Pokémon DLC Isle of Armor (First Impressions)

The first dlc pack from Pokémon is officially out and it has me pleasantly surprised! I went into this with my expectations kept low for the most part and honestly it has done more than enough for me to justify the price tag (at least half of it). The dlc is sold with both packs bundled together for $30 and this is well worth the first $15. I’ve said it before, but I really believe that this is a great step for the franchise and will allow us to get more regular content from Pokémon without having to shell out for a completely new game every year. These smaller story and content updates make the game feel fresh for a much longer time and give us a reason to revisit the game.

The dlc allows us to visit The Isle of Armor and we are immediately greeted by a new rival for this storyline, which will differ based on the version. In my case I met Avery, since I was playing Shield. Avery acts like a big-shot and assumes that he will steamroll the player, needless to say he doesn’t take it well when we make quick work of him. He leads us, against his will, to the dojo we are supposed to be joining and the storyline begins!

We join in this dojo which is run by the prestigious Master Mustard who gifts us a cool dojo uniform upon our acceptance into the dojo. Mustard decides the dojo is full now and decides it is time to give the entire dojo 3 trials to complete in order to prove ourselves and gain access to the Dojo’s secret armor. Upon completing these tasks, which consist of chasing down fast slowpoke, finding mushrooms, and a predictable battle, we are rewarded with this amazing armor we have been told about. The armor is not something to be worn however. It is actually a Pokémon, one that will protect it’s trainer in much the same way as a suit of armor. It’s Kubfu!

Pay no attention to the Pokémon’s grumpy disposition, it is a shy little guy who will take plenty of love and attention t become a loyal friend. This leads us into the next section in which we are tasked with gaining Kubfu’s trust and friendship by taking it to different locations on the island in order to show it around and get it introduced to the outside world.

After taking the little guy on a nice sightseeing adventure, we have gained the trust of Kubfu and have earned the right to be his partner. Returning to Mustard to tell him the good news prompts him to tell us the second step of Kubfu’s journey. In order to unlock his full power and potential we need to take him up one of two towers. The Tower of Waters or the Tower of Darkness. Upon completion of the tower we choose Kubfu will gain the power he is supposed to have. I chose the tower of waters and after a few battles (in which you are only allowed to use Kubfu) we gained access to the scroll that unlocked his full power and caused him to evolve!

Urshifu is one of the coolest new Pokémon I have seen in a while, and he comes in two different forms. By taking him up the Tower of Waters he gained access to water typing and a special multi-hit move that comes with his Rapid-strike Style. The Tower of Darkness would have given him the Single-strike style which gives a more powerful attack, but one that only hits one time.

This is more or less the end of the storyline part of this dlc, but there are plenty of other features added in to the game with this dlc. For instance they added something in on the Isle of Armor that Pokémon fans have been asking for for a long time. They added the ability to have Pokémon follow you on the overworld! And the best part is that they even appear with their shiny forms!

While this is only available on the Isle of Armor and not throughout the rest of the game world, this is a great added feature and one that has been sorely missed in the main series of games since Heart Gold and Soul Silver, at least outside of the Let’s Go games. It adds a sense of life to the world and makes you feel more connected to the Pokémon you bring with you. It’s also nice that they continue following even when you get on your bike (which gets some new customization options here as well) or while you are on the water!

There is also the added task in this dlc of finding 151 Diglett throughout the world and returning them to their trainer who will give a reward every so often. As of now I don’t know what the award is for finding them all, but I hope it is worth it! Another amazing addition in the dlc is the ability to use Max Soup which allows you to give the ability to Gigantamax to any Pokémon that has access to a G-max form. This is what can allow you to give a G-max form to say, my shiny Charizard for example. You are also gifted either a Bulbasaur or Squirtle with the ability to G-max upon achieving their final evolution. I chose Squirtle and now I have a G-max Blastoise!

All in all I think this has been a really awesome first step into the world of dlc for The Pokémon Company and it has raised my expectation’s for what is to come. It seems like there is still a good amount of content for me to delve into in The Isle of Armor and depending on what else I find here I will likely make another post on this content update. Overall I am happy to have some new Pokémon content to play through during such an otherwise stressful time. This will also be a nice reprieve whenever I need a break from The Last of Us Part II releasing soon.

As always, thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you think about Pokémon diving into the world of dlc and whether or not you think this was a good first step for them. Give me your thoughts in the comments below! Be sure to check back (at least) every Wednesday and Saturday for new posts and sign-up via email to make sure you never miss anything! Be safe and have a great day!