"How to Catch and Evolve Bagon in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet"

Quick Links

• Where to Find Bagon

  • Bagon Location in Pokemon Violet

• How to Get Bagon in Pokemon Scarlet

  • How to Trade and Transfer Pokemon

• How to Evolve Bagon into Shelgon and Salamence

  • What Level Does Bagon Evolve

• Is Salamence Good?

  • Salamence Strengths & Weaknesses
  • Recommended Moves

Bagon, the Dragon-type Pokémon that evolves into the formidable Salamence, is an exciting addition to your team in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. However, players with Pokémon Scarlet will find that Bagon and its evolutions are exclusive to Pokémon Violet. To complete your Paldea Pokédex, you'll need to capture Bagon, Shelgon, and Salamence.

Updated on January 13, 2025 by Renri Seong: Bagon, a Dragon-type Pokémon that evolves into the powerful Salamence, is a must-have for your team in Pokémon Violet. There are several methods to catch Bagon and its evolved form, Shelgon. However, if you're playing Pokémon Scarlet and aiming to complete the Pokédex, you'll need to transfer one from Pokémon Violet. Like Dragonite, Salamence is a Dragon/Flying-type pseudo-legendary with a base stat total of 600. Is Salamence as strong as other pseudo-legendaries, or is it not worth the effort? This updated guide provides detailed information on Salamence's stats, type effectiveness, and recommended moves.

Where to Find Bagon

Bagon Location in Pokemon Violet

In Pokémon Violet, you can find Bagon in several locations, with East Province (Area Three) being an excellent starting point due to its vast size and numerous caves to explore.

If you're still in the starting area, you can catch a fixed spawn Bagon on a mountain in South Province (Area Five). Climb the mountain southwest of the bridge that connects the grassy and rocky regions of South Province (Area Five).

Another recommended spot is Dalizapa Passage, located north of The Great Crater of Paldea and south of Glaseado Mountain. Arrive at the deep hole with a Pokémon Center, where you can ride Koraidon or Miraidon and jump down, or enter via one of the many cavern entrances. This location, though less open than East Province, is a cave teeming with rare Pokémon, including Bagon and Frigibax.

If you enjoy participating in raids, you can catch Bagon from 3-star Tera Raids, which unlock after obtaining three gym badges. Note that Bagon's Tera Type may differ from its regular type when caught from a raid, but these raids may also feature Bagon with its Hidden Ability.

How to Get Bagon in Pokemon Scarlet

How to Trade and Transfer Pokemon

Since you can't catch Bagon or its evolutions in Pokémon Scarlet, you'll need to trade with a Pokémon Violet player or transfer Bagon using Pokémon HOME. To trade, you can either create or join a Group via the Union Circle. Using online features requires a Nintendo Switch Online Membership, making it sometimes easier to transfer Bagon from another game.

If Pokémon HOME is on your Switch, you can move Bagon from games like Pokémon Sword/Shield (Expansion Pass), Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, or directly from Pokémon HOME.

1. Open HOME and select the game from which you'll be transferring Bagon.
2. Move Bagon to your Basic Box (the left side of the screen), save, and exit.
3. Open your Pokémon Scarlet file and transfer Bagon from the Basic Box to one of your Scarlet PC Boxes.
4. Save and exit.

When you open Pokémon Scarlet, Bagon should be in the designated PC Box, and its Pokédex entry will be completed.

How to Evolve Bagon into Shelgon and Salamence

What Level Does Bagon Evolve

To evolve Bagon, you'll need to raise its level to 30, at which point it will evolve into Shelgon. Further, level Shelgon up to 50 to evolve it into Salamence. The quickest way to level up is by having Bagon or Shelgon auto-battle Pokémon around their level.

If you're not EV training, have Bagon auto-battle high-experience Pokémon like Chansey, found in East Province (Area Two), North Province (Areas One-Three), Casseroya Lake, and West Province (Areas Two-Three).

Alternatively, you can use Exp. Candy to level up faster. One piece of Exp. Candy L or Exp. Candy XL will boost their level significantly. Exp. Candy M works too, but you may need more for evolving Shelgon into Salamence.

You can also obtain Shelgon and Salamence from 4-star and 5/6-star Tera Raids, respectively.

Is Salamence Good?

Salamence Strengths & Weaknesses

Salamence, alongside Metagross, was introduced as a pseudo-legendary in Generation 3. Pseudo-legendaries are non-legendary Pokémon with a base stat total of 600, making them highly desirable for competitive play when properly trained.

A recommended Nature for Salamence is Adamant (+Attack, -Special Attack) or Lonely (+Attack, -Defense).

Salamence is a Dragon/Flying-type Pokémon, which means it can learn both Dragon and Flying-type moves, making it super effective against many types. However, its dual-typing results in a significant weakness.

Recommended Moves

Salamence's move set leans heavily towards physical attacks, aligning with its higher Attack stat compared to its Special Attack. You might prefer teaching it physical moves like Dragon Claw over special moves like Dragon Breath. To counter its weaknesses to Fairy and Rock types, you can teach it Iron Head via TM099.

Despite its higher Attack, Salamence's base Special Attack is still quite good, and you can train it as a special attacker if you prefer. In this case, a Timid Nature (+Speed, -Attack) might be more suitable than Adamant or Lonely. A specially-trained Salamence would benefit more from moves like Draco Meteor and Flamethrower.