Inkay is a deceptively abstract Pokémon, though I don’t mean in terms of its appearance or mannerisms. By all accounts, it’s just a cute little squid thing that uses psychic powers to flip stuff over. I’m talking about its method of evolution; back in the Gen VI days, when you wanted to evolve Inkay into Malamar, you had to physically flip your 3DS over when it leveled up. Can they make such a weird gimmick work in Pokémon GO? Why yes, yes they can. Here’s how to catch Inkay in Pokémon GO.
With the beginning of the Psychic Spectacular event in Pokémon GO, which started on September 8th and ends on September 13th, Inkay and Malamar have officially been added to the Pokémon GO PokéDex. They’ll still be around even after the event is over, but right now’s definitely the best time to catch one.
How to Catch Inkay in Pokémon GO
The easiest way to catch an Inkay while the Psychic Spectacular event is running is to simply take a picture with the game’s AR camera. Take a picture of any wild Pokémon using the AR camera, and Inkay will photobomb it, appearing in the wild next to you shortly after. This will only work once, though, so if you want another Inkay, you’ll have to either go hunting for one in the wild, preferably near a PokéStop with a Lure Module running, or defeat one in a One-Star Raid. It’s not an especially strong Pokémon; any decent Bug or Fairy type will make short work of it.
But I know what you want to know: how do you evolve Inkay into Malamar? Well, remember how I asked if they could make the old gimmick work? They totally did. All you have to do is hold your smartphone upside-down and tap the Evolve button (with the requisite 50 Inkay Candy, of course). It’s still as strange of an evolution method as it was eight years ago.
