Scorbunny

Scorbunny is the first stage of a three-stage evolutionary line: at level 16 it evolves into Raboot, which evolves at level 35 into Cinderace. It is a small, upright Fire-type Rabbit Pokémon with white fur and a yellow mark over its nose. Its design is based on a rabbit, but adds features of a runner: its feet are built to store heat and move quickly.

Its behaviour revolves around exercise. It starts running to raise its body temperature and distribute fiery energy throughout its body, which is when it reaches its true strength. When it prepares to battle, its nose and the fur covering its feet radiate heat. It does not wait until it is standing still to get ready: warming up is part of its natural way of fighting and explains the importance of its leg-based moves.

In the Galar region, it was one of the starter options for the player. Its line keeps the Fire type through all three stages, while its appearance develops from a childlike rabbit into a silhouette increasingly focused on football and athletics.

Scorbunny is not much of an all-round attacker outside Little Cup. Its base stats concentrate what little it has into Attack, at 71, and Speed, at 69; HP sits at 50, while Defense, Special Attack and Special Defense are all 40. This spread forces it into a physical, offensive role. It cannot take hits well and does not make good use of special attacks, although its Speed lets it move before many slower threats during the adventure.

Its hidden ability, Libero, changes its type to match the move it is about to use. This lets it turn moves such as Low Sweep, U-turn or Flame Charge into attacks of the same type as its body at that moment, as well as changing its resistances and weaknesses. Blaze is more straightforward: when it is in a tight spot, it powers up Fire-type attacks. If it stays at low HP, Flare Blitz and Flame Charge become stronger, although recoil damage makes it harder to keep Scorbunny on the field.

The Fire type gives it good options against Grass-, Ice-, Bug- and Steel-type Pokémon, but leaves it exposed to Water, Ground and Rock. Libero broadens its coverage, but its low defenses make it difficult to switch directly into a powerful attack. In Little Cup, it can apply pressure with U-turn, punish switches with coverage moves and take advantage of its Speed; in a normal playthrough, it performs best during the first half, before bulky opponents start to outlast its limited staying power.

Scorbunny belongs to the Field and Human-Like Egg Groups. Its gender ratio is uneven: 12.5 % are female, so finding a female of this species takes more attempts than with an even ratio. Its Eggs need 20 cycles to hatch, equivalent to approximately 5355 steps.

Its notable Egg Moves include High Jump Kick, with a physical power of 130, and Sucker Punch, which provides priority and Dark-type coverage. Super Fang is also useful against opponents with high HP, while Sand Attack offers a more awkward support option than an offensive one.

Its catch rate is 45, a difficult figure: simply throwing a Poké Ball without weakening it or inflicting a status condition is usually not enough. In its evolutionary chain, Scorbunny evolves exactly upon reaching level 16. Raboot evolves exactly upon reaching level 35. It does not need a stone, a specific friendship level or a particular time of day.