It’s only in the new area
Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s Isle of Armor expansion is out today, and it ushers in a few new features for this particular generation.
In what is probably the most superfluous addition, you can now walk side-by-side with your lead Pokemon while out and about. Here’s how to enable it and manage it.
Shortly after entering the new area, you’ll come across the dojo, which serves as the main hub for the zone. You’ll pretty much do everything here, from advancing questlines to changing outfits, to feeding Pokemon soup that allows them to shift into Gigantamax forms (if they’re capable).
After advancing the questline you’ll unlock the ability to have your lead Pokemon follow you, a feature that fans have been wanting for some time in Sword and Shield. There’s a catch of course: it’s only enabled in the new Isle of Armor zone for now.
If for whatever reason you don’t want this feature on or accidentally disabled it and forgot how to get it back, just head into the dojo. Walk to the left room and talk to the NPC with the Pikachu outfit on: you can easily toggle it there.
The gesture is nice, but it’s a little wonky: creatures will often teleport if you leave them in the dust and go too fast. Still, it’s a start, and I hope that the next expansion has it intact. In fact, Game Freak should just add it to the rest of the game.
