Is Malamar Good in X & Y Playthrough?
Dark/Psychic at level 30 with AbilityContrary. Evolves by holding the system upside down. AbilityContrary reverses stat changes, so Superpower raises Attack and Defense instead of lowering them. Handles Olympia through Dark and Korrina through Psychic. A clever design that plays as uniquely as it evolves.
Inkay has the type edge here and should clean up Viola's team.
Inkay trades roughly evenly with Grant's team.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Korrina's team.
Malamar resists most of Ramos's coverage and hits back hard.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Clemont's team.
Malamar trades roughly evenly with Valerie's team.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Olympia's team.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Wulfric's team.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Malva's team.
Malamar trades roughly evenly with Wikstrom's team.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Drasna's team.
Malamar trades roughly evenly with Siebold's team.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Diantha's team.
Catch Inkay on Route 8 (walking, Lv 14-15, uncommon).
Your Inkay should hit Level 30 before you reach Korrina, at typical leveling pace.
How to Get Malamar in X & Y
Can't catch Malamar directly. Start with Inkay at decent rates from the locations below, then evolve at level 30. The 2-stage line from Inkay to Malamar is where the leveling time goes.
How to Obtain Malamar in XY
To get Malamar, start by catching Inkay through walking encounters at Lv. 14-27. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
Step 1Catch InkayRoute 8Lv.14-15GrassRate 15%Yellow FlowerRoute 8Lv.14-15GrassRate 15%Azure BayLv.26-27GrassRate 15%
Step 2Malamar ✓BREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Malamar egg.
Malamar Weakness
Malamar's Dark/Psychic typing leaves it vulnerable to Bug and Fairy. Bug hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. It shrugs off Psychic-type attacks completely. With 86 HP and balanced defenses, Malamar can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Bug |
| 2x (Weak) | Fairy |
| 0x (Immune) | Psychic |
What is Malamar Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Malamar
 Flabébé Fairy | D | |
 Scatterbug Bug | C | |
 Ledyba Bug | C | |
 Combee Bug | D | |
 Burmy Bug | D | |
 Ninjask Bug | B | |
 Mothim Bug | C | |
 Vivillon Bug | C | |
 Butterfree Bug | C | |
 Illumise Bug | C | |
 Scolipede BugPoison | B | |
 Yanmega Bug | B | |
Ninjask Bug | B | |
 Gardevoir PsychicFairy | B | |
Butterfree Bug | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Malamar View Butterfree builds →Silver Wind 4x101-119%KO | ||
In X & Y, Clefable's Moonblast hits Malamar for 80-94%. Scizor threatens a KO with U-turn (208-245%).
 Clefable Fairy | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityMagic Guard ItemLeftovers NatureBold Moves
Damage vs Malamar View Clefable builds →Moonblast 2x80-94% | ||
 Scizor BugSteel | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityTechnician ItemChoice Band NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Malamar View Scizor builds →Bullet Punch30-35% U Turn 4x208-245%KO Superpower59-70% Knock Off32-38% | ||
Malamar Evolutions
Malamar is the evolved form of Inkay. Breeding produces Inkay eggs, and they're average hatch time. Evolving from Inkay gave Malamar the biggest boost in Attack (+38), bringing the total to 482 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Malamar to get Inkay eggs easily using 87 partners from the Water1 and Water2 egg groups. Notable egg moves include Camouflage, Destiny Bond, Flatter and 2 more.
XY Malamar Best Moveset
AbilityContrary turns MoveSuperpower drops into +1 Attack and +1 Defense boosts each use. Dark/Psychic fires dual TermStab. Fairy resists Dark, limiting one TermStab type. 92 Attack at 73 Speed fires behind the stacking boosts. The moveset grows stronger each turn through reversed drops.
Best Build
Malamar best EVs are Attack and Defense
Physical Tank Moveset
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Psycho Cut
- Rest
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The natural movepool does the job, but Camouflage and Destiny Bond from the egg pool give Malamar something extra.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It wields the most compelling hypnotic powers of any Pokémon, and it forces others to do whatever it wants.
It lures its prey close with hypnotic motions, then wraps its tentacles around it before finishing it off with digestive fluids.
Malamar X & Y Guide
In X & Y, Don't let Malamar's 482 base stat total fool you. Contrary is what makes it tick. It punches way above its weight class. We rate it C-Tier. Superpower with Leftovers is the standard set.
In X & Y, Run Contrary on Malamar. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Malamar also gets Suction Cups and Infiltrator, but they don't compare.
In X & Y, Malamar fills the balanced role. It's a physical attacker with base 92 Attack. Base 73 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.
In X & Y, run Superpower, Knock Off, Psychocut, and Rest on Malamar. Superpower is the most common pick at 0% usage. This set covers the balanced role with a mix of damage and utility.
Game Availability
Introduced in X & Y, Malamar has appeared in 7 games across 5 generations. Later debuts mean fewer total appearances, but it's been a consistent presence since its introduction.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XYDebut
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves