White-Striped Basculin, the Basculin variant from Hisui that debuted in Legends: Arceus, is finally coming to Pokémon Go. But there are two details to this launch that might frustrate players.
Pokémon Go Tour: Sinnoh is happening in two stages: a physical event in Los Angeles on Feb. 17 and 18, then an online global event on Feb. 24 and 25. Among the special features that Niantic has planned for the celebration, Origin Forme Palkia and Dialga are making their debuts in Go.
In a new Special Research story, players can help out Team Go Rocket. Space-time anomalies are opening the doors to the new Origin Formes in five-star Raids. Adventure Effects happen when you encounter and capture one of the two new Legendary Pokémon with their signature attacks, triggering modifications to the core gameplay. And, when exploring Routes, you can find White-Striped Basculin as well.
Yes, that is the first detail that might be frustrating. The third Basculin variant is, at least in the beginning, locked behind a single mechanic in Pokémon Go. What this means is that, for now, you can only encounter White-Striped Basculin in Routes; there is no sign of it becoming available in Raids, for example.
Red-Striped Basculin and Blue-Striped Basculin, which have been a part of the game for a few years, are not known to evolve. But unlike the Gen V Pokémon, White-Striped Basculin does evolve into Basculegion, the Big Fish Pokémon introduced in Gen VIII. And the other bad news is that even if you do catch the new variant in Go, you currently can’t evolve it.
Niantic did not mention any other details about its plans for the Pokémon, which means the evolution might come in a few months—maybe even locked behind a single mechanic as well.
