A bit late, but now I finally have some time to share my thoughts on yesterday's Pokemon Direct (couldn't post such yesterday because I was busy with work and celebrating my birthday).
I called it that Pokemon Sword and Shield would become the first core Pokemon games to get paid DLC the moment it was revealed the Direct would primarily discuss those games, and it seemed like DLC is the only thing they could talk about in regards to more Sword and Shield content. For what we were shown of those two expansion passes, they look quite promising, and it's nice to hear that paid DLC is Gamefreak's new way of releasing third/updated versions from now on.
I'm glad we are getting more open-world regions similar to the Wild Area. I love revisiting that part of the region, and seeing new places with a similar feel to it will be great to explore! The new dojo seems interesting, and the new characters we are getting out of it look cool so far. Also really liking Urishufu from the looks of it so far!
I'm pretty glad that Venasaur and Blastoise aren't excluded from the Gigantamax treatment with the coming DLC when Charizard was previously the only Kanto starter to have such, and it's nice to see the Galar starters getting their Gigantamax forms too. My boy Intelleon is especially looking cool with getting an extra long tail to give itself a personal tower and become a trained sniper!
The second expansion pass is the one I am looking forward to the most: tundra-like area, option to catch legendaries from past titles, and even new legendaries being added to the roster? Sign me up! I find it pretty interesting we are getting new Regis: seems like they are Electric and Dragon-types respectively. I guess we can expect Regigigas's lore to be rewritten with this DLC update because of the addition of the new Regis, like it created them out of a electricity and the heart of a dragon.
That reminds me: Regigas has those colored circles on its body that represent the three original Regis: Regirock, Regice, and Registeel. With the new Regis coming out and thus the possibility of having Regigigas's lore changed up a bit, I wonder if Regigigas's design will change a bit to have some added yellow and magenta circles to represent those two new Regis. Galarian Regigigas perhaps?
Seeing that Crown of Tundra will make practically all legendaries from past generations, including the generation 4 games, gives me the impression we may not be getting Sinnoh remakes this generation. Alas, it would've been great to see Sinnoh remakes, but I guess it is too soon for them. On the other hand, I guess there's a possibility for a 2021 release! Wouldn't mind it then because that would mean Gamefreak would have a bit more time to make those remakes as good as possible, so the Sword and Shield DLC could perhaps be a way to keep Pokemon fans pre-occupied until those remakes release.
I'm especially intrigued by Calyrex with its regal design and learning that it "ruled Galar in ancient times" That fact about it along with its dog-like design, gives me the impression this could be the "true third legendary" of Sword and Shield that may be strongly connected to Zacian and Zamazenta in some way. That makes me want to learn more about it!
I'm also glad Gamefreak is expanding the lineup fo the older Pokemon by approximately 200 with those expansion passes! It's also nice that they are allowing free updates in the future that will allow players who don't purchase the expansion passes to gain access to those added Pokemon without purchasing those packs. Now to see what older Pokemon will be included for this 200+ lineup!
Oh, and I can't forget the remakes to the original Mystery Dungeon games! It's great to see Game Freak hasn't abandoned them. The first Mystery Dungeon games were something I really enjoyed way back then, so it makes me feel warmly nostalgic seeing these remakes for the Switch. I might consider picking them up for myself and going with my OG team of Mudkip and Torchic!
Remakes of the first Mystery Dungeon games also opens the door for the possibility of Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky remakes, and that would be something I'd really look forward. After all, the Explorer games are the peak of the Mystery Dungeon series IMO.
This was a great Direct overall! Felt like a really nice birthday present!