Quick Links
In Gen 5, Normal/Flying-type Rufflet and Braviary were revealed alongside Dark/Flying-type Vullaby and Mandibuzz. Originally, Rufflet and Braviary were exclusive toPokemon White/White 2; Vullaby and Mandibuzz werePokemon Black/Black 2exclusives. Fortunately, this isn’t the case forPokemon Scarlet & Violet.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusreleased a regional variant for Braviary: Hisuian Braviary, a Psychic/Flying-type. Now thatScarlet/Violetis compatible withPokemon HOME, trainers can have Hisuian Braviary in their party. Gettng Braviary’s Hisuian form requires more steps than getting the Unovan Braviary, but for some trainers, the effort is worth it.
How to Get Rufflet in Scarlet/Violet
Rufflet can be found just about everywhere in Paldea, but players may want to check out the following locations:
The sections that Rufflet spawns in South Province are easier to reach with Koraidon/Miraidon. The ones in East Province may require Koraidon/Miraidon’sclimb ability, so it may be better to look elsewhere if players arejust starting the Treasure Huntin their playthrough. If trainers head towardsAsado Desert, which is arguably the easiest way to get Rufflet, they can find hordes of the eaglet Pokemon around level 25.
There are also Braviary in the Asado Desert, but they’re level 55-56, so it may not be possible to catch them if players don’t have many gym badges. Furthermore, these Braviary are the Unovan variant (ie: Normal/Flying).
Rufflet can be a bit tricky to catch, but try using a Quick Ball at the start of battle. If this fails, chip at its HP until it’s in the orange/red. If looking for Rufflet in theAsado Desert,be careful. If there is asandstormbrewing, Rufflet will lose some HP at the end of each turn. Unfortunately, just like any other non-Ground/Rock/Steel-type, Rufflet can be KO’d by sandstorms.
How to Evolve Rufflet into Hisuian Braviary in Scarlet/Violet
Rufflet evolves atlevel 54, but only into Normal/Flying-type Braviary if it evolvesin Paldea or Kitakami (Scarlet/Violet). To get the Hisuian Braviary, trainers will need totransfer their Rufflet toLegends: Arceusandevolve it in Hisui. If Rufflet is ready to evolve inLegends: Arceus, the Poke Ball icon by its name in the menu will beglowing.
Another way to get Hisuian Braviary is tocatch Rufflet inLegends: Arceus, evolve it, then transfer toScarlet/Violet. Of course, getting Hisuian Braviarythrough this methodwill mean that it will have adifferent Trainer IDfromScarlet/Violet. Thus, if players want their Pokemon to have the same Trainer IDs, they’ll want to transfer Rufflet fromScarlet/Violetinstead.
Here’s what to do:
If trainers are transferring Hisuian Braviary directly fromLegends: Arceus:
Again, Hisuian Braviary transferred through this method willnothave the same Trainer ID as the player inScarlet/Violet. This means if Hisuian Braviary is transferred to a different game, itsbase Friendship will be resetwhen it returns to its trainer in Paldea. It alsowon’t obey theScarlet/Violettrainer if they don’t have enough gym badges. On the plus side, transferred Pokemon function the same as Traded Pokemon, which means Hisuian Braviary will receivedouble experiencein battle.
When transferred toScarlet/Violet, Hisuian Braviary willgainthe following:
As a result, it willlosethe ability to:
A positive to Hisuian Braviary being transferred is that its signature move,Esper Wing, will have its power raised to80and its accuracy to100%. InLegends: Arceus, non-Strong Style Esper Wing would have an accuracy of90%and only have a75(normal) or65(Agile) base power.
Which Braviary is Better? (Is Hisuian Braviary Good in Scarlet/Violet?)
The shor answer to this question comes down to a trainer’spreference. If they want aphysical attacker, they’ll want to chooseNormal/Flying-type Braviary. Those looking for aspecial attackerthat’ssuper effective against Poison-typewill want to chooseHisuian Braviary.
110
100
83
123
112
57
70
75
65
80
510
Both Braviarys have a base stat total of 510, but the stats themselves can be influenced by EVs and the Braviary’s Nature. Looking at them side-by-side, it’s clear that Unovan Braviary has a better Attack stat but poor Special Attack, whereas Hisuian Braviary is the opposite. Unfortunately for Hisuian Braviary, it has more base HP, butlower Defense and Special Defense by five points. It’s also quite slower than Unovan Braviary, meaning its likely to move after the opponent.
Hisuian Braviary’s learnset also suffers from havingmore physical moves than special, which, given Hisuian Braviary’s base 83 Attack, isn’t going to do it any favors. To make a more-rounded Hisuian Braviary, players will want to teach it moves via TM, such asShadow BallandPsychic. The Unovan Braviary doesn’t have this problem since its learnset is fitting of its base stats and typing.
Ground
Ground, Ghost
While Hisuian Braviary gains moves that are (normally) super effective against Poison-type Pokemon, it gains two weaknesses that regular Braviary does not have: Ghost and Dark-type. It also loses itsimmunity to Ghost-type moves. Despite this, Hisuian Braviary’sresistance to Fighting-type moves is enhancedthanks to its Psychic-typing, whereas Unovan Braviary will takeregular damage from Fighting-type movesthanks to its dual-typing of Normal/Flying.
