Is Malamar Good in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Playthrough?
Dark/Psychic from the upside-down Inkay evolution. AbilityContrary reverses stat drops into boosts and boosts into drops. MoveSuperpower raises Attack and Defense instead of lowering them. Handles Phoebe and Tate and Liza. A gimmick that actually works.
Inkay trades roughly evenly with Roxanne's team.
Inkay trades roughly evenly with Brawly's team.
Inkay trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Inkay trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Norman's typing presses Inkay's defenses.
Malamar trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Malamar trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Malamar resists most of Phoebe's coverage and hits back hard.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Malamar trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Malamar has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Malamar cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 30.
How to Get Malamar in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
No wild encounters for Malamar in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. Bring Inkay over from X & Y, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, or Sword & Shield, then level through the stages. Each step in the chain is laid out below.
How to Obtain Malamar in ORAS
Step 1Obtain InkayCARTRIDGE TRADEfrom X & YAvailableCatch in X & Y via Walking · Azure Bay, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon via Walking · Route 1. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Sword & ShieldNot TradeableAppears in Sword & Shield via Walking · Hammerlocke Hills · Overcast. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
Step 2Malamar ✓
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
 Ninjask Bug | B | |
 Anorith RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift | ||
 Volbeat Bug | C | |
 Masquerain Bug | C | |
Obtain MethodPetalburg City Surfing | ||
 Beautifly Bug | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Malamar View Beautifly builds →Silver Wind 4x110-130%KO | ||
Ninjask Bug | B | |
Anorith RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift | ||
Volbeat Bug | C | |
Masquerain Bug | C | |
Obtain MethodPetalburg City Surfing | ||
Beautifly Bug | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Malamar View Beautifly builds →Silver Wind 4x109-128%KO | ||
Ninjask Bug | B | |
Masquerain Bug | C | |
Obtain MethodPetalburg City Surfing Available Move Moves
Damage vs Malamar View Masquerain builds →Silver Wind 4x112-132%KO | ||
Anorith RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodRustboro City Gift | ||
Volbeat Bug | C | |
Beautifly Bug | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Malamar View Beautifly builds →Silver Wind 4x112-132%KO | ||
 Heracross BugFighting | B | |
 Pinsir Bug | C | |
 Crustle BugRock | C | |
Masquerain Bug | C | |
Obtain MethodPetalburg City Surfing | ||
Beautifly Bug | C | |
Heracross BugFighting | B | |
 Armaldo RockBug | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
Pinsir Bug | C | |
Crustle BugRock | C | |
Masquerain Bug | C | |
Obtain MethodPetalburg City Surfing | ||
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, 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.
ORAS Malamar Best Moveset
AbilityContrary turns MoveSuperpower drops into +1 Attack and +1 Defense boosts each use. Dark/Psychic fires dual TermStab. Fairy resists Dark. 92 Attack at 73 Speed fires behind the stacking boosts. The moveset earns C-tier through Contrary that grows stronger with every attack.
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. Pair those with Foul Play and Psychic for STAB and coverage across 7 types for reach, and the kit fills out nicely.
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 Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Guide
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, 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 Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, 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 Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, 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 Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, 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