Is Basculin Good in Black 2 & White 2 Playthrough?
Water with AbilityAdaptability boosting same-type moves or AbilityReckless boosting recoil moves. Wild on surfing routes. Fast and aggressive but frail. Outclassed by Azumarill and Starmie for the Water slot.
Basculin resists most of Cheren's coverage and hits back hard.
Basculin has the type edge here and should clean up Roxie's team.
Basculin has the type edge here and should clean up Burgh's team.
Basculin has the type edge here and should clean up Elesa's team.
Basculin resists most of Clay's coverage and hits back hard.
Basculin trades roughly evenly with Skyla's team.
Basculin trades roughly evenly with Drayden's team.
Basculin trades roughly evenly with Marlon's team.
Basculin has the type edge here and should clean up Shauntal's team.
Basculin has the type edge here and should clean up Grimsley's team.
Basculin has the type edge here and should clean up Caitlin's team.
Basculin has the type edge here and should clean up Marshal's team.
Basculin trades roughly evenly with Iris's team.
Catch Basculin on Aspertia City (Surf, Lv 5-15, common).
Black 2 & White 2 Basculin Locations
Basculin is available from early-game water routes onward at high spawn rates. 126 encounter spots give you plenty of options. Grab one early and it'll be ready to evolve or train by mid-game.
Best Locations to Catch Basculin in Black 2 & White 2
66 surfing and fishing encounters at Lv. 5-70 for Basculin across Black 2 and White 2. A few locations are version-exclusive, so your copy of the game affects what's available.
Basculin Weakness
Type-wise, Basculin takes extra damage from Electric and Grass. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Basculin leans offensive (base 92 Atk) rather than trying to tank its weaknesses.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Basculin Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Basculin
 Snivy Grass | D | |
Obtain MethodAspertia City Gift | ||
 Lilligant Grass | C | |
 Leafeon Grass | B | |
 Whimsicott Grass | C | |
 Servine Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Snivy (Aspertia City Gift) | ||
 Swadloon BugGrass | C | |
 Maractus Grass | C | |
Lilligant Grass | C | |
 Sunflora Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Basculin View Sunflora builds →Petal Dance 2x159-188%KO | ||
Leafeon Grass | B | |
Whimsicott Grass | C | |
Maractus Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Basculin View Maractus builds →Petal Dance 2x155-183%KO | ||
 Roselia GrassPoison | C | |
Sunflora Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Basculin View Sunflora builds →Petal Dance 2x152-180%KO | ||
 Leavanny BugGrass | C | |
Lilligant Grass | C | |
Maractus Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Basculin View Maractus builds →Petal Dance 2x156-184%KO | ||
Lilligant Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Basculin View Lilligant builds →Petal Dance 2x161-191%KO | ||
Sunflora Grass | C | |
Roselia GrassPoison | C | |
Leafeon Grass | B | |
Maractus Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Basculin View Maractus builds →Petal Dance 2x155-182%KO | ||
Lilligant Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Basculin View Lilligant builds →Petal Dance 2x161-191%KO | ||
Sunflora Grass | C | |
Roselia GrassPoison | C | |
Leafeon Grass | B | |
Maractus Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Basculin View Maractus builds →Petal Dance 2x157-185%KO | ||
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
Lilligant Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Basculin View Lilligant builds →Petal Dance 2x161-190%KO | ||
 Tangrowth Grass | B | |
Sunflora Grass | C | |
In Black 2 & White 2, Rotom can KO Basculin with Thunderbolt (136-160%).
 Rotom ElectricGhost | C | |
Recommended Build AbilityLevitate ItemChoice Scarf NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Basculin View Rotom builds →Volt Switch 2x106-125%KO Shadow Ball60-72% Thunderbolt 2x136-160%KO | ||
Basculin Evolutions
Basculin doesn't evolve, so breeding's where the action is. You'll find a decent partner pool across one egg group, and eggs are takes forever to hatch. It's got 9 egg moves worth looking into. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
B2W2 Basculin Best Moveset
92 Attack at 98 Speed fires physical Water TermStab before most targets respond. AbilityAdaptability doubles TermStab bonus for massive Water damage, and AbilityReckless boosts recoil moves instead. The moveset hits hard and fast from the physical Water side. 55/55 defenses fold to any return hit.
Best Build
Basculin best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Bite
- Headbutt
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding's the move. Agility and Brine give Basculin options it can't learn any other way, and coverage across 7 types already covers a decent range on top of Aqua Tail and Surf. The egg moves push it further.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Red- and blue-striped Basculin are very violent and always fighting. They are also remarkably tasty.
Basculin Black 2 & White 2 Guide
Basculin is meant to evolve into Basculegion. At 460 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.
Adaptability is what you want on Basculin. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Reckless, Mold Breaker) work on paper but Adaptability is what makes Basculin worth using.
In Black 2 & White 2, Mold Breaker is the hidden ability. It bypasses targets' abilities if they could hinder or prevent a move. Worth hunting for if you want Basculin to compete at a higher level.
Base 98 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Basculin is a physical attacker with base 92 Attack.
Game Availability
Basculin joined the series in Black & White and has been available in 9 titles so far. With 6 generations of appearances, it's established itself despite the later start.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BWDebut
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves