Where To Get King’s Rocks in Pokémon HGSS

There are 4 ways to get King’s Rocks, with most of them being repeatable methods. Listed below are all of your options, in order from earliest to latest that you can access:

Use a Pokémon between level 11 and 30 with the Pickup ability (repeatable)
Buy for 3,000 points from the Pokéathlon Dome on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays (repeatable)
Steal from wild Poliwhirl or Slowbro, who will be holding a King’s Rock 5% of the time (repeatable)
Receive one from a scientist two floors below ground in Slowpoke Well on Route 33 (once only)

You’ll need at least two King’s Rocks to fill your Pokédex, as both Slowking and Politoed require one for their evolution process. You get these evolutions by trading Slowbro and Poliwhirl, respectively, while they’re holding a King’s Rock.

King’s Rocks have another handy use too, one that takes effect in battle:

Pokémon holding a King’s Rock gain a 10% chance of making their opponent flinch with each attack. You can use this with multi-strike moves like Double Slap and Bullet Seed for devastating effect.

Now let’s cover an in-depth breakdown of each method for acquiring King’s Rocks.

Method 1: A Level 11–30 Pokémon With The Pickup Ability

Pokémon with the ability Pickup have a 10% chance of gaining a held item after winning any battle – even if they did not take part in the fight.

Between the levels 11 and 30, one of the items you can get includes King’s Rocks.

However, the chance of picking up a King’s Rock is 1%. That’s the lowest of any of the Pickup-able items, so you may have to grind out a lot of battles before you get one.

A level 11 Phanpy with the ability Pickup who has found a King’s Rock

The following Pokémon get the ability Pickup.

Pokémon	Wild Location
Meowth	Routes 5, 6, 7, 8, 38, and 39 (SoulSilver only)
Aipom	Headbutting trees in Azalea Town, Mt. Silver, and Routes 28, 33, 42, 44, 45, and 46
Teddiursa	Route 45 and Mt. Silver (SoulSilver only)
Phanpy	Route 45 and Mt. Silver (HeartGold only)
Zigzagoon	Sprout Tower, Bell Tower, Burned Tower while playing the Hoenn Sound radio station, and the Plains Area of the Safari Zone after adding 15 Forest Blocks, and the Savannah Area of the Safari Zone after adding 10 Forest Blocks

It’s possible to have up to 6 Pokémon in your party all using Pickup to farm King’s Rocks at once (along with other items, like Rare Candies).

Considering the low level range needed for your Pickup Pokémon to find a King’s Rock, this can be a very viable strategy for mass farming.

Method 2: Buying King’s Rocks From The Pokéathlon Dome

Your next chance to get your hands on a King’s Rock comes after defeating Gym Leader Whitney in Goldenrod City and earning your third Gym Badge.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll unlock the Pokéathlon Dome at the top of Route 35. To reach it, leave Goldenrod City’s north gate and follow the route up until you reach the building pictured below.

The entrance to the Pokéathlon Dome at the top of Route 35

Once inside, take the left exit and follow the road up to the majestic Pokéathlon Dome itself.

Standing outside of the Pokéathlon Dome

Here, you can compete in events with your Pokémon to earn Pokéathlon points. 3,000 will be enough to net you a King’s Rock.

There aren’t any solid AP tricks for which games earn points the quickest. It’ll depend on your team, your skills, and your personal preferences.

Once you’ve amassed 3,000 Athlete Points, return to the Pokéathlon Dome on a Sunday, Monday, or Thursday. The Athlete Shop in the top-right corner of the interior sells King’s Rocks on these days.

The Athlete Shop inside the Pokéathlon Dome

Method 3: Stealing Held Items from Wild Poliwhirl or Slowbro

Wild Poliwhirl and Slowbro will be holding a King’s Rock 5% of the time. You can steal this by either catching them, or using the move Thief on them.

You can find the TM46 for Thief in Mahogany Town’s Team Rocket HQ.

The following table shows all the locations where Poliwhirl and Slowbro appear in the wild. Poliwhirl is the considerably more abundant between the pair.

Pokémon	Locations in the Wild
Poliwhirl	Surfing at: Routes 22, 28, 30, 31, 44 Mt. Silver Ecruteak City Violet City Viridian City (all times of the day) Or fishing with the Super Rod in Cerulean Cave (morning and day only)
Slowbro	Surfing two floors below ground in Slowpoke Well, or four floors below ground in the Seafoam Islands

Using Thief on a wild Poliwhirl to attempt to steal his held item

And here’s a few abilities worth trying if you want to improve your farming chances:

Pokémon with the ability Compoundeyes double the chances of a wild Pokémon holding an item, if they’re in the front slot of your party. That takes the odds of a King’s Rock up to 10%. Venonat, Yanma, and Butterfree all get this ability.

A Yanma with the ability Compoundeyes

Pokémon with the ability Frisk are similarly useful. They will automatically check their opposing Pokémon and alert you to the presence of a held item when they enter battle. This way you don’t have to waste time catching or using Thief on empty-handed Pokémon.

Stantler (found on Routes 36 and 37) is the only common Pokémon to get this ability in HG/SS.

A Stantler with the ability Frisk

Method 4: Talking To The Scientist Deep Within Slowpoke Well

The final method for getting a King’s Rock involves traveling deep into Slowpoke Well.

You’ll need to be able to use both Surf and Strength outside of battle to reach the item – so that means you’ll need at least four Gym Badges first.

Once you’ve collected them, the relevant HMs, and have your Surf and Strength-users in your party, make your way back to Azalea Town.

After you’ve arrived, take the east exit onto Route 33 toward Slowpoke Well.

The east exit of Azalea Town leading toward Slowpoke Well on Route 33

Climb down into Slowpoke Well.

Once you’re below the surface, enter the main cave through the entrance in the wall.

Then, head straight up north until you reach some steps. Climb them.

Now turn left and walk down the first set of steps only before turning left again, as shown in the picture below.

Turning left after climbing down the steps one floor below ground in Slowpoke Well

At this point, head toward the top-left corner of your screen and you’ll see a large boulder that you need Strength to move.

The Strength boulder one floor below ground in Slowpoke Well

Push the boulder out of the way and then head south until you reach some water.

The body of water one floor below ground in Slowpoke Well

Surf on the water and follow the short curve round to the right.

Disembark at the foot of the steep staircase. Climb it and go down the ladder.

You’ll emerge onto a small island surrounded by water. Surf on it.

The small island surrounded by water two floors below ground in Slowpoke Well

From the point where you enter the water, go a few spaces to the left, and then Surf straight up north.

Before long, you should come to another staircase coming out of the water, pictured below.

The correct exit point out of the water two floors below ground in Slowpoke Well

On this raised outcrop you’ll see a scientist.

Talk to him and he’ll explain that he’s all the way down here studying the behavior of Slowpoke and Slowbro – and more importantly, he’ll give you a King’s Rock.

The scientist NPC giving you a King’s Rock

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Louie Neale

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Full-time freelance copywriter and long-time Pokémon trainer, currently rediscovering my childhood love for the classic games by bringing you all the info you need.

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