How to Evolve Your Scorbunny in Pokémon Sword & Shield

Pokémon games have always been based around the starters that players choose, and Sword & Shield are no different. Scorbunny, a happily hopping Fire-type rabbit who grows to gain a lot of power, is among the trio of monsters available at the beginning of the game. Unlike most starters, Scorbunny officially has four different forms counting its initial state, and one of them is not easy to achieve.

New DLC additions, trading and the Pokémon Bank making catching all of the starters easier than ever, and the same can be said for evolving them into all of their forms. Here’s how to get all of the Pokémon in the Scorbunny family, including the elusive Gigantamax mode of its final form.

Scorbunny

The easiest way to get Scorbunny is, obviously, to choose it as your starter at the beginning of a new game. However,  you can still pick up a Scorbunny afterward by trading with other players. Scorbunny is definitely cute, but it’s also definitely not the strongest monster in the game. It’s best to evolve the Pokémon as soon as possible, which, as usual with starters, is at level 16.

Those worried about their starter not being able to learn all of its moves shouldn’t be. Raboot learns all of the attacks that Scorbunny would have learned, albeit just a few levels later. There’s no real reason to keep the creature in its initial, unevolved form.

Raboot

Raboot has a significant stat boost compared to Scorbunny, and it can also learn more attacks in the long run. As with its first form, it excels mainly in Physical attacks and Speed, no doubt thanks to its powerful kicking legs. Its lowest stat is its Special Defense, leaving it particularly vulnerable against non-physical and elemental moves. As a Fire-type, it’s also weak against Ground, Rock and Water-type Pokémon. It’s great against Bug, Ice, Steel and Grass-types, however, assuming that a Fire-type move is used.

Though it’s an improvement over its preceding form, Raboot still isn’t the best that the bunny can be. Thus, trainers shouldn’t be hesitant to evolve the creature one last time as they progress.

Cinderace

Cinderace is the final form of the Scorbuny family, which Raboot can first achieve by reaching level 35. This is slightly lower than some third starter evolutions, where a Pokémon has to be level 36 or higher. Though its appearance might suggest a Fire/Fighting dual type, it’s still merely a pure Fire-type Pokémon.

Cinderace sees only some slight boosts in its HP, Defense and Special stats, but it gets massive upgrades in terms of Attack and Speed. EV training or stat-boosting items can be used to make up the deficit of power in these other stats, putting them a little bit closer to Cinderace’s strengths. It can naturally learn all of the attacks that its previous forms would have learned, along with a move called Court Change. This signature move of Cinderace’s allows it to swap any battle status effects such as the stat-changing Leer or hazards like Spikes. Other moves such as Coaching and Scorching Sands are exclusive to this evolution and can only be learned through a move tutor.

This is (almost) the strongest form for the Pokémon, so players should rush to train it to reach this form as soon as possible. Keeping it in its previous forms as the primary Pokémon in battle will go a long way in achieving this, as Scorbunny/Raboot will be the main party member to receive EXP after battles.

Gigantamax Cinderace

Like its fellow generational starters and a few others from previous games, Cinderace also has a massive new Gigantamax form. This mode wasn’t initially available in Sword & Shield, but new updates have made the Fire-type starter even stronger. One has to begin the Master Dojo trials and access the Isle of Armor to get this form. After completing one of Master Mustard’s quests and gathering several Max Mushrooms, Master Mustard will teach the player how to make Max Soup. Eating this soup allows any Pokémon who has Gigantamax potential to achieve Gigantamax form.

In Gigantamax form, Cinderace turns into a giant that now rides gallantly atop an equally big fireball. This can be used in the exclusive move G-Max Fireball, and it’s based on a base attack of Cinderace. Regardless of this attack’s power, G-Max Fireball always has a power ranking of 160, making it incredibly potent. Unfortunately, the Gigantamax form only lasts for three turns, meaning players should use the attack as soon as possible. Likewise, the G-Max form and corresponding attack probably shouldn’t be wasted on weak opponents, if only to save time. Instead, its power should be saved for opponents that are truly a match for the final gigantic form of Cinderace.