How to unlock all rideable Pokémon in Legends: Arceus — Wyrdeer, Basculegion, Braviary, and more

Pokemon Legends Arceus Hisuian Braviary
Pokemon Legends Arceus Hisuian Braviary (Image credit: The Pokémon Company)

Being able to surf, fly, and get around more easily with the help of Pokémon has always been a part of Pokémon games since the very beginning. That tradition continues with Pokémon Legends: Arceus where there are a total of five Pokémon that you can ride. With their help, it's possible for you to reach new heights, explore new areas, and capture Pokémon you haven't seen before. Here's what they all do and how to unlock them.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus All rideable Pokémon

Within Pokémon Legends: Arceus, these five rideable Pokémon basically take over the duty of HMs as seen in previous Pokémon games.

  • Wyrdeer (Ride over land)
  • Ursaluna (Dig and ride)
  • Basculegion (Surf)
  • Sneasler (Rock climb)
  • Braviary (Fly)

Pokémon Legends: Arceus How to unlock Wyrdeer

Pokemon Legends Arceus Wyrdeer (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Get your Star Member ranking up to one star. This can be done by completing all of the main quests at the start of the game and working on your Pokédex.
  2. Meet Warden Mai in the Obsidian Fieldlands.
  3. You'll be tasked with defeating an Alpha Kricketune in Deertrack Heights. Fire, Rock, and Flying moves are its weaknesses, so use a Pokémon that has those kinds of attacks. Once you've defeated him, you'll see Wyrdeer, but won't be able to ride it just yet.
  4. Next, investigate Kleavor Lord of the Woods and continue the main quest until you're brought back to a camp with Adaman and Mai. Here's you'll be given the Flute.
  5. Summon Wyrdeer to you by pressing the + button and ride wherever you'd like.

Wyrdeer can be used to ride around the land at a fast pace. Pressing the B button makes it charge even faster while pressing the Y button makes it jump so you can reach some ledges previously inaccessible to you.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus How to unlock Ursaluna

Pokemon Legends Arceus Ursaluna (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Complete all main Missions up to Mission 7 and unlock Star Rank two.
  2. Head to Sludge Mountain in the Crimson Mirelands.
  3. Fight and defeat Ursaluna. Note that you can't catch it. It is weak to Flying, Bug, and Grass, so use that to your advantage.
  4. Once it's been defeated, you'll bring out the Flute and will learn how to summon Ursaluna.
  5. Press the left or right side of the D-Pad to swap between Wyrdeer and Ursaluna. You can tell which one is selected by looking at the yellow icon on the bottom right side of the screen. Then press the + button to summon the one you want.

Ursaluna can be used to locate and dig for buried treasure and items. Its abilities can also help you fulfill sidequests for finding lost people.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus How to unlock Basculegion

Pokemon Legends Arceus Basculegion (Image credit: iMore)
  1. You must first reach Star Rank three by completing main quests and catching Pokémon up to this point.
  2. Once that's done, head to the top of the cliffs at Veilstone Cape located within Cobalt Coastlands to meet Palina and her Growlithe.
  3. Now travel to Iscan's campsite. It's situated at the bottom of the Cobalt Coastlands map between Aipom Hill and Hideaway Bay.
  4. You're going to need Basculegion's favorite food to ride it. Iscan will send you off to capture a Dusclops. Just remember that it only appears at night. If it's daytime, either wait for night to come or rest at a campsite until it's dark out.
  5. Continue east to Deadwood Haunt. You'll know you're in the right area when you see several old ships.
  6. Catch Dusclops and bring it back to Iscan.
  7. Iscan will create the food you need and then you'll gain access to Basculegion.
  8. To summon Basculegion, simply fall into some water. It will either automatically appear beneath you or you can press the A button to manually make it appear. Basculegion can dash if you press the B button and can also double jump if you press the Y button.

Now you'll be able to access a whole lot more of ancient Sinnoh with the help of this giant fish. It's also the only rideable Pokémon that you can throw Poké Balls from. So catch all of those sea creatures while you're splashing around in the water.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus How to unlock Sneasler

Pokemon Legends Arceus Sneasel (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Get to Star Rank four by filling out your Pokédex and defeat three noble Pokémon up to this point.
  2. Then unlock the mission called Scaling Perlious Heights.
  3. Head to Coronet Highlands and track down Ingo and follow him through Wayward Cave. This is kind of tedious and slow, but not very long.
  4. Once you come out on the other side of the cave, you'll need to fight Ingo. He has a Machoke, Tangela, and Gliscor.
  5. After defeating him, a cutscene will ensure and you will learn to play the flute for Sneasler.

You must have noticed by now that it's incredibly hard to scale even the smallest hills in Legends: Arceus. Well, that's all about to change with the help of Sneasler's rock climbing abilities. You'll get transported in a basket on its back while it braves the shear cliffs of this cold region.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus How to unlock Braviary

Pokemon Legends Arceus Braviary (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Fill out your Pokédex enough to get a Star Rank five and defeat four noble Pokémon.
  2. You'll need to progress through the main quests until you unlock The Slumbering Lord of the Tundra.
  3. Head to Coronet Highlands and follow the prompts to meet up with Adaman, Irida, and Gaeric.
  4. You'll need to battle Gaeric, and he uses a lot of ice types, so a Fire Pokémon will do the trick.
  5. After defeating him, you'll be told about Sabi, Braviary's keeper and will be tasked with hunting her down.
  6. Use Sneasel to climb ice walls and reach Sabi in the three locations she flies off to.
  7. After you've found her three times, you'll need to work through the Snowpoint Temple. There are a few puzzles to solve in here.

Pokemon Legends Arceus Snowpoint Temple Puzzle (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Run through the temple until you hit a dead end. Now look at the Regi statues. Go to the first one and note the symbol on its chest, now head to the one it's facing and continue until you get to the door. Now touch the symbols on the door in the same order that you saw them on the statues.
    • Puzzle 1: Ice, Rock, Steel
    • Puzzle 2: Ice, Rock, Steel, Rock, Ice
    • Puzzle 3: Steel, Ice, Rock, Ice, Steel, Rock
  2. Eventually you'll meet up with Sabi again and will have to fight her three Pokémon: Rhyperior (Level 50) , Electivire (Level 30), and Magmortar (Level 30). I suggest getting rid of Electivire and Magmortar first so you don't have to fight all of them for very long. Rhyperior and Magmortar are both weak to Water and Electivire is weak to Ground, so use the right Pokémon to defeat them quickly.
  3. Once you've beaten Sabi, you'll unlock the ability to call Braviary and fly. Enjoy flying across the map a whole lot faster than you could before.

You'll be able to get around a whole let better once you unlock the ability to fly. Note that when you summon Braviary, it will jump a decent distance into the air and then will maintain that height as it soars around. You can dash by pressing the B button and can dive by pressing the Y button. However, there is no button for flying higher. So if you're trying to make your way up a mountain, you'll need to land and summon it again to go upwards.

Surf, fly, rock climb, and more

With these five rideable Pokémon unlocked, the world of Legends: Arceus opens itself up to you. You'll want to go back to locations you've been before and make your way to areas that were unreachable before now. That way you can find and catch more Pokémon to fill out your Pokédex.

Rebecca Spear
Gaming Editor

Gaming aficionado Rebecca Spear is iMore's dedicated gaming editor with a focus on Nintendo Switch and iOS gaming. You’ll never catch her without her Switch or her iPad Air handy. If you’ve got a question about Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, or just about any other Nintendo series check out her guides to help you out. Rebecca has written thousands of articles in the last six years including hundreds of extensive gaming guides, previews, and reviews for both Switch and Apple Arcade. She also loves checking out new gaming accessories like iPhone controllers and has her ear to the ground when it comes to covering the next big trend.