The expansion pass for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield is quickly approaching - or at least the Isle of Armor is - and fans are still curious about some of the Pokemon seen in the promotional videos so far. While there hasn't been too much shown about the Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield expansion pass outside of a couple trailers, those small clips have given fans a few quick peaks at some new Legendary Pokemon, including some that appear to be Galarian forms of Legendary Pokemon from previous generations.
Now regional forms are nothing new for the Pokemon series, as the practice started in Sun and Moon, but it appears that the Expansion Pass is going to apply that concept to Legendary Pokemon - a first for the series.
Every New Legendary Shown So Far
So far, a few new Legendary Pokemon have been shown off for the expansion pass. In the first DLC The Isle of Armor, only one legendary Pokemon was highlighted: Kubfu. This fighting type Legendary is unique in the sense that it can evolve into one of two different forms based on how the trainer raises and trains it. Kubfu will eventually evolve into Urshifu, but the form Urshifu takes depends on which training route the player takes.
In the Isle of Armor, players will be given a choice between two towers to train in, and after defeating the chosen tower Kubfu will evolve. The two towers are the Tower of Darkness and the Tower of Water, and as indicated by the name, Urshifu will take on that typing when the tower is defeated. But it seems that Kubfu and Urshifu are the main focus in the Isle of Armor (at least for now it seems). But perhaps Game Freak has more hidden away for the Isle of Armor for players to uncover this Summer.
Things are a bit different when it comes to The Crown Tundra, as this DLC is focused heavily on Legendary Pokemon. Outside of the "box art Legendary" Calyrex, almost every Legendary Pokemon from previous generations will be returning through a new co-op game mode in The Crown Tundra. Just from the one trailer highlighting this upcoming feature, nearly every (non-event) Legendary was shown, meaning that players will be able to catch essentially every Legendary Pokemon from previous titles. Joining the classic hits that are returning to the game are some new faces - or rather some remixed faces.
In a few frames of the Crown Tundra section of the trailer, fans noticed that there were three new Legendary Birds shown off that bear a striking resemblance to Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres - and many speculate that these are Galarian forms of the Legendary Trio. Joining these new stylish birds are two new Regi Pokemon, one which appears like an Electric type and one that could possibly be Dragon type.
A New Approach to Legendary Pokemon
While Sword and Shield have a lot of Legendary Pokemon in the works, perhaps the most interesting among them are the new takes on the Legendary Birds: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. These three Generation 1 Legendary Pokemon were supposed to be one-of-a-king in Kanto, but the concept of having Galarian forms of these Pokemon is certainly interesting. Perhaps the three birds weren't one-of-a-kind after all and were instead just rare. Regardless of the justification, the very existence of these birds raises some interesting questions about the future of Legendary Pokemon. Obviously some Pokemon are of mythological origins (Dialga, Arceus, Mew) so there in theory shouldn't be duplicates of them. However, lower tier Legendary Pokemon could potentially have other counterparts out there in the world.
The two new Regi Pokemon also help this idea along. Originally there were just the three Regis (Regirock, Regice, and Registeel). In Gen 4, Game Freak added Regigigas who had ties to the original trio. Now with two more Regis being added, it stands to reason that there could be even more Regional Regis out there. The concept of having regional Legendary Pokemon tie into older Legendaries could help bridge the gap between different generations and tie the regions together in interesting ways. Moreso, it would be interesting to see how Game Freak approaches the writing for these Pokemon that appear in multiple regions, as many thought that they were exclusive to just one region.
If Galarian Legendary Pokemon (or just regional form Legendary Pokemon in future generations) became more mainstream, it could really help bring the audience together quite a bit. Older players would get to see familiar Pokemon get remixed and have new moves, designs, and abilities, while new players get to experience this form of the Legendary Pokemon as their first, which could encourage them to seek out the other games to learn more about said Pokemon before it evolved in the new region. The Galarian Legendary Birds seem to potentially be a first pass at this idea, and if it goes well, then perhaps even more regional Legendary Pokemon will be introduced in the future.
Whether regional Legendary variants are here to stay remains to be seen, but it surely isn't a coincidence that the birds shown off in the Crown Tundra trailer bear a striking resemblance to Kanto's Legendary Birds. Whether these are just alternate forms or new evolutions is unknown, but if Game Freak is planning on adding Pokemon like this in the future then Legendary Pokemon are going to be getting a lot more interesting from here on out.
Granted, there will always be a vocal part of the fanbase that will be upset at "reused content" but if the new Legendary Pokemon are different enough then it shouldn't be much of an issue - especially if they're just extra Pokemon to find. Regardless, fans will just have to wait for more information about these mysteriously familiar birds when The Crown Tundra's release date gets a bit closer.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are available now for Nintendo Switch.