Honestly, the Isle of Armor is a weird place. When it first dropped, a lot of people just rushed through the trials to get their legendary and then bailed for the Crown Tundra. They missed the point. This isn't just a hallway to get Urshifu; it’s a massive, sprawling ecological playground that fixed one of the biggest complaints about the base Sword & Shield games: the lack of a real National Dex.
You’ve got over 200 species packed onto this island. Some are old favorites, others are absolute nightmares to find, and a few are just plain cool.
Why Kubfu is a Total Pain (But Worth It)
Let’s talk about the bear in the room. Mustard hands you Kubfu after you do some chores, but the real work starts there. You can't just slap a Rare Candy on it and call it a day. You actually have to build a bond with the thing, which feels a bit like babysitting. You take it to various "scenic spots" around the island—basically, you’re taking a legendary Pokémon on a sightseeing tour.
Once the bear likes you, you’ve got a choice. The Tower of Darkness or the Tower of Waters.
Choose carefully. This isn't a "you can do both later" situation. If you go Darkness, you get Single Strike Urshifu (Fighting/Dark). Go Waters, and you get Rapid Strike Urshifu (Fighting/Water).
Most competitive players tend to lean toward the Rapid Strike version because its signature move, Surging Strikes, hits three times. Why does that matter? It breaks through things like Focus Sash and Sturdy, and it always crits. It’s basically a middle finger to anyone trying to hide behind stat boosts. Single Strike’s Wicked Blow is powerful too, don’t get me wrong, but that 4x weakness to Fairy-types makes it a bit of a glass cannon in the current meta.
The 151 Diglett Problem
There is a guy standing near the Master Dojo who has lost 151 Alolan Diglett. One hundred and fifty-one.
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It sounds like a joke, but he’s serious. They are everywhere. You’ll see three little hairs poking out of the sand on the beach or tucked behind a rock in the Potbottom Desert. Is it worth doing? Kinda.
The rewards are actually the only way to get some Alolan forms and the Sun/Moon starters without transferring them from Pokémon Home.
- 5 Diglett: Alolan Meowth
- 10 Diglett: Kantonian Slowpoke (holding a King’s Rock)
- 20 Diglett: Alolan Vulpix
- 40 Diglett: Alolan Raichu (the psychic surfer!)
- 100 Diglett: An Alolan Starter (Rowlet, Litten, or Popplio)
The starter you get depends on who you picked at the very beginning of the game. If you started with Scorbunny, you’re getting a Litten. It’s a bit restrictive, but hey, a free Incineroar is hard to turn down.
Isle of Armor Pokemon: The Returning Legends and Regional Quirks
The real star of the show for many wasn't the new stuff, but the stuff we lost in "Dexit." Seeing Scyther flying around the Training Lowlands or Sharpedo chasing you through the ocean (and they are terrifyingly fast) made the world feel alive again.
Galarian Slowbro is a Literal Gun
I still can't get over the design of Galarian Slowbro. The Shellder didn't bite its tail; it bit its arm, turning it into a biological Gatling gun. To get one, you need to find Galarica Twigs scattered under trees all over the island.
Find 8 of them, take them to the lady on the island in the Workout Sea, and she’ll weave you a Galarica Cuff. Use it on a Galarian Slowpoke, and boom—you have a Poison/Psychic powerhouse with the "Quick Draw" ability. It’s unpredictable and hilarious in a battle.
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The Max Soup Hack
Before this DLC, if you wanted a Gigantamax Pokémon, you had to reset raids for hours or get incredibly lucky. The Isle of Armor fixed that with Max Soup.
If you find three Max Mushrooms (they grow in caves and forests after you do a few raids), you can cook a soup that gives any compatible Pokémon the Gigantamax factor. This includes your original starter. If you’ve been carrying that Rillaboom since the first route, you can finally let it grow a giant drum set.
One thing people often forget: Urshifu is a picky eater. It won't drink the soup unless you mix in Max Honey, which you can only get by beating a special Vespiquen raid on Honeycalm Island. It’s a bit of a hidden quest line involving Hop, so don't ignore him when he shows up at the Dojo.
Exploring the Biomes
The island is divided into some pretty distinct areas. The Soothing Wetlands is where you'll find a lot of the Bug and Poison types, like Scolipede and Chansey (who is an absolute experience point goldmine if you're looking to level up).
The Insular Sea and the areas around it are basically Sharpedo territory. Seriously, if you stop moving your bike for five seconds, one will lock onto you. But it's also where you can find Exeggutor hanging out on the beaches, looking like they've had a very long vacation.
Master Mustard is No Joke
Don’t let the old man in the tracksuit fool you. Mustard is a former Champion for a reason. His final battle is arguably one of the toughest in the entire Galar region. His team is balanced, fast, and he uses the opposite Urshifu form of whatever you chose.
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If you chose the Tower of Waters, he has a Single Strike Urshifu. He’s essentially the final test of everything the island taught you about positioning and type matchups.
The Verdict on the Pokedex
While some people complain that the Isle of Armor is "too small," they’re usually the ones who didn't bother to explore the caves. The Brawler’s Cave and Courageous Cavern are full of rare spawns like Tyrogue and Rockruff.
Actually, speaking of Rockruff, this is where you can finally get the Dusk Form Lycanroc easily. You just need a Rockruff with the Own Tempo ability (which you can find in specific raids on the island) and level it up between 7:00 PM and 7:59 PM in-game time.
What to do right now on the Isle of Armor
Stop trying to finish the Pokédex in one sitting. It's exhausting. Instead, focus on these high-value tasks:
- Farm Max Mushrooms: Do three raids, check the caves (Warm-up Tunnel or Brawler's Cave), and repeat. You’ll want a stockpile of Max Soup for your competitive team.
- Hunt the Diglett in the desert first: The Potbottom Desert is small and the Diglett are easier to spot against the sand. It gets the momentum going for the 151-count.
- Talk to the Cram-o-matic: Inside the Dojo, there’s a robot made of a trash can. Feed it four Rare Bones to get a Wishing Piece, or experiment with Apricorns to get those rare Pokéballs. It’s a gamble, but it’s the only way to get Safari or Sport Balls.
- Check the "Strong Spawns": Every day, a few massive Pokémon appear in the overworld. A Level 80 Wailord in the sea? It’s there. A Magnezone floating in the sky? Check the Training Lowlands during a thunderstorm.
The Isle of Armor isn't just a pit stop. It’s the place where you actually turn your team from a group of story-mode buddies into a professional-grade squad. Go find that lady in the Workout Sea, get your Galarica Cuff, and stop letting those Sharpedo intimidate you.