No matter what fans thought about these games, Pokemon Sword and Shield broke new ground by being the first games in the franchise to bring about DLCs rather than releasing wholly new games.
With the two DLCs, namely the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra, came a plethora of new Pokemon. These unique newcomers came in the forms of completely new Pokemon as well as rehashes of older, well-known Pokemon like the Slowpoke line and the Legendary birds. Obviously, all these Pokemon vary in quality, so here’s a look at all of them, ranked according to design, lore, and competitive viability.
14 Galarian Slowpoke (Isle Of Armor)
Of course, the not-fully-evolved new Pokemon aren’t going to get as much attention as their fully evolved and Legendary counterparts. Still, this Slowpoke is a unique take on an old Pokemon, and even infiltrated the meme world for a moment as an updated version of the absolutely archaic Slowpoke meme.
13 Kubfu (Isle Of Armor)
Kubfu is essentially the starter they give you at the Isle of Armor. While it’s obviously not one of the stronger Pokemon on this list, it can be quite fun to follow its journey to evolving into one of the Urshifu forms.
12 Galarian Slowking (Crown Tundra)
Fans have been very divisive on Galarian Slowking’s design. Some found the new take on the Shellder head quite funny and unique, while others found it borderline disgusting. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting take on a Generation II classic.
While not as popular with casual fans, competitive players have found use for it as it’s one of the most viable Pokemon in the Singles metagame. That’s not necessarily thanks to its signature ability or move, though both Curious Medicine and Eerie Spell have effects not yet seen in Pokemon.
11 Galarian Slowbro (Isle Of Armor)
Galarian Slowbro is not as different in terms of design as regular Slowbro: the only real difference is the slight change in color and the placement of the Shellder.
But stats and battling-wise, they’re quite different. For one, Galarian Slowbro is much more of an attacker, and regular Slowbro is almost purely a wall. Galarian Slowbro even has the signature ability and move to reflect that: Quick Draw and Shell Side Arm, respectively.
10 Spectrier (Crown Tundra)
Without the Crown Tundra mascot riding them, the Legendary steeds look kind of naked. There might be some good lore around the two, but design-wise, they’re just horses. Spectrier at least has the floating hooves and ghastly mane going for it.
Of course, it’s a different story when it comes to battling. The Ghost-type steed on its own, even without Calyrex saddling it, is a force to be reckoned with thanks to its incredibly high Speed and Special Attack.
9 Glastrier (Crown Tundra)
Ditto for Glastrier in the design department; it’s also just a horse. At least it looks a bit cooler with ice glaciers for a mane and hooves. It also contrasts quite a bit with Spectrier in the stats department, with Spectrier being a special glass cannon and Glastrier being a physical tank.
Despite the arguably cooler design, Spectrier is unquestionably better at battling thanks to the massive Speed discrepancy and pure Ghost-type faring much better than pure Ice-type.
8 Regidrago (Crown Tundra)
The Dragon-type Legendary titan is probably the black sheep of that family. Regidrago is the only one in the bunch to not be based on an explicit material or element (unless you count Regigigas). That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and the highly asymmetrical design is a nice touch.
It also has a massive 200 HP, which rivals even the Chansey line in that stat. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help in its battling proficiency, as its defensive capabilities are almost non-existent. At least it has a cool signature move, Dragon Energy, that’s essentially a Dragon-type variant of Eruption.
7 Regieleki (Crown Tundra)
If you’d want 200 in any particular stat, it would probably be Speed, and Regieleki proves that, making its mark as the fastest Pokemon ever. Among other things, that has given it massive competitive viability; almost being guaranteed the first move is an advantage anyone would want to have. It also has a very interesting signature move in Thunder Cage.
Design-wise, it’s a run-of-the-mill Legendary Titan. It’s not as intimidating as the others, but none of them can bounce quite like it does when standing by in battle.
6 Galarian Moltres (Crown Tundra)
It’s always nice to see new, bold takes on classics, and the Galarian Legendary birds were the first in that department for Legendary Pokemon.
That said, some will stand out more than others, and Moltres, to some, might look more or less like regular Moltres in a different, albeit cooler, colorway. It does have different abilities going for it, running with Berserk instead of Flame Body or Pressure, and a nice signature move in Fiery Wrath, which is essentially a stronger Dark Pulse.
5 Galarian Zapdos (Crown Tundra)
This was quite an interesting take on the Electric-type Legendary bird, making it more of a grounded bird than the others and putting more emphasis on its legs rather than its wings. It’s a bizarre design choice, and yet it somehow works for a lot of people.
Regardless, it’s unquestionably the most viable out of the Galarian Legendary birds, at least from a Singles perspective, thanks to its good Fighting-Flying typing. It also has arguably the best signature move, Thunderous Kick, which drops the opponent’s Defense.
4 Galarian Articuno (Crown Tundra)
Design-wise, Articuno’s is arguably the slickest and most well-executed among the Galarian Legendary birds. It improved upon regular Articuno’s designs in subtle yet interesting ways, with the lavender coloration and the cool black mask around its eyes.
It’s also decently capable on the competitive battling side. It does have Competitive as its ability, as well as a solid blend of great Special Attack power and decent bulk and Speed, and a great signature move in Freezing Glare.
3 Zarude (Isle Of Armor)
Generation VIII’s only Mythical Pokemon so far is a pretty solid one all things considered. The lore surrounding Dada Zarude, the Zarude that took care of a human infant, is quite fascinating, and its design, while resembling not much more than a monkey, hasn’t been seen yet from a Mythical.
Where it struggles is from a battling standpoint, as its Dark-Grass typing gives it a horrendous number of weaknesses, and it lacks a useful ability to give it a real competitive niche. What makes it stand out is its signature move, Jungle Healing, which heals 25% of it and a Doubles ally’s HP, while also removing their status effects.
2 Urshifu (Isle Of Armor)
It’s clear that a lot of thought was put into the Pokemon franchise’s first DLC mascot. Urshifu’s two differing styles, Single-Strike and Rapid-Strike, are just different enough without seeming like two completely different Pokemon, and their Gigantamax forms are great too.
The two differences can really be seen in battle, thanks to their different typing and signature moves. Single-Strike Urshifu is a Fighting-Dark type, and has the one-hit attack, Wicked Blow. Rapid-Strike, meanwhile, is a Fighting-Water type, and has the three-hitter, Surging Strikes. Both moves are guaranteed critical hits, and both forms have the Unseen Fist ability, which allows them to attack through Protects.
1 Calyrex (Crown Tundra)
While its design isn’t much to write home about in its base form or either Rider form, the lore surrounding Calyrex is pretty astounding. Much has been said about its role as an ancient king of Galar and as the “King of Bountiful Harvests”, and it plays a huge role in the Crown Tundra DLC’s plot.
It arguably makes even more waves competitively, at least among other banned Legendary Pokemon. While it doesn’t have a lick of competitive viability on its own, it’s been banned to Smogon’s Uber tier when paired with either Spectrier or Glastrier, making the Shadow Rider or Ice Rider forms respectively. It helps having signature moves as strong as Astral Barrage or Glacial Lance, and an ability as overpowered as As One.
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