The main allure of Pokemon Sword and Shield's new expansion, the Isle of Armor, is the brand-new Pokemon Kubfu and its evolution, Urshifu. Its legendary status and unique skillset might just make it a new competitive favorite, but its power lies in its ability to Gigantamax.

The big bear can Dynamax just fine, but go the extra mile during the Isle of Armor storyline and you'll whip up a Max Soup that any another Pokemon would guzzle down like a Guzzlord in a food court. But herein lies the secret. Urshifu won't eat just any old Max Soup. Here's how to get unlock Urshifu's Gigantamax form.

Isle of Armor content block

How to Unlock Gigantamax Urshifu

Unlocking Urshifu's Gigantamax form is relatively straight-forward if you saw Pokemon Sword & Shield through to its true conclusion prior to the DLC releasing. Just keep talking to the people in the dojo and things will progress naturally, so you can skip the next header and get straight to finding Lilligant.

If not, you'll hit a roadblock before this with the Isle of Armor dojo master Mustard simply saying the next step can wait until your character has "done what he/she needs to do." Read on to find out how to progress the Isle of Armor story beyond the Tower of Waters and Tower of Darkness.

How to Continue the Isle of Armor Story

You reach this point after picking a tower and evolving your Kubfu into one of the two different versions of Urshifu and heading back to the dojo. If the Mustard man won't get up from playing Pokemon Quest on his TV in the room to the right, you'll have to go back to the main region of Galar and complete the post-credits story involving the cover legendaries Zacian and Zamazenta.

Assuming you haven't started the quest and abandoned it somewhere along the line, you can start it by heading to the end of the Slumbering Weald where you'll find Hop returning the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield to the tranquil shrine where you first met the beasts.

Once that lengthy excursion is out of the way (signposted with a cinematic The End screen) you should be good to head back to the Isle of Armor dojo where Master Mustard should be waiting in main hall.

At this point, the man will talk about Gigantamaxing Urshifu and how it refuses to eat regular Max Soup because of its taste. It wants a sweet kick, so you'll be sent off with Hop to figure out what that secret ingredient is.

Isle of Armor Lilligant location

Where to Find Lilligant

The first step of this is to venture to the Forest of Focus where you'll soon run into a lonely Petilil. Hop stays back with the little baby and it's up to you find its mother, a Lilligant stationed at the other end of the woods. It's a bit tough to find in the labyrinth that is the Forest of Focus, but we've listed out a rough track to follow below:

  • Take the path to Hop's right instead of crossing the bridge.
  • Follow the path down to where it splits by a small pond. Take the left path.
  • Take the next left and cross the left bridge.
  • Lilligant should by on the corner of the central path with the berry tree on her right.

A cutscene will play out when you find Lilligant. After that, you'll have to walk it back to where you left Hop.

Isle of Armor Applin location

Where to Find Applin

With the Lilligant nectar not enough to satisfy Urshifu, you continue through the forest on the lookout for an Applin. You'll find this by the entrance to a dead end with a Berry tree at the back. It's actually close to where Lilligant was found, so start back from where you reunited with Hop and follow these steps:

  • Take the path to Hop's right instead of crossing the bridge.
  • Follow the path down to where it splits by a small pond.
  • Take left turn and carry straight on.
  • Continue straight when you see a path branching the left.
  • Applin should be on the floor as you go into the dead end.

Applin rolls away from you and climbs the tree. Get close to the tree and it'll drop down, clocking you on the noggin. There's some British slang to keep with the game's obvious inspirations.

When that's not enough to whet Urshifu's child-like palate, you make way for Honeycalm Island to the north of the Isle. To get to Honeycalm Island fast, fly to Challenge Beach by the Tower of Waters and head straight up into the ocean. There, you'll shake the tree in the center and have to fend off a Dynamax Vespiqueen on your own.

Isle of Armor Vespiquen location

Where to find Vespiqueen

Vespiqueen drops Max Honey after the fight — the key ingredient needed to make Max Soup needed to unlock Urshifu's Gigantamax form. Take it and three Max Mushrooms to the dojo kitchen to whip up a batch of Max Soup for Urshifu.

Making the Max Soup

If you haven't gotten ahead of yourself and turned your first set of Max Mushrooms into Max Soup for your starter Pokemon, all you need to do now if give the Dojo cook your three Max Mushrooms and one Max Honey. Select Urshifu as the recipient of this special bowl of Max Soup and you'll unlock Gigantamax Urshifu.

If you did use your story-supplied Max Mushrooms to Gigantamax a Pokemon other than Urshifu, you'll need to farm some more Max Mushrooms. More on that painful process here.

And that's it! With a mixture of fungus and thick syrup sliding down its throat, your Urshifu should now be able to Gigantamax. Just be sure to stuff it full of Dynamax Candy to bump its Dynamax level up the max before you take it into a serious battle.