Rare uncatchable Starter lands in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet as Mystery Gift prize

There’s a new Mystery Gift available in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and it’s a Starter you might not have chosen at the beginning of your Paldean adventure—Quaxly.

Until Nov. 30, you can claim a free Quaxly via Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Mystery Gift with the code D0T1STPARTNER. All you have to do is connect to the internet, access the Mystery Gift section in the Poké Portal, and enter that special code. The cute little duckling is based on Dot’s Quaxly, which was featured in the Pokémon Horizons anime, meaning it’ll come equipped with the special Partner Ribbon as a bonus.

This Mystery Gift is convenient for anyone who didn’t choose the Water-type Starter to accompany them on their Scarlet and Violet adventure, especially since there’s no way to catch the Paldean Starters. All other Starters from previous generations can be encountered and caught in The Indigo Disk DLC, but that sadly isn’t the case for Quaxly, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco. The only way to obtain them is to pick one as your Starter, trade for the other two, or wait for special distributions like this one.

I, for example, started with Sprigatito and received a Fuecoco from a random trade, but I’ve been missing Quaxly and its evolutions, Quaxwell and Quaquaval. The thing about the Quaxly line is that it’s arguably the weakest of the three Paldean Starters, with Meowscarada seeing usage in the early competitive meta and Skeledirge being a strong Tera Raid counter. For these reasons, many players could very well still be missing Quaxly from their collection like me. Thanks to this Mystery Gift, I can now finally say I have all the Paldean Starters. Sure, you might’ve picked Quaxly as your Starter or received one from a fellow player, but if not, this opportunity will bring you one step closer to completing your Pokédex.

Similarly, there’s also an ongoing Mystery Gift distribution for Liko’s Sprigatito from the anime with the Partner Ribbon in case you’re missing the Grass Starter cat. Based on this, we might even get a Fuecoco Mystery Gift to represent Roy’s tiny but mighty partner. That’s why it’s a great idea to keep an eye on any new Mystery Gift event that pops up. In the meantime, you can claim your free Quaxly and Sprigatito now before the event ends.