Major Pokemon Sword and Shield DLC Would Be a Big Step Forward for Franchise

While no plans are official for DLC plans after Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Crown Tundra, rumors spell a big change for the Pokemon series.

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Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield tread in uncharted territory when it comes to their post-launch content structure. Sure, many games have adapted some form of DLC model to pad post-game activities and keep players engaged, but the Pokemon franchise has never done that before – until now.

With the Isle of Armor and upcoming Crown Tundra DLCs, as well as the possible and rumored future expansion(s) for the games, Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are setting what could be a huge prescient for the future of the Pokemon game franchise, which could mean less frequent installments and more additions to the games as they come out.

The Current DLC Structure

As of right now, Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield have two DLCs in place: The Isle of Armor, which debuted over the summer, and the upcoming Crown Tundra DLC slated for later this month. These were Game Freak’s first venture into DLC content for the franchise, and while the Crown Tundra has yet to make its debut, the Isle of Armor was generally well-received and went a fair way toward fixing some of the major complaints fans had with the base Sword and Shield experience. Over 100 Pokemon returned to the Galar region after being excluded from the base game through the Isle of Armor DLC, and even more Pokemon are on their way with The Crown Tundra.

The Crown Tundra is set to have every Legendary Pokemon from previous generations return through the new Dynamax Adventure game mode, as well as a new story revolving around the mysteries of this snowy landscape. If done correctly, this DLC could add a ton of post-game content for fans to tackle through the Dynamax Adventure and the Galarian Star Tournament, patching a big complaint that the endgame was a bit lackluster. These smaller DLC packs added a fair amount of content for the price paid, but many fans believe that something bigger is still in store for Sword and Shield after The Crown Tundra launches.

Beyond Sword and Shield’s Crown Tundra

The current big rumor spreading through the Pokemon fanbase has players believing that after The Crown Tundra launches, Game Freak will be introducing a DLC that will send players to the Kalos Region (of Pokemon X and Pokemon Y fame), or at least have a significant Kalos tie-in. Geographically it would make sense, as Galar is based on Great Britain while Kalos is based on France. While most of the other Pokemon Regions are based on various areas of Japan (or New York in the case of Unova), Kalos presents the perfect tie-in opportunity for those fans who have been craving the ability to journey to a second region in-game. This rumored DLC is what will truly set the standard for the Pokemon region moving forward.

The scale of this DLC could be something comparable to the combination of both current DLCs and could introduce one large new area to explore. If players are returning to Kalos, which is pretty considerable in size, then Game Freak could charge a higher price and make it a large expansion rather than a small-sized DLC like Isle of Armor or Crown Tundra. Reintroducing Kalos could bring a lot of changes and new opportunities to Sword and Shield. The issue with this method would be keeping game balance.

Players have had plenty of time to grind up Pokemon to Level 100, so unless encounter levels aggressively scale, then there won’t be much of a difficulty curve. The DLC could limit player Pokemon, perhaps give them a new starter and send them on their way, but that would limit the ties the DLC has to Sword and Shield. It’s a tricky situation to navigate that may not have one right answer.

However, there are some great possibilities if players were to venture to Kalos. First and foremost, it would be a great opportunity for Sword and Shield to add all the missing Pokemon from the game. The Crown Tundra DLC is adding many returning Pokemon, though mostly Legendary Pokemon, but there will still be some missing after this DLC launches. Kalos did not have a restricted Pokedex (though not every Pokemon was obtainable without transfers), so this would be a great opportunity to finally flesh out the remaining Pokemon missing from the National Pokedex.

Another big question players have with the possible reintroduction of Kalos is if Mega Evolution will come back. Mega Evolution is a big part of the Kalos region, so it would take some changing of the narrative to exclude it from the DLC. If it is introduced, then Game Freak would have to decide how Mega Evolution and Dynamax would work together. Regardless, it’s a big topic that will have to be addressed one way or another if Kalos is making a comeback.

What a Major DLC Means for the Pokemon Series

Whether the next Pokemon DLC is a return to Kalos or something entirely different, Game Freak is at an interesting turning point for the Pokemon franchise. If it calls it a wrap on Sword and Shield and start the next project, then the DLC was a fun experiment and may be featured again in future titles to allow for more development time on other games. However, if a major DLC is in the works, that could mean a big change for the release structure of Pokemon games going forward.

Major DLCs could keep a Pokemon title going for quite some time, allowing for more work to be done on the next game. Pokemon games could feature multiple regions, lots of new and returning Pokemon, and more that was previously unheard of in most Pokemon titles. It could also finally put the nail in the coffin of the trend of making “definitive” versions of Pokemon games a year later that only feature marginally more content.

A shift toward a more endgame-focused DLC could also help give Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield (or any future Pokemon title) more endgame content to keep fans engaged for longer. It seems like that is the approach with Crown Tundra and the Dynamax Adventure, but we’ll have to see how that holds up.

Overall, post-launch DLC is a huge step away from anything Game Freak has done with the Pokemon franchise to date. The Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLCs served as small additions to the game, but if rumors are to be believed then something bigger may be on the horizon. Large-scale DLCs could bring a big change to the series. If Game Freak decides to adopt this development and release structure, it could be a brand new start for the Pokemon franchise – for the better.

Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are available now for Nintendo Switch.

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