Scatterbug is a Bug-type Pokémon from Gen 6, that was released in Pokémon Go back during the Season of Mythical Wishes alongside its evolutions, Spewpa and Vivillon.
Scatterbug also plays a part in Masterwork Research: Sparkle and Shine and An X-ceptional Yarn Special Research, both of which tasks you with catching one.
To do that however, you’re going to need to know exactly how to get Scatterbug in Pokémon Go!
To see this content please enable targeting cookies.
Manage cookie settings
How to get Scatterbug in Pokémon Go
Make sure to pin your Postcards! | Image credit: Niantic/Eurogamer
If you’re trying to catch Scatterbug in Pokémon Go, the first thing you’ll need is a bunch of friends on your Friends List that regularly send Gifts to one another.
After receiving a Gift from one of your friends in-game, pin the accompanying Postcard before you open the Gift. To do this, look at the Postcard and press the pin icon, which is beside the icon for opening your Gift.
Once you pin a Postcard, progress will be added to the Vivillon sub-medal that’s associated with the region that the Postcard came from. For example, if you pin a Postcard that has been taken from a UK PokéStop, you will then gain progress on the Garden Vivillon pattern sub-medal.
It’s very important to remember that Postcards can only be pinned before opening a Gift. Failing to do so means you’ll miss out on some progress towards that Postcard’s associated Vivillon pattern.
You can also use the Vivillon Collector medal to track any patterns you’ve collected. | Image credit: Niantic/Eurogamer
After you’ve pinned a specific number of Postcards from a Vivillon patterns associated region, you’ll earn a Scatterbug encounter. Though, the number of pinned Postcards you need will increase every time you unlock a new Scatterbug encounter.
For example, let’s say this is your first time encountering the Garden Vivillon pattern. For this, you must pin three Postcards from one of its regions: the UK, Ireland, or New Zealand. To unlock your next Garden Vivillon pattern, you would need to collect nine Postcards from one of these regions.
Don’t forget that you can track your progress by selecting the Vivillon Collector medal from the avatar screen. Here, you can scroll down to find the individual sub-medal for each Vivillon pattern
Once you pin the required amount of Postcards for a medal, you’ll receive a notification informing you exactly which Vivillon pattern you have unlocked a medal for. Once you select ‘OK’, you’ll be able to start a Scatterbug encounter.
This is pretty useful ultimately, as it saves you from trying to find a Scatterbug using overworld encounters.
You must pin Postcards from different regions to unlock Scatterbug encounters. | Image credit: Niantic/Eurogamer
On top of that, you can view the pattern that your Scatterbug is associated with by looking just above its evolution button. This will help inform your decision when choosing which Scatterbugs to ultimately evolve.
Good luck catching Scatterbug in Pokémon Go!