Pokémon: Sword and Pokémon: Shield has been out since Nov. 15, 2019, and has since caused a stir for the Pokémon not included in the game. Fans new and old have noticed that some of their favorites, like the Hoenn Starters, Pseudo Legendaries like Metagross, and even some Mythical and Legendary Pokémon like the Regi’s and Giratina have made their way into the game. Something extremely surprising is that some of the communities and the company's favorite Pokémon, like Greninja and Mewtwo, are absent from the game and its first wave of DLC.
The Isle of Armor, Galar’s first expansion, added many Pokémon that fans have been clamoring for, like the Lycanroc line and the Alakazam Line, but still, stay away from adding legendary and Mythical Pokémon.
Finally, after waiting since June of 2020, the second wave of Sword and Shields DLC was released on Oct. 22, 2020, and has brought many Pokémon, a new mode, a four-hour story, and fantastic new characters into the world of Pocket Monsters.
Story-wise, the Crown Tundra has a step up on its predecessor, The Isle of Armor, adding a four-hour story, introducing players to a former gym leader, Peony, and his Daughter, Peonia. Peony and trainers become an exploration duo and search around trying to find and explore the ancient mysteries and legends of the Crown Tundra.
The main exploration introduces players to the king of bountiful harvests, Calyrex, a legendary Pokémon who ruled over the ancient Crown Tundra.
Calyrex has lost most of his power and his loyal steed. His foggy memory and lost power cause Calyrex to talk to the player through his psychic power, using Peony as a body to be able to interact. After capturing Calyrex’s steed, Calyrex regains his power and again challenges the player to a battle.
The Crown Tundra’s story is way more fleshed out than the Isle of Armor, but just characters and story is not all this new DLC has to offer. Dynamax Adventures have been added, further expanding the new Dynamax den and Dynamax Pokémon. Teaming up with other players online or with AI trainers, trainers attempt to battle through a cavern of Pokémon to attempt to get Mythical or Legendary Pokémon from previous generations of Pokémon.
The Crown Tundra had many pros, but it also had some cons, for example, the story seemed to be somewhat rushed, some Pokémon are glitched and cannot learn certain moves the repetitiveness of the Dynamax Adventures, As well as Calyrex’s fused forms are seemingly broken having two abilities
Another thing plaguing trainers is the difficulty of catching the main legendary pokémon out in the overworld. Using hundreds of multiple Pokéballs to be able to catch a single one is excessive. However, some trainers are liking this new way of battling because it makes the Pokémon catch both more meaningful, and realistic to being legendary Pokémon. If a legendary Pokémon, like Calyrex, who is the King of Bountiful Harvest, can be caught in a single Great Ball, then it doesn’t have the pay off of catching the Pokémon, and also doesn’t feel like something considered “legendary.”