The Isle of Armor

The Isle of Armor (Japanese: The Solitary Island of Armor) is the first expansion in the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass. Featuring the Isle of Armor, the theme of the expansion is "growth". It was released on June 17, 2020.
It is followed by The Crown Tundra.
==Plot==
After obtaining the Armor Pass, the can board a train at the Wedgehurst Station, from which they transfer to a Flying Taxi that takes them to the Isle of Armor. Upon arriving at the island, the player encounters a man who is supposed to start as a student at the local dojo, but is nervous because of the strange person waiting for him. As the person, Klara/Avery, enters the station, the man is scared away, and the person mistakes the player as the new student. Puzzled by the player's denial about being a new student, they challenge them to a . After being defeated, the rival decides to ask the player to leave to avoid endangering their own career at the dojo. As the player arrives at the Master Dojo, they catch the rival lying to the dojo's matron, , about the player leaving, and is welcomed by Honey as a new student at the dojo.
At the dojo, the player meets the dojo's leader and Honey's husband, Mustard, who challenges the player to a quick battle. Once the player has won the battle, Mustard declares that the dojo is at max capacity and initiates the "three trials", the winner of which will be given the "secret armor" of the Master Dojo. The first trial is revealed to be chasing after and defeating three fast across the Soothing Wetlands after they steal the rival's Dojo Uniform. After the player defeats all three Slowpoke alone, Mustard lets everyone who at least managed to catch up to the Slowpoke pass, granting most of the students access to the second trial. The second trial involves finding Max Mushrooms for the dojo's secret recipe, the , which allows certain Pokémon to Gigantamax. Upon finding Max Mushrooms in the Warm-Up Tunnel, the player is challenged to a battle over them by the rival. After winning, the player is able to collect the mushrooms and return to the dojo, where they and the rival are revealed to be the only ones who were able to pass the trial. The last trial is a Dynamax battle between the player and the rival at the dojo's Battle Court. The player emerges victorious, despite the rival trying to resort to cheating to win, granting the player the "secret armor" of the Master Dojo: the Legendary Pokémon .
After the player has obtained Kubfu, Mustard tasks them with raising its friendship. While the player may use any method, Mustard recommends that the player take Kubfu to visit various spots around the island. During this time only, s will be present at Brawlers' Cave, Challenge Road, Loop Lagoon, and Potbottom Desert and will offer the player and Kubfu a view of the scenery. Visiting all four guarantees that Kubfu's friendship will be sufficiently high. Once they've become the best of friends, Mustard tells the player to choose one of the Towers of Two Fists, the Tower of Waters or the Tower of Darkness, and challenge it with Kubfu. Regardless of which tower the player chooses, Mustard will be waiting at the top floor, ready to challenge them with his own Kubfu. After defeating Mustard, the player can let Kubfu examine a special scroll that allows it to evolve into .
Once the player has evolved Kubfu, become , and stopped Sordward and Shielbert, Hop shows up at the dojo as part of his research as Sonia's assistant. Mustard tells the player that Urshifu hates the taste of Max Soup, so, in order for it to unlock its Gigantamax potential, a special ingredient is needed to make it drink the Max Soup. He doesn't reveal what this ingredient is, though, and lets the player and Hop figure it out on their own. After failing to find a proper ingredient out of and nectars, Hop figures that the ingredient must be honey. He and the player travel to Honeycalm Island, where the player gets thrusted into a Max Raid Battle against a Dynamax . After defeating it, the player will obtain a comb of Max Honey, which is the missing ingredient.
Upon the player's return to the dojo with the news of finding the key to unlocking Urshifu's Gigantamax potential, Mustard informs them that he wants to battle them in a no-holds-barred battle, where he uses his full power. In the battle, Mustard uses his own Gigantamax Urshifu. After being defeated, Mustard declares that he has nothing more to teach the player, ending The Isle of Armor plotline.
==Features==
===Characters===
The characters Mustard and Klara/Avery appear, as well as Mustard's wife and their son Hyde. The parents of the , Digging Pa and Digging Ma, also make an appearance.
Sword Shield Victor Isle of Armor.png|
Sword Shield Gloria Isle of Armor.png|
Sword Shield Mustard.png|Mustard
Sword Shield Klara.png|Klara
Sword Shield Avery.png|Avery
VSHoney.png|
Hyde SwSh.png|Hyde
===Pokémon===
The Version 1.2.0 patch was released in conjunction with the launch of The Isle of Armor, allowing players to access these new and returning Pokémon even if they have not purchased the Expansion Pass with the help of trading and Pokémon HOME.
Pokémon found in the wild and those owned by other Trainers in The Isle of Armor will change their levels depending on whether the player has completed the Champion Cup.
====New Pokémon and forms====
The Legendary Pokémon and and its signature Ability, , debut in The Isle of Armor. The patch associated with The Isle of Armor also introduced the Mythical Pokémon, .
 can be evolved into Galarian using the Galarica Cuff, an item found in the Isle of Armor. Galarian Slowbro can have , a new Ability.
079Slowpoke-Galar.png|Galarian Slowpoke
080Slowbro-Galar.png|Galarian Slowbro
891Kubfu.png|Kubfu
892Urshifu-Single Strike.png|Urshifu (Single Strike Style)
892Urshifu-Rapid Strike.png|Urshifu (Rapid Strike Style)
893Zarude.png|Zarude
World Cap Pikachu was also added to the game with the same patch, though it would not be obtainable until an event released after Version 1.3.0.
====Returning Pokémon====
A total of 102 old Pokémon were made available in alongside the release of The Isle of Armor. These include:
|}
===Gigantamax===
New Gigantamax forms were introduced. This includes , , , , and . Both forms of the new Legendary Pokémon also have their own Gigantamax form.
Additionally, this expansion allows the to feed Pokémon traveling with them , giving them the ability to Gigantamax, but only Pokémon with known Gigantamax forms at the time of The Isle of Armor's release. In addition, the player needs a comb of Max Honey to add to the soup to give their Urshifu a Gigantamax Factor.
003Venusaur-Gigantamax.png|Gigantamax Venusaur
009Blastoise-Gigantamax.png|Gigantamax Blastoise
812Rillaboom-Gigantamax.png|Gigantamax Rillaboom
815Cinderace-Gigantamax.png|Gigantamax Cinderace
818Inteleon-Gigantamax.png|Gigantamax Inteleon
892Urshifu-Gigantamax Single Strike.png|Gigantamax Urshifu(Single Strike Style)
892Urshifu-Gigantamax Rapid Strike.png|Gigantamax Urshifu(Rapid Strike Style)
===Moves===
18 new moves, one for each type, are available as Move Tutor moves in the Master Dojo. Four other moves are signature moves of the new Pokémon.
|}
|}
Certain old moves were added back to Sword and Shield alongside the release of The Isle of Armor.
{| border=1 width="100%" class="sortable" style="margin:auto; background: #FFF; border:1px solid #; border-collapse:collapse"		
		
===Items===
Apricorns are now obtainable. Apricorns can be put in the Cram-o-matic to randomly produce Poké Balls.
The new Exp. Charm Key Item increases the Exp. Points earned by the player's party. Another new Key Item, the Mark Charm, increases the chance of finding wild Pokémon with marks.
Galarica Twigs can be collected from under trees. An NPC at Workout Sea can combine eight to create a Galarica Cuff, which can be used to evolve .
===Customization===
The player can wear training clothes. New fashion items are also available. The Rotom Bike can also be customized further than before by adding different colors and trails depending on which color bike you choose to have. The color and trail can be changed by a lady outside of the Master Dojo.
===Cram-o-matic===
In Mustard's room at the Master Dojo, the player can find the Cram-o-matic, a machine resembling a , made by Mustard's son Hyde, which can be fed four items that are fused into a new item. It can be used at any time once the player has given Hyde 500 Watts. Hyde can also share item recipes in exchange for further Watts.
===Restricted Sparring===
Restricted Sparring is a special feature in which participants are limited in the types of Pokémon they can use and are forced to battle under set conditions. This feature is unlocked by finishing The Isle of Armor plotline.
===Diglett side quest===
A side quest on the Isle of Armor involves searching for 150 scattered across the island. Their Trainer, a at the Fields of Honor, will give the player various Pokémon as thank-you s as they find certain amounts of the missing Diglett.
==In other languages==
==Related articles==
Category:Pokémon Sword and Shield
de:Die Insel der Rüstung
es:La isla de la armadura
fr:L'île solitaire de l'Armure
it:L'isola solitaria dell'armatura
ja:鎧の孤島
zh:鎧之孤島