Since the second generation of games, day/night cycles have been a part of the Pokemon gameplay. Some Pokemon only spawn at night, while others prefer to come out during the day. The day/night cycle in Gen 2 was fixed to in-real time, making it tricky to find certain Pokemon in the wild. Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet breaks this formula by having their own in-game cycle.

Once again, different Pokemon appear at different times of day. Some Pokemon will only evolve during the day, while others evolve only at night. As more generations of Pokemon were released, the number of Pokemon with evolutions by day/night cycle expanded. Generation 9 brings both familiar and new faces to the Paldea region, with at least a handful having time-based evolutions. However, before trainers rush off to see which Pokemon evolve by day or night, it's best to understand how the day/night cycle works in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet.

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How to Change the Time of Day

Unfortunately, it is not possible to change the time of day in Scarlet/Violet. If trainers are hoping to evolve a Pokemon at day/evening/night, then they'll have to wait. Each phase lasts a set amount of minutes in real time, but the cycles are not influenced by whether it's day or night in the real world. This means that changing the Switch's internal clock won't do Scarlet/Violet players any good.

The day/night cycle in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet lasts 72 minutes (1 hour and 12 minutes) in real time. Here's a more detailed look at how long each phase lasts:

Scarlet/Violet also has weather conditions, such as rain or snow, which last approximately 5 minutes during any time of the day/night cycle. This won't stop Pokemon from appearing, however, as day-only Pokemon (or night-only) will spawn regardless of whether it's raining, snowing, or clear.

Pokemon That Appear Based On Time Of Day

Some Pokemon will only appear in the wild during the day. Others are nocturnal, and only come out at night. Here's a list of Pokemon in Scarlet/Violet that are tied to the day/night cycle:

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There are some exceptions to the Pokemon day/night spawns. Wild Pokemon that are Terastallized will still appear regardless of the day/weather conditions, such as the Terastallized Kirlia in East Province (Area 3). Then, there are Pokemon like the Lycanroc in North Province (Area 1), which will be in its Midday, Dusk, or Midnight form depending on the time it's spotted. Pokemon like Gastly and Haunter are more common during night, but they can be spotted in the early morning or in environments befitting Ghost-types, such as the many ruins around Paldea.

Pokemon with Time-Based Evolutions

Eevee was the first Pokemon to have day/night-based evolutions. If an Eevee had a close bond with its trainer, it would evolve into Espeon (Day) or Umbreon (Night). Day/Night evolution Pokemon made a return in Generation 4, and while some (like Eevee) require high Friendship or a special item (like Sneasel), some just need to level up to a certain level during day/night.

Here are all the Pokemon in Scarlet/Violet whose evolutions are based around the day/night cycle:

Fortunately, the Pokemon that evolve by day/night (or dusk) aren't version-exclusive. Scarlet & Violet players should be able to find them in the wild (Terastallized or not).

The one Pokemon that Scarlet/Violet players may have problems with is Rockruff. While it's easy to evolve the rock puppy into Midday or Midnight form, players will only have 6 minutes to evolve it into Dusk Lycanroc.To make this even more tedious, only Rockruff with their Hidden Ability (Own Tempo) can evolve into the Dusk Form. This is the only Pokemon with that requirement, and fortunately, Dusk Lycanroc isn't required to complete the Paldean Pokedex.

Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet are available for Nintendo Switch.