Galar before moving to the mountainous areas of the Isle of Armor. After undergoing “sufficient training,” Kubfu evolves into one of two forms of Urshifu: Single Strike Style or Rapid Strike Style. Single Strike Urshifu is a Fighting- and Dark-type and favors brute force, while Rapid Strike Urshifu is Fighting- and Water-type and attacks more calmly. Both have the ability Unseen Fist, which is new to Pokemon. Each form of Urshifu also has a respective Gigantamax form.

The Crown Tundra expansion, meanwhile, will add Calyrex, the King Pokemon. It’s a Psychic- and Grass-type Legendary Pokemon that “ruled all of Galar in ancient times.” According to lore, “it’s said to see every past, present, and future event.” It has the ability Unnerve.

New Pokemon aren’t the only thing coming in Sword and Shield’s expansions, however; there are also old, returning Pokemon coming, among other things. Catch up on all the announcements below.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are receiving a paid expansion pass, and you’ll be able to get a taste of it later today. Following the Pokemon Direct broadcast, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company will release an update for Sword and Shield that adds a “small slice” of expansion pass content to the games, whether or not you’ve purchased the pass.

Once the update is live, you’ll be able to go to Wedgehurst Station and meet a new character who appears in the games’ first expansion, Isle of Armor, which is slated to release this June. The character you meet will differ depending on which version you play and will be a new rival you face off against in the expansion. Sword players will meet Klara, a Poison-type trainer, while Shield players will encounter Avery, a Psychic-type trainer.

That’s not the only new content coming to the games today. You’ll also be able to claim a new Pokemon: Galarian Slowpoke. Unlike a standard Slowpoke, this new regional variant is a pure Psychic-type, and its Ability can be either Gluttony or Own Tempo. You can evolve this Slowpoke into a Galarian Slowbro after you’ve obtained a special item in the Isle of Armor expansion, while an item in the Crown Tundra expansion–which is coming this fall–will cause it to evolve into Galarian Slowking.

The Pokemon Sword and Shield expansion pass costs $30 USD and will be available to purchase today. It covers the aforementioned two expansions, each of which adds a new environment to explore, a bunch of new and returning Pokemon, new clothing items, and more. You’ll also receive a free bonus for purchasing the pass: a Pikachu uniform and Eevee uniform for your trainer. You’ll get a download code for the bonuses via email, which you can then redeem in the games via Mystery Gift to claim your outfits.

There was a lot of other news out of today’s Pokemon Direct; you can catch up on all the latest stories below.

Sword and Shield‘s Pokedex is about to get a little bigger. During today’s 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.

Each expansion comes with its own Pokedex to complete, though we don’t know just 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.

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).

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.

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.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are getting two expansions this year as part of the expansion pass, as revealed during today’s Pokemon Direct. And the second of the two expansions is adding a major new feature: Rather than simply battle a strong Pokemon at a raid den, in the Crown Tundra expansion, you’ll be able to “explore the full depth of Pokemon Dens” and even encounter Legendary Pokemon from previous games therein.

The Crown Tundra expansion for Sword and Shield is the second of the two and is scheduled for release during Fall 2020. Being the later expansion, it’s expected that details are a little scarce. We don’t yet know how exploring the raid dens will work, just that players can group up, enter the dens, and explore them with the possibility of finding rare Legendary Pokemon from other games. Brand-new Legendary Pokemon will also be found in the dens.

Interestingly, this expansion will also introduce an element of co-op, which will involve trainers teaming up to catch Pokemon in the dens.

Cave exploration was largely absent from Sword and Shield’s base adventure, save for brief jaunts through the Galar Mine. Fumbling your way through a cave is kind of a staple of the Pokemon experience, so the prospect of new spelunking adventures (and with friends, at that) is an exciting one.

This is only a piece of all the announcements from today’s Direct, though. Catch up on all the details about the two Sword and Shield expansions, Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, below.

Pokemon Home finally has a release window. During today’s Pokemon Direct presentation, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company revealed that the new cloud storage service will launch sometime in February 2020.

Pokemon Home was first announced last June, although few details were shared at the time. The Pokemon Bank-like service will be released for Switch and smartphones and allows you to store monsters you’ve captured in Pokemon Go, Pokemon Let’s Go, and Pokemon Sword and Shield to the cloud. You can also transfer Pokemon from Bank on 3DS to Home and then import them into Sword and Shield, provided the Pokemon appear in the Galar Pokedex. That includes the old, returning Pokemon who are being added to the games as part of the upcoming expansion pass; they just need to be in the Isle of Armor or Crown Tundra Pokedexes.

Today’s Pokemon Direct brought many other announcements; you can catch up on some of the news below.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are getting paid DLC. During today’s Pokemon Direct presentation, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company announced an expansion pass for the Switch Pokemon games which costs $30 USD and consists of two DLC packs that each add new environments, new Pokemon, over 100 clothing items, and much more to the adventure.

Isle Of Armor

The first expansion, dubbed Isle of Armor, arrives this June and allows players to travel to the eponymous island, which is home to a handful of new and returning Pokemon not found in Galar proper. The theme of this expansion is “growth.” Among the new Pokemon players can discover here is the new Legendary, Kubfu, a Fighting-type bear that can evolve into Urshifu. Urshifu has two possible forms, Single Strike Style or Rapid Strike Style; the former is a Fighting/Dark-type, while the latter is Fighting/Water. Each of Urshifu’s forms is also able to Gigantamax.

Players will encounter a few never-before-seen characters on the Isle of Armor as well, such as Mustard, a former Pokemon League Champion and Leon’s mentor. Training under Mustard on the Isle of Armor is a new rival character, who will differ depending on which version you’re playing. Pokemon Sword players will meet Klara, a cunning Poison-type trainer, while Shield players will face off against Avery, a gentlemanly Psychic-type trainer.

Crown Tundra

The second expansion, dubbed The Crown Tundra, will follow sometime this fall. The theme of this expansion is “exploration,” and it’s set in a new arctic area of the Galar region called the Crown Tundra. This area is likewise home to a variety of new and returning Pokemon, such as the new Grass/Psychic-type Calyrex.

Like the Wild Area, the Crown Tundra is dotted with a number of Max Raid dens, and this time you’ll actually be able to enter and explore the dens with other players. Deep inside these dens, you’ll have a chance to encounter Legendary Pokemon from previous titles. New Legendary Pokemon also lurk in these dens, including what appear to be Galarian forms of the Legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.

New And Old Pokemon

As previously mentioned, each expansion introduces an assortment of new and returning Pokemon to Sword and Shield. You’ll only be able to capture these Pokemon either on the Isle of Armor or in the Crown Tundra, but players who haven’t purchased the expansion pass can still obtain the monsters through trading. There will also be new regional variants for some familiar Pokemon, such as Galarian Slowpoke. Unlike a Kantonia Slowpoke, this variant is a pure Psychic-type.

Expansion Pass Preview And Bonus

Following the Pokemon Direct, The Pokemon Company will roll out an update for Sword and Shield that lets players sample the new expansion pass content. After the update goes live, you’ll be able to head to Wedgehurst Station and meet Klara or Avery, depending on which version you own. You’ll also be able to catch a Galarian Slowpoke, whether or not you’ve purchased the expansion pass.

If you do pick up the pass, however, you’ll get a special bonus: a Pikachu uniform and an Eevee uniform for your trainer. After purchasing an expansion pass, you’ll receive a download code for the outfits via email, which you can then enter via Mystery Gift.

There was a lot more news in today’s big Pokemon Direct presentation, including the reveal of a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon remake for Switch. You can catch up on more announcements from the broadcast below.

Pokemon Sword and Shield is getting a $29.99 / £26.99 Expansion Pass (no Australian price available at time of writing) this year, featuring two new adventures – and it’ll bring back more than 200 of the past games’ Pokemon missing from the new Galarian Pokedex.

The Isle of Armor expansion will be available by the end of June, while The Crown Tundra will arrive in fall. You can pre-purchase the Pass today, which will earn you codes for Pikachu and Eevee uniforms to use in-game.

The new expansions include entire new areas – accessible as soon as you reach the game’s Wild Area – and will introduce brand new Pokemon (with some exclusives depending on your version of the game), new Galarian regional forms and new Legendaries. Both will come with their own Pokedex, new characters, new outfits, and include Pokemon Dens with brand new Max Raid Battles. Players without the Expansion Pass can be invited into these Max Raids by those who do.

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In the extremely unlikely event you didn’t already know, Disney+ is live and you can sign up for the service right now. If you just want Disney+, the service is $6.99, and includes every Disney show and movie you can imagine, all available on-demand, and will be the exclusive streaming home for future Disney movies like Frozen 2 in 2020.

You can also sign up for a risk-free, 7-day Disney+ free trial if you’re on the fence about it and use it to stream all of season 1 of The Mandalorian for free. If you decide you like Disney+, you can add it to your existing Hulu or ESPN+ subscription as by following the simple steps below.

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Nintendo has announced Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, a remake of the 2006 roguelikes in which players take on the role of a human that has been transformed into a Pokemon.

Releasing on March 6, 2020, Rescue Team DX recreates the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team. Like those original games, players must take a personality test at the start of the adventure to determine the type of Pokemon they will become. Both the player’s form and their partner Pokemon are chosen from a pool of 16 creatures.

A demo will be available later today at 7am PT / 10am ET / 9pm UK, and save data can be transferred to the full game.

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