Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Teal Mask Basculin Location, How to Evolve into Basculegion

With the arrival of The Teal Mask DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, a whole plethora of Pokémon from previous games are making their return to the series. Those who played Pokémon Legends: Arceus have been excited to learn that White-Striped Form Basculin from the Hisui region returns in Kitakami.

We've got detials on the exact location you'll need to head towards to catch White-Striped Form Basculin, but that's only half the battle. It'll take a little work, but with the right plan you can quickly evolve your new capture and have Basculegion in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Where to Catch White-Striped Form Basculin in The Teal Mask DLC

If you're starting The Teal Mask DLC after finishing the main game in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, you should be able to quickly take to the skies and cliffs to work your way towards the home location of White-Striped Form Basculin in Kitakami. However, players diving into The Teal Mask DLC earlier on in a save file may hit some snags. You'll need most of the Miraidon or Koraidon abilities to reach Basculin, so you may have to first progress the main story quests.

While some Pokémon can be difficult to find due to wide regions where they spawn and significant competetion, White-Striped Form Basculin is pretty common if you know where to look. As a Pokémon that's always preferred ponds and rivers, you'll need to look for one in the Timeless Woods among the Kitakami Wilds.

This area is in the far northern part of Kitakami just a bit to the west, and you'll want to look in the small pond circled in the image above. Red-Striped Form and Blue-Striped Form Basculin, which cannot evolve into Basculegion, are not available in The Teal Mask DLC. This is actually good news, as it means you'll have no trouble finding the proper White-Striped Form Basculin.

Catching it will be fairly straightforward, but keep in mind that levels scale in The Teal Mask DLC depending on how far along you are in the main story of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Players who have finished the game will likely run into wild Basculin with a level into the 70s, so bring a team that's prepared to tackle a Pokémon of that strength and a plethora of Poké Balls.

How to Evolve Basculin into Basculegion in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Once you've caught your Basculin, it'll be time to work towards evolving it. The good news is that players who caught a particularly high level Basculin will have a much easier time evolving it than if it were weaker. In order to evolve Basculin into Basculegion, you actually have to use moves that cause recoil damage to Basculin.

You need to cause Basculin to lose at least 294 HP from recoil damage without fainting, and that will require you carefully watching their HP and using healing items of all kinds to keep them going. The counter will reset if Basculin faints, but you can heal it plenty in or out of battle to keep racking up damage.

Basculin learns three moves between Level 36 and Level 52 that cause recoil damage. Whether you're using Take Down, Wave Crash, or Double-Edge, in all cases you'll want to head to an area of Paldea with some weaker Pokémon than where you found Basculin. This allows you to more safely deal some damage and take the recoil with much lower risk of being fainted by your opponent.

Once you've hit at least 294 HP of recoil damage, which you can track manually with a notepad or on your phone, level up Basculin in any way. The fastest way to do this would be to use a Rare Candy or an Exp. Candy to get Basculin up to the next level without having to take on more battle and risk it fainting and resetting your recoil counter. The evolution will trigger after the level up, and you'll then have a Basculegion to use in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.