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Sharpedo Is the Pokemon Sword and Shield Isle of Armor DLC's Most Terrifying Pokemon

Galar has it all. And by all, I mean terrifying shark attacks.

This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.

Sharpedo was already a pretty scary Pokemon in previous generations. While most other Pokemon at least somewhat mask their potential lethality, this is just a straight-up giant shark with a thirst for blood. And in the waters around the Isle of Armor, he has found a terrifying new home.

Pokemon Sword and Shield's first piece of expansion DLC, the Isle of Armor, went live today. A number of Pokemon from previous generations are headed to the Galar region because of it, and one of those is Sharpedo. In previous Pokemon games, you would usually just be swimming along in the water and get a little screen flash and music stinger before going into battle.

But due to the open-world nature of Sword and Shield, where Pokemon are active and visible in its field areas, Sharpedos roam about freely in the open sea. And if they see your ass on the water, they are gunning for it.

Trainers have been posting videos to social media today, recording their harrowing encounters with the shark Pokemon. As they bike about on the open sea, calmly taking in the new sights and sounds, you can see the water parting as Sharpedo has locked on and targeted the trainer, furiously chasing them at full speed. It's like the recent Maneater game, only in the supposedly friendlier world of Pokemon. YouTube video creator Jacob Geller compared it to the infamous water monster from Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Cover image for YouTube videoExplore the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra with the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass!

Some Pokemon have always had a subtly scary vibe to them, from the true-to-life prehistoric screw-ups to the inexplicably bizarre Galarian Meowth. And yes, even in Sword and Shield, a Bewear or Machamp chasing you around in the field was terrifying.

But we could see those threats, and more importantly, those threats were on land. The ocean is emphatically more terrifying; it's big, deep, and if Sharpedos are on the upper layer, god only knows what horror lurks below. In these trainer's shoes, I would swear off Water Pokemon for life after a single encounter with the Sharpedo.

Pokemon Sword and Shield's Isle of Armor DLC is out today, and filled with plenty of new Pokemon and story content that thankfully does not include swimming with the sharks. Also announced today were a number of new Pokemon games, including a surprise successor to the Nintendo 64 classic Pokemon Snap.

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Eric Van Allen avatar

Eric Van Allen

News Editor

Eric is a writer and Texan. He's a former contributor to sites including Compete, Polygon, Waypoint, and the Washington Post. He loves competitive games, live music, and travel.

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