The Galar Region of Pokémon: Sword & Shield has always been a clear fantasy version of the British Isles, which suggests that the new Isle of Armor area introduced in Pokémon: Sword and Shield's upcoming DLC should correspond with one of the other British Isles. However, which real-life island will it match the most? The DLC's new world map is said to be based on the Isle of Man, but many other island regions may have played a role in shaping the setting of this expansion.
Each world region in the Pokémon franchise so far corresponds to a real-world country. Kanto is the Kanto region of Japan, Kalos is France, and Galar, the setting for Pokémon: Sword & Shield, is an alternate version of the United Kingdom. Various maps and towns in this game are clear stand-ins for real-life regions like Wales or cities such as London and Manchester. Even the new Pokémon have a quintessentially British flavor, such as "Polteageist," a Ghost-Type who lives in a teapot, and "Stonejourner," a Rock-Type that's basically a walking, living Stonehenge.
Galar isn't a perfect reflection of modern Great Britain, of course, and Britain doesn't have feral creatures with supernatural powers to catch. Even so, as GameStop recently detailed, British culture, folklore, and legends have been a consistent source of inspiration for Pokémon: Sword & Shield... and can also act as a way for fans to predict which Isles will inspire the upcoming Isle of Armor DLC.
Pokémon's Isle of Armor Inspiration #1: The Isle of Man
James Turner, the Art Director for Pokemon Sword & Shield, has outright stated that the Isle of Armor is supposed to be a stand-in for the real-life Isle of Man (just as The Crown Tundra in the Crown Tundra DLC will be based on Scotland). The real-world Isle of Man lies off the west coast of England between Ireland and mainland Britain. Traditional folklore among the "Manx" people is heavily Celtic, filled with accounts of Fair Folk, Black Dogs, and Sea-Gods. For that reason, a large number of Fairy-Type Pokémon might show up in this DLC, along with cat Pokémon styled after the local short-tailed Manx breed.
Pokémon's Isle of Armor Inspiration #2: Ireland
Ireland is a country with its own culture, history and folklore – distinct enough, in fact, to be the main region of a whole new Pokémon game. As the other big island neighbor to the Isle of Man, though, odds are good that the Pokémon Sword & Shield's Isle of Armor DLC and its new Pokémon will have a few visual references to Irish history and culture, hopefully with minimal uses of stereotypes like beer, harps, shamrocks, or the color green.
Pokémon's Isle of Armor Inspiration #3: Isle of Wight
As the second-largest island off the cost of Great Britain, the Isle of Wight has a historical reputation for maritime pursuits (and for being the forward base of foreign armies attempting to conquer the British mainland). Nowadays, the Isle of Wight is famed for spectacular annual rock concerts worthy of Woodstock, along with beach-side cliffs brimming with fossils from the Cretaceous era. The latter aspect implies Pokémon Sword & Shield's Isle of Armor DLC will contain extra fossil samples the bumbling Pokémon scientist of Sword and Shield can use to make more mismatched Fossil Pokémon.
The trailers for this latest Pokémon: Sword & Shield DLC have shown that the Isle of Armor storyline won't just be about quasi-British culture and Galar-exclusive Pokémon. A huge chunk of the plot will revolve around the Trainer learning at a Chinese-themed martial arts dojo, while many iconic Pokémon from previous generations will be making their return.
That's not only a good thing, but also realistic, as real, modern-day Great Britain is a melange of ancient and modern cultures, all of them brought to their shores by a new generation of immigrants and invaders. It makes sense that the same would apply to an alternate Britain with a preponderance of wild pocket monsters, and it will be interesting to see what other real world locations are referenced when Pokémon: Sword & Shield's next DLC is released.
Source: GameSpot