Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield - The Crown Tundra launches on October 22; New Screenshots and Artwork

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have announced that Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield - The Crown Tundra will launch on October 22. The Crown Tundra is the second component of the Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield Expansion Pass, following The Isle of Armor, which launched this Summer.

Additionally, on November 6, players can purchase a bundle packs Pokemon Sword + Pokemon Sword Expansion Pass or Pokemon Shield + Pokemon Shield Expansion Pass, which includes the base game and corresponding Expansion Pass on a single Nintendo Switch cart.

Finally, The Pokemon Company announced upcoming connectivity between Pokemon GO and Pokemon Home, where Pokemon caught in GO can be sent to Home, and then transferred to Sword or Shield. In doing this, you can obtain a special Melmetal that is able to Gigantamax. More details can be found here.

Three new videos can be found below, introducing the new updates, The Crown Tundra, and Gigantamax Melmetal. We've also included the press release in full, and screenshots can be found in the gallery. More details about all the additions made can be found here.

Expansion Pass Updates

Explore the Crown Tundra

Introducing Gigantamax Melmetal

Today, The Pokémon Company and Nintendo announced that The Crown Tundra, the second set of downloadable content for the blockbuster Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield video games, will launch on October 22. In The Crown Tundra, Trainers can explore a vast, frigid landscape with jagged, snowy mountains and drifts of glittering snow. The Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass and the Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass are available for purchase in Nintendo eShop[1]. Starting on November 6, Trainers will have the opportunity to purchase bundle packs consisting of the Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield base game as well as that game’s corresponding Expansion Pass, which includes The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra.[2] These bundle packs are well suited for Trainers who have yet to embark on their journeys in the Galar region.

During a video presentation, Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company, also unveiled newly discovered Pokémon, new game features, and exciting in-game bonuses for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield or the Expansion Passes, as well as updates to Pokémon GO.

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Newly Discovered Pokémon
Galarian Slowking
Category: Hexpert Pokémon
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 175.3 lbs.
Type: Poison/Psychic
Ability: Curious Medicine

A Shellder bite set off a reaction between the chemicals secreted by Galarian Slowpoke’s brain and the spices inside its body, causing Slowpoke to gain the Poison type as it evolved into Galarian Slowking. Galarian Slowking have been observed uttering incantations in order to communicate with each other and appear to chant mysterious spells when using moves in battle. Galarian Slowking’s Ability, Curious Medicine, is a new Ability introduced in The Crown Tundra.

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Gigantamax Melmetal
Height: 82'+
Weight: ????.? lbs.
Type: Steel
Ability: Iron Fist

While Gigantamaxed, the Mythical Pokémon Melmetal can use its flexible and elastic liquid-metal body to land punches even when opponents keep their distance. Steel-type attacks used by Gigantamax Melmetal will change to G-Max Meltdown, a powerful move that slams opponents with shock waves and swirling liquid metal. This move doesn’t only deal damage to opponents—it also prevents them from using the same move consecutively.

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Dynamax Adventures
In Dynamax Adventures, players will team up with three other Trainers to explore a Pokémon Den where Dynamax Pokémon are said to lurk. Instead of their regular Pokémon team, players and their fellow Trainers will choose Pokémon that they can temporarily use for battle (rental Pokémon) to bring along into the depths of the den. Players will have to work together with their three teammates in a Max Raid Battle whenever they encounter a wild Dynamax Pokémon during their exploration. If they win the battle, players will have the opportunity to catch the Pokémon, and one Trainer on the team can swap the newly caught Pokémon for the Pokémon they had before. Trainers can delve even deeper into the den with Endless Dynamax Adventures, which enable the player to continue until they lose a battle.

Legendary Pokémon
With The Crown Tundra, Trainers will be able to encounter every Legendary Pokémon that’s appeared in the main series of Pokémon video games. Players can find—and catch—Legendary Pokémon during their travels in the Crown Tundra or while they’re on Dynamax Adventures.[3]

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Special Event with Pikachu
To celebrate the launch of The Crown Tundra, there will be a special in-game event for players to receive eight different Pikachu for their teams. Beginning Tuesday, September 29, and up through Friday, October 30, Trainers can find special passwords in various places including the Play Pokémon Twitter feed, and the Pokémon Trainer Club e-mail newsletter. When Trainers enter the passwords into their Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield game, they can obtain Pikachu—and not just one but eight, each donning a different cap.[4] For more information about this in-game event, please visit Pokemon.com/PikachuDistributions.

For more information about the Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass and the Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass, please visit Pokemon.com/SwordShieldEX.

Connectivity between Pokémon GO and Pokémon HOME
In addition to news about The Crown Tundra, The Pokémon Company also announced that connectivity between Pokémon GO and Pokémon HOME will be available by the end of the year. This will allow Trainers to send Pokémon they’ve caught in Pokémon GO to Pokémon HOME. From there, some of these Pokémon can be brought into Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield.[5] For more information about Pokémon HOME, please visit http://pokemon.com/home.

[1] Full version of game required to use the Expansion Pass for that game. Games and Expansion Passes sold separately. Each Expansion Pass is only compatible with the game version of the same name.

[2] This bundle pack contains the same game content you would receive by purchasing either Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield (physical or downloadable version) and the corresponding Expansion Pass separately. All included software comes preloaded on a single game card.

[3] Some Legendary Pokémon appear only in Pokémon Sword with the Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass, while others appear only in Pokémon Shield with the Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass.

[4] These forms of Pikachu will be available to claim until 6:59 a.m. PST on Monday, November 30. The Mystery Gift menu (needed to claim these Pikachu) will be available in the game by the time the player has reached the first Pokémon Center. This occurs after about an hour of gameplay. However, individual gameplay time may vary. An internet connection is required to claim these Pikachu. A paid Nintendo Switch Online membership is not required to claim these Pikachu. These Pikachu cannot be evolved. These Pikachu cannot be fed Max Soup, which is featured in The Isle of Armor (released as part one of the Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass and Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass). Players can receive these Pikachu only once in a single save file. Purchase of the Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass or Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass is not required to receive these Pikachu. The details of this event may be changed at any time without notice.

[5] Players must have completed the tutorial section of the mobile device version of Pokémon HOME in order to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon GO. Some special Pokémon cannot be sent to Pokémon HOME from Pokémon GO. Pokémon transferred to Pokémon HOME from Pokémon GO cannot be returned to Pokémon GO. In order to bring certain Pokémon that were caught in Pokémon GO and then transferred to Pokémon HOME into a Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield game, the Pokémon must either be registered in the Pokédex of that game or have been obtained at least once in that game.

Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield - The Crown Tundra Screenshots and Artwork