Pokemon Sword & Shield: How to Start Isle of Armor Expansion DLC

Following the release of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield at the end of last year, today marks the release of the first expansion DLC, Isle of Armor. In the expansion, players will find a chunk of new story content, a new area to explore, and even some new items that’ll help train and level up your Pokemon. That means, of course, that you’ll likely be wondering how to start Isle of Armor in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Let us run you through the process.

How to Start Pokemon Sword & Shield: Isle of Armor

To start Isle of Armor, first make sure that you’ve purchased the expansion pass from the Nintendo e-shop. Once this has been purchased, you’ll need to make sure that your copy of Pokemon Sword or Shield has been updated to the latest available version.

With this out of the way go ahead and load up the game. Make sure you have downloaded the most recent update. To check if you have it, press the Plus button while highlighting Pokemon Sword or Shield while on the main Switch menu and then select check for update.

Once you’ve downloaded the update, when you log back into the game, you should receive the Armor Pass instantly once you load your game file. With that out of the way, here’s the step by step process to start Isle of Armor.

The good news is that your Pokemon don’t have to be a specific level in order to start Isle of Armor, or stand a chance against opponents in battles.

The expansion will scale battles and Wild Area Pokemon to your team to ensure everyone can hop right in as soon as possible and enjoy this adventure through the Dojo.

That’s everything you need to know on how to start Isle of Armor in Pokemon Sword and Shield. For more tips on the expansion and the base game, be sure to check out our wiki, or have a browse through more of our coverage below.