Not every trainer will have the same level when entering Isle of Armor or the Crown Tundra Pokémon Sword and Shield DLC locations. Trainers can enter these locations at different Pokémon journeys, and to ensure every trainer has the chance to experience them, these locations will scale to your level. How does it determine the level scale, and how should you prepare for it?
The trainer battles in the Pokémon Sword and Shield DLC will come from the highest level of your Pokémon party. For example, if the strongest Pokémon is level 65, the trainers you encounter in the DLC will reflect this difficulty scaling. So if you only have the one level 65 Pokémon, and the rest are significantly lower, you will likely have a much rougher time exploring the area. The same likely goes for all of the wild Pokémon available in these regions.
Trainers will be able to access any of the DLC locations as soon as they gain access to the Wild Area in Pokémon Sword and Shield. You don’t have to wait to reach a specific level or to reach a critical point in the game’s story. You can start the DLC journey once you unlock the Wild Area, giving you full access to the Isle of Armor expansion, and later The Crown Tundra. For those who want a more relaxed time battling trainers in these areas, you will want to make sure you keep your Pokémon at roughly the same level and don’t have a single, all-powerful Pokémon.
The Isle of Armor DLC arrives to Pokémon Sword and Shield on June 17. The Crown Tundra DLC will release sometime in fall 2020.
