So normally this part would be saved for post game, but since I'm doing Isle of Armor after post game it unlocks as soon as I evolve Kubfu.
Reason it has to be post game? Cause Hop suddenly appears in the Dojo saying he's on research assignment cause he's now Sonia's lab assistant. She sent Hop to the Isle of Armor as she prefers someplace colder (hmm, so Sonia is going to appear in the Frozen Tundra?). Mustard invites Hop to stay with them while researching and tells us that Urshifu can Gigantamax. However, Urshifu refuses to eat Max Soup as it doesn't like mushrooms (had no problem eating the Mushroom Curry I made) so need to add something "sweet & sticky" to get it to eat the soup. But before you can roll your eyes about what is "sweet & sticky" a bear Pokemon would like to eat, Hop says he read in a book that Urshifu like honey. So, off to find Bug Poke... I mean Grass Pokemon cause Hop decides we should first look for nectar.
In the Forest of Focus we help a Lilligant find its child Petilil (great, GF is messing around with the idea of escort missions...) and chasing around a Applin that bops you on the head. We taste the nectar both gave us but it's not what we're looking for, Hop realizing we should be instead looking for Bug Pokemon, specifically Combee (I do like the game let's us call out Hop on it). We go to Honeycalm Island where Hop's Power Spot radar goes off the chart and we enter a Max Raid against a Vespiquen where we earn a Max Honey.
We bring back the Max Honey to the Dojo and mix it with the Max Soup, allowing Urshifu to Gigantamax. And now that Urshifu can Gigantamax, it is time. Mustard invites us for one final battle. For most of his team I wipe them aside with Cinderace, but then it comes time for Urshifu. Both I and Mustard send out our Urshifu and we both Gigantamax, I with Single Strike and him with Rapid Strike. Now, I knew this was going to happen so thought ahead. Unlike last time, since Single Strike is weak to Fighting that means it'll use Max Knuckle. So this time I gave Urshifu a Chople Berry and, knowing I can't 1HKO it, decided instead to start off with a Max Airstream to assure I had the faster Speed. As predicted his Urshifu uses Max Knuckle, Chople Berry reducing the damage though it does raise its Attack. Taking the risk, I do a G-Max One Blow... but doesn't knock it out. It does another Max Knuckle, but thanks to the first not doing as much damage my Urshifu is still up! I do a final G-Max One Blow and win the battle! And with this final battle I'm given Mustard's rare card, unlock Restricted Sparring, and I'm free to do whatever I want on the Isle of Armor. The End!
... WELL not yet. I still got the Dojo upgrades! After grinding Max Raids all over the island to get Ore to give to Digging Pa, I get enough Watts to upgrade the Dojo. This isn't my video but here's how the upgrades go and my thoughts on them:
- 5k Watts: Hairstylist at Dojo. Odd upgrade but at least you don't need to leave the island to change your hair. At first I thought the cutscene was glitched and the hairstylist model didn't load, but then it reveals they were talking through the door... and that we may not speak what we see inside. Well I guess if you're going to be lazy with the presentation you might as well try to be funny, I do the same with my writing except instead of being lazy it's making meaningful commentary.
- 10k Watts: Rotomi Terminal. So, apparently if you want a Rotami Terminal you call the Pokemon Center, odd, I would have thought there was a branch of Macro Cosmos that made the machines (like PokeJobs shows they have a Tech division, it has its own logo). Well, anyway the Dojo gets the Rotomi Terminal but Honey notices it's not working right. Turns out there's additional software we need to purchase, much to Honey's agitation. Gotta admit that was a bit funny. Would say a little jab at real life but then again I never bought a device that didn't already have the operating system already installed. Also, considering we got this from a Pokemon Center, that's a pretty skeevy thing fro the Pokemon Center to do.
- 20k Watts: Working Rotomi Terminal. After giving some sass to the Pokemon Center, we get the Rotomi up and running (wait, since Rotomi need Rotom to run it, does that mean they just gave us a trained Rotom?). But, oh no, now we need to purchase the Poke Ball Interface Module in order to transport Pokemon between our party and PC! Nah, just kidding (especially since we have the Portable PC so that would be a kind of pointless add-on). So now we have a working Rotomi to I guess edit our League Card and play the lottery.
- 30k Watts: Vending Machine with Fresh Water.
- 40k Watts: Soda Pop added to Vending Machine.
- 50k Watts: Lemonade added to Vending Machine. So Macro Cosmos Living apparently handles Vending Machines in Galar. Dojo has a Vending Machine now and Honey tells us that all items in the Dojo Vending Machine will be at a discount so if we want drinks (and later Vitamins) best to use the Dojo's vending machine. This is the first major benefit of the upgrades that isn't just for convenience and I think is a pretty good one that players raising a competitive team would likely use once they get access to the Vitamins! But for now Honey mentions she wants something to nosh on.
- 100k Watts: Fridge filled with Camping Ingredients. An alright upgrade if you still have some missing Curry recipes... if that Curry needs Fruit Bunch, Moomoo Cheese, Large Leek, or Sausages. Because that's that's the only four items you can get from the Fridge. I thought it was going to offer a new batch of items each day, but turns out its only those four which is kind of lame. The only point of all the different Curry is to fill your Curry Dex, otherwise its how well that you make it which counts. So if anything the ingredients you get should be ingredients to make a Curry you're missing from your Dex, including the rare and version exclusive ingredient (which is still a stupid idea and this could have been a way around it).
- 200k Watts: Second Vending Machine with Protein and Iron.
- 300k Watts: Calcium and Zinc added to Vending Machines.
- 400k Watts: HP Up and Carbos added to Vending Machines. And here are the Vitamins! 400k may sound like a lot but if you didn't already have that much you can easily get up to that amount after a few tries with the Digging Pa. Not sure if adding a second Vending Machine was necessary, though it was just now when we're looking at the vending machines close-up I noticed something odd: all vending machines have 6 kind of drinks in them. So aside from Fresh Water, Soda Pop, and Lemonade what are the other three drinks and why aren't we allowed to purchase them? Are they the PP restoring drinks?
- 500k Watts: Master Dojo background for League Card. Neat little reward, I'm sure some people will think of something funny to do with it.
- 800k Watts: Honey's League Card. What happened to 600k and 700k? You can still add PP Up, PP Max, and Rare Candy (and let's not pretend the Rare Candy is this special item anymore when you give out Dynamax Candy by the truckloads) to the Vending Machines. Well, anyway Honey calls the Pokemon League and the dialogue gets a bit odd:
Hello, hello? Is this the Pokemon League?
It's me again! Yes, me - Honey!
There's actually something really special I'd like your help putting together...
Oh, you! Now, don't tease!
No! I swear it's not like that! Heehee...
I'm not sure what the implication is supposed to be. Like are we to think the Pokemon League guy she's talking to was suggesting she do some kind of swimwear photoshoot (and I say swimwear as I doubt she would be responding like that if they asked about a nude photoshoot)? Also after giving us the card Honey mentions her initial plan was to give these out to promote the Master Dojo but the card didn't come out right, "they caught us in such a random moment". We're told to keep the card as a keepsake and not spread it around. But if you look at the card there's nothing really that off about it, it's just Honey posing and Mustard in the back making himself something in the kitchen. Really strange.
- 1 Mil Watts: Battle with Honey. So this one also starts out strange. Honey says she's going to give us a chance to battle the "strongest of Trainers" and calls up "her favorite Pokemon League". Whoever answered the phone recognizes her voice and she asks them for a favor. Well whoever it was couldn't get their region's Champion to come to Galar cause it was too far away. So apparently Honey looks to have some clout with other Pokemon Leagues if she can at least try to request a battle with that League's Champion. I'm curious if they actually had a certain League in mind or it's left to be ambiguous (she mentioned it was "the strongest of Trainers" and usually that refers to Red). Anyway instead she offers to battle another "Top trainer".
The above video never does that battle, so here's another video of the battle. Honey takes you to the Dojo battlefield but before she could reveal who we're battling the guy we saw at the beginning of the DLC shows up (and oddly it starts playing the "Follow Me" theme). Turns out, after chickening out joining the Master Dojo, he joined another dojo: The Wile Dojo. He's the top trainer there and is here to challenge Master Mustard to show the Wile Dojo is better. Tired of his attitude, Honey beats him up (well, they have a Pokemon battle, but she's probably also able to whoop him and throw him out the dojo herself). After beating him, Honey asks if he would like to start again at the Master Dojo, saying they'll "tear him down and build him back up as a proper trainer" with a sinister smile. The guy runs away and this apparently something Honey keeps on doing for potential students. And so Honey reveals herself to be that "top trainer" and the battle begins... really, the normal Trainer theme? If you didn't want to give Honey her own theme at least give her the battle theme Master Mustard first used (and the Galarian Slowpoke used). So I proceed to wipe her team with my Cinderace, once again didn't other Gigantamaxing against her G-Venusaur as I still took it out with one hit. Apparently Honey throws her Pokeballs so hard they warp in shape (and when she Gigantamaxes she chucks the giant Pokeball with one hand into the stratosphere). Honey mentions she's just as strong as Master Mustard and, after threatening she won't let us rest on our laurel, we go back inside. Now we can challenge Honey once per day which I think is a neat reward, always nice to have these bonus boss battles we can do again!
- 3,280,000 Watts: Stroll with Honey & Honey's Rare League Card. And the final reward is just Honey thanking you for your help by walking along the beach with her (plus getting her rare League Card). Honey tells us how she had her doubts when Mustard first opened the dojo, she was still working at her previous job and the dojo would require her entire attention. But despite concerns whether anyone would want to attend a dojo on an uninhibited island they gave it their all, and by the time Hyde came along they had many students who all helped out with the dojo. She finally gives us her Rare League Card and mentions how nice it is to just talk and take a stroll away from work. She says it's time to head back and we're given an option to agree or ask if you can stay out just a little longer. Because I knew the game wanted me to, I picked the latter option and she teases me for wanting to hog all of Honey's attention for myself. Laugh and end scene.
And that's it for the Dojo Upgrades! You can upgrade more Watts but it does nothing else (and I doubt they'll add more). So, guess I'll finally end this my my thoughts on Honey, Mustard, and the Isle of Armor DLC altogether:
Honey: When I first saw Honey and heard she was Mustard's wife I rolled my eyes and wondered what joke we were going with: Was she a younger woman married to an elderly man or was she older than she looked. It turned out to be the former though, while eye-rolling at first, once you see Mustard enter his serious battle stance you can see what she saw in him so I guess it's not too joke-y. And from what we saw/heard of their relationship its sweet. Through the League Card she also has a complex background to her, being a former CEO of a trading firm which she resigned to help build the Dojo (though is now planning on selling the Max Soup). Her rare League Card doesn't really reveal anything else more about her except she became a trainer cause she wanted to spend time with Mustard. It mentions she gained her strength from taking care of the Dojo's Pokemon and can handle strong Pokemon herself, specifying Gallade for some reason even though her Kanto Starter, Blissey, and Togekiss is higher level than it (would make more sense if it said Urshifu considering they appear on her rare League Card). The Dojo Upgrades also did a lot good with fleshing out her character, mostly for comedic effect though her battle shows she is not someone to mess with. I guess the final thing to mention is that, yes, throughout Dojo Upgrades they do play around with how sexy she is, and while she is good looking, I don't know she's not like "WOW" attractive. They try to play her as a somewhat seductress/femme fatale but I never quite bought it. *Shrugs*
Mustard: While Master Mustard was mostly what I expected him to be, I do like what they did with him. He's of course the wise master, but he's more playful with his approach which gives him some unpredictable moments like when he had the Galarian Slowpoke steal Avery/Klara's training clothes or how he dashed across the battlefield too fast for anyone to notice. His "serious mode" was also expected but still a cool transition nonetheless that hypes you up for both major battles with him. I also like his backstory which you only get a full picture of once you get his Rare League card. 50 years ago Mustard was the Fighting-type Gym Leader and, after beating the Fairy-type Gym Leader (Opal?) went on to become Champion for 18 years. He reigned for 18 years until he then lost his partner Pokemon (getting some Alder vibes here), he then started losing but didn't retire being Gym Leader until the Chairman at that time asked him to win in a rigged match. After that he globe-trotted when at some point, after seeing many ways people were "strong", decided to open a dojo wanting to see them all. So, yeah, a lot of drama to unpack there. Though not to be all serious, in his retirement he gained a liking for video games which we see in the DLC where he's playing Pokemon Quest, lol. I also find it interesting that he's a former Champion which I think is the first time we saw a former Champion aside from the one we defeat. Leon is too young to be the one who defeated him so that does mean there's at least one more former Champion (though more likely several as they make it sound 18 years may be a record) and would like to see GF maybe do something with that idea. But as for Mustard, I like what they did with him though there's one mystery about him that remains unanswered. Throughout the DLC Mustard says things like "the time has come" and "when the time comes" but it's never clear what he's talking about. He doesn't retire from being the master of the dojo so am I missing something?
THOUGHTS OF ISLE OF ARMOR: So, lets get to the big question: Was Isle of Armor with 15 bucks? Well obviously that depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a deep story, no. If you're looking for hours upon hours of new content, sadly no either. HOWEVER if you're just looking for a quick side adventure for a few hours with a story that has a few fun characters, gives you a nice sized island to explore, side activities to do, and some neat mechanic additions than I think that's where you'll get your money's worth. To make Isle of Armor "worth it" you really should take it easy and do everything that you can. Complete the story, upgrade the dojo, find those Alolan Digletts, participate in some Restricted Battles, explore the island seeing all the different following Pokemon animations and finding the cameos from the Gym Leaders (BTW I read Bea's dialogue for the DLC and it's kind of strange she never mentions the dojo that's being run by a former Fighting-type Gym Leader, also sad they don't have Opal as curious if she would have anything to say). The Isle of Armor vastly improved the Wild Area concept with actually having different terrain and environments to explore with secrets hidden here and there! I also liked that, in addition to just bringing back some Pokemon species, they also have characters which gift and trade you special Pokemon. Finally I like them allowing you to choose what Pokemon get to Gigantamax & adding in new Legendaries, regional variants, moves and a new battle style, a willingness to expand upon on things more than just bringing old Pokemon back.
The Isle of Armor has restored a bit of my faith in GF and I'm looking forward to see what the Frozen Tundra has to offer, especially since it's supposed to be the DLC that's even more about exploration!