Sword & Shield **Official news only** DLC Crown Tundra 22nd October

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
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I'd also point how the weather-setting of Max-Moves specifically isn't as gamebreaking as people make it.
Was anyone saying they were? Overall I do feel Dynamax is sort of a more fairer mechanic than Mega Evos and Z-Moves. Mega Evos was a permanent power-up but only a select handful of Pokemon got a Mega Evo and the meta sort of forced you to also use a Mega. Z-Moves was a one-use nuke that mainly was used to 1HKO but left the Pokemon then without an item, it still ended up meaning both players needed to have one to remain competitive even if they wanted to use another item. Dynamax lasted three turns that gave you suped up moves but still let you hold any item you wanted, so after the Dynamax ends the battle returns to normal.

As I've always said, the issue with Dynamax isn't the mechanic but the aesthetic and how the aesthetic kind of took over what could have been a more flexible mechanic.

Overally, the weather setting is actually one of the most sacrificable effect of a Max Move assuming the Giga effect is worth it.
Eh, depends what your strategy is.

Closer Look At Isle Of Armor Map:

  • We'll start at the station where Flying Taxi drops you off.
  • Sticking to the land for now, you cross a bridge leading up to the dojo BUT WAIT, to the left is an entrance into a cave that's only accessible via waterbike. The cave leads out into a coastal inlet (the entrance into it is being blocked by the Flying Taxi). While there's a stretch of land leading out of the entrance, you'll need to waterbike to the other piece of shore to the left of the entrance, the little island in the middle of the inlet, and finally out of it into the leftmost district of islands. But we'll get back to those later.
  • Back to the Dojo (which has a battlefield hidden away behind it), walking past it you'll enter a new district. It starts with an open field but right away there's a cave entrance. The cave looks like it have three other entrances: the rightmost that you'll ride out of using the waterbike and leads out to the rightmost/bottom district of islands. The top right entrance leads to the Tower of Darkness. The top left entrance leads out to another open area where even more options open up.
    • First there's yet another cave but this one leads you to an unknown strip of land within the hill.
    • If you take the left bridge down you enter another district that's colored green and has trees around it so could mean its a forest(?). Whether you walk out of it or ride the river it eventually leads you into the next district where the Tower of Waters reside.
  • Finally we have all the districts of islands. From what it looks like you can only access them if the water is a light blue.
    • Rightmost/bottom district is either accessed via the shoreline outside the station or the waterbike entrance of the second cave system. There are 5 sandy islands, 2 cliff islands (questionable if they can be visited or just something coming out of the water), and 2 lime green islands I have no clue what it means but one of them notably has a crown. Also should be noted there's a hidden shoreline at the bottom.
    • Leftmost district is accessed via the inlet or off the shore near the Tower of Waters. There are 3 sandy islands, 2 cliff islands, and 1 lime green island.
    • Top-left district is only accessible by the other island district next to it. It has one of each type of island (sandy, cliff, & lime green).
    • Topmost district is accessible via the shore the Tower of Waters is on or the river in the second open area (the one where the top/last cave entrance is connected to). Its cutoff but at the very top there's a single sandy island and 3 cliff islands. However the most obvious island is the mysterious giant tree which has something to do with the Galarian Bird Trio which counts as its own district.

And that's all I can see.

So I guess the train that Galarian slowpoke came over on must go underwater, 'cause I sure don't see any train tracks to the Isle. :P
the bit of dialog you get out of the slowpoke encounter does mention a pit stop, at least
But the Galarian Slowpoke is from the island, even if there was a pitstop that still means somehow the Slowpoke flew over on the Flying Taxi and boarded the train.

Of course another option is that, for the purpose of the event, Klara/Avery could have traveled over by boat and then transferred to a train. However the player would take a Flying Taxi just to simplify things.
 
I have a theory about the Isle of Armor. If you look at the pseudo legendaries, bar Dragapult, the currently available ones are version exclusives. Tyranitar and Goodra are exclusive to Shield; Hydreigon and Kommo-o are exclusive to Sword. A look at Tyranitar and Goodra's stats and movepool show their main role is that of a tank - taking a hit and then returning fire. Both have good defences, and abilities that help them do this job (Sand Stream is basically a free Assault Vest, Sap Sipper gives Goodra another immunity and Hydration lets it shrug off status in Rain). Hydreigon is meant to come in on something it resists, and blow stuff up. It has a wide movepool, and 2 immunities courtesy of Levitate, as well as decent bulk, giving it plenty of space to come in. A look at Kommo-o's movepool shows it's meant to be a boosting sweeper - Swords Dance, Dragon Dance, Bulk Up, Belly Drum, Autotomize and Clangorous Soul all help with this, and its high base Defence means it's hard to revenge kill. So what's my point? The more offensively inclined pseudos are exclusive to Sword, while the more defensively inclined ones are exclusive to Shield. The Crown Tundra has confirmed that the Garchomp and Metagross lines are coming back. If current trends continue, Garchomp will be exclusive to Sword and Metagross will be exclusive to Shield. Therefore, I believe that Dragonite and Salamence will both return, as they are the only pseudo legendaries that haven't been confirmed yet, and Dragonite will be exclusive to Shield while Salamence will be exclusive to Sword.
 
"It has been announced that the plans to allow for prebooking tickets for the movie, Pokémon the Movie Coco have been delayed beyond the planned April 17th date. At present there's no further dates for when it will be able to be prepurchased. However, it has been stated that the movie is still set for release on July 10th 2020 at this time."

Seems like Zarude's distribution got delayed.
 
"It has been announced that the plans to allow for prebooking tickets for the movie, Pokémon the Movie Coco have been delayed beyond the planned April 17th date. At present there's no further dates for when it will be able to be prepurchased. However, it has been stated that the movie is still set for release on July 10th 2020 at this time."

Seems like Zarude's distribution got delayed.
Not really. Even if you purchase the 前売券, which is more of a "presale ticket" than a "prebooking ticket", Zarude was only redeemable starting June 15th. They can delay when those tickets go on sale, and as long as that date is before June 15th, I don't really see Zarude's distribution getting delayed at all. That said, what has been delayed is the shiny Celebi's distribution, which was supposed to start on April 17th, the original date for when the 前売券 is available.

The way this works is that it's essentially a card with a serial code on the back that allows you to redeem a movie ticket. You can use the code to redeem a ticket for that movie at any cinema for any date and time when the movie is released. For example, I can buy that card in Tokyo when it comes out, then use it to redeem a ticket to see the movie when it comes out in Okinawa. So really, you're not "booking" anything, you're just buying a code, as well as the cool design on the card and whatever other goodies it may come with (see below). IIRC, cinema seating in North America isn't assigned, but in Japan it is. When I decide I want to see the movie, I simply go online, pick the cinema, date, time, whatever seat I want, then enter the code instead of having to pay.

The front design of the 前売券:


The back of the 前売券:

Scratch off the top left bit for the Celebi code, and the top right bit for the Zarude code. The code for the ticket when you choose to redeem it is the 10-digit code that shows as 0000000000 in the picture above.
 
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Based on the new info that we got recently, I'm going to downplay my expectations for The Isle of Armor. To me, it feels like it's going to be very similar to the Delta Episode of ORAS, lengthwise and probably content-wise. The content seems to be split between challenging one of the towers to get Urshifu and then, probably once that's completed, you get to challenge the Dojo. In fact, I would bet money that Restricted Sparring Battles are going to be held there, and that's how we will earn whatever currency the Move Tutors/TR Sellers use. I think the rest of the areas will just be explorable/Wild Area without any story purpose. Maybe some trainers, new items, new dens to fill it in.

The two areas that interest me are the six-pronged island at the top and the crown stamped island to the east. With the map in hand, I went back to the original announcement trailer and it looks like there is a den on two of the prongs/spokes, which I thought a little weird, as I had a hunch that it might have something to do with an event (my original hypothesis was that it had to do something with gathering the Regis,). Looking at the trailer, I don't think it has anything to do with the Bird Trio; the tree they are shown against is bigger, redder, and has berries/fruit on it, while the concept art for the island tree and the new trailer show it to be regular sized. IDK what to make of the crown island; perhaps that's where we can teach our starter to Gigantamax? On a side note, as I was looking at the announcement trailer, I noticed something: since when does Slowbro have a frilly ascot?
slowpoke1.JPG

I'm going to reserve judgment for the Crowned Tundra, but it seems that it will be geared more toward co-op. It won't feature new items, new moves, or the Restricted Battles so I think it may be a bit bigger and give us more chances to explore.
 
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Based on the new info that we got recently, I'm going to downplay my expectations for The Isle of Armor. To me, it feels like it's going to be very similar to the Delta Episode of ORAS, lengthwise and probably content-wise. The content seems to be split between challenging one of the towers to get Urshifu and then, probably once that's completed, you get to challenge the Dojo. In fact, I would bet money that Restricted Sparring Battles are going to be held there, and that's how we will earn whatever currency the Move Tutors/TR Sellers use. I think the rest of the areas will just be explorable/Wild Area without any story purpose. Maybe some trainers, new items, new dens to fill it in.

The two areas that interest me are the six-pronged island at the top and the crown stamped island to the east. With the map in hand, I went back to the original announcement trailer and it looks like there is a den on two of the prongs/spokes, which I thought a little weird, as I had a hunch that it might have something to do with an event (my original hypothesis was that it had to do something with gathering the Regis,). Looking at the trailer, I don't think it has anything to do with the Bird Trio; the tree they are shown against is bigger, redder, and has berries/fruit on it, while the concept art for the island tree and the new trailer show it to be regular sized. IDK what to make of the crown island; perhaps that's where we can teach our starter to Gigantamax? On a side note, as I was looking at the trailer, I noticed something: since when does Slowbro have a frilly ascot?

I'm going to reserve judgment for the Crowned Tundra, but it seems that it will be geared more toward co-op. It won't feature new items, new moves, or the Restricted Battles so I think it may be a bit bigger and give us more chances to explre.
Huh good catch on the Slowbro. I hadn't seen that pointed out before.

Maybe it's meant to be a bib? There is a bit of a food theme going on.
 
Huh good catch on the Slowbro. I hadn't seen that pointed out before.

Maybe it's meant to be a bib? There is a bit of a food theme going on.
Avery has one, which follows the theme of trainers/gym leaders incorporating Pokemon themes from their specialty type into their wardrobe. Which, as somone pointed out earlier on this thread I think, has some interesting implications for Klara and what appears to be the Dustox on her head...
 

earl

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Huh good catch on the Slowbro. I hadn't seen that pointed out before.

Maybe it's meant to be a bib? There is a bit of a food theme going on.
Pretty sure it's a cravat, maybe the regional 'bro has a royalty theme going on and/or ties into Avery's design.

As for overall content predictions (even though I don't plan on buying it atm), I expect more, or at least more entertaining, content than the typical post-game episode of "go to point A, battle something, go to point B, battle something, etc". Maybe the actual story part will be about as long, but having the additional wild area+a dungeon or two should make it a lot more substantial than another arbitrary quest through the region you've already explored.
 
So how many regional variants can we expect to see in each expansion? We got slowbro and slowking, and the legends, and we know there are at least 100 returning pokemon per pack. Slowbro, slowing, and the kanto birds are all confirmed, but i cant see them stopping at like 3 or 4 lines per dlc. And even then, maybe there are regional evolutions that can arise as well. I want to see at least...8-to 10 per expansion.
 
So how many regional variants can we expect to see in each expansion? We got slowbro and slowking, and the legends, and we know there are at least 100 returning pokemon per pack. Slowbro, slowing, and the kanto birds are all confirmed, but i cant see them stopping at like 3 or 4 lines per dlc. And even then, maybe there are regional evolutions that can arise as well. I want to see at least...8-to 10 per expansion.
I'm thinking 10 total. About 5 in each. Slowpoke, Slowbro, some 3 others (maybe a full line, maybe partial) for Armor. Slowking, the 3 Birds and Regigigas for Tundra.
 
Considering the delays the videogame industry as a whole is having I'm wondering if the crown tundra will be even released this year, on the upside maybe Gamefreak releases some more expansion passes releasing the rest of the pokemon since this has undoubtedly delayed any plans they had for gen IX, and a bunch of models + maybe a new area are definitely faster to make that a whole new region
 
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Considering the delays the videogame industry as a whole is having I'm wondering is the crown tundra will be even released this year, on the upside maybe Gamefreak releases some more expansion passes releasing the rest of the pokemon since this has undoubtedly delayed any plans they had for gen IX, and a bunch of models + maybe a new area are definitely faster to make that a whole new region
Depending on how it goes I could see them just continuing to be on track, just shifted over some X months.
I mean it's basically an industry wide freeze at its worst* so when it does end the idea to me would just be...continue going as usual. like gen 9 was set for we'll just say November 2022. Now it'll be set for, in this scenario, let's just say mid 2023. Meanwhile their 2020 plans shift 6 months into 2021, their 2021 plans shift into 2022 etc.



*ah, well, i mean the actual worst scenario is the economy collapses and this is all moot, but , you know....
 
Depending on how it goes I could see them just continuing to be on track, just shifted over some X months.
I mean it's basically an industry wide freeze at its worst* so when it does end the idea to me would just be...continue going as usual. like gen 9 was set for we'll just say November 2022. Now it'll be set for, in this scenario, let's just say mid 2023.
But the holidays -:<- what would happen to the Q4 earnings reports? what would the investors say? *bites on handkerchief dramatically*
 
Zarude gets a move called Jungle Healing at level 90.

ザルードがレベル90になると覚える技「ジャングルヒール」は、ザルードと味方のポケモンのHPと状態異常を回復するくさタイプの変化技。身体中のツルを木々に巻きつけ、吸収したエネルギーを、ザルード自身が持つエネルギーと融合させて放つ。
At level 90, Zarude learns the move "Jungle Heal", a grass-type move which recovers Zarude and its allies' HP and status ailments.





Maybe because Sceptile GX has a move by the same name...

 
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So Life Dew with status healing? I can see it having its uses, especially in doubles. 25% healing and removing status ailments on self is also potentially not terrible in singles, particularly for removing burns as your opponent switches out.

(We don't know exactly how much it heals, but 25% is a safe assumption until otherwise shown, I think.)
 

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