VGC 2020 Information about the Isle of Armor

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On June 17th, the Isle of Armor half of the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass was released, bringing with it old Pokémon that weren't previously found in the Galar Region and even some new Pokémon and alternate forms. These additions will surely shake up the VGC 2020 format for Series 5 in July, as well as the upcoming Players Cup Regional Qualifiers.

In this article, we'll sum up important knowledge from the Isle of Armor and all important information you'll need to know about going into July for the VGC 2020 Series 5 format!

Move Tutors

In the Isle of Armor's Master Dojo, players may exchange Armorite Ore, the new currency to teach their Pokémon one of 18 new moves. Unlike previous games that used the move tutors for old moves, these are brand new moves, one for each type in the game. Click each move to learn which Pokémon can learn them!
  • Expanding Force – The new Psychic-type move. If used in Psychic Terrain, it gains a boost in power and hits all foes. (80 base power, 100% accuracy, Special)
  • Steel Roller – The new Steel-type move. This move gets rid of any terrains on the battlefield but fails if no terrain is active. (130 base power, 100% accuracy, Physical)
  • Scale Shot – The new Dragon-type move. This move hits 2-5 times, raising the user's Speed and lowers Defense by 1 stage each. (25 base power, 90% accuracy, Physical)
  • Meteor Beam – The new Rock-type move. In this 2-turn attack, the user raises their Special Attack stat by 1 stage on the first turn then damages the target on the second turn. (120% base power, 90% accuracy, Special)
  • Misty Explosion – The new Fairy-type move. This damages all Pokémon on the field, KOing the user in the process, and gains a power boost in Misty Terrain. (100 base power, 100% accuracy, Special)
  • Grassy Glide – The new Grass-type move. If used in Grassy Terrain, this move gains +1 priority. (70 base power, 100% accuracy, Physical)
  • Rising Voltage – The new Electric-type move. If used in Electric Terrain, this move doubles in power. (70 base power, 100% accuracy, Special)
  • Terrain Pulse – The new Normal-type move. The power and type of this move varies depending on the terrain. (50 base power, 100% accuracy, Special)
  • Skitter Smack – The new Bug-type move. This move lowers the user's Special Attack by 1 stage (70 base power, 90% accuracy, Special)
  • Burning Jealousy – The new Fire-type move. This move burns any Pokémon hit by it that boosted their stats in the same turn. (70 base power, 100% accuracy, Special)
  • Lash Out – The new Dark-type move. This move doubles in power if one of the user's stats are lowered in the same turn. (75 base power, 100% accuracy, Physical)
  • Poltergeist – The new Ghost-type move. This move fails if the target isn't holding an item. (110 base power, 90% accuracy, Physical)
  • Corrosive Gas – The new Poison-type move. This move removes the target's item. (100% accuracy, Status)
  • Coaching – The new Fighting-type move. This move boosts the ally's Attack and Defense by 1 stage each. (Status)
  • Flip Turn – The new Water-type move. The user switches out after damaging the target. (60 base power, 100% accuracy, Physical)
  • Triple Axel –The new Ice-type move. This move hits 3 times. Each hit can miss but the power rises. (20 base power, 90% accuracy, Physical)
  • Dual Wingbeat – The new Flying-type move. This move hits twice in 1 turn. (40 base power, 90% accuracy, Physical)
  • Scorching Sands – The new Ground-type move. This move has a 30% chance to burn the target but thaws them if they are frozen. (70 base power, 100% accuracy, Special)

Gigantamax

The Isle of Armor introduces the following 6 new Gigantamax forms: Venusaur, Blastoise, Rillaboom, Cinderace, Inteleon, and Urshifu. Players are also able to use Max Soup, a new dish that allows you to give any Pokémon the power to Gigantamax, even if it wasn't caught or obtained with the G-Max Factor.

Players can obtain Max Mushrooms which are obtainable in the Forest of Focus and Warm-up Tunnel. Completing max raid battles in the Isle of Armor spawns Max Mushrooms. It typically takes 3 Max Raid battles to spawn 1 Mushroom, so 9 Max Raid battles will spawn the 3 Mushrooms needed to use Max Soup.
  •  G-Max Venusaur – Venusaur's Gigantamax move, G-Max Vine Lash, is a move that after it's used, damages all non-Grass type Pokémon with vines for 4 turns. The power of this move is based on the attack it's based on.
  •  G-Max Blastoise – Blastoise's Gigantamax move, G-Max Cannonade, is a move that after it's used, damages all non-Water type Pokémon with vines for 4 turns. The power of this move is based on the attack it's based on.
  •  G-Max Rillaboom – Rillaboom's Gigantamax move, G-Max Drum Solo, is a move that ignores the effects of the opponent's ability like Mimikyu's Disguise and Shedinja's Wonder Guard. This move will have a base power of 160 regardless of what base attack is used.
  •  G-Max Cinderace – Cinderace's Gigantamax move, G-Max Fireball, is a move that ignores the effects of the opponent's ability like Mimikyu's Disguise and Shedinja's Wonder Guard. This move will have a base power of 160 regardless of what base attack is used.
  •  G-Max Inteleon – Inteleon's Gigantamax move, G-Max Hydrosnipe, is a move that ignores the effects of the opponent's ability like Mimikyu's Disguise and Shedinja's Wonder Guard. This move will have a base power of 160 regardless of what base attack is used.
  •  G-Max Urshifu (Single Strike) – Single Strike Urshifu's Gigantamax move, G-Max One Blow, is a Dark-type move used by Urshifu'd Single Strike Style version that has the side effect of being able to hit through moves such as Protect or Detect.
  •  G-Max Urshifu (Rapid Strike) – Rapid Strike Urshifu's Gigantamax move, G-Max Rapid Blow, is a Water-type move used by Urshifu'd Rapid Strike Style version that has the side effect of being able to hit through moves such as Protect or Detect.

Returning Pokémon

The most anticipated part of the Isle of Armor is no doubt the returning Pokémon that weren't found previously in the Galar Region. With a grand total of 106 Pokémon returning, this section will showcase all notable Pokémon and their respective forms found in the Isle of Armor that are now legal in the VGC 2020 format.
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New Pokémon

The Isle of Armor introduced 2 new Pokémon that will be legal in the format, Galarian Slowbro and Urshifu! This section will cover the notable information about these 2 Pokémon.
  •  Galarian Slowbro – a Poison/Psychic-type, comes with the ability Quick Draw, an ability that allows Slowbro a 20% chance to move first. Slowbro learns the new exclusive move Shell Side Arm, a 90 base power Poison-type move that is Physical or Special based on which will be more effective. This move also has a 20% chance to poison the target.
  •  Urshifu (Single Strike) – Urshifu's Single Strike Style, a Fighting/Dark-type, comes with the ability Unseen Fist, an ability that allows Urshifu to deal full damage to Pokémon, even if it uses moves like Protect or Detect. This form of Urshifu gains the exclusive move Wicked Blow, an 80 base power Physical Dark-type move that always results in a critical hit.
  •  Urshifu (Rapid Strike) – Urshifu's Single Strike Style, a Fighting/Water-type, also comes with the Unseen Fist ability which allows it to deal full damage to Pokémon even if it uses moves like Protect or Detect. This form of Urshifu gains the exclusive move Surging Strikes, a 25 base power Physical Water-type move that allows the user to hit 3 times in a row, always resulting in a critical hit on each hit.

Useful Tasks

The Isle of Armor introduced a few useful characters that when you talk to them, can perform some very useful tasks.
  • Armorite Ore – Armorite Ore is the newest mineral found in the Isle of Armor that can be exchanged for things such as the ability to teach your Pokémon the move tutors.
  • Battle Tower Transfer – In the Battle Tower, there's an NPC that can give Pokémon ribbon which allows them to be usable in ranked battles. This means Pokémon obtainable from Pokémon Bank can receive the marks to be usable in VGC, including the older-gen Terrakion, Cobalion, and Virizion.
  • Cram-o-Matic – Sitting in the Master Dojo is the Cram-o-Matic, a tool that allows you to combine 4 items in exchange for something new, including Poké Balls and more importantly, battle-ready items and TRs. Hyde will even give out recipes in exchange for 100 watts.
  • Digging Ma – In random locations, including the front of the Forest of Focus, is the mother of the Digging Duo who, in exchange for 1 Armorite Ore, can dig for more Armorite Ore. You must stop her before her shovel breaks to receive more Armorite Ore.
  • Digging Pa – In the Training Lowlands, you can find the father of the Digging Duo who, in exchange for 1 Armorite Ore, will give you a random amount of Watts. These Watts can be used to buy TRs and Wishing Pieces.
  • Effort Value Remover – On a small island in the Workout Sea, there's a girl who, in exchange for 10 Armorite Ore, will remove all EVs on your Pokémon.
  • 150 Diglett HuntAcross the Isle of Armor, there are 150 Alolan Diglett that players can find for special rewards, mainly Alolan Pokémon and the Alolan Starters. Talking to the hiker when you find a certain amount of Alolan Diglett will reward special Pokémon. All Pokémon come 3 guaranteed max IVs.
    • 5 Diglett Found – Alolan Meowth
    • 10 Diglett Found Kanto Slowpoke (Holds King Rock)
    • 20 Diglett Found – Alolan Vulpix
    • 30 Diglett Found – Alolan Sandshrew
    • 40 Diglett Found – Alolan Raichu
    • 50 Diglett Found – Alolan Marowak
    • 75 Diglett Found – Alolan Exeggutor
    • 100 Diglett Found – Rowlet (if Grookey starter), Litten (if Scorbunny starter), Popplio (if Sobble starter) ~ All come with their hidden ability
    • 150 Diglett Found – Alolan Diglett (comes with 6 max IVs)

Conclusion

As you can see, the Isle of Armor promised to shake up the VGC 2020 format and it most certainly did. With powerful new Pokémon introduced into the format, the top teams in this format will be shaken up with the introduction of these Pokémon as well as their arsenal of new moves!

Watch the Players Cup starting July 16th to see how players utilize these Pokémon on their teams and follow us on Twitter for updates about the VGC 2020 Series 5 format and our content as well!

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