Pokemon Sword and Shield Crown Tundra expansion: Everything we know

 The Pokemon Sword and Shield: Crown Tundra expansion is due for release sometime in 'Fall 2020'. The Crown Tundra will be the second piece of DLC for the Gen 8 titles, and will introduce another new area to the Galar region. Although there's still no confirmed release date, we still already have plenty of information about the upcoming Pokemon Sword and Shield expansion, so here's everything you need to know about The Crown Tundra. 

Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra release date

Surprisingly, the Pokemon Company hasn’t shared any official released date yet, beyond the original vague "Fall 2020" window. The Nintendo Game Store specifies that it will arrive before the end of November 2020.

Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra size

The Crown Tundra will be way bigger than the Isle of Armor - the first DLC released as part of the Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass - and will be focused on the theme of exploration. According to data miner Matt on Twitter, you should expect the Crown Tundra to be situated to the south of Galar. 

The Pokemon Company has already explained that the theme of the Crown Tundra is exploration, with players meeting Peony, an explorer who’ll put you in charge of their exploration team. Interestingly, there has been some speculation that Peony is somehow related to Chairman Rose, the main antagonist in Pokemon Sword and Shield. However, that has yet to be substantiated. 

Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra story

Recent leaks show there’s a lot of places to explore in the Crown Tundra including cold mountains and vast open areas, filled with different Pokemon dens. To take advantage of the wild range of locales, rumors suggest that the Crown Tundra will have several stories involving different Legendary Pokemon. This is according to a Twitter user named SciresM, who discovered that the mission names were already stored in the games.

The leak suggests that there will be a total of four chapters or missions available. We still don’t know much about these missions, but just by looking at the names, we already have a pretty good idea of the Pokemon that’ll be involved.

The first one is called A Legendary Tree of A Legendary Three, which, based on what we’ve seen so far, we can guess it’ll be the mission where you find the Legendary Birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. The second one is called The Terrible Titans...Lurking Locked Away. Because of the name, it seems obvious that this mission will be about Regigigas, Regice, Registeel, and Regirock, as well as the new Regieleki and Regidrago.

The last two stories are called They Came From the Ultra Beyond, which will seemingly involve the Ultra Beasts that were first introduced in Pokemon Sun and Moon, and The Sacred Bonds of Sovereign and Steel, which is rumored to be about Calyrex and two other horse Pokemon that haven’t been introduced.

Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra Legendary Pokemon

After the backlash around the lack of a National Pokedex in Pokemon Sword and Shield, it was a relief to see some returning Pokemon arrive with the Isle of Armor expansion, and now more are coming with the Crown Tundra.

Recent leaks may have revealed which Pokemon will debut in the Crown Tundra. Some old favorites, like Dragonite and Metagross, will come back to the game. However, most of the returning Pokemon will be Legendary and Mythical.

Almost every Legendary and Mythical Pokemon from previous generations will be available after the Crown Tundra, just like we saw in the official trailer. Although, it looks like some Mythical Pokemon, like Deoxys and Hoopa, will still be left out of the game, the Crown Tundra may also reintroduce all the Ultra Beasts from Sun and Moon.

Interestingly, it's looking likely that the Legendary Trios from the Kanto and Hoenn regions will be the main focus. All three of the Legendary Birds from the Kanto region are getting Galarian forms for the Crown Tundra, and it seems they may be fighting over some kind of tree. 

Other than the name of the mission - A Legendary Tree for a Legendary Three - we don’t know much about its plot though.

Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra new Pokemon

The main Pokemon in the Crown Tundra is called Calyrex. It’s a Psychic and Grass Pokemon that’s said to see every past, present, and future event. So far, all we know about Calyrex is that it’ll be important to the Crown Tundra storyline, but no inkling as to why.

But it seems that Calyrex won’t be alone in this adventure. According to some leaks, there are still two Pokemon that we haven’t seen yet. Not only that but these Pokemon will be able to fuse with Calyrex in some way. This is further supported by data miner Matt on Twitter, which discovered two new items that are related to Calyrex and its fusions. 

Unfortunately, it seems that these two Pokemon will be version exclusives. Although it’s possible that, just like Urshifu in the Isle of Armor, you’ll be able to choose which Pokemon to get, making the other one unattainable. 

Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra new items and features

Besides the new missions and Pokemon, there’ll be new features added to Pokemon Sword and Shield. First, there will be a new co-op mode where you’ll explore Pokemon Dens with other players, and you’ll have to choose which paths you explore. You’ll encounter different Dynamax Pokemon and possibly even Legendary Pokemon as well.

Also, we’ll see a new Galarian Star Tournament. This tournament will take place in Wyndon and it’ll be 2 vs. 2 battles against familiar faces from Galar. You’ll be able to pick your teammate and take on the tournament together. 

As for new items, Competitive Pokemon players will be happy to know that a new Hidden Ability capsule has been discovered in the files of Pokemon Sword and Shield. This will be the first time you’ll be able to change the ability of a Pokemon to its hidden ability, helping any Pokemon become viable in the competitive scene.