In Sword & Shield, Rufflet isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Braviary to unlock its full potential. At 350 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.

What is Rufflet weak to?

In Sword & Shield, watch for Rotom (Electric), Weavile (Ice), and Terrakion (Rock) when using Rufflet. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.

What is the best ability for Rufflet?

In Sword & Shield, Run Sheer Force on Rufflet. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Rufflet also gets Keen Eye and Hustle, but they don't compare.

What role does Rufflet play in battle?

In Sword & Shield, Rufflet fills the balanced role. It's a physical attacker with base 83 Attack. At base 60 Speed, it won't be moving first often.

Should I use Rufflet?

In Sword & Shield, Rufflet does the job early-game if you need a Normal/Flying type on your team. Evolve it into Braviary before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.

Rufflet - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Balanced

DTier

60Speed · Below Avg

Stats & Training

Rufflet's spread isn't flashy. Attack leads, Sp. Atk trails, 1 stats clear the bar. Common in the wild and worth 1 Attack EV, on a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats

Avg

HP70

Attack83

Defense50

Sp. Atk37

Sp. Def50

Speed60

Total350

Details

Catch Rate

Easy190 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height0.5 m

Weight10.5 kg

Base XP70

Abilities

Keen Eye

Prevents accuracy from being lowered.

Sheer Force

Strengthens moves with extra effects to 1.3× their power, but prevents their extra effects.

HustleHA

Strengthens physical moves to inflict 1.5× damage, but decreases their accuracy to 0.8×.

EV Yield

HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe

Attack training source

Pokedex Entries

If it spies a strong Pokémon, Rufflet can’t resist challenging it to a battle. But if Rufflet loses, it starts bawling.

Rufflet Weakness

Rufflet's Normal/Flying typing leaves it vulnerable to Electric, Ice, and Rock. It shrugs off Ground and Ghost-type attacks completely.

Rufflet Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Electric, Ice, Rock
0.5x (Resist)	Grass, Bug
0x (Immune)	Ground, Ghost

Type ChartGood

3Weak

2Resist

2Immune

Score+2

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Electric Ice Rock

½xResist

Grass Bug

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

Ground Ghost

STAB (3)

Grass Fighting Bug

How to Beat Rufflet in Sword & Shield (Best Counters)

Lunatone RockPsychic	A
Available Moves Moves Stone EdgeLv. 35 Rock SlideLv. 15 Rock ThrowLv. 1 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Stone Edge 2x 86-102%KO Rock Slide 2x 65-78% Rock Throw 2x 46-54% Rock Blast 2x 25-29% View Lunatone builds →
Shuckle BugRock	B
Available Moves Moves Rock ThrowLv. 15 RolloutLv. 5 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Throw 2x 20-24% Rollout 2x 13-16% Rock Blast 2x 11-13% View Shuckle builds →
Drednaw WaterRock	C
Available Moves Moves Rock TombLv. 1 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Tomb 2x 93-110%KO Rock Blast 2x 40-48% View Drednaw builds →
Solrock RockPsychic	C
Available Moves Moves Stone EdgeLv. 35 Rock SlideLv. 15 Rock ThrowLv. 1 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Stone Edge 2x 129-153%KO Rock Slide 2x 97-115%KO Rock Throw 2x 65-78% Rock Blast 2x 34-40% View Solrock builds →
Sudowoodo Rock	C
Available Moves Moves Stone EdgeLv. 1 Rock SlideLv. 32 Rock TombLv. 20 Rock ThrowLv. 1 Damage vs Rufflet Stone Edge 2x 134-158%KO Rock Slide 2x 102-121%KO Rock Tomb 2x 81-96% Rock Throw 2x 68-80% View Sudowoodo builds →

Sword & Shield Evolution

Rufflet evolves into Braviary. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. The evolved forms gain up to 160 total stats over Rufflet. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#627Rufflet

Level 54

#628Braviary

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Rufflet

NormalFlying

Braviary

NormalFlying

100+30

ATK

123+40

DEF

75+25

SP.ATK

57+20

SP.DEF

75+25

SPE

80+20

BST

350D-Tier

510B-Tier+160

ROLE

Balanced

Wallbreaker

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Moderate

Breed Rufflet with 42 breeding partners from the Flying egg group.

Egg Groups

Flying

Gender

♂100.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Breed With (best first)

Sword & Shield Rufflet Best Moveset

Best Build

No build content available for this Pokemon in Gen 8.

Try selecting a different game/generation filter, or check back later.

Moves

Without TMs, Rufflet's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get coverage across 8 types on top of Thrash and Brave Bird for STAB. The natural kit handles basics, but TMs are doing the real work.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Leer

D—10030Normal

Lv 1

Peck

—3510035Flying

Lv 6

Hone Claws

C——15Dark

Lv 12

Wing Attack

—6010035Flying

Lv 18

Tailwind

C——15Flying

Lv 24

Scary Face

——10010Normal

Lv 30

Aerial Ace

C60—20Flying

Lv 36

Slash

C7010020Normal

Lv 42

Whirlwind-6

D——20Normal

Lv 48

Crush Claw

C759510Normal

Lv 55

Air Slash

D759515Flying

Lv 60

Defog

C——15Flying

Lv 66

Thrash

B12010010Normal

Lv 72

Brave Bird

B12010015Flying

TM Moves

TR12

Agility

C——30Psychic

TM95

Air Slash

D759515Flying

TM58

Assurance

—6010010Dark

TM31

Attract

C—10015Normal

TR66

Brave Bird

B12010015Flying

TR48

Bulk Up

C——20Fighting

TR53

Close Combat

C1201005Fighting

TR26

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TM39

Facade

C7010020Normal

TM06

Fly

C909515Flying

TR36

Heat Wave

D959010Fire

TR89

Hurricane

D1107010Flying

TM25

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM33

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM21

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM79

Retaliate

C701005Normal

TM22

Rock Slide

D759010Rock

TM48

Rock Tomb

D609515Rock

TM76

Round

D6010015Normal

TM26

Scary Face

——10010Normal

TM65

Shadow Claw

D7010015Ghost

TR27

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM24

Snore

—5010015Normal

TM30

Steel Wing

D709025Steel

TR20

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM34

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TR39

Superpower

C1201005Fighting

TM40

Swift

D60—20Normal

TM56

U-turn

D7010020Bug

TR85

Work Up

D——30Normal

TR69

Zen Headbutt

D809015Psychic

Egg Moves

Rufflet doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Dual Wingbeat

D409010Flying

Sword & Shield Rufflet Locations

decent spawn rates in mid-game routes across 20 locations. Rufflet's one of the easier catches on the list. Knock it out fast and save your time for harder targets.

Best Locations to Catch Rufflet in Sword & Shield

Rufflet won't take long. 20 walking spots from Lv. 19-41 with solid rates across most of them. The top locations at each game stage are listed first.

Bridge Field

Grass Lv.26-28

25%Mid

Sandstorm

Potbottom Desert

Overworld Lv.19-24 Desert

5%Mid

Snowstorm

Potbottom Desert

Overworld Lv.19-24 Desert

5%Mid

Thunderstorm

Potbottom Desert

Overworld Lv.19-24 Desert

5%Mid

Intense Sun

Potbottom Desert

Overworld Lv.19-24 Desert

5%Mid

Snowing

Potbottom Desert

Overworld Lv.19-24 Desert

5%Mid

Sandstorm

Potbottom Desert

Overworld Lv.19-24 Desert

5%Mid

Raining

Potbottom Desert

Overworld Lv.19-24 Desert

5%Mid

Heavy Fog

Potbottom Desert

Overworld Lv.19-24 Desert

5%Mid

Overcast

Potbottom Desert

Overworld Lv.19-24 Desert

5%Mid

Normal Weather

Stony Wilderness - 2

Overworld Lv.28-30

5%Mid

Snowstorm

Stony Wilderness - 2

Overworld Lv.28-30

5%Mid

Thunderstorm

Stony Wilderness - 2

Overworld Lv.28-30

5%Mid

Intense Sun

Stony Wilderness - 2

Overworld Lv.28-30

5%Mid

Snowing

Stony Wilderness - 2

Overworld Lv.28-30

5%Mid

Sandstorm

Stony Wilderness - 2

Overworld Lv.28-30

5%Mid

Raining

Stony Wilderness - 2

Overworld Lv.28-30

5%Mid

Heavy Fog

Stony Wilderness - 2

Overworld Lv.28-30

5%Mid

Overcast

Stony Wilderness - 2

Overworld Lv.28-30

5%Mid

Normal Weather

Route 8

Overworld Lv.39-41 Route

10%Late

All Weather

Rufflet Guide

In Sword & Shield, Rufflet isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Braviary to unlock its full potential. At 350 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.
In Sword & Shield, watch for Rotom (Electric), Weavile (Ice), and Terrakion (Rock) when using Rufflet. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.
In Sword & Shield, Run Sheer Force on Rufflet. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Rufflet also gets Keen Eye and Hustle, but they don't compare.
In Sword & Shield, Rufflet fills the balanced role. It's a physical attacker with base 83 Attack. At base 60 Speed, it won't be moving first often.
In Sword & Shield, Rufflet does the job early-game if you need a Normal/Flying type on your team. Evolve it into Braviary before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.

Game Availability

Introduced in Black & White, Rufflet has appeared in 9 games across 6 generations. Later debuts mean fewer total appearances, but it's been a consistent presence since its introduction.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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Shuckle BugRock	B
Available Moves Moves Rock ThrowLv. 15 RolloutLv. 5 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Throw 2x 23-28% Rollout 2x 16-19% Rock Blast 2x 16-19% View Shuckle builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideLv. 20 Rock ThrowLv. 1 Smack DownLv. 4 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 63-75% Rock Throw 2x 44-52% Smack Down 2x 44-52% Rock Blast 2x 23-28% View Onix builds →
Roggenrola Rock	C
Available Moves Moves Smack DownLv. 16 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Smack Down 2x 59-70% Rock Blast 2x 31-38% View Roggenrola builds →
Dwebble BugRock	D
Available Moves Moves Smack DownLv. 8 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Smack Down 2x 52-61% Rock Blast 2x 27-33% View Dwebble builds →
Rolycoly Rock	D
Available Moves Moves Ancient PowerLv. 20 Smack DownLv. 10 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Ancient Power 2x 47-56% Smack Down 2x 39-47% Rock Blast 2x 23-28% View Rolycoly builds →

Shuckle BugRock	B
Available Moves Moves Rock ThrowLv. 15 RolloutLv. 5 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Throw 2x 23-28% Rollout 2x 16-20% Rock Blast 2x 13-16% View Shuckle builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideLv. 20 Rock ThrowLv. 1 Smack DownLv. 4 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 57-68% Rock Throw 2x 40-48% Smack Down 2x 40-48% Rock Blast 2x 23-28% View Onix builds →
Roggenrola Rock	C
Available Moves Moves Smack DownLv. 16 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Smack Down 2x 53-64% Rock Blast 2x 29-36% View Roggenrola builds →
Dwebble BugRock	D
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideLv. 24 Smack DownLv. 8 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 71-84% Smack Down 2x 51-60% Rock Blast 2x 27-32% View Dwebble builds →
Binacle RockWater	D
Available Moves Moves Ancient PowerLv. 20 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Ancient Power 2x 44-52% Rock Blast 2x 23-28% View Binacle builds →

Shuckle BugRock	B
Available Moves Moves Rock ThrowLv. 15 RolloutLv. 5 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Throw 2x 20-25% Rollout 2x 14-18% Rock Blast 2x 12-14% View Shuckle builds →
Sudowoodo Rock	C
Available Moves Moves Stone EdgeLv. 1 Rock TombLv. 20 Rock ThrowLv. 1 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Stone Edge 2x 129-152%KO Rock Tomb 2x 80-94% Rock Throw 2x 67-80% Rock Blast 2x 36-43% View Sudowoodo builds →
Onix RockGround	C
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideLv. 20 Rock ThrowLv. 1 Smack DownLv. 4 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 54-65% Rock Throw 2x 40-47% Smack Down 2x 40-47% Rock Blast 2x 20-25% View Onix builds →
Dwebble BugRock	D
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideLv. 24 Smack DownLv. 8 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 70-83% Smack Down 2x 48-58% Rock Blast 2x 27-33% View Dwebble builds →
Binacle RockWater	D
Available Moves Moves Ancient PowerLv. 20 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Ancient Power 2x 42-51% Rock Blast 2x 24-29% View Binacle builds →

Lunatone RockPsychic	A
Available Moves Moves Stone EdgeLv. 35 Rock SlideLv. 15 Rock ThrowLv. 1 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Stone Edge 2x 83-98% Rock Slide 2x 62-73% Rock Throw 2x 43-51% Rock Blast 2x 23-27% View Lunatone builds →
Shuckle BugRock	B
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideLv. 40 Rock ThrowLv. 15 RolloutLv. 5 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 27-32% Rock Throw 2x 18-22% Rollout 2x 12-15% Rock Blast 2x 10-12% View Shuckle builds →
Crustle BugRock	C
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideLv. 24 Smack DownLv. 1 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 101-120%KO Smack Down 2x 68-80% Rock Blast 2x 35-41% View Crustle builds →
Drednaw WaterRock	C
Available Moves Moves Rock TombLv. 1 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Tomb 2x 89-105%KO Rock Blast 2x 39-46% View Drednaw builds →
Solrock RockPsychic	C
Available Moves Moves Stone EdgeLv. 35 Rock SlideLv. 15 Rock ThrowLv. 1 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Stone Edge 2x 124-146%KO Rock Slide 2x 93-110%KO Rock Throw 2x 64-76% Rock Blast 2x 33-39% View Solrock builds →

Lunatone RockPsychic	A
Available Moves Moves Stone EdgeLv. 35 Rock SlideTM22 Rock TombTM48 Icy WindTM27 Damage vs Rufflet Stone Edge 2x 84-100%KO Rock Slide 2x 63-74% Rock Tomb 2x 51-60% Icy Wind 2x 47-56% View Lunatone builds →
Shuckle BugRock	B
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideTM22 Rock TombTM48 Rock ThrowLv. 15 RolloutLv. 5 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 27-33% Rock Tomb 2x 22-26% Rock Throw 2x 19-23% Rollout 2x 12-14% View Shuckle builds →
Barbaracle RockWater	C
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideTM22 Ancient PowerLv. 20 Rock TombTM48 Icy WindTM27 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 105-123%KO Ancient Power 2x 51-60% Rock Tomb 2x 83-98% Icy Wind 2x 31-37% View Barbaracle builds →
Crustle BugRock	C
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideTM22 Rock TombTM48 Smack DownLv. 1 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 105-123%KO Rock Tomb 2x 83-98% Smack Down 2x 71-84% Rock Blast 2x 37-44% View Crustle builds →
Drednaw WaterRock	C
Available Moves Moves Rock SlideTM22 Rock TombTM48 Rock BlastTM54 Damage vs Rufflet Rock Slide 2x 110-130%KO Rock Tomb 2x 88-105%KO Rock Blast 2x 40-47% View Drednaw builds →

Tyranitar RockDark	A
Recommended Build AbilitySand Stream ItemChoice Band NatureAdamant Moves CrunchSTAB Stone Edge Earthquake Stealth Rock Damage vs Rufflet Crunch 136-160%KO Stone Edge 2x 340-400%KO View Tyranitar builds →
Regieleki Electric	A
Recommended Build AbilityTransistor ItemMagnet NatureTimid Moves Volt Switch ProtectPriority ElectrowebSTAB ThunderboltSTAB Damage vs Rufflet Volt Switch 2x 119-140%KO Electroweb 2x 93-110%KO Thunderbolt 2x 152-179%KO View Regieleki builds →
Mamoswine IceGround	B
Recommended Build AbilityThickfat ItemLife Orb NatureJolly Moves EarthquakeSTAB Icicle Crash Ice Shard Knock Off Damage vs Rufflet Ice Shard 2x 106-125%KO Knock Off 57-67% View Mamoswine builds →