Best Walking Animations In Pokémon Isle Of Armor DLC

The Pokémon Sword & Shield DLC, Isle of Armor, introduced over 100 new Pokémon into the Galar region and each features their own unique animations. After many were upset about the removal of the National Dex, the inclusion of some fan favorite Pokémon into the games stirred up a lot of excitement. Some Pokémon are able to follow their trainers over a multitude of terrains while others have distinct animations that really tell a Pokémon’s personality.

The Isle of Armor expansion features a new dojo arena which requires trainers to complete three Master Dojo trials in order to complete this portion of the story. Once players have successfully cleared all the trials, they will unlock the Pokémon Followers option. This allows players to select any Pokémon from the Pokémon menu and have it follow them around. This feature only works in the Isle of Armor, so trainers cannot have Pokémon followers in the Galar region. However, with a wide variety of fun animations, players will enjoy staying in the Isle just to see them all.

All Pokémon will behave differently as they follow the player, both on land and in the water. Some Pokémon, like Avalugg, only have animations which play on land. Given its massive size, Avalugg has a very slow walk cycle which shakes its whole body after each step. It’s clear exactly how gigantic and lumbering this Pokémon is as it follows the player. Centiskorch, while unable to enter the water, has an amazing and creepy animation as it slithers around. It’s movements very much reflect those of an actual centipede, and while that can be a bit off-putting for trainers who don’t like Bug Pokémon, it’s one of the best walking animations in the game. For Pokémon who can’t enter the water, they will disappear off the shore and reappear once the player has returned to land.

Most Pokémon who can fly or levitate are able to go over bodies of water. Charizard has a standard, lumbering walk animation when on land, but the moment the player goes into the ocean, Charizard will spread its wings and fly. Its one of the few land and water following Pokémon which features this type of walking-to-flying transition. Alolan Raichu simply maintains its hovering animation throughout. It lightly bops after the player on its tail, always staying a slight distance above the ground. While it doesn’t feature the variety that Charizard does, the animation is still really well executed and gives weight to the Pokémon.

Water-Type Pokémon have the best array of animations in Isle of Armor. Sharpedo will hover above the ground when the player is on land, but the moment it enters the ocean, it sinks under the water with only its fin breaching the surface. This animation really zeroes in on the shark aspects of Sharpedo and makes it feel quite menacing as it follows you around. Starmie has a similarly impressive transition. On land, this Pokémon slowly waddles from one leg to the other. However, the moment it gets near water, it lays on its side and begins to spin, following the player as it bops up and down. Having a gyrating Starmie bop after you is a very neat experience and one that never ceases to amaze.

There are plenty more impressive walk and swim cycle animations in the Pokémon: Sword & Shield Isle of Armor DLC, from Joltik’s adorable bouncing to Wailord’s slow, crawling movements. This expansion has definitely introduced an abundance of new content to the game and given players an additional level of interaction with their Pokémon.

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