Not every Pokémon naturally appears in the wild while playing Pokémon Go. Some of them require a more unique approach to encounter them, and White-Striped Basculin is one of these Pokémon, making it tricky to track down.
The way you find White-Striped Basculin not only comes down to a specific method, but also a special event—the Pokémon Go Tour: Sinnoh. You can catch it first during the in-person Los Angeles event, and then later during the Global version, allowing everyone to add it to their collection. Here’s what you need to know about how to catch a White-Striped Basculin in Pokémon Go.
Where to find a White-Striped Basculin in Pokémon Go
White-Striped Basculin makes its debut during the Pokémon Go Tour: Sinnoh event, first in Los Angeles from Feb. 17 to 18 and then later during the Global event from Feb. 24 to 25. The only way to encounter a White-Striped Basculin is by completing a Route, and you should find it along your path as you walk. You might need to do this several times before one appears.
A Route in Pokémon Go is a set path you have to follow. You can start a Route by going down to the Nearby Pokémon option on the far bottom right of your screen, underneath the Today View. On the far right, an option says “Routes,” and you can see any nearby routes in your local area. These begin at a PokéStop, and when you click on it, there are details showing the start and end of a Route and the distance between them. It does not display an estimated time for how long the walk could take you. Once you reach the starting point, the Route starts, and there’s a chance White-Striped Basculin could appear.
When working on a route, I find it best to keep your phone on the entire time to see every Pokémon that spawns on your path. This is the only way for White-Striped Basculin to appear, and you also have a chance to catch a Shiny version of it if you’re lucky.
I recommend choosing a short Route to catch White-Striped Basculin while the Pokémon Go Tour: Sinnoh event is happening. There are several other Pokémon for you to try tracking down, such as Origin Forme Palkia and Origin Forme Dialga, appearing in five-star raids, or Rotom, which is making its debut through the Ghost in the Machine research. These all wrap up on Feb. 25.
These routes only exclusively feature White-Striped Baculin during the Pokémon Go Tour: Sinnoh event. We can likely expect to see it again, but Niantic has not shared when this will happen. I recommend jumping on the nearest route you can find in your local area during Feb. 24 and 25 and trying to find White-Striped Basculin. Hopefully, it appears in its Shiny form, but the odds are stacked against you.
