Pokemon Sword and Shield

How to Get New Pokemon Without the Expansion Pass

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Here you can see how to get the new Pokemon from The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra in Pokemon Sword and Shield, without the DLC! If you're not sure you're going to buy the expansion pass but still want to get the new Pokemon, you've come to the right place.

How to Get New Pokemon from the Expansion Pass

Overview

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There are currently two known and confirmed ways to get your hands on new Pokemon added with the Expansion packs, Trading and using Pokemon HOME, and we have covered both of them for you here!

Trade Online or with Friends

Trade without DLC
According to the Pokemon Direct released January 9, 2020, all players will be able to trade the newly available Pokemon, regardless of whether they have the DLC expansion packs or not!

This is great news for those who want to try out new Pokemon before making that final decision on buying the expansion, but also potentially vital for players who don't want to lose out in Competitive battles.

How to Trade Locally and Online

Get lucky with Surprise Trade

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You'd probably have to get lucky, but some kind trainers out there might send out some of the new Pokemon through Surprise Trade.

How to Surprise Trade Online

Aim for the Top with Link Trade

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Of course, if you're aiming for high IVs for Competitive, Hidden Abilities, you know, all the good stuff, you will want to remove the element of luck and go straight to Link Trading.

Pokemon Trading Board

Pokemon HOME

Pokemon Home Logo

Players are also able to move old Pokemon that were added with the expansion to their Sword and Shield game through Pokemon HOME.

Once you've sent over your Pokemon to Pokemon Sword and Shield, you won't be able to send them back to the original game, so keep this in mind before transferring!

Pokemon HOME News & Guide

List of New Pokemon

New and Old Pokemon Joining the Ranks

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Both new and old Pokemon are available in The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, so there'll be plenty of opportunities to fine-tune your team and get your hands on your favorite Pokemon - New and old alike!

For a full list of Pokemon available in the Base Game and each DLC, check out our guides below! Both will of course get updated as soon as more Pokemon are confirmed, so keep an eye out for all your Pokedex needs. Gotta catch trade 'em all!

All Pokedex Pages
PokemonList of All Pokemon
Get All Starters Hot Article Icon.png
Galar Pokedex
AllNewPokemon.pngThe Isle of Armor Pokedex
Crown Tundra Pokedex Icon.pngThe Crown Tundra Pokedex Pokemon HOME Pokedex Icon.pngAll Pokemon HOME Additions

Related Links

The Isle of Armor

The Isle of Armor Atoll.pngAll About The Isle of Armor DLC
StoryGuideIcon.pngStory Walkthrough DLCPokemonIcon.pngIsle of Armor Pokedex
IsleofArmorMap.pngIsle of Armor Maps HowtoGetKubfu.pngHow to Get Kubfu
Pokemon SnS - Cram-o-Matic.pngCram-o-Matic Pokemon SnS - Max Soup.pngMax Soup
Tower of Waters Icon.pngTowers of Two Fists Post-Game Content Icon.pngPost-Game Content
Diglett CollectingAll Diglett Locations Dojo UpgradesAll Dojo Upgrades
Max Mushroom Icon.pngFinding Max Mushrooms Best Style for Urshifu Icon.pngBest Style for Urshifu
Digging Pa.pngDigging Pa Digging Ma.pngDigging Ma

New Features

Tips & Tricks

Game Information

Comment

3 Anonymousalmost 2 years

I got Pokémon go and home on mobile and got a shiny latios in sword no DLCs at all.

2 Anonymousover 4 years

getting Pokemon HOME is easy... if you have a mobile device, you can create and link your Nintendo account there. It will also be linked to your Pokemon HOME in Nintendo Switch, which you can install for free.

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