Basculin (Pokémon)

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Basculin (Japanese: バスラオ Bassrao) is a introduced in Generation V.
Basculin has three different forms: Red-Striped Form; Blue-Striped Form; and, in Hisui and Kitakami, White-Striped Form (which is sometimes considered a Hisuian form).
Red- and Blue-Striped Basculin are not known to evolve into or from any other Pokémon.
White-Striped Basculin evolves into when leveled up after losing at least 294 HP from recoil damage without fainting.
(Specifics may differ in past games. Refer to Game data→Evolution data for these details.)
==Biology==
Basculin is a green aquatic that comes in three forms. The bodies of both the Red- and Blue-Striped Forms are the same. They have a green, ovoid body, tapering off in the rear to a trapezoidal tail fin. A thick black stripe covers the top of their body from mouth to tail and a white, dorsal fin with four protrusions resembling spikes. Their lower jaw juts ahead of their upper jaw, with a small indent near the edges of their mouth. Both forms have three black dots on both sides of their body, behind their pectoral fins.
The main difference between the three forms of Basculin is the color of the stripe that separates the black and green on their body. All forms of Basculin have fins in the same places, with one on top of their body ahead of the tail fin, one below the body ahead of the tail fin, and two side fins. The Red-Striped Form has jagged fins that resemble tridents, whereas the Blue-Striped Form has smooth fins all around. The Red-Striped Form has circular, red eyes, while the Blue-Striped Form has narrower, blue eyes.
Red- and Blue-Striped Basculin are extremely hostile, especially towards their opposite form. They generally start fighting each other on sight for territory. However, on rare occasions, one form may swim with the other's school. Basculin is full of vitality and reproduces quickly. When a school of Basculin appears in a lake, Pokémon other than and flee. It competes with for food.
Basculin has often been referred to as "the thug of the lake" or "Thug of the River", and uses its jaws, which are strong enough to leave bite marks in iron sheets, to devour everything in its way. However, despite their fierce reputation, Basculin become prey to stronger organisms, such as and . Basculin were once also , and were 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 the youth. Basculin is a popular Pokémon with anglers due to its resistance. Many people release Basculin into lakes illegally, causing its population to grow abundant.
===Forms===
Basculin has three separate forms: Red-Striped Form, Blue-Striped Form, and White-Striped Form, the last of which is sometimes considered a regional form.
In Hisui, 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 either Red- or Blue-Striped Basculin, and both its lower and upper jaws have beak-like protrusions at the front.
Unlike the other two forms, White-Striped Basculin are known to be gentle, with an ecology different enough from other Basculin to spawn recent theories of it being a separate species. White-Striped Basculin are known to share food with each other unlike their two counterparts. They are known to travel upstream; the journey is often perilous for the species, and many of them don't survive. As a result, the souls of the deceased White-Striped Basculin are often left behind in the waters of Hisui. However, when an injured White-Striped Basculin survives, it can unite with the souls in order to achieve the unique evolution into . In the present day, it's only known to be found in Kitakami's Timeless Woods along with its evolved form.
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Red-Striped Form
===Evolution===
White-Striped Basculin can evolve into . Neither Red-Striped Basculin nor Blue-Striped Basculin can evolve.
(For specifics on this Pokémon's Evolution in the games, refer to Game data→Evolution data.)
==Game data==
===Pokédex entries===
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Red-Striped Basculin in the	Blue-Striped Basculin in the	
===Game locations===
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====In side games====
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===Held items===
====Red-Striped/Blue-Striped Basculin====
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====White-Striped Basculin====
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===Stats===
====Base stats====
===Type effectiveness===
===Learnset===
====By leveling up====
=====Red-Striped/Blue-Striped Basculin=====
=====White-Striped Basculin=====
====By TM====
=====Red-Striped/Blue-Striped Basculin=====
=====White-Striped Basculin=====
====By ====
=====Red-Striped/Blue-Striped Basculin=====
=====White-Striped Basculin=====
===Side game data===
====Red-Striped Basculin====
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====Blue-Striped Basculin====
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====White-Striped Basculin====
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===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 a Hisuian form in some contexts (such as and its Pokédex entry).
Basculin cannot change its form. 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, in , Red-Striped Basculin can frequently be encountered while ing or fishing, but Blue-Striped Basculin can only be found in ; and in , the opposite is true. By contrast, in , Red-Striped Basculin is exclusive to Ultra Sun and Blue-Striped Basculin is exclusive to Ultra Moon. White-Striped Form is only available in Hisui () and Kitakami (: The Teal Mask).
Bred Basculin are the same form as their mother, or the same form as the Basculin parent if bred with . This includes White-Striped Basculin (who is not treated as a regional form for breeding, which would require it to hold an Everstone to pass down its form). If is the mother or is bred with Ditto, the offspring will be White-Striped Basculin. 
====Red-Striped Form====
Only Red-Striped Basculin can have the Ability and may hold a Deep Sea Tooth when encountered in the wild.
====Blue-Striped Form====
Only Blue-Striped Basculin can have the Ability and may hold a Deep Sea Scale when encountered in the wild.
Blue-Striped Basculin initially had access to another set of Abilities in , which is the same as Red-Striped Basculin's (having Reckless instead of Rock Head). However, a Blue-Striped Basculin available in an in-game trade in Pokémon White has the Ability Rock Head.
Starting with , Blue-Striped Basculin's first Ability was changed to Rock Head. (The Black and White-contemporary Pokédex 3D also shows Blue-Striped Basculin as having access to Reckless, while the subsequent Pokédex 3D Pro shows it as having access to Rock Head.) If a Blue-Striped Basculin with Reckless is transferred from Generation V to , its Ability is changed to Rock Head.
====White-Striped Form====
Only White-Striped Basculin can have the Ability . They also learn at level 40 instead of like the other forms and can evolve into .
===Evolution data===
Only White-Striped Basculin can evolve.
====Red-Striped Form====
====Blue-Striped Form====
====White-Striped Form====
White-Striped Basculin evolves into when leveled up after losing at least 294 HP from recoil damage. This can be spread across multiple battles and is not affected by the use of recovery items. Fainting will reset progress. 
In , White-Striped Basculin does not need to level up after losing at least 294 HP from recoil damage in order to evolve.
===Sprites===
==In animation==
===Main series===
====Major appearances====
Two forms of Basculin debuted in A Fishing Connoisseur in a Fishy Competition!. managed to capture a Blue-Striped one during a fake fishing competition set up by , but a it later. A Red-Striped and a Blue-Striped one were seen being reeled in by two s. managed to fish another Blue-Striped one with her bare hands but was penalized for it.
A Red-Striped Basculin appeared in PK22, where it played a major role.
====Minor appearances====
Two forms of Basculin appeared in White—Victini and Zekrom and Black—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 in Stopping the Rage of Legends! Part 1 and Part 2.
Multiple Blue-Striped Basculin appeared in Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice.
Multiple Red-Striped Basculin appeared in The Mystery of the Missing Cubchoo!.
In Genesect and the Legend Awakened, a Blue-Striped Basculin was living at Pokémon Hills. It tried to attack and while they were riding the Douse Drive Genesect over a pond.
In Going for the Gold!, multiple Red-Striped Basculin and one Blue-Striped Basculin were seen in the .
====Pokédex entries====
===Pokémon: Twilight Wings===
In Early-Evening Waves, multiple Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin were living in a lake where Nessa was doing a photoshoot.
===POKÉTOON===
A Red-Striped and Blue-Striped Basculin appeared in PT10.
==In the manga==
===Be the Best! Pokémon B+W===
In The Key to Triple Battles, Cheren uses a Red-Striped Basculin against Monta in a Triple Battle.
===Pocket Monsters BW: Good Partners===
Two Basculin, each of a different form, appeared in BWGP04.
===Pokémon Adventures===
A Red-Striped Basculin was first seen in Underground Showdown at , jumping out of the water as and Clay traveled to Chargestone Cave.
A Red-Striped Basculin appeared in Dream a Little Dream.
A Blue-Striped Basculin is owned by one of the Shadow Triad. It was used to attack Lenora at Nacrene City. It first appeared in The Battle Within.
Two Basculin, each of a different form, appeared in Pink Slip.
==In the TCG==
==Trivia==
* Red- and Blue-Striped Basculin share their with . They are both known as the Hostile Pokémon.
* Basculin's Pokédex entries in , , , describe the way they taste, one of the rare instances that hint at Pokémon being used for food by humans.
* In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, having Red- or Blue-Striped Basculin registered in the Paldea 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 a catch rate of 25.
** Basculin is the first Pokémon whose catch rate was adjusted via a to the game.
* If considered a regional form, White-Striped Basculin would be the only regional variant to not have a different type combination than its original.
===Regional form status===
The status of Basculin's White-Striped Form as a regional form is inconsistent between various Pokémon media.
====Evidence for====
* In , Professor Laventon refers to White-Striped Basculin as a regional form in its Pokédex entry.
* White-Striped Basculin is treated as a Hisuian form when filtering by form in the Pokédex in .
* In the Pokémon 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 of Hisui shows White-Striped Basculin alongside Hisuian forms."One Thousand Pokémon." The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel. YouTube.
====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".
* In , White-Striped Basculin is not treated as a regional form when , as a White-Striped Basculin or parent is not required to hold an Everstone for the offspring to hatch into White-Striped Basculin.
* In the Pokémon Guidebook in the mobile version of Pokémon HOME, regional forms (and Bloodmoon ) 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.
* In Pokémon GO, White-Striped Basculin do not appear when searching "hisui", unlike other Hisuian forms.
* White-Striped Basculin and its are found in the in Kitakami; conversely, all other regional forms and regional Evolutions are only naturally present in their home region (excluding Blueberry Academy's artificial Terarium).
===Origin===
Basculin is based on a ,Nintendo Dream Vol. 205, May 2011 (Translation by Dr. Lava) most likely the or the due to their greenish color, pattern of horizontal splotches, and vigorous resistance when being fished. It is likely also inspired by the , which has historically been viewed as violent. Its Red-Striped and Blue-Striped variations that are hostile to each other are similar to , 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 with Ken Sugimori in Nintendo Dream Vol. 205, Basculin was created late in development when it was realized that there were few new fish-like Pokémon in Unova. It was given two forms to make up for this, and it was also based on a bass since there are wild bass in , which Unova is based on.
While Basculin's White-Striped Form may likewise be inspired by a bass, its design is also reminiscent of the or the related itou (), due to its behavior and the shape of its mouth resembling the s that develop in male salmon. Its Pokémon 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 national , as Unova, the region Basculin was first introduced in, is based on New York.
====Name origin====
Basculin may be a combination of bass and masculine.
Bassrao may be a combination of bass and 丈夫 masurao (warrior, referring to its ) or バカラオ bakarao ().
==In other languages==
Red-Striped Form
Blue-Striped Form
White-Striped Form
==See also==
* List of Pokémon with form differences
==References==
==External links==
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Category:F.E.A.R.-compatible Pokémon
Category:Pokémon with cross-generational Evolutions
de:Barschuft
es:Basculin
fr:Bargantua
it:Basculin
ja:バスラオ
zh:野蛮鲈鱼