How to Evolve Maschiff Into Mabosstiff in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Maschiff evolves from a rambunctious good boy into the dignified good boy of Mabosstiff. With a name and design reminiscent of the mastiff breed of dogs, it’s no surprise that these two Pokémon have the feel of familial guardians. A purely Dark-type line of evolutions, it has a powerful Attack stat and a good Defense stat.

While all the ‘cute dog’ energy was stolen by Daschbun and Fidough in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, these two are great and lovable doggos. It also makes sense to have them in the party, as Mabosstiff has access to several rare Dark-Type moves like Jaw Lock and Comeuppance, the latter of which is learned on evolution. On the surface it’s simple to evolve Maschiff into Mabosstiff: get it to level 30 and the process will start. However, there’s more to it than just that, and the player might want to hold off for a bit.

When To Evolve Maschiff into Mabosstiff

A semi-common thing in Pokémon games is for some prior evolutions to get moves at earlier levels than their most powerful forms. Like with the Frigibax line in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, or with the Maschiff line. The trade-off for preventing evolution to learn more powerful moves soon is that the Pokémon will have lower stats over all. Mabosstiff has higher base stats than Maschiff, so every level up as Maschiff raises the Pokémon’s stats less than if it was a level up as a Mabosstiff. So if the player wants to get moves sooner, they have to consider how many stats are they willing to sacrifice.

Maschiff learns most moves four or five levels earlier than Mabosstiff, except for Outrage, which it learns eleven levels early. The greatest differences between the two forms’ base stats are 78 vs 120 Attack, 60 vs 90 Defense, and 51 vs 85 Speed. There are no massive differences like the with Happiny and Chansey evolution line’s HP stat (100 vs 250), so the player isn’t penalized too hard for waiting a bit. The rate of change is always 1/50 of the Pokémon’s base stats, so the player can safely put off evolution for one level. Doing so lets Maschiff learn Crunch at 31 in exchange for only a handful of stats.

YouTuber Quick Tips shows off the evolution in their video.

If the player is willing to sacrifice some more, they can wait till 35 to grab Swagger. They should not wait too long as the debt of missed stats will grow and hurt the overall experience as the player goes out into Paldea to challenge the gym leaders in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.