Pokemon Ultra Sun & Moon Rockruff Event: how to get Dusk Form Lycanroc, the limited-time exclusive new Pokemon

by RPG Site Staff on 17 November, 2017

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have a little tradition of rewarding early adopters of their Pokemon games through the Mystery Gift service, and the newly-released Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon are no exception to that tradition. This time, there's a special Rockruff event for the first few weeks after Pokemon Ultra Sun & Moon release - and this is the only way you can get your hands on a special new form of Lycanroc, the evolution of Rockruff.

The special Rockruff event is running from now through January 10, so you have plenty of time to grab this unique Pokemon so long as you pick up Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon in a little under its first two months on sale. While Rockruff are everywhere in Pokemon Ultra Sun & Moon, this special Rockruff is unique in that it has a special power with relation to its evolution - but more on that in a moment.

How to get your special event Rockruff from the Mystery Gift function in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon

Mystery gift has been around before, and some of the most dedicated Pokemon fans and RPG Site readers among you might well remember the special Snorlax that was distributed through the service on the release of the regular version of Pokemon Sun & Moon last year. Here it works much the same, but let's quickly run down the requirements and how it works, just in case:

As mentioned before, it needs to be between November 17th 2017 - Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon's launch - and January 10th 2018. If you're reading this after that date, you're out of luck.
After starting a game, save and quit out to the main menu. You can do this as soon as you've picked your starter Pokemon in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, a little earlier than in the previous version.
Close and reopen the game, and then on the main menu, select the Mystery Gift option.

Once you load into the Mystery Gift menu, hit 'Get via internet'. So long as your 3DS is set up for a nearby wifi network you'll connect and find a wonder card.
The wonder card should be for your Special Event Rockruff'. Grab it, obviously!
Once you're back into your game head to any Pokemon Center in Alola and speak to the delivery person near the desk. She'll hand the Rockruff over.
The Rockruff will have one of two moves - in Ultra Sun it'll have Fire Fang, while in Ultra Moon it'll have Thunder Fang. It's also holding a Focus Band, a handy item that gives Pokemon a chance to survive what would be an otherwise knock-out blow in combat.

Dusk Form Lycanroc - how to get this rare new Pokemon form in Ultra Sun & Moon

Rockruff had a unique trick back in Pokemon Sun & Moon - it could evolve into two unique different forms depending on the time of day it evolved. In Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon there's a third form, all-new - and similarly it has a unique requirement in order to get it. Those were Midnight and Midday forms, but this is the Dusk Form Lycanroc - and that obviously points to a form in between the previous two. Here's a little about that, and how to get it:

First off, you'll want to make sure that you're leveling the right Rockruff. It has to be the Rockruff from this event - no other Rockruff can evolve in this way, making the Dusk Form Lycanroc a little rarer still.
The next step is simple - you'll want to evolve Rockruff at dusk. For the purposes of this guide, let's make it explicit - that's between 5:00pm and 5:59pm local time.
To evolve Rockruff, it'll need to be heading into level 25. That's when it evolves. If you need help building up its Exp, don't forget to use the Exp Share.
Don't forget to check your 3DS clock is correct, as that's the time the game will be working off.

Once you've got this unique Pokemon, it's yours to keep forever - and nobody who is late to the Pokemon Ultra Sun & Moon party will be able to (legitimately) get it! You can revel in that, like a true Pokemon Master, and all that.