As the second and final expansion toPokemon Sword & Shield, theCrown Tundra DLCadded a large number of new and returningPokemonto the roster, as well as new storylines, characters, and game modes that kept the game from becoming too stale, despite its flaws. As popular as the Crown Tundra DLC has been, there are several aspects of both the region and its characters that are easy to miss at first glance.
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While it’s easy to see more references to Europe in this region of Galar, there are many aspects of the Crown Tundra’s inhabitants that can only be learned through some convoluted methods, as well as some others hiding in plain sight for players to walk right past and miss entirely.
10The Mythological References
While the entire Galar region takes a lot of inspiration from different European countries, the Crown Tundra takes of lot of influence from Gaelic and Scottish folklore. Specifically, the backstory of Calyrex is almost beat-for-beat copied from the tale of Brian Boru, a king who tamed a wild, spiritual horse by crafting reigns from the hairs of the beast, while the designs of Spectrier and Glastrier are very similar to the two horses found on the Scottish coat of arms.
9All Of Peony’s Team Are Inside Ultra Balls
During the main story ofPokemon Sword & Shield, eagle-eyed players may have noticed that several character’s Pokemon are kept in unique balls, unlike most other characters who keep their Pokemon in regular Pokeballs. For example, all of Marnie’s Pokemon are inside Dusk Balls, reflecting the fact that all of her Pokemon areDark-type, though this also extends to the new character, Peony, who keeps all of his Pokemon inside Ultra Balls. This is a curious feature considering that it is established that both Peony and Chairman Rose’s Copperaja were the brother’s starter Pokemon and caught around the same time.
8Peony And Mustard Have A Past With The Pokemon League
If fans have played through the Galarian Star Tournament, they have likely seen some interesting interactions between certain characters as they battle together. While several combinations aren’t particularly interesting, one that is interesting is shown between Peony and Mustard, who have some unexplained past with the Pokemon League, despite neither of them showing up in it until the Crown Tundra DLC.
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It is established that Mustard trained a young Leon and most likely gave him his starter Pokemon,Charmander, since it is the remainingKantostarter that players aren’t able to choose from, but his connection to Peony remains a mystery.
7The Dynamax Tree Greedent
In both theIsle of Armorand the Crown Tundra DLC, there is a wild Pokemon that is much stronger than all others that can be found in the region, though it can only be battled once. In the Isle of Armor, it is the only Wailord in the game that is actually to scale, while in the Crown Tundra, there is a Dynamax Greedent battle hiding inside the Dynamax Tree where players encounter the Galarian legendary birds for the first time. If interacted with, the player can shake the tree enough times to battle this gigantic Pokemon, which will reward them with many different berries when it is defeated.
6Calyrex’s Dynamax Aura Is Blue
This feature inSword & Shieldis one that many players will likely miss unless they take their Calyrex into a battle where it can be Dynamaxed, but, unlike every other Pokemon in the game, Calyrex’s Dynamax aura is blue instead of red. This could be due to its history with Eternatus, as it is established that Calyrex was called to help the Pokemon of Galar after a giant meteor, most likely Eternatus, threatened their lives long ago.
5The Fossil Pokemon Den Raises Some Questions
Until the introduction of the Ability Patch, there was no way to get the hidden ability of certain Pokemon inSword & Shield, including the fossil abominations that the player can create. However, while these Pokemon are clearly not how they should have looked in the wild, there is a Raid Den in the Crown Tundra that holds all fourGalarian fossil Pokemonthat allows the player to catch them with their hidden ability as well. Just how these Pokemon ended up in a Raid Den is a complete mystery, as it should, theoretically, hold their original forms and not the amalgamations that the player creates.
4The Ultra Beasts Shouldn’t Be In Galar
Another creature that shouldn’t exist, at least in Galar, are the Ultra Beasts, all of which somehow ended up inside the Dynamax Adventures cave. Aside from there being no signs of Ultra Wormholes in Galar, how they ended up on the other side of the world is another complete mystery.
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It could be expected that these Ultra Beasts were simply creatures that got away from the player character inSun & Moonand its sequels, but several of these creatures would find it very difficult to traverse such a long distance on their own.
3Players Can’t Have Both Versions Of Calyrex At The Same Time
This is something that many players won’t get to see, butSword & Shielddoesn’t allow the player to have both versions of Calyrex in their save game at the same time. The reason for this is unknown, but the player isn’t able to place either Shadow or Ice Rider Calyrex in Pokemon Home without dividing them first, and if players try to trade so that one player has both, they won’t be allowed to.
2Calyrex Talking To The Player Is A Huge Deal
While talking Pokemon have been around for decades, with Meowth and Mewtwo being the first that comes to many player’s minds, the fact that Calyrex not only talks directly to the player, but talks in full sentences, is a big step for the video game series. Until this point, Pokemon had only spoken in either short remarks or broken sentences in the main series, though many Pokemon have been seen talking in spin-offs such as theMystery Dungeongames.
1Peony Is A Former Gym Leader
One of the biggest facts that players may miss about father-of-the-year Peony is that, at one point, he was a gym leader of Galar. Unlike with Opal and Bede, it doesn’t seem as though his type specialty was taken up by another trainer, so it’s difficult to say who took over from his role as a gym leader, though it is also a mystery as to why he retired in the first place. Since both Mustard and Peony distanced themselves from the Pokemon League at some point, it appears that they may have known that something was up with Chairman Rose and chose not to say anything.
