Rufflet is a small avian Pokémon with a blue body. A large white plume of feathers covers its head and three tail feathers extend from its lower back. The feathery ruff extends down past its neck, covering the upper third of its body. Its face is blue with five pointed tips, resembling a mask and crown in contrast to the white feathers surrounding it. Extending from its forehead is a large feather, which is red on the lower half and white on the upper half. The split between the two colors on the feather resembles a zigzag pattern. Rufflet's beak is short and wide, with large eyes on either side. Each eye has a thick black iris with a small white pupil. Its yellow legs and feet are large in comparison to the body. Each foot has four digits: one backwards, and three forwards.
The thick, black talons on its feet are strong enough to break even the hardest of berries, and crack Shellder to consume their insides. Rufflet also preys on Spewpa. Rufflet is extremely aggressive from birth and knowingly provokes opponents larger and more powerful than itself, including its own parent to gain acceptance. It sees this as a means of quickly getting stronger. The more times Rufflet faints or gets injured, the stronger it becomes. Rufflet will start crying whenever it loses a battle. As a result of the harsh environment of Hisui, Rufflet gains an additional Psychic-type when it evolves into Hisuian Braviary. Rufflet is a male-only species.
Rufflet made his main series debut in Unrest at the Nursery!, where he was a Pokémon residing in the daycare belonging to Layla. He usually got into a fight with Vullaby, a fellow resident. During a crisis with a trio of Amoonguss, he managed to save Vullaby from them after she was hit by the Amoonguss' Sludge Bomb, thus ending their feud.
Rufflet, the Eaglet Pokémon. Rufflet's talons are powerful, able to crack open even the toughest Berries. It often challenges stronger opponents to battle.
As a child, Black caught Brav, his first caught Pokémon, when Brav was a Rufflet. Bianca agitated the Eaglet Pokémon by accidentally stepping on his food, and he attacked her. Black battles him with the help of Musha, who was then a wild Munna, until Black managed to catch him. He first appeared as a Rufflet in a flashback in A Nickname for Tepig.
Rufflet may be considered a counterpart of Vullaby. Rufflet and Vullaby can evolve starting at level 54 and are both part Flying. Rufflet are exclusive to White, White 2, Sun, Ultra Sun, and Sword; while Vullaby are exclusive to Black, Black 2, Moon, Ultra Moon, and Shield. Whereas Rufflet can only be male, Vullaby can only be female.
Rufflet and its Unovan evolution were designed by Takao Unno.[1]
Rufflet is the only unevolved Pokémon that can learn Sky Drop.
Origin
Because the setting of Pokémon Black and White, Unova, is based on the New York metropolitan area, the game designers considered how they could incorporate this setting — and more broadly, of America — into their designs. Rufflet is based on the chick (also known as the eaglet) of the bald eagle, the national bird of the United States. Its color scheme is inspired by the red, white, and blue of the flag of the United States. The single plume on its head derives from Native American culture.[1]
Rufflet's ability to use its talons to crack open nuts and feed itself in the anime is similar to that of parrots, who are the only bird species known to do so.
Name origin
Rufflet may be a combination of rough, ruff (either referring to the clothing item or the bird named after it), or ruffle, and eaglet (a young eagle).
Washibon may be a combination of 鷲 washi (eagle) and 坊bon (boy, as a prefix or a nickname), ibon (Filipino for bird), or haribon (Philippine Eagle).