Pokémon Scarlet & Violet welcome back one of the franchise’s most beloved puppy Pokémon, Rockruff, as well as its three evolutionary forms: Midday, Midnight, and Dusk Lycanroc. While the Pokémon can be found throughout the Paldea region, players are also able to obtain all three of Lycanroc’s forms by evolving Rockruff. However, the Rock-type pup will only evolve under certain conditions which vary among its three evolutionary forms.
Rockruff is one of the catchable Pokémon in Scarlet & Violet’s East Province. First introduced in the Generation 7 games, Pokémon Sun & Moon, Rockruff gained instant popularity due to its charming design and version-exclusive evolutionary forms — Midday and Midnight Lycanroc, respectively. It wasn’t until the games’ sequels, Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, that Lycanroc’s Dusk form was introduced, although it was only obtainable via gift code. Luckily, Scarlet & Violet players can obtain all three of Lycanroc’s time-based forms by evolving their own Rockruff partners.
How to Evolve Rockruff into Midday Lycanroc
Similar to the process of evolving Fomantis into Lurantis in Scarlet & Violet, players will need to train their Rockruff to level 25 or higher during the daytime in order to evolve the Pokémon into Lycanroc’s Midday form. These conditions are relatively easy to meet, as the day-based requirement allows a large window of time for the evolution to occur. However, trainers must not attempt to evolve their Rockruff while adventuring in Let’s Go mode as this will prevent the evolution process from taking place.
How to Evolve Rockruff into Midnight Lycanroc
In contrast, Rockruff will evolve into Lycanroc’s Midnight form when it reaches level 25 or higher at night. The nighttime window is equal to that of the day’s, allowing players to accomplish other tasks while they move through the process of evolving their Rockruff. A great way to pass the time while gaining experience for their partner is to battle and catch other Pokémon. Players can find Misdreavus in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, as well as many other Ghost-types that primarily appear at night.
How to Evolve Rockruff into Dusk Lycanroc
Of Rockruff’s three evolutionary forms, Dusk Lycanroc is the toughest to obtain because the process begins with Rockruff. First, trainers will need to catch a Rockruff with the Own Tempo ability. YouTuber Nirth offers a fantastic strategy for finding a Rockruff with this ability, suggesting that players lead with a Pokémon that has the Intimidate ability. This is because Intimidate lowers an opposing Pokémon’s attack stat upon entering battle, but any opposing Pokémon with the Own Tempo ability will not have their stats lowered — an amendment made in Scarlet & Violet. Once players have caught a Rockruff with Own Tempo, they can take the next step to evolve their Pokémon. Scarlet & Violet’s tricky evolutions have received criticism, but the multi-step processes can be completed with patience.
With the Own Tempo ability, Rockruff will evolve into Lycanroc’s Dusk form once it reaches level 25 or higher during the evening. This time-based requirement leaves players with a very short window of time to evolve their Pokémon — roughly a few minutes. To successfully complete the evolution during this time, it’s best to make sure that Rockruff has already gained a significant amount of experience and will require no more than one or two battles to level up while the sun sets. Items like Rare Candies and Exp. Candies can also help to ensure the evolution is a success, bringing players one step closer to completing the Pokédex in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.
Source: Nirth/YouTube
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- Original Release Date:
- 2022-11-18
- Developer:
- Game Freak
- Franchise:
- Pokemon
- Genre:
- RPG, Adventure, Action
- Platform:
- Nintendo Switch
- Publisher:
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
- ESRB:
- E
- Summary:
- Pokemon returns in its next installment series: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Now set in a fictional locale based around Mediterranean Spain, players will traverse the land of Paldea as they continue catching the series’ classic and new Pokemon. New to this entry are unique Pokemon that can transform into vehicles, allowing players to traverse the world through new means- which helps with Scarlet and Violet’s new open-world approach. Players can tackle gym battles in any order they wish, with foes scaling to their level as they progress. Scarlet and Violet also introduce co-op exploration online and a new battle feature known as Terastallize.
- Multiplayer:
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Prequel:
- Pokémon Sword and Shield
- Mode:
- Single Player, Multiplayer
