Scorbunny is a popular, fiery Pokémon pick for the Gen-8 Pokémon Sword and Shield games — and this bunny may be coming to Pokémon Go too, giving fans of the mobile game something to look forward to. For those who like a speedy fire type, this Pokémon can make an excellent choice.
In our Scorbunny evolution guide, we’ll go over how you can pick Scorbunny, how to evolve it successfully, and the best ways to use it in battle so you’re completely prepared.
How Do I Get Scorbunny in Pokémon Sword and Shield?
Don’t worry about capturing a Scorbunny in Sword and Shield. Players can choose Scorbunny as their starter Pokémon offered by the character Leon at the beginning of the game. Scorbunny’s the fire type choice: The other options are Sobble, a water type, and Grooky, a grass type. All of them start at level 5.
If you didn’t pick Scorbunny as your starter and still want to get him on your team, things get a lot harder. As is the case with many starters, Scorbunny is not available as a random encounter in Sword and Shield. You can’t capture a wild one. Your only option to bring one into your game is to trade with a friend to acquire it. While Gen VIII Pokémon games aren’t super old, they’re old enough that finding a players could be difficult. We recommend creating a new character and starting with Scorbunny if you want to make absolutely sure you get one.
Whichever way, once you have Scorbunny, you’ve got a versatile fire Pokémon on your team that comes with some excellent abilities. Key to Scorbunny’s strategy are its passive. The first, Blaze, is the common fire type passive that increases Pokémon fire damage by 50% when it hits low health. The second hidden passive is Libero, a much more interesting ability that switches the Pokémon’s innate type to the type of the move it’s going to use in the next turn. We’ll explain more about that below, but it opens up a lot of options for versatile, advanced plays.
Is Scorbunny Available in Pokémon Go?
At this time, no. But that could change in the future. Pokémon Go periodically adds new Pokémon to its roster to keep interest high. At the time of this guide, the mobile game is doing a big push of Gen IX Pokémon that players haven’t been able to try before. However, there’s plenty of evidence that Pokémon Go could return to Generation VIII and start adding more Pokémon at a later time.
First, there are relatively few Pokémon from Sword and Shield in Pokémon Go, so there’s some pent-up demand. Second, dataminers have found graphics and entries associated with Scorbunny, which means this starter has a fair chance of eventually showing up in the game. For now, Pokémon Go players will have to wait.
How Do I Evolve Scorbunny into Raboot?
If you like Scorbunny, you’ll want to evolve it into Raboot as you play. Like many starter Pokémon, you don’t have to work very hard for this evolution. Just keep playing with Scorbunny in your team so it gains experience. When it levels up to 16, it will automatically evolve into the lankier Raboot.
Raboot gets both a stat increase and a special move of its own called Pyro Ball. Pyro Ball deals an excellent amount of fire damage early on in the game and can inflict burn. If you like Scorbunny, try to set up using Pyro Ball in the most effective ways.
How Do I Evolve Raboot into Cinderace?
The next evolution Scorbunny gets is the power Cinderace. Cinderace doesn’t learn any new special abilities like Raboot did, but it does get an important stat increase and can be an integral part of your team for much of the game.
Again, this evolution is simple and doesn’t require special steps or rare items. Just keep on leveling your Raboot until it reaches level 36. It should then transform in Cinderace automatically.
How Do I Evolve Cinderace into Gigantamax Cinderace?
Sword and Shield have a special option called Gigantamax, which — well, it makes Pokémon really big if you have the right DLC. It’s different from a Mega Evolution, but works in a similar way, allowing for a supercharged version of the lil rabbit with gigantic fireballs. Any fan of Scorbunny should eventually work toward getting this form.
First, you’ll need the Isle of Armor DLC for the Sword and Shield games. Otherwise, this particular kind of evolution won’t be available for Scorbunny. You will have the option to provide either Dynamax or Gigantamax powers to Scorbunny. Most people prefer Gigantamax because of the giant fireball they get, but others like the power-ups from Dynamax. The choice is yours and the process is very similar either way.
When you’re ready, track down the right recipe for Max Soup — you’ll learn about during the DLC campaign. After you reach a certain point in the story, you can feed Max Soup to any Pokémon to see the improvements. Find Max Mushrooms, the key ingredient, after completing major battles. Finish the recipe, choose Cinderace to feed it to, and you’re finished. Your Cinderace should permanently have the Gigantamax ability now.
Please note that you can not pass the Gigantamax factor along via breeding, so you may want more soup depending on your plans. Also, while you can encounter and capture Pokémon with this ability during raids, Scorbunny won’t appear as a raid. You must already have one to feed it Max Soup, there’s no other way to give it the Gigantamax ability. Of course, if you have more than one, you can try Dynamax too and see which you like better.
Can I Breed Scorbunny in Sword and Shield?
©Screenshot from Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Yes, with a little work you can start breeding Scorbunny in Gen VIII Pokémon games. Scorbunny is in a Field, Human-Like egg group, so you will need another Pokémon in that group to breed it properly. As long as the Scorbunny is female, the new Pokémon bred will be a Scorbunny, too (although there are ways around this when using a Ditto).
Breeding a Scorbunny allows for several different advantages in Sword and Shield. A bred Pokémon can inherit certain abilities from its father, giving it access to unique moves without having to use a Technical Machine — they can also learn from “Daycare” in Gen VIII. You also get the chance to customize the nature and Individual Values of your Pokémon through careful breeding.
Breeding Pokémon in Sword and Shield can grow complex and is typically an endgame activity, so we don’t have time to go through every step here. But it’s a good idea to experiment with it if you want to create a unique, personalized Scorbunny!
What Nature is Best for an Evolved Scorbunny?
Nature impacts a Pokémon’s stats with some pros and cons that can give it an extra edge. For Scorbunny, it’s all about speed. If you are trying to breed a great Scorbunny or trade for one to use in battle, look for the Jolly nature. This boosts speed while lowering special attacks, a fair trade for a quick bunny. However, those who prefer to lean into physical attacks may prefer Adamant to raise attack power instead. Players leaning into Libero and other tactics may want to use Lonely, which raises attack power but lowers defense.
What Scorbunny Abilities are Useful? What Should I Teach It?
Scorbunny has all the advantages of a speedy fire Pokémon, which is a frequent pick for any well-rounded team. However, Scorbunny’s real secret is its Libero ability, which benefits it when trading blows with an enemy.
Libero switches Scorbunny’s type to whatever attack it’s prepping for the next move. So Scorbunny preps an attack, switches to that type, the enemy attacks, then Scorbunny attacks, after which Scorbunny reverts back to fire type. So, if you’re facing a Pokémon that you know and understand, you can neutralize its attacks by playing the right moves. That can be very useful to defuse major attacks a Pokémon is prepping, or to get some status effect moves in while taking little to no damage.
To use Libero effectively, players want a very wide move set with lots of element types to react to a wide range of enemies. On its own, Scorbunny gets fire, normal, psychic, and even flying moves to use. But players will want to carefully use Technical Machines to teach more abilities. Scorbunny can also learn ground, bug, dark, and fight attacks. With a large catalog of abilities, you can prep one based on what you expect your enemy is going to attack with. For example, if your enemy uses a dark attack, Scorbunny can use the taught Snarl, changing it to a dark type. Scorbunny takes no damage from the attack, and Snarl lowers the enemy’s special attack power for free. This strategy has limits, but it can be a lot of fun when used correctly.
How Do I Use Scorbunny in Battle?
Our strategy above works well for clever players who want to predict opponent attacks and befuddle them. However, you don’t have to play Scorbunny this way. You can play it simply as a versatile fire type and it can have a useful place on your roster. If you don’t want to mess too much with Libero, focus on fast-hitting attacks from its core group of skills.
Scorbunny still excels at playing mind games with enemies even when not relying on Libero. Counter reflects physical attacks back at greater damage, rendering these enemies useless. Flame Charge and Agility are excellent prep moves to raise speed significantly throughout the battle, making sure that Scorbunny is always on attack. And Pyro Ball is a mainstay no matter what you choose to do. With Pyro Ball and Ember, you may want to add Pokémon to your team that can enhance fire damage or take advantage of the burn status. However, Scorbunny’s health isn’t quite high enough for its Double-Edge attack even as Cinderace, so be careful of that move.
Keep in mind, Scorbunny’s original fire type remains the same throughout all its evolutions. If you aren’t using Libero much to change attacks, the Pokémon will be weak against ground, rock, and water type attacks. But it will naturally take less damage from bug, steel, fire, grass, ice, and fairy moves.
Is Scorbunny Available in Both Pokémon Sword and Shield?
Yes, you don’t have to worry about it being a limited Pokémon. As a starter, players with either version of the game can access it, unlike some more restricted Pokémon. However, it can be difficult to find a Scorbunny with trade, so it’s a good idea to pick it as a starter if you really want to play with it for a long time.