For Pokémon GO information on this species, seethe game's section.
← #0549: Lilligant	Pokémon	#0551: Sandile →

Basculin Hostile Pokémon Mellow Pokémon バスラオ Bassrao #0550 Red-Striped Form Blue-Striped Form White-Striped Form Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Type Water Unknown Unknown Unknown Blue-Striped Form Unknown Unknown White-Striped Form Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown
Abilities Reckless* orAdaptability Red-Striped Form Rock Head orAdaptability Blue-Striped Form Rattled orAdaptability White-Striped Form Mold Breaker Hidden Ability Cacophony Hidden Ability Cacophony Blue-Striped Form Cacophony White-Striped Form
Gender ratio Unknown 50% male,50% female	Catch rate 190(35.2%)
Breeding Egg Group Water 2 Hatch time 40 cycles
Height 3'03" 1.0 m Red-Striped Form 0'0" 0 m Blue-Striped Form 0'0" 0 m White-Striped Form 0'0" 0 m {{{form4}}} 0'0" 0 m {{{form5}}} 0'0" 0 m {{{form6}}} 0'0" 0 m {{{form7}}}	Weight 39.7 lbs. 18.0 kg Red-Striped Form 0 lbs. 0 kg Blue-Striped Form 0 lbs. 0 kg White-Striped Form 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form4}}} 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form5}}} 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form6}}} 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form7}}}
Mega Stone [[|]] [[|]]
Base experience yield Unknown Gen. IV Unknown IV 161	Leveling rate Medium Fast
EV yield Total: 2* Red-Striped Form 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 2 Speed Blue-Striped Form 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 2 Speed White-Striped Form 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 2* Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed
Shape	Footprint Blue-Striped Form
Pokédex color   Green	Base friendship 70
External Links On Smogon Pokédex: Generation V Generation VI Generation VII Generation VIII Generation IX Artwork on Bulbagarden Archives

Basculin (Japanese:バスラオBassrao) is aWater-typePokémon introduced inGeneration V.

Basculin has threeforms:Red-Striped Form,Blue-Striped Form, andWhite-Striped Form, the final of which is sometimes considered aHisuian form. Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin were both introduced inPokémon Black and White, while White-Striped Basculin was introduced inPokémon Legends: Arceus.

Red- and Blue-Striped Basculin are not known toevolve into or from any other Pokémon. White-Striped Basculin evolves intoBasculegion whenleveled up after losing at least 294HP fromrecoil damage without fainting.

(Specifics may differ in past games. Refer toGame data→Evolution data for these details.)

Biology

Basculin is a green aquaticPokémon that comes in three forms, all of which share the same basic body structure: an ovoid body that tapers toward the rear into a trapezoidal tail fin. A thick black stripe runs along the top of the body from mouth to tail above a green underside, and it has a white dorsal fin with four spike-like protrusions. Its lower jaw juts ahead of the upper jaw, with a small indent near the edges of the mouth, and it has three black dots on both sides of the body behind the pectoral fins. All forms also share the same fin placement, with one fin on top of the body ahead of the tail fin, one below the body ahead of the tail fin, and two pectoral fins.

Basculin has an extremely violent, hostile, and vicious temperament. Even its two forms are aggressive towards each other, and they generally start fighting on sight for territory, though they may occasionally swim with the other's school. It is unclear if there is any significant difference between Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin. It wasconsumed byhumans in the past, and was considered very delicious. The meat of Blue-Striped Basculin has an inoffensive, light flavor, while the meat of Red-Striped Basculin is fattier and was more popular with young people. It competes withCarvanha for food.

Forms

Basculin has three forms: Red-Striped Form, Blue-Striped Form, and White-Striped Form, the last of which is sometimes considered aregional form.

Red-Striped Form

Blue-Striped Form

White-Striped Form

Red-Striped Form

Red-Striped Basculin is distinguished by a red stripe separating the black and green portions of its body. It has jagged fins resembling tridents and circular, red eyes.

Red-Striped Basculin is so violent that when a school of them appears in a lake, Pokémon other thanCorphish andCrawdaunt flee, leading it to be referred to as the "Thug of the River". It is sought by anglers for the resistance it puts up on hooks, with many people illegally releasing them into lakes and causing its population to grow more abundant. Red-Striped Basculin is full of vitality and reproduces quickly. Its predators includeBombirdier andDondozo.

Blue-Striped Form

The Blue-Striped Form is distinguished by a blue stripe in the same position. Its fins are smooth and rounded, and it has narrower, blue eyes.

Blue-Striped Basculin is sometimes called the "thug of the lake", but it still becomes prey to stronger organisms despite its fierce reputation. It forms schools with other Basculin of the same color, and its greatest foe is its Red-Striped counterpart. It uses its jaws, which are strong enough to leave bite marks in iron sheets, to devour everything in its way.

White-Striped Form

InHisui, White-Striped Basculin has a similar appearance to the other two forms of Basculin. Despite its descriptor, the stripes above its eyes are actually a very pale shade of light blue, as are its irises. Its pectoral fins are smooth like Blue-Striped Basculin, but larger. Its dorsal fins are spiky and it has wide eyes, like Red-Striped Basculin. Its lower jaw is smaller than the jaws of the two other Basculin variants, and both its lower and upper jaws have beak-like protrusions at the front.

In stark contrast to Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin, White-Striped Basculin have a gentle demeanor. Though it is classified as a regional form, its ecology is different enough from other Basculin to spawn recent theories of it being a separate species. White-Striped Basculin form schools in cold seas and share food with each other, and when the time is right, they return to the river in which they were born. However, the journey upstream is often perilous for them, and they sometimes don't survive. As a result, the souls of those who die are often left behind in the waters of Hisui. However, when an injured White-Striped Basculin survives, it can unite with the ghosts of its fallen comrades toevolve intoBasculegion.^[1] In the present day, it is only known to be found inKitakami'sTimeless Woods along with its evolved form.

Evolution

White-Striped Basculin evolves intoBasculegion. Neither Red-Striped Basculin nor Blue-Striped Basculin can evolve.

(For specifics on this Pokémon's Evolution in the games, refer toGame data→Evolution data.)

Unevolved Basculin White-Striped Form  Water	Male →	First Evolution Basculegion Male  Water  Ghost
	Female →	First Evolution Basculegion Female  Water  Ghost

Game data

Pokédex entries

Red-Striped Basculin in theAlola PokédexUSUM Blue-Striped Basculin in theAlola PokédexUSUM

Red- and Blue-Striped Basculin in thePaldea Pokédex White-Striped Basculin in theKitakami Pokédex

Game locations

In side games

Held items

Red-Striped/Blue-Striped Basculin

Games		Held items
Black	White	DeepSeaTooth (Red-Striped Basculin only, 5%) DeepSeaScale (Blue-Striped Basculin only, 5%) Sitrus Berry (In-game trade, 100%)
Black 2	White 2	DeepSeaTooth (Red-Striped Basculin only, 5%) DeepSeaScale (Blue-Striped Basculin only, 5%)
X	Y	Deep Sea Tooth (Red-Striped Basculin only, 5%) Deep Sea Scale (Blue-Striped Basculin only, 5%)
Ultra Sun		Deep Sea Tooth (5%)
Ultra Moon		Deep Sea Scale (5%)

White-Striped Basculin

Games		Held items
Legends: Arceus		Normal Pop Pod (35%) Ball of Mud (15%) Grit items by level Alpha Exp. Candy S (100%) Seed of Mastery (10%) Grit items by level

Stats

Base stats

Type effectiveness

Learnset

Basculin is available inScarlet and Violet.

Byleveling up

Red-Striped/Blue-Striped Basculin

White-Striped Basculin

ByTM

Red-Striped/Blue-Striped Basculin

Generation IX Other generations: V - VI - VII - VIII

TM   Move   Type   Cat.   Pwr.   Acc.   PP  TM001 TM001 Take Down Normal Physical 09090 085}}85% 20 TM004 TM004 Agility Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 30 TM006 TM006 Scary Face Normal Status 0000— 100}}100% 10 TM007 TM007 Protect Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM010 TM010 Ice Fang Ice Physical 06565 095}}95% 15 TM011 TM011 Water Pulse Water Special 06060 100}}100% 20 TM022 TM022 Chilling Water Water Special 05050 100}}100% 20 TM025 TM025 Facade Normal Physical 07070 100}}100% 20 TM032 TM032 Swift Normal Special 06060 00—}}—% 20 TM034 TM034 Icy Wind Ice Special 05555 095}}95% 15 TM035 TM035 Mud Shot Ground Special 05555 095}}95% 15 TM047 TM047 Endure Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM050 TM050 Rain Dance Water Status 0000— 00—}}—% 5 TM052 TM052 Snowscape Ice Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM059 TM059 Zen Headbutt Psychic Physical 08080 090}}90% 15 TM063 TM063 Psychic Fangs Psychic Physical 08585 100}}100% 10 TM070 TM070 Sleep Talk Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM077 TM077 Waterfall Water Physical 08080 100}}100% 15 TM085 TM085 Rest Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 5 TM087 TM087 Taunt Dark Status 0000— 100}}100% 20 TM103 TM103 Substitute Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM108 TM108 Crunch Dark Physical 08080 100}}100% 15 TM110 TM110 Liquidation Water Physical 08585 100}}100% 10 TM123 TM123 Surf Water Special 09090 100}}100% 15 TM134 TM134 Reversal Fighting Physical 0000— 100}}100% 15 TM135 TM135 Ice Beam Ice Special 09090 100}}100% 10 TM142 TM142 Hydro Pump Water Special 110110 080}}80% 5 TM143 TM143 Blizzard Ice Special 110110 070}}70% 5 TM152 TM152 Giga Impact Normal Physical 150150 090}}90% 5 TM163 TM163 Hyper Beam Normal Special 150150 090}}90% 5 TM171 TM171 Tera Blast Normal Special 08080 100}}100% 10 TM196 TM196 Flip Turn Water Physical 06060 100}}100% 20 TM200 TM200 Scale Shot Dragon Physical 02525 090}}90% 20 TM204 TM204 Double-Edge Normal Physical 120120 100}}100% 15 TM205 TM205 Endeavor Normal Physical 0000— 100}}100% 5 TM208 TM208 Whirlpool Water Special 03535 085}}85% 15 TM209 TM209 Muddy Water Water Special 09090 085}}85% 10

Bold indicates a move that getsSTAB when used by Basculin Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution or an alternate form of Basculin Click on the generation numbers at the top to see TM moves from other generations

White-Striped Basculin

Generation IX Other generations: VIII

TM   Move   Type   Cat.   Pwr.   Acc.   PP  TM001 TM001 Take Down Normal Physical 09090 085}}85% 20 TM004 TM004 Agility Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 30 TM006 TM006 Scary Face Normal Status 0000— 100}}100% 10 TM007 TM007 Protect Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM010 TM010 Ice Fang Ice Physical 06565 095}}95% 15 TM011 TM011 Water Pulse Water Special 06060 100}}100% 20 TM022 TM022 Chilling Water Water Special 05050 100}}100% 20 TM025 TM025 Facade Normal Physical 07070 100}}100% 20 TM032 TM032 Swift Normal Special 06060 00—}}—% 20 TM034 TM034 Icy Wind Ice Special 05555 095}}95% 15 TM035 TM035 Mud Shot Ground Special 05555 095}}95% 15 TM047 TM047 Endure Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM050 TM050 Rain Dance Water Status 0000— 00—}}—% 5 TM052 TM052 Snowscape Ice Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM059 TM059 Zen Headbutt Psychic Physical 08080 090}}90% 15 TM063 TM063 Psychic Fangs Psychic Physical 08585 100}}100% 10 TM070 TM070 Sleep Talk Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM077 TM077 Waterfall Water Physical 08080 100}}100% 15 TM085 TM085 Rest Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 5 TM103 TM103 Substitute Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM108 TM108 Crunch Dark Physical 08080 100}}100% 15 TM110 TM110 Liquidation Water Physical 08585 100}}100% 10 TM123 TM123 Surf Water Special 09090 100}}100% 15 TM135 TM135 Ice Beam Ice Special 09090 100}}100% 10 TM142 TM142 Hydro Pump Water Special 110110 080}}80% 5 TM143 TM143 Blizzard Ice Special 110110 070}}70% 5 TM171 TM171 Tera Blast Normal Special 08080 100}}100% 10 TM191 TM191 Uproar Normal Special 09090 100}}100% 10 TM196 TM196 Flip Turn Water Physical 06060 100}}100% 20 TM200 TM200 Scale Shot Dragon Physical 02525 090}}90% 20 TM204 TM204 Double-Edge Normal Physical 120120 100}}100% 15 TM205 TM205 Endeavor Normal Physical 0000— 100}}100% 5 TM208 TM208 Whirlpool Water Special 03535 085}}85% 15 TM209 TM209 Muddy Water Water Special 09090 085}}85% 10

Bold indicates a move that getsSTAB when used by Basculin Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution or an alternate form of Basculin

Bybreeding

Red-Striped/Blue-Striped Basculin

Generation IX Other generations: V - VI - VII - VIII

Parent   Move   Type   Cat.   Pwr.   Acc.   PP  Bubble Beam Water Special 65 100% 20 * Endeavor Normal Physical — 100% 5

Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must bechain bred onto Basculin Bold indicates a move that getsSTAB when used by Basculin Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Basculin Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Egg moves from other generations

White-Striped Basculin

Generation IX Other generations: VIII

Parent   Move   Type   Cat.   Pwr.   Acc.   PP  * Endeavor Normal Physical — 100% 5 * Last Respects Ghost Physical 50 100% 10

Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must bechain bred onto Basculin Bold indicates a move that getsSTAB when used by Basculin Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Basculin

Side game data

Red-Striped Basculin

Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon Body size: Standard (1 tile) How to Recruit: Retrieve the Popular Ribbon from Basculin Connected to:Inkay Connection Orb Set: 9 Phrases Normal Those Blue-Striped Basculin… They make me so mad for some reason. Low HP (< 50%) Before I go belly-up… Gotta confess…I like that blue-striped one…

Pokémon Rumble Blast Attack ●●● Defense ●● Speed ●●●

Pokémon Rumble Rush Walking Speed: 2.33 seconds Base HP: 53 Base Attack: 77 Base Defense: 51 Base Speed: 60

PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond PokéPark Pad entry: He likes the water where he lives, but he sometimes swims toanother Area for fun.

Pokémon Battle Trozei Water Attack Power: ★★★★★

Pokémon Shuffle Water Attack Power: 60 - 125 15 #756 Hitting Streak+ Increases damage when it is triggered in a row.

Pokémon GO Base HP: 172 Base Attack: 189 Base Defense: 129 Egg Distance: N/A Buddy Distance: 1 km Evolution Requirement: N/A Fast Attacks:Tackle,Water Gun Charged Attacks:Aqua Jet,Aqua Tail,Muddy Water

Blue-Striped Basculin

Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon Body size: Standard (1 tile) How to Recruit: BattleSeadra alongside Basculin Connected to:Golduck,Seadra,Omastar,Mantine,Sharpedo Connection Orb Set: 11 Phrases Normal I cannot possibly forgive those Red-Striped Basculin! Now why was that… Low HP (< 50%) Oh red-striped one… I need you by my side…

Pokémon Rumble Blast Attack ●●● Defense ●● Speed ●●●

Pokémon Rumble Rush Walking Speed: 2.33 seconds Base HP: 53 Base Attack: 77 Base Defense: 51 Base Speed: 60

Pokémon Battle Trozei Water Attack Power: ★★★★★

Pokémon Shuffle Water Attack Power: 60 - 125 15 #756 Hitting Streak+ Increases damage when it is triggered in a row.

Pokémon GO Base HP: 172 Base Attack: 189 Base Defense: 129 Egg Distance: N/A Buddy Distance: 1 km Evolution Requirement: N/A Fast Attacks:Tackle,Water Gun Charged Attacks:Aqua Jet,Aqua Tail,Muddy Water

White-Striped Basculin

Pokémon GO Base HP: 172 Base Attack: 189 Base Defense: 129 Egg Distance: N/A Buddy Distance: 1 km Evolution Requirement: Fast Attacks:Tackle,Water Gun Charged Attacks:Aqua Jet,Aqua Tail,Muddy Water

Form data

Basculin has three non-interchangeable forms: Red-Striped Form, Blue-Striped Form, and White-Striped Form. White-Striped Basculin is also considered to be aHisuian form in some contexts (such asPokémon HOME and itsPokémon Legends: ArceusPokédex entry).

Generally, Red-Striped Form and Blue-Striped Form are either available in opposite games, or one can be found commonly while the other is rarer or only found through specific methods. For example, inPokémon Black, Red-Striped Basculin can frequently be encountered whilesurfing orfishing, but Blue-Striped Basculin can only be found inrippling water; and inPokémon White, the opposite is true. By contrast, inPokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Red-Striped Basculin is exclusive to Ultra Sun and Blue-Striped Basculin is exclusive to Ultra Moon. White-Striped Form is only available inHisui (Pokémon Legends: Arceus) andKitakami (Pokémon Scarlet and Violet:The Teal Mask).

Bred Basculin are the same form as their mother, or the same form as the Basculin parent if bred withDitto. This includes White-Striped Basculin (who is not treated as a regional form for breeding, which would require it to hold anEverstone to pass down its form). IfBasculegion is the mother or is bred with Ditto, the offspring will be White-Striped Basculin.

Red-Striped Form

Only Red-Striped Basculin can have theAbilityReckless and may hold aDeep Sea Tooth when encountered in the wild.

Basculin Red-Striped Form  Water  Reckless or Adaptability Hidden:Mold Breaker HP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe 70 92 65 80 55 98

Blue-Striped Form

Only Blue-Striped Basculin can have the AbilityRock Head and may hold aDeep Sea Scale when encountered in the wild.

Basculin Blue-Striped Form  Water  Rock Head or Adaptability Hidden:Mold Breaker HP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe 70 92 65 80 55 98

Blue-Striped Basculin initially had access to another set of Abilities inPokémon Black and White, which is the same as Red-Striped Basculin's (having Reckless instead of Rock Head). However, a Blue-Striped Basculin available in anin-game trade in Pokémon White has the Ability Rock Head.

Starting withPokémon Black 2 and White 2, Blue-Striped Basculin's first Ability was changed to Rock Head. (The Black and White-contemporaryPokédex 3D also shows Blue-Striped Basculin as having access to Reckless, while the subsequentPokédex 3D Pro shows it as having access to Rock Head.) If a Blue-Striped Basculin with Reckless istransferred fromGeneration V toPokémon Bank, its Ability is changed to Rock Head.

White-Striped Form

Only White-Striped Basculin can have the AbilityRattled. They also learnUproar at level 40 instead ofFinal Gambit like the other forms and canevolve intoBasculegion.

Basculin White-Striped Form  Water  Rattled or Adaptability Hidden:Mold Breaker HP Atk Def SpA SpD Spe 70 92 65 80 55 98

Evolution data

Only White-Striped Basculin can evolve.

Red and Blue-Striped Form

Unevolved Basculin Red-Striped Form  Water

Unevolved Basculin Blue-Striped Form  Water

White-Striped Form

White-Striped Basculin evolves intoBasculegion when leveled up after losing at least 294HP fromrecoil damage. This can be spread across multiple battles and is not affected by the use of recovery items.Fainting will reset progress.

InPokémon Legends: Arceus, White-Striped Basculin does not need to level up after losing at least 294 HP from recoil damage in order to evolve.

Unevolved Basculin White-Striped Form  Water	+ + Level up after losing at least 294HP from recoil damage (male) without fainting →	First Evolution Basculegion Male  Water  Ghost
	+ + Level up after losing at least 294HP from recoil damage (female) without fainting →	First Evolution Basculegion Female  Water  Ghost

Sprites

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation V.
Generation V Black White Black 2 White 2 Front Back Front Back
Generation VI X Y Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire Front Back Front Back
Generation VII Sun Moon Ultra Sun Ultra Moon Front Back Front Back
Generation VIII Sword Shield Legends: Arceus
Cross-Generation HOME

For other sprites and images, please seeBasculin images on the Bulbagarden Archives.

In animation

Main series

Major appearances

Two forms of Basculin debuted inA Fishing Connoisseur in a Fishy Competition!.Cilan managed to capture a Blue-Striped one during a fakefishing competition set up byTeam Rocket, but awildFrillishreleased it later. A Red-Striped and a Blue-Striped one were seen being reeled in by twoTrainers.Iris managed to fish another Blue-Striped one with her bare hands but was penalized for it.

A Red-Striped Basculin appeared inPK22, where it played a major role.

Minor appearances

Two forms of Basculin appeared inWhite—Victini and Zekrom andBlack—Victini and Reshiram: the Blue-Striped form was exclusive to the former movie, and the Red-Striped form was exclusive to the latter.

Multiple Basculin appeared inStopping the Rage of Legends! Part 1 andPart 2.

Multiple Blue-Striped Basculin appeared inKyurem VS. The Sword of Justice.

Multiple Red-Striped Basculin appeared inThe Mystery of the Missing Cubchoo!.

InGenesect and the Legend Awakened, a Blue-Striped Basculin was living atPokémon Hills. It tried to attackAsh andPikachu while they were riding theDouse Drive Genesect over a pond.

InGoing for the Gold!, multiple Red-Striped Basculin and one Blue-Striped Basculin were seen in theAmbrette Aquarium.

Pokédex entries

Pokémon: Twilight Wings

InEarly-Evening Waves, multiple Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin were living in a lake whereNessa was doing a photoshoot.

POKÉTOON

Awild Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin appeared inPT10.

In the manga

Be the Best! Pokémon B+W

InThe Key to Triple Battles,Cheren uses a Red-Striped Basculin againstMonta in aTriple Battle.

Pocket Monsters BW: Good Partners

Two Basculin, each of a different form, appeared inBWGP04.

Pokémon Adventures

A Red-Striped Basculin was first seen inUnderground Showdown atRoute 6, jumping out of the water asBlack andClay traveled toChargestone Cave.

A Red-Striped Basculin appeared inDream a Little Dream.

A Blue-Striped Basculin is owned by one of theShadow Triad. It was used to attackLenora atNacrene City. It first appeared inThe Battle Within.

Two Basculin, each of a different form, appeared inPink Slip.

In the TCG

Main article:Basculin (TCG)

Trivia

• Red- and Blue-Striped Basculin share theircategory withZweilous. They are both known as the HostilePokémon.
• Basculin'sPokédex entries inPokémon Black 2, White 2,X,Omega Ruby,Sword, and Shield describe the way they taste, one of the rare instances that hint atPokémon being used for food by humans.
• InPokémon Scarlet and Violet, having Red- or Blue-Striped Basculin registered in thePaldea Pokédex will not register the White-Striped form in the Kitakami Pokédex and vice versa.
• Prior to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet v2.0.1, Basculin had acatch rate of 25.
  • Basculin is the first Pokémon whose catch rate was adjusted via apatch to the game.
• White-Striped Basculin is the onlyregional form of a Pokémon (if it is counted as one) to have exactly the sametype as its original form.

Regional form status

The status of Basculin's White-Striped Form as a regional form is inconsistent between variousPokémon media.

Evidence for

• InPokémon Legends: Arceus,Professor Laventon refers to White-Striped Basculin as a regional form in itsPokédex entry.
• White-Striped Basculin is treated as aHisuian form when filtering by form in the Pokédex inPokémon HOME.
• In thePokémon Trading Card Game,Basculin cards featuring the White-Striped Form use the name "Hisuian Basculin".
• In the video "One Thousand Pokémon!", which was made to commemorate the number of Pokémon in the National Pokédex surpassing 1000, the segment showcasing the Pokémon ofHisui shows White-Striped Basculin alongside Hisuian forms.^[2]

Evidence against

• White-Striped Basculin is not referred to as "Hisuian Basculin" or "Hisuian form" in the games, instead being referred to as "White-Striped Form".
• White-Striped Basculin is not treated as a regional form whenbreeding, as a White-Striped Basculin orBasculegion parent is not required to hold anEverstone for the offspring to hatch into White-Striped Basculin.
• In the Pokémon Guidebook in the mobile version of Pokémon HOME, regional forms (and BloodmoonUrsaluna) are listed separately from their original forms, but White-Striped Basculin is not listed separately from Basculin. It also does not appear when filtering for Hisuian forms, despite appearing when doing so in thePokédex.
• InPokémon GO, White-Striped Basculin do not appear whensearching "Hisui", unlike other Hisuian forms.
• White-Striped Basculin and itsevolved form,Basculegion, are found in thewild inKitakami; conversely, all other regional forms and regional Evolutions are only naturally present in their homeregion (excludingBlueberry Academy's artificialTerarium).

Origin

Basculin is based on abass,^[3] most likely thelargemouth bass or thepeacock bass due to their greenish color, pattern of horizontal splotches, and vigorous resistance when being fished. It is likely also inspired by thepiranha, which has historically been viewed as violent. Its Red-Striped and Blue-Striped variations that are hostile to each other are similar toSiamese fighting fish, which come in a variety of colors (including red and blue) and are extremely aggressive and territorial to others. It could also be compared to street gangs, where groups of affiliated people often fight rival groups over their own territory.

According to interviews withKen Sugimori inNintendo Dream Vol. 205, Basculin was created late in development when it was realized that there were few new fish-like Pokémon inUnova. It was given two forms to make up for this, and it was also based on a bass since there are wild bass inNew York, which Unova is based on.^[3]

While Basculin's White-Striped Form may likewise be inspired by a bass, its design is also reminiscent of thesalmon or the related itou (Sakhalin taimen), due to its behavior and the shape of its mouth resembling thekypes that develop in male salmon. ItsPokémon Violet Pokédex entry suggesting that it may be a different species to Red- and Blue-Striped Basculin may be a reference to this.

The selection of colored forms being red, white, and blue may reference the nationalflag of the United States, as Unova, the region Basculin was first introduced in, is based on New York.

Name origin

Basculin may be a combination ofbass andmasculine.

Bassrao may be a combination ofbass and 丈夫masurao (warrior, referring to itsbold, violent nature) or バカラオbakarao (bacalhau).

In other languages

Language Title Meaning Japanese バスラオBassrao Frombass and丈夫masurao orbacalhau French Bargantua Frombar andGargantua, a powerful giant in French literature Spanish Basculin Same as English name German Barschuft FromBarsch andSchuft Italian Basculin Same as English name Korean 배쓰나이Bessnai Frombass and사나이sana-i Mandarin Chinese 野蠻鱸魚 / 野蛮鲈鱼Yěmánlúyú* 勇士鱸魚 / 勇士鲈鱼Yǒngshìlúyú* From野蠻yěmán and鱸魚lúyú From勇士yǒngshì and鱸魚lúyú Cantonese Chinese 野蠻鱸魚Yéhmàahnlòuhyùh* 勇士鱸魚Yúhngsihlòuhyùh* From野蠻yéhmàahn and鱸魚lòuhyùh From勇士yúhngsih and鱸魚lòuhyùh

More languages Hindi मरडीनMardeen Fromमरmar ormurder andमीनMeen Russian БаскулинBaskulin Transcription of English name Thai บาสราโอBasrao Transcription of Japanese name

See also

• List of Pokémon with form differences

References

External links

Regional forms

Alolan

Galarian

Hisuian

Paldean

See also:White-Striped Basculin •Convergent species