Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra now available - What to expect

The second expansion for Pokemon Sword and Shield, dubbed The Crown Tundra, has officially arrived. This new DLC rounds out the Pokemon Sword and Shield expansion pass following the release of The Isle of Armor over the summer. The Crown Tundra will give players a new area to explore and introduce a number of new Pokemon, including several legendary Pokemon that are getting Galarian forms.

The returning legendary Pokemon getting Galarian forms are Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. They'll be joined by three new legendary Pokemon – Calyrex, Regieleki, and Regidrago – along with every legendary Pokemon from past games. Indeed, if you like collecting legendary Pokemon, then it seems you'll want to spend some time in The Crown Tundra.

Aside from the new and returning legendaries, The Crown Tundra will also see the return of around 100 Pokemon that were excluded from the Galarian Pokedex in vanilla Pokemon Sword and Shield. So, like The Isle of Armor before it, The Crown Tundra is definitely padding out the Pokedex further, but it's worth noting that even after The Crown Tundra, Pokemon Sword and Shield still won't feature all of the Pokemon from previous games.

In addition to having a new area to explore, players will also be able to participate in Dynamax Adventures, where they'll join groups of players to explore Pokemon Dens and find Dynamax Pokemon. It sounds like this is where most of the returning legendaries will be found, so if your goal is to collect the returning legendaries, you'll need to do some Dynamax Adventures.

Since The Crown Tundra is included in the Pokemon Sword and Shield expansion pass, it'll be automatically downloaded and unlocked for anyone who already owns the pass. If you don't own the expansion pass, you can snag it from the Nintendo eShop for $29.99, but make sure that you're buying the right expansion pass before you make your purchase.