Basculin (Pokémon)

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Pokémon

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Basculin バスラオ Bassrao #550
File:550Basculin alternate.png Art of Blue-Striped Basculin by Ken Sugimori from Black and White
Type Water Unknown Unknown Unknown Blue-Striped Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown	Category Hostile Pokémon
Abilities Reckless or Adaptability Red-Striped Rock Head or Adaptability Blue-Striped ----- Mold Breaker Hidden Ability
Exp. at Lv. 100 1,000,000
Regional Pokédex numbers Kanto #— Johto — Hoenn — Sinnoh — Unova #056 #104 Not in any regional Pokédex
Regional Browser numbers Fiore R— Almia R— Oblivia
Height 3'03" Imperial 1.0 m Metric 3'03"/1.0 m Red-Striped 0'0"/0.0 m Blue-Striped 0'0"/0.0 m
Weight 39.7 lbs. Imperial 18.0 kg Metric 39.7 lbs./18.0 kg Red-Striped 0.0 lbs./0.0 kg Blue-Striped 0.0 lbs./0.0 kg
Dex color Green	Catch rate 25 (3.3%)
Body style Blue-Striped	Footprint      Blue-Striped
Gender ratio Gender unknown Unknown 50% male, 50% female
Breeding Water 2 group 41 cycles (10455 minimum steps)
EV yield HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed 2 Base Exp.: 161 Battle Exp.: 1611*
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 a Water-type Pokémon.

While it is not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon, it does have two different appearances: Red-Striped, one has a red stripe and irises, with a round eye and spiky fins; Blue-Striped, the other has a blue stripe and irises, with a slit eye and smooth fins.

Biology

Physiology

Basculin has the look of a typical fish, with its bottom part being green and its top part being black, the two parts being separated by a bright red or blue stripe, the rarity of each depending on which game it is encountered in. Red-Striped Basculin has a round eye and spiky fins, while Blue-Striped Basculin has a thin eye and smooth fins. They both have a spiky dorsal fin and a big jaw.

Gender differences

None.

Behavior

Basculin are violent in nature, and they have a particular dislike for differently colored Basculin. They often form schools of the same color. Red and blue Basculin tend to fight each other immediately upon meeting. Occasionally, opposite colors of these Pokémon will get mixed into the other's school.

Habitat

Basculin live primarily in fresh water throughout the Unova region.

Diet

Main article: Pokémon food

In the anime

A Blue-Striped Basculin in the anime

Major appearances

Both forms of Basculin appeared in A Fishing Connoisseur in a Fishy Competition!. Cilan managed to capture a Blue-Striped one; however, a wild Frillish released it.

Minor appearances

A few other Basculin appeared during A Fishing Connoisseur in a Fishy Competition!. A Red-Striped and a Blue-Striped one were seen being reeled in by two unnamed Trainers. Iris managed to fish another Blue-Striped one with her bare hands but was penalized for it.

A photo of multiple Basculin appeared in The Four Seasons of Sawsbuck!.

Multiple Basculin made an appearance in Stopping the Rage of Legends! Part 1 and Stopping the Rage of Legends! Part 2.

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

Pokédex entries

Episode Pokémon Source Entry BW037 Basculin Ash's Pokédex Basculin, the Hostile Pokémon. Basculin can be very violent and red and blue Basculin do not get along well, frequently resulting in battles.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Master Black & White manga

In PBW02, Cheren uses a Basculin against Monta in a Triple Battle.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

A member of the Shadow Triad used a Basculin to attack Lenora at Nacrene City.

In the TCG

Main article: Basculin (TCG)

Game data

Pokédex entries

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation V.
Generation I Red {{{redbluedex}}} Blue Yellow {{{yellowdex}}} Stadium {{{stadiumdex}}}
Generation II Gold {{{golddex}}} Silver {{{silverdex}}} Crystal {{{crystaldex}}} Stadium 2 Unknown
Generation III Ruby {{{rubydex}}} Sapphire {{{sapphiredex}}} Emerald {{{emeralddex}}} FireRed {{{firereddex}}} LeafGreen {{{leafgreendex}}}
Generation IV Diamond {{{diamonddex}}} Pearl {{{pearldex}}} Platinum {{{platinumdex}}} HeartGold {{{heartgolddex}}} SoulSilver {{{soulsilverdex}}}
Generation V Black Red and blue Basculin get along so poorly, they'll start fighting instantly. These Pokémon are very hostile. White Red and blue Basculin usually do not get along, but sometimes members of one school mingle with the other's school. Black 2 Red- and blue-striped Basculin are very violent and always fighting. They are also remarkably tasty. White 2 {{{white2dex}}}
Generation VI X Unknown Y Unknown

Game locations

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation V.
Generation I Red Blue None Trade Blue (Japan) None Trade Yellow None Trade
Generation II Gold Silver None Trade Crystal None Trade
Generation III Ruby Sapphire None Trade Emerald None Trade FireRed LeafGreen None Trade Colosseum None Trade XD None Trade
Generation IV Diamond Pearl None Trade Platinum None Trade HeartGold SoulSilver None Trade Pal Park None Pokéwalker None
Generation V Black White Common Routes 1, 3, 6, 11, and 14, Striaton City, Wellspring Cave, Pinwheel Forest, Dragonspiral Tower, Challenger's Cave, Victory Road, Village Bridge, Giant Chasm, Abundant Shrine, and Lostlorn Forest by surfing or fishing. Blue-Striped Basculin are only found in rippling water in Black, and vice versa in White. Black 2 White 2 Common Routes 1, 3, 6, 11, 13, 14, 19, 22, and 23, Aspertia City, Floccesy Ranch, Relic Passage, Clay Tunnel, Dragonspiral Tower, Striaton City, Wellspring Cave, Pinwheel Forest, Undella Town, Humilau City, Victory Road, Village Bridge, Giant Chasm, Abundant Shrine, Nature Preserve, and Lostlorn Forest by surfing or fishing. Blue-Striped Basculin are only found in rippling water in Black 2, and vice versa in White 2. Dream World Sparkling Sea*
Generation VI X Y None Trade

In side games

Game	Location
Pokémon Rumble Blast	Lake: Soothing Shore (Blue-Striped) Lake: Shimmering Lake (Red-Striped)

Held items

Game		Held Item(s)
Black	White	DeepSeaTooth (5%)	DeepSeaScale (5%)
Black 2	White 2	DeepSeaTooth (5%)	DeepSeaScale (5%)

Stats

Base stats

Stat		Range
		At Lv. 50	At Lv. 100
HP: 70		130 - 177	250 - 344
Attack: 92		87 - 158	170 - 311
Defense: 65		63 - 128	121 - 251
Sp. Atk: 80		76 - 145	148 - 284
Sp. Def: 55		54 - 117	103 - 229
Speed: 98		92 - 165	180 - 324
Total: 460	Other Pokémon with this total
Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and (if applicable) a hindering nature. Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.

Type effectiveness

Under normal battle conditions in Generation V, this Pokémon is:

Damaged normally by: Normal 1× Fighting 1× Flying 1× Poison 1× Ground 1× Rock 1× Bug 1× Ghost 1× Steel ½× Fire ½× Water ½× Grass 2× Electric 2× Psychic 1× Ice ½× Dragon 1× Dark 1× None

Weak to: Normal 1× Fighting 1× Flying 1× Poison 1× Ground 1× Rock 1× Bug 1× Ghost 1× Steel ½× Fire ½× Water ½× Grass 2× Electric 2× Psychic 1× Ice ½× Dragon 1× Dark 1× None

Immune to: Normal 1× Fighting 1× Flying 1× Poison 1× Ground 1× Rock 1× Bug 1× Ghost 1× Steel ½× Fire ½× Water ½× Grass 2× Electric 2× Psychic 1× Ice ½× Dragon 1× Dark 1× None

Resistant to: Normal 1× Fighting 1× Flying 1× Poison 1× Ground 1× Rock 1× Bug 1× Ghost 1× Steel ½× Fire ½× Water ½× Grass 2× Electric 2× Psychic 1× Ice ½× Dragon 1× Dark 1× None

Learnset

By leveling up

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

Level   Move   Type   Cat.   Pwr.   Acc.   PP  00Start Tackle Normal Physical 05050 100100% 35 00Start Water Gun Water Special 04040 100100% 25 044 Uproar Normal Special 09090 100100% 10 077 Headbutt Normal Physical 07070 100100% 15 1010 Bite Dark Physical 06060 100100% 25 1313 Aqua Jet Water Physical 04040 100100% 20 1616 Chip Away Normal Physical 07070 100100% 20 2020 Take Down Normal Physical 09090 08585% 20 2424 Crunch Dark Physical 08080 100100% 15 2828 Aqua Tail Water Physical 09090 09090% 10 3232 Soak Water Status 0000— 100100% 20 3636 Double-Edge Normal Physical 120120 100100% 15 4141 Scary Face Normal Status 0000— 100100% 10 4646 Flail Normal Physical 0000— 100100% 15 5151 Final Gambit Fighting Special 0000— 100100% 5 5656 Thrash Normal Physical 120120 100100% 10

Bold indicates a move that gets STAB 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 level-up moves from other generations

By TM/HM

Generation V Other generations: VI - VII - VIII - IX
TM		Move	Type	Cat.	Pwr.	Acc.	PP
	TM06	Toxic	Poison	Status	0000—	090}}90%	10
	TM07	Hail	Ice	Status	0000—	—}}—%	10
	TM10	Hidden Power	Normal	Special	0000—	100}}100%	15
	TM12	Taunt	Dark	Status	0000—	100}}100%	20
	TM13	Ice Beam	Ice	Special	09595	100}}100%	10
	TM17	Protect	Normal	Status	0000—	—}}—%	10
	TM18	Rain Dance	Water	Status	0000—	—}}—%	5
	TM21	Frustration	Normal	Physical	0000—	100}}100%	20
	TM27	Return	Normal	Physical	0000—	100}}100%	20
	TM32	Double Team	Normal	Status	0000—	—}}—%	15
	TM42	Facade	Normal	Physical	07070	100}}100%	20
	TM44	Rest	Psychic	Status	0000—	—}}—%	10
	TM45	Attract	Normal	Status	0000—	100}}100%	15
	TM48	Round	Normal	Special	06060	100}}100%	15
	TM55	Scald	Water	Special	08080	100}}100%	15
	TM87	Swagger	Normal	Status	0000—	090}}90%	15
	TM90	Substitute	Normal	Status	0000—	—}}—%	10
	HM01	Cut	Normal	Physical	05050	095}}95%	30
	HM03	Surf	Water	Special	09595	100}}100%	15
	HM05	Waterfall	Water	Physical	08080	100}}100%	15
	HM06	Dive	Water	Physical	08080	100}}100%	10
Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Basculin Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Basculin

By breeding

Generation V Other generations: VI - VII - VIII - IX
Father	Move	Type	Cat.	Pwr.	Acc.	PP
	Agility	Psychic	Status	—	—%	30
	BubbleBeam	Water	Special	65	100%	20
	Brine	Water	Special	65	100%	10
	Muddy Water*	Water	Special	95	85%	10
	Mud Shot*	Ground	Special	55	95%	15
	Rage	Normal	Physical	20	100%	20
	Revenge	Fighting	Physical	60	100%	10
	Swift*	Normal	Special	60	—%	20
	Whirlpool	Water	Special	35	85%	15
Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must be chain bred onto Basculin in Generation V Moves marked with a double dagger (‡) can only be bred from a Pokémon who learned the move in an earlier generation. Moves marked with a superscript game abbreviation can only be bred onto Basculin in that game. Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Basculin Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Basculin

By tutoring

Generation V Other generations: VI - VII - VIII - IX
Game				Move	Type	Cat.	Pwr.	Acc.	PP
B	W	B2	W2	Aqua Tail	Water	Physical	90	90%	10
B	W	B2	W2	Bounce	Flying	Physical	85	85%	5
B	W	B2	W2	Endeavor	Normal	Physical	—	100%	5
B	W	B2	W2	Icy Wind	Ice	Special	55	95%	15
B	W	B2	W2	Sleep Talk	Normal	Status	—	—%	10
B	W	B2	W2	Snore	Normal	Special	40	100%	15
B	W	B2	W2	Superpower	Fighting	Physical	120	100%	5
B	W	B2	W2	Uproar	Normal	Special	90	100%	10
B	W	B2	W2	Zen Headbutt	Psychic	Physical	80	90%	15
A black abbreviation in a colored box indicates that Basculin can be tutored the move in that game A colored abbreviation in a white box indicates that Basculin cannot be tutored the move in that game Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Basculin Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Basculin

Dream World moves

Generation V Other generations: VI - VII - VIII - IX
Event	Move	Type	Cat.	Pwr.	Acc.	PP
Sparkling Sea	Zen Headbutt	Psychic	Physical	80	90%	15
Sparkling Sea	Agility	Psychic	Status	—	—%	30
A superscript level indicates that Basculin can learn this move normally in Generation V at that level Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Basculin Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Basculin

Side game data

Pokémon Pinball  N/A  Not available		Pokémon Pinball RS  N/A  Not available		Pokémon Trozei!  N/A  Not available
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team Body size: 1 Recruit rate: 0% Friend Area: Beau Plains Phrases 51%-100% HP My HP is between 51% and 100%. 26%-50% HP My HP is between 26% and 50%. 1%-25% HP My HP is between 1% and 25%. Level up I leveled up. Partner phrases 51%-100% HP <name>, my HP is between 51% and 100%. 26%-50% HP <name>, my HP is between 26% and 50%. 1%-25% HP <name>, my HP is between 1% and 25%. Level up I leveled up.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky Body size: 1 Recruit rate: 0% IQ group: A
Pokémon Ranger Group:  Normal  Poké Assist: None Field move: None Loops: 0 Min. exp.: 0 Max. exp.: 0 Browser entry   This Pokémon does not have a browser entry.
Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia Group:  Normal  Poké Assist: None Field move: None Browser entry   This Pokémon does not have a browser entry.
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs Group: Poké Assist: Field move:  Normal  None Past ( Normal ) None Past (Electrify ×1) Browser entry   This Pokémon does not have a browser entry.
Pokémon Rumble N/A Not Available Defense Speed N/A Not Available Defense Speed			Pokémon Rumble Blast Attack ●●● Defense ●● Speed ●●● Attack Not Available Defense Speed Attack Not Available Defense Speed Attack Not Available Defense Speed
PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure PokéPark Pad entry: This Pokémon has no PokéPark Pad entry.
PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond Strong: Weak: PokéPark Pad entry: He likes the water where he lives, but he sometimes swims to another Area for fun.
Pokémon Conquest HP: Move: {{{ConquestMove}}} Attack: Ability 1: {{{ConquestAbility1}}} Defense: Ability 2: {{{ConquestAbility2}}} Speed: Ability 3: {{{ConquestAbility3}}} Does not evolve. Range: 0 Perfect Links: {{{ConquestLink}}}

Evolution

Red-Striped

Red-Striped Does not evolve Basculin  Water

Blue-Striped

Blue-Striped Does not evolve Basculin  Water

Sprites

Gen	Game
I	Red	Blue	Yellow		Red (Ja)	Green	Back
	This Pokémon did not appear during Generation I.
II	Gold	Silver	Crystal				Back
	This Pokémon did not appear during Generation II.
III	Ruby	Sapphire	Emerald		FireRed	LeafGreen	Back
	This Pokémon did not appear during Generation III.
IV	Diamond	Pearl	Platinum		HeartGold	SoulSilver	Back
	This Pokémon did not appear during Generation IV.
V	Black	White	Black 2	White 2			Back

For other sprites and images, please see Basculin images on Bulbagarden Archives.

Trivia

• While many Pokémon are able to have up to three different Abilities legitimately, with two primary Abilities and a Hidden Ability, Blue-Striped Basculin is the only Pokémon capable of legitimately having four different abilities, with Rock Head being the Ability of an NPC-traded Blue-Striped Basculin from Driftveil City in Pokémon White.
  • However, Blue-Striped Basculin with Rock Head instead of Reckless can be caught in the wild in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, meaning it may be a programming error.
• Basculin shares its species name with Zweilous. They are both known as Hostile Pokémon.
• Basculin's Pokédex entry in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 describe the species as being very tasty, one of the instances that hint at Pokémon being used for food.

Origin

Basculin were most likely inspired by betta fish. Both sexes of betta display horizontal bars of color either when frightened or setting up a pecking order. They are very violent and can even fight to the death. Its appearance may have been based on a bass or piranha, the latter of which has historically been viewed as violent.

According to interviews with Ken Sugimori in Nintendo Dream, Basculin was created late in development when they realized there were few new 'standard' fish-like Pokémon in Unova, the only others being Alomomola, Stunfisk, Frillish and Jellicent. It was given two forms to make up for the small amount of fish in the region, and based on a bass since there are wild bass in New York state.

Name origin

Basculin is a combination of bass and masculine.

Bassrao may be a combination of bass and 丈夫 masurao (warrior, referring to its bold, violent nature) or バカラオ bakarao (bacalhau).

In other languages

Language Title Meaning Japanese バスラオ Bassrao From bass and 丈夫 masurao or バカラオ bakarao French Bargantua From bar and Gargantua, a powerful giant in French literature Spanish Basculin Same as English name German Barschuft From Barsch and Schuft Italian Basculin Same as English name Korean 배쓰나이 Bae'sseuna'i From bass and 사나이 sana'i; may also be based on 사나이다움 sana'ida'um or 사나이다운 sana'ida'un. Mandarin Chinese 勇士鱸魚 / 勇士鲈鱼 Yǒngshìlúyú Literally "Warrior bass". Cantonese Chinese

More languages

External links

• Red-Striped Basculin on Smogon Pokédex

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Pokémon

#551: Sandile →

This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.