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Malamar has attracted a lot of attention after the intense Mega reveal trailer for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, with many players eager to see its Mega evolution in action. However, Malamar, specifically Inkay, cannot be caught until you’ve made significant progress in the game.
In addition to waiting to find your first Inkay, it’s important to note that this Pokémon has a unique evolution method that carries over into Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
### Where to Find Inkay
Inkay won’t be available in the game’s initial Wild Zones. To find one, you’ll need to reach Rank E and unlock Wild Zones 11 through 13. Once those zones are accessible, head to Wild Zone 11. This zone is about half water, and you’ll find Inkay swimming around. Inkay appears both during the day and at night, so you should be able to find one no matter when you search.
Since this Wild Zone unlocks after you’ve advanced enough in the story, most Inkay you’ll encounter there will be level 30 or higher. These Pokémon are friendly and won’t run away easily, making it straightforward to fight one, stun it, and catch it.
### How to Evolve Inkay into Malamar
As with previous games, you need to level Inkay up to a certain point and perform a specific action to evolve it into Malamar. Specifically, Inkay must be at least level 30. Fortunately, the Inkay you find in Wild Zone 11 meets this requirement, so you won’t need to do anything special like using EXP candies or battling to level it up — just catch it and evolve.
Here are the steps to evolve Inkay into Malamar:
1. Make sure Inkay is at least level 30.
2. Bring Inkay into your current team.
3. Keep your Nintendo Switch in handheld mode.
4. Turn your Switch upside down.
5. Select Inkay and choose the evolve option.
If you’re using a controller, you’ll need to turn it off when you put your Switch into handheld mode and then reattach the Joy-Cons on the top before flipping the console. Turning the Switch upside down during this process triggers the evolution, even if you don’t see the usual indicator. The evolution option will still be available in the menu.
### Getting Malamarite for Mega Evolution
To Mega Evolve Malamar, you’ll need the Malamarite Mega Stone. You can purchase Mega Stones from Quasartico Inc. and the Stone Emporium. To get Malamarite, head to Quasartico Inc. and exchange 240 Mega Shards. However, Malamarite is not available when you first gain access to Quasartico Inc. or when you find Inkay. It only unlocks after completing Main Mission 37, which marks the end of Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
Since Malamarite becomes available only after finishing the main story, you won’t be able to use it in the early stages of the game. Still, once unlocked, you can use the Mega Stone in online Ranked Battles and the Mega Dimension DLC.
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