King’s Rock sits in an awkward spot in Pokémon Legends: Z-A: you need it for a key trade evolution, but it only shows up once you’re well into the story and post-game. The good news is that once the right content is unlocked, you can get more than one.
All King’s Rock locations in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
| Method | When it unlocks | Where to go | How many you can get | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy from Racine Construction | Post‑game (after end credits) | Inside Racine Construction, garage NPC | Effectively unlimited | Costs about ₽4980 per King’s Rock |
| Side Mission 84 “Strike First to Make ’Em Flinch!” | Becomes available around Main Mission 26 | Battle yard south of the Quasartico Inc. building | 1 | Quest completion reward after a battle |
| Main Mission 39 “The Infinite Z-A Royale” | Late main story | Reward from Quasartico Inc. staff after beating Zach | 1 | Granted as part of the mission rewards |
| Infinite Z-A Royale | Post‑game | Infinite Z-A Royale reward pool | Random, repeatable | King’s Rock is one possible drop from the reward pool |
How to get King’s Rock before the post-game
If you want King’s Rock before the credits roll, your reliable option is Side Mission 84, “Strike First to Make ’Em Flinch!”. This mission appears once you’ve pushed the story far enough, roughly around Main Mission 26.
Head to the fenced battle court just south of the Quasartico Inc. building in Lumiose City. Talk to the NPC there to start Side Mission 84. You’ll fight a team built around flinch moves, featuring Sharpedo, Arbok, and Gyarados. Win the battle and you receive one King’s Rock as the mission reward.
Later in the story, during Main Mission 39 “The Infinite Z-A Royale”, you rematch Zach. After that fight, staff from Quasartico Inc. reward you with another King’s Rock. That gives you up to two guaranteed copies during the main campaign, which is enough to evolve Slowpoke once and still keep a spare as a held item if you want the flinch effect in battle.
How to buy King’s Rock at Racine Construction (post-game)
Once you’ve finished the main story and watched the end credits, Racine Construction turns into the most convenient King’s Rock source. Inside the building, an NPC in the garage area sells battle-oriented held items, including King’s Rock, for roughly ₽4980 each.
At that point, you can effectively treat King’s Rock as an infinite item: as long as you have the money, you can keep buying more. This is the most practical way to gear multiple Pokémon with the flinch effect or to replace any King’s Rocks that were lost or traded away.
How Infinite Z-A Royale can reward King’s Rock
In the post-game, the Infinite Z-A Royale adds another path: King’s Rock appears in its random reward pool. Each clear has a chance to hand you one, alongside other items.
Because the rewards are random, this is less predictable than simply buying from Racine Construction, but it can supplement your stock while you’re already grinding Royale runs for other prizes.
How King’s Rock works in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
| Property | Details |
|---|---|
| Item type | Held item and evolution item |
| Primary effect | May cause the target to flinch when the holder lands an attack |
| Battle use | Gives any attack from the holder a chance to prevent the target’s action that turn |
| Buy price | 4980 Pokédollars (from Racine Construction) |
In battle, King’s Rock is straightforward: a Pokémon holding it gains an added flinch chance whenever it deals damage. That means the opponent can lose their move for the turn, which is especially strong on faster attackers or multi-hit moves.
Outside of battle, its main role is as an evolution item for Slowpoke. Right now, Slowpoke is the only Pokémon in Legends: Z-A that uses King’s Rock to evolve.
Which Pokémon evolve with King’s Rock
| Base Pokémon | Requirement | Evolution |
|---|---|---|
| Slowpoke | Hold King’s Rock and trade via Link Trade | Slowking |
To evolve Slowpoke into Slowking in Pokémon Legends: Z-A:
- Give Slowpoke a King’s Rock to hold.
- Use Link Trade to trade that Slowpoke to another player while it is still holding the item.
- The evolution into Slowking happens automatically as the trade completes.
Trading safely when using King’s Rock for evolutions
Because King’s Rock is tied to a trade evolution, there is always the risk of losing a valuable Pokémon or the item to an untrustworthy partner. A few simple checks help avoid problems:
- Before confirming a trade, open the other Pokémon’s summary (using the prompt shown during the trade) and verify it is still holding the expected item.
- For “touch trades” where you intend to trade back, use clear nicknames or descriptions so both sides know which Pokémon is meant to be returned.
- If you’re trading with strangers using community trade codes, assume there is some risk and avoid sending anything you aren’t prepared to lose.
Once you’ve reached the post-game and unlocked the Racine Construction shop, losing a King’s Rock is an annoyance rather than a disaster, since you can simply buy another one. Early on, when you may only have one or two copies from missions, it is worth being more careful.
With Side Mission 84, late-story rewards, Infinite Z-A Royale drops, and the Racine Construction shop, King’s Rock eventually becomes a manageable resource rather than a rare bottleneck. Get at least one as soon as Side Mission 84 opens, evolve a Slowpoke into Slowking, then lean on the post-game shop to outfit the rest of your team.
