Competitive Information for Basculin [Black/White]
Water
Abilities:
This Pokemon's same-type attack bonus (STAB) is 2 instead of 1.5.
This Pokemon's moves and their effects ignore the Abilities of other Pokemon.
This Pokemon's attacks with recoil or crash damage have 1.2x power; not Struggle.
Disclaimer: All videos and opinions are owned by their respective creators and may not reflect our views.
Movesets for Singles
Looking for a competitive moveset for Basculin? These builds are optimized for Black/White Single Battles. The movesets and EVs are designed to maximize damage against common opponents and threats in the Black/White metagame. Check out the expert movesets below to boost your battle performance and dominate your opponents!
Prepare for battle with Basculin, a stunning Pokémon boasting Water attributes. It's a sight to see Basculin out in the 5th generation battlefield. It has the potential to be a game-changer in the meta. Its only type-related weaknesses are Electric and Grass. Delve into Basculin's movesets below and strategize for victory!
Item: Life Orb / Mystic Water
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Aqua Tail / Waterfall
- Double-Edge / Return
- Superpower / Revenge
- Crunch / Bite
Basculin is a phenomenal Physical Sweeper. It's primary goal is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. White Herb will reset Basculin's negative stat changes once (specifically for when it uses Superpower). Focus Sash helps protect Basculin from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Basculin's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Adaptability, Basculin's same-type attack bonus (stab) is 2 instead of 1.5.
♦ Waterfall is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Water-type move (20% chance to flinch the target).
♦ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Return is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
♦ Superpower is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Basculin's attack and defense by 1 stage).
♦ Revenge is a physical 60-base power Fighting-type move (power doubles if Basculin is damaged by the target).
♦ Crunch is a physical 80-base power Dark-type move (20% chance to lower the target's defense by 1 stage).
♦ Bite is a physical 60-base power Dark-type move (30% chance to flinch the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/gaa226
Item: Life Orb / Mystic Water
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Surf / Scald
- Ice Beam / Icy Wind
- Round / Snore
- Mud Shot
Basculin is pretty popular Special Sweeper. It is designed to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Basculin from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Basculin's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Adaptability, Basculin's same-type attack bonus (stab) is 2 instead of 1.5.
♦ Scald is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Water-type move (30% chance to burn the target).
♦ Ice Beam is a special 95-base power Ice-type move (10% chance to freeze the target).
♦ Icy Wind is a special 55-base power Ice-type move (100% chance to lower the foes speed by 1 stage).
♦ Round is a special 60-base power Normal-type move (power doubles if others used round this turn).
♦ Snore is a special 40-base power Normal-type move (Basculin must be asleep. 30% chance to flinch target).
♦ Mud Shot is a special 55-base power Ground-type move (100% chance to lower the target's speed by 1 stage).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/gba226
Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)
EVs: 210 Hp / 210 Atk / 60 SpD / 30 Spe
Moveset:
- Aqua Jet
- Revenge / Aqua Tail
- Return
- Waterfall
Basculin is a stupendous Physical Tank. This moveset is designed to take a good amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Focus Sash helps protect Basculin from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. With Mold Breaker, Basculin's moves and their effects ignore the abilities of other pokemon.
♦ Revenge is a physical 60-base power Fighting-type move (power doubles if Basculin is damaged by the target).
♦ Aqua Tail is a physical STAB-boosted 90-base power Water-type move that deals a hefty amount of damage.
♦ Return is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
♦ Waterfall is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Water-type move (20% chance to flinch the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/gca226
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Naughty (+Atk, -SpD)
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Moveset:
- Aqua Jet
- Zen Headbutt
- Return
- Substitute
Basculin is a pretty decent Physical Tank. It's purpose is to take a substantial amount of physical hits while dealing some decent damage. Life Orb boosts the power of Basculin's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Adaptability, Basculin's same-type attack bonus (stab) is 2 instead of 1.5.
♦ Zen Headbutt is a physical 80-base power Psychic-type move (20% chance to flinch the target).
♦ Return is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
♦ Substitute is a status move (Basculin takes 1/4 its max hp to put in a substitute).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/gda226
Movesets for Doubles
Need a strong doubles moveset for Basculin? These builds are perfect for VGC (Pokémon Video Game Championship) and other competitive Black/White Double Battles. The VGC is the ultimate test of strategy and skill, and these movesets and EVs are designed to excel against multiple opponents at once while providing essential support to your team. Dominate the Black/White metagame with these expert-crafted setups!
Item: Life Orb / Mystic Water
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Aqua Tail / Waterfall
- Double-Edge / Return
- Superpower / Revenge
- Crunch / Bite
Basculin is a sensational Physical Sweeper. It's primary goal is to take down the opponent's team with brute physical power. White Herb will reset Basculin's negative stat changes once (specifically for when it uses Superpower). Focus Sash helps protect Basculin from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Basculin's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Adaptability, Basculin's same-type attack bonus (stab) is 2 instead of 1.5.
♦ Waterfall is a physical STAB-boosted 80-base power Water-type move (20% chance to flinch the target).
♦ Double-Edge is a physical 120-base power Normal-type move (has 33% recoil).
♦ Return is a physical 0-base power Normal-type move (max 102 power at maximum happiness).
♦ Superpower is a physical 120-base power Fighting-type move (lowers your Basculin's attack and defense by 1 stage).
♦ Revenge is a physical 60-base power Fighting-type move (power doubles if Basculin is damaged by the target).
♦ Crunch is a physical 80-base power Dark-type move (20% chance to lower the target's defense by 1 stage).
♦ Bite is a physical 60-base power Dark-type move (30% chance to flinch the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/haa226
Item: Life Orb / Mystic Water
Ability: Adaptability
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Surf / Scald
- Icy Wind / Ice Beam
- Round / Snore
- Mud Shot
Basculin is a decent Special Sweeper. The purpose of this moveset is to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Basculin from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Basculin's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Adaptability, Basculin's same-type attack bonus (stab) is 2 instead of 1.5.
♦ Scald is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Water-type move (30% chance to burn the target).
♦ Icy Wind is a special 55-base power Ice-type move (100% chance to lower the foes speed by 1 stage).
♦ Ice Beam is a special 95-base power Ice-type move (10% chance to freeze the target).
♦ Round is a special 60-base power Normal-type move (power doubles if others used round this turn).
♦ Snore is a special 40-base power Normal-type move (Basculin must be asleep. 30% chance to flinch target).
♦ Mud Shot is a special 55-base power Ground-type move (100% chance to lower the target's speed by 1 stage).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/hba226
Movepool
Want to know what moves Basculin can learn? Check out the full list of moves available in the Pokemon Black/White generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by type, category, accuracy, and power. Moves in bold get the same-type attack bonus (STAB) when used by Basculin.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Basculin can perform in Black/White. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive BW Move and Ability Combos for Basculin
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Move: Endeavor + Item: Focus Sash
- Recoil moves boosted by Reckless: Double-Edge, Take Down
- Moves with Priority: Protect, Aqua Jet
- Moves that inflict status: Scald, Toxic
Moves that boost Basculin's stats
- Agility
- Rage
Most notable and possible best moves for Basculin
- Ice Beam
- Protect
- Rest
- Scald
- Taunt
- Toxic
Common Effort Values for Basculin in Black and White
Usage Data
Explore the latest analytical usage data for this Pokémon from various VGC and online competitions. We use this data to develop our strategies and movesets. The data is categorized by competition and skill level: top-ranking trainers, mid-level players, and entry-level players.
THIS SECTION IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Some builds on this page have been hidden, click here to display them
Here are the best movesets for Basculin. Top rated Basculin Black/White movesets. You can find Basculin builds Black/White. Basculin movesets Black/White are listed here. VGC Basculin Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Basculin in Black/White along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution