Rockruff evolution guide

Rockruff’s evolution, Lycanroc, is a formidable creature that can bring a world of hurt to those weak to rock-type moves. However, what you might not know is that this second stage ‘mon has three different versions. Many of you are likely familiar with Lycanroc’s midday form, but what about Lycanroc’s midnight look? Or even the illusive Lycanroc dusk variation.

Before we explain how you can evolve Rockruff into the Lycanroc of your choice, you might want to know how to evolve Primeape, How to evolve Pawmo, how to evolve Finizen, how to evolve Riolu, how to evolve Charcadet, and how to evolve Sneasel, too. Or, if you want to know what other Rock Pokémon from the Pokédex can kick some ass, check out our article, though we also have a rock Pokémon weakness guide for those that need to bring the gen 7 Pokémon Lycanroc down.

Anyway, onto Rockruff’s evolution.

How do I evolve Rockruff?

To evolve Rockruff you need to reach level 25. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, when it comes to this creature, difficulty only plays a part depending on which form of Lycanroc you’re after. You see, there are three different Lycanroc variants:

While Lycanroc’s midday form is common and by far the one you’re most likely to meet, many trainers are after the midnight and dusk variations. However, we must quickly say that regardless of which form you get, it’s prowess in battle remains the same – they all share the same stats.

How do I get Lycanroc’s midday form?

To evolve Rockruff into Lycanroc’s midday variation, you just need to reach level 25 at any point between 06:00 and 17:00. This is the easiest and most likely version of Lycanroc you’ll receive when you evolve Rockruff, well, unless you like to run around the open world at night.

How do I get Lycanroc’s midnight form?

As the name indicates, you need to evolve Rockruff between 18:00 and 06:00 in order to get Lycanroc’s midnight form. This variation of the rock-type is perhaps the most cool-looking due to the fact that it heavily resembles a werewolf. Heck, this ‘mon alone gives Scarlet and Violet a good case to be on our list of the best werewolf games on Switch and mobile.

How do I get Lycanroc’s dusk form?

Lycanroc’s dusk variation is the most difficult to receive due to the small window you have in which to evolve Rockruff. To get the dusk form, you need to reach level 25 with Rockruff in between 17:00 and 18:00, and Rockruff needs to have the ‘own tempo’ ability. The sky is orange (as is the circle icon on your map), but this only lasts for a couple of minutes, so you need to act fast.

The best bit of advice we can give you is to have a rare candy at the ready to give Rockruff an instant level-up as soon as the time strikes. Or, at the very least, have some EXP candies on standby. Should Rockruff be about to evolve outside of the time frame you need, merely cancel the evolution and wait for the correct time.

Well, there you have it, all you need to know about Rockruff’s evolution. If you want to know how to make the most of Lycanroc, our dark Pokémon weakness, psychic Pokémon weakness, normal Pokémon weakness, rock Pokémon weakness, dragon Pokémon weakness, and fire Pokémon weakness guides to see how the rock-type fares against them.

We can also help you out with our Ralts evolution, Misdreavus evolution, Rellor evolution, Shellder evolution, Cetoddle evolution, Scyther evolution, Murkrow evolution, Floette evolution, Dreepy evolution, Salandit evolution, and Bisharp evolution articles a try.