Can you evolve White-Striped Basculin in Pokemon GO?

Can you evolve White-Striped Basculin in Pokemon GO? Given that this new Pokemon form will be arriving in the upcoming GO Tour Sinnoh event, where it can be found in Routes, it's an understandable question to ask. For the time being, Niantic has stipulated that White-Striped Basculin won't be able to evolve into Basculegion within its mobile title.

In the Pokemon Legends: Arceus, White-Striped Basculin evolves into Basculegion by losing 294 HP from recoil damage without fainting, as fainting resets the overall progress.

Later on in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the recoil damage requirement remained in place, but Basculin had to level up as well. But what does that mean for White-Striped Basculin evolution in Pokemon GO? Let's find out.

Also check out:- Pokemon Go Evolution Calculator

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When will White-Striped Basculin be able to evolve in Pokemon GO?

Can White-Striped Basculin evolve into Basculegion in Pokemon GO? (Image via The Pokemon Company)

According to the official Niantic blog post surrounding Pokemon GO Tour Sinnoh, White-Striped Basculin can't evolve in the game. While trainers can still explore Routes during the GO Tour Sinnoh event, catch White-Striped Basculin, and collect candies for it, it can't evolve quite yet. However, its inclusion into the game makes it apparent that Basculegion will arrive at a later time:

"White-Striped Basculin will appear on Routes during Pokémon GO Tour: Sinnoh – Global!"

"White-Striped Basculin cannot currently evolve in Pokémon GO."

A release date for Basculegion remains to be seen, though Niantic clearly has plans to include it, considering its Pokedex number (#902) is already included in the in-game Pokedex. It's likely that due to the unique way that White-Striped Basculin evolves into Basculegion in the original Pokemon series, Niantic is still determining how the evolution process will work in Pokemon GO.

Given that Basculegion was first introduced in the ancient Hisui region, Niantic may be planning to introduce the evolution later on in the Season of Timeless Travels since that one is heavily focused on the Hisui region.

That said, this is far from guaranteed. All things considered, the only way to know for sure when White-Striped Basculin will be able to evolve is when Niantic offers more information.

White-Striped Basculin's evolution is currently unavailable in Pokemon GO (Image via The Pokemon Company)

For the time being, fans can still catch White-Striped Basculin during the GO Tour Sinnoh event, which takes place in Los Angeles on February 17, 2024, followed by a global portion of the event on February 24-25. During that, White-Striped Basculin will appear via the Routes feature, and it certainly doesn't hurt to catch Basculin and rack up candy for it ahead of time.

Hopefully, fans won't have to wait long before Basculegion is introduced to the game and the evolution path for White-Striped Basculin is opened.

Also check out:- Pokemon Type Calculator