#0550 · Unova · Generation 5

Basculin

Hostile Pokémon · Water-type

Basculin is a Water-type Pokémon, the Hostile Pokémon, number 550 (#0550) in the National Pokédex. It was introduced in Generation 5 and comes from the Unova region. It is 1 m tall and weighs 18 kg.

Basculin is the Hostile Pokémon, a Water type with three forms. Red-Striped and Blue-Striped schools fight on sight over territory, while the gentle White-Striped form from Hisui is the only one that can evolve.

How to pronounce Basculin

Basculin is pronounced BAS-kyoo-lin. The capital letters show the stressed syllable.

Listen to Basculin said out loud:

In Japanese it is バスラオ (Bassrao).

Hear every other name on the Pokémon pronunciation guide.

Lore

Biology

Basculin measures 1 m and weighs 18 kg. It is green with a thick black stripe and a four-spiked white dorsal fin. Red-Striped Basculin has a red stripe, jagged fins and round eyes; Blue-Striped has a blue stripe, smooth fins and narrower eyes; White-Striped has pale markings and a beak-like snout.

Behaviour

Bulbapedia calls Red-Striped Basculin the 'Thug of the River', and the Ultra Moon Pokédex says that when a school arrives in a lake, everything else disappears except Corphish and Crawdaunt. Anglers love its fight. People once ate it and its Blue-Striped cousin: Red-Striped meat is fattier and was a hit with the young, while Blue-Striped meat is light. White-Striped Basculin is gentle and shares food within its school.

Habitat

Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin live in lakes and rivers and are wild across Paldea in Scarlet and Violet. White-Striped schools live in cold seas, return to their birth river on a perilous journey, and are found only in Kitakami's Timeless Woods.

Diet

The Ultra Sun entry says Basculin eats anything it can catch, using its huge jaws.

Powers

Its Ability depends on its form: Reckless for Red-Striped, Rock Head for Blue-Striped and Rattled for White-Striped, all with Adaptability and a hidden Mold Breaker. It hits with recoil moves like Double-Edge and Wave Crash, and Red- and Blue-Striped learn Final Gambit at level 40 where White-Striped learns Uproar.

Name origin

Basculin may combine 'bass' and 'masculine'. The Japanese name is Bassrao (バスラオ), possibly from 'bass' and masurao ('warrior').

Design inspiration

Ken Sugimori told Nintendo Dream that Basculin was made late in development, when the team noticed Unova had few new fish; it got two forms to compensate and is a bass because New York, which Unova resembles, has wild bass. Bulbapedia adds the piranha for its temper, which is a fan reading.

Evolution notes

Only White-Striped Basculin evolves, into Basculegion; Red-Striped and Blue-Striped never do.

In the games

In Black and White, where these two forms debuted, the version decides which is common: Black has plenty of Red-Striped, White of Blue-Striped. White-Striped Basculin first appeared in Legends: Arceus, where Professor Laventon's entry calls it a regional form. Basculin is not available in Legends: Z-A.

In the anime

Two forms debuted in 'A Fishing Connoisseur in a Fishy Competition!', where Cilan caught a Blue-Striped Basculin in a fake fishing contest before a wild Frillish released it.

Fun facts

• Before the Scarlet and Violet 2.0.1 update its catch rate was 25 and it is now 190, which Bulbapedia says made it the first Pokémon to have its catch rate changed by a patch.
• In Black and White, Blue-Striped Basculin was given Red-Striped's Reckless Ability by mistake; Black 2 and White 2 changed it to Rock Head.
• Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin share the Hostile Pokémon category with Zweilous.

Sources: Bulbapedia: Basculin (Pokémon) · Serebii: Basculin (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex)

Base stats

• HP: 70
• Attack: 92
• Defense: 65
• Sp. Atk: 80
• Sp. Def: 55
• Speed: 98

Basculin’s base stat total is 460. Its highest stat is Speed.

Type matchups

What is Basculin weak to?

Basculin takes extra damage from Electric (2×), Grass (2×) moves.

It resists Fire (½×), Water (½×), Ice (½×), Steel (½×).

Evolution

How does Basculin evolve?

Basculin evolves into Basculegion (Take 294 recoil damage). Only White-Striped Basculin can evolve. A male Basculin becomes male Basculegion and a female becomes female Basculegion.

The whole family: Basculin, Basculegion.

Forms

• Blue-Striped Basculin (Forme): Water-type, base stat total 460 (HP 70, Attack 92, Defense 65, Sp. Atk 80, Sp. Def 55, Speed 98). Abilities: Rock Head, Adaptability, Mold Breaker (hidden).
• White-Striped Basculin (Forme): Water-type, base stat total 460 (HP 70, Attack 92, Defense 65, Sp. Atk 80, Sp. Def 55, Speed 98). Abilities: Rattled, Adaptability, Mold Breaker (hidden).

Abilities

• Reckless: Strengthens recoil moves to 1.2× their power.
• Adaptability: Increases the same-type attack bonus from 1.5× to 2×.
• Mold Breaker (hidden ability): Bypasses targets' abilities if they could hinder or prevent a move.

Moves

Moves Basculin learns by level up in Scarlet / Violet

TM moves (37)

Basculin can learn 37 moves from TMs in Scarlet / Violet: Take Down, Agility, Scary Face, Protect, Ice Fang, Water Pulse, Chilling Water, Facade, Swift, Icy Wind, Mud Shot, Endure, Rain Dance, Snowscape, Zen Headbutt, Psychic Fangs, Sleep Talk, Waterfall, Rest, Taunt, Substitute, Crunch, Liquidation, Surf, Reversal, Ice Beam, Hydro Pump, Blizzard, Giga Impact, Hyper Beam, Tera Blast, Flip Turn, Scale Shot, Double-Edge, Endeavor, Whirlpool, Muddy Water.

Egg moves (2):Bubble Beam, Endeavor.

Breeding & training

• Gender: 50% male, 50% female.
• Egg groups: Water 2.
• Egg cycles: 40 (steps to hatch, Scarlet/Violet: 5,120).
• Catch rate: 25 out of 255.
• Base friendship (Gen 8 onward): 50.
• Growth rate: Medium (1,000,000 experience points to reach level 100).
• Defeating it gives 2 Speed effort values.
• Base experience yield: 161.

Pokédex entries

Though it differs from other Basculin in several respects, including demeanor—this one is gentle—I have categorized it as a regional form given the vast array of shared qualities. (Legends: Arceus)

In the past, it often appeared on the dinner table. The meat of red-striped Basculin is on the fatty side, and it's more popular with the youth. (Shield)

Anglers love the fight this Pokémon puts up on the hook. And there are always more to catch— many people release them into lakes illicitly. (Sword)

When a school of Basculin appears in a lake, everything else disappears, except for Corphish and Crawdaunt. That's how violent Basculin are. (Ultra Moon)

Savage, violent Pokémon, red and blue Basculin are always fighting each other over territory. (Ultra Sun)

Red and blue Basculin usually do not get along, but sometimes members of one school mingle with the other's school. (White, Y, Alpha Sapphire)

Names around the world

Trivia

• Taller than 47% of all Pokémon (1 m).
• Heavier than 39% of all Pokémon (18 kg).
• Base stat total 460, ranked #477 of 1,025.
• One of 154 Water-type Pokémon (counting dual types).
• One of 130 green Pokémon.
• Number 57 of 156 Pokémon introduced in Generation 5 (Unova).
• Part of an evolution family of 2 Pokémon.
• Can learn 50 different moves in Scarlet / Violet.
• Catch rate 25: about 3.3% per Poké Ball at full health.
• Has 2 alternate forms.
• Appears in 8 distinct Pokédex entries.

Sources and fact-checking

• Stats, types, abilities, moves, evolutions, forms and Pokédex entries: PokéAPI open game data.
• Lore: written by pokee.si in our own words, researched from Bulbapedia: Basculin (Pokémon), Serebii: Basculin (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex).
• Pronunciation (BAS-kyoo-lin): no English source says it out loud, so it is our best guess from the parts of the name.

Last checked: 20 October 2026. Every sentence of the lore was checked against Bulbapedia, Serebii and the game data.

Explore

Water-type Pokémon · Unova region guide · Reckless ability · Adaptability ability · Mold Breaker ability · Compare Basculin · Full Pokédex · Type chart · All moves

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Gen 5 Water-type Pokémon · Gen 5 Pokémon list · Green Pokémon list · Water 2 egg group · Pokémon that start with B · Fish Pokémon

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