How to evolve Bisharp into Kingambit in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet coop multiplayer online

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Kingambit Pokemon is gained by evolving a Bisharp by giving it a Leader's Crest and having it fight other Bisharps. It's a big process - you'll have to get the Leader's Crest by fighting Bisharps in the first place, specifically looking for those that are leading little packs of Pawniards along the way.

Obtaining the Leader's Crest Held Item isn't easy, and to find one you'll have to catch very specific Pokemon in the wider world. We'll explain in more detail how to evolve Bisharp into Kingambit in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet below, as well as the easiest way to achieve it.

How to get Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Kingambit and evolve Bisharp

Pokemon Scarlet Violet Kingambit bisharp evolution — (Image credit: Nintendo)

To get a Kingambit in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and evolve their Bisharp, players need to do the following:

Head to the North Province (Area 2) Pokemon Center in the Northeast of Paldea
Look for a Bisharp surrounded by a group of 3-5 Pawniard (not one walking about on its own)
Battle the Bisharp and catch it, making sure not to let it faint first
The Bisharp you caught should have a Held Item called a Leader's Crest
Equip the Leader's Crest on whatever Bisharp you wish to evolve
This is the tricky bit - keep searching the Bamboo forests for more Bisharp leading small groups of Pawniard (again, a Bisharp on their own won't help you)
When you see a leader Bisharp, have your Bisharp with the Leader Crest battle and defeat it (and don't catch it)
Defeat 3 "Leader Bisharp" while having the Leader Crest equipped in this way.
Level up your victorious Bisharp in any manner
If done correctly, it should evolve into a Kingambit!

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Sinistea Chips and Malicious Armo

Pokemon Violet sinistea chips malicious armor ceruledge — (Image credit: Nintendo)

For more secret evolutions, get a Ceruledge with the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Sinistea Chips and Malicious Armor here!

It's clearly a complex process, but arguably worth doing - Kingambit is a very powerful Dark/Steel type with good physical stats to boot (though it'll be incredibly weak to Fighting attacks, so be careful!). Once you have it evolved, you can also safely stow the Leader's Crest - it doesn't serve any function other than to trigger evolution, and once that's done, you might as well equip it with an item that'll actually help it in battle going forward.

Alternatively, you might always get lucky and find a Kingambit as a boss in a Raid encounter, which'll give you some wildcard options next time you're considering Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Tera types and Terastallizing.

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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.