Pokemon Legends Arceus: How to Evolve Basculin to Basculegion

by RPG Site Staff on 02 February, 2022

Basculegion is one of Pokemon Legends Arceus' new Pokemon, and is well-represented as one of the game's various mounts - similar to Wyrdeer, however, it can be a bit tricky to figure out how exactly to evolve a Basculin into one for use in the battles.

As a result of some of the complexities of evolving Basculin, we're going to offer you two different areas where you can catch one - although Basculin's evolution isn't really level-gated, trust us when we say that the higher their level, the easier time you're going to have. It's one of the most unique Evolution Methods in the game, in fact. At the same time, there are certain to be players that want to add one to their team as soon as possible, and we're more than willing to accommodate them.

Where to Find Basculin in Pokemon Legends Arceus

Basculin can be found on several of the game's maps, but we're going to primarily focus on 2 of them here. If you want to catch a Basculin strictly to evolve it as a means of bolstering your Pokedex, the best place to catch one would be Lake Acuity in the Alabaster Icelands. They're a common spawn in the waters comprising the lake, as shown below:

Basculin's spawn location in the Alabaster Icelands, as per the in-game map.

Basculin caught from the above location will be the highest levels, and as a result, have the most HP. This will be important later.

If, instead, you haven't yet reached the Icelands - and want to try and catch a Basculin as early as possible - you'll be able to find some in the Cobalt Coastlands. Although the Pokedex says you can find them in Tranquility Cove, I had better luck searching at the islet just north of Firespit Island. Every time I checked there was a small school of 2 or 3 Basculin.

Basculin's spawn location in the Cobalt Coastlands, as per the in-game map.

Basculin in it's natural habitat in the Cobalt Coastlands.

Once you've captured the Basculin of your choice, that's the "hard" part of acquiring a Basculegion done. The rest is an easy, albeit unorthodox, grind.

How to Evolve Basculin into Basculegion

Basculegion, having had its fill of hurting itself.

This is where things get weird, and also why it was recommended that you grab a Basculin with a higher level, and more HP, if at all possible. You see, Basculin evolves after taking enough numerical recoil damage - and recoil from moves is a percentage of overall HP.

This means that the more HP that your Basculin has, the less time it'll take to hit that threshold where the game will tell you it can evolve.

There doesn't appear to be a set-in-stone number that you need to hit, but you'll want to have your Basculin suffer around 300HP's worth of recoil damage without fainting, give or take. You can, of course, heal it whenever it runs low - it just has to accrue the total amount of HP lost without suffering a faint. Simply take your Basculin to the Obsidian Fieldlands and cull the local Bidoof population with moves such as Wave Crash and Double-Edge.

Eventually you'll be told that your Basculin is ready to evolve - leaving you with your own Basculegion!

For more help catching and evolving specific Pokemon, check out our pages on catching Misdreavus, Hisuian Growlithe & Arcanine, evolving Scyther into Kleavor, Petilil for The Three Leaf Pokemon quest, Combee for The Taste of Honey quest, or head to our index of all our Pokemon Legends Arceus guides to see all of our walkthroughs.