Out of all the ways that you can evolve a Pokemon in Pokemon Sword and Shield, we have definitely identified some highlights when it comes to, well, some pretty strange requirements. Whether it’s twirling in a certain direction when you’re trying to get the Alcremie of your dreams or waiting for the right weather, there’s plenty of hoops to jump through when you’re a trainer in Galar to evolve Pokemon and this little squid thing is no exception. Here’s our Inkay evolution guide for Pokemon Sword and Shield so that you can get your aquatic-themed team together.

Inkay Evolution Guide for Pokemon Sword and Shield

So, you want to evolve an Inkay into a Malamar? You probably also want to make sure that you have an Inkay in your possession. It’s possibly the cutest squid… thing that we’ve ever seen across any generation of Pokemon. To find one, you can definitely just nab it from a Fishing Spot or from the following locations:

• Giant’s Mirror
• Hammerlocke Hills
• Route 7
• Route 9

That being said, we don’t need adorable baby Pokemon to stay cute forever; we do want them to get powerful. However, to actually evolve your Inkay, you’re going to need to do a little bit of physical work. It’s a miniscule amount, sure, but it’s not just about having some kind of magical item or trading this squiddy. No, you’re going to want to brace yourself for this.

The gist of our Inkay evolution guide is going to be as follows – when your Inkay is at least level 30 and levels up in battle, turn your Switch upside down while it’s in handheld mode (not docked) and bam. It’s Malamar time. We want to stress that it won’t work if your Switch is in the dock at all so for the love of God, please remove it before you invert your entire home console setup. As long as you flip your Switch during the leveling process i.e. once the battle is over and you know that your Inkay has dinged, it’s going to work. Like magic!

Now that you’ve got our Inkay evolution guide for Pokemon Sword and Shield to assist you in getting a Malamar, one of the more unique ways to evolve a Pokemon in this latest generation of the games should be pretty easy to check off your list. If you need a hand with anything else while you rock around Galar, why not check out some of these tips and tricks that we’ve put together for your convenience:

• Morpeko Pokemon Sword and Shield Location Guide
• How to Get Eviolite in Pokemon Sword and Shield 
• Pokemon Sword and Shield Weather Symbols Guide