How To Get Black Sludge in Pokémon ORAS

All Black Sludge Locations
1	Held item from Wild Pokémon (5% chance): Grimer – Fiery Path Trubbish – Route 110	Yes

All Black Sludge Locations

Method

Repeatable?

Held item from Wild Pokémon (5% chance):

Grimer – Fiery Path
Trubbish – Route 110

Yes

Black Sludge can only be obtained by using Thief to steal it from wild Grimer or Trubbish. Each of these Pokémon only has a 5% chance of holding a Black Sludge, but you can use your DexNav to improve your odds.

The Black Sludge is a held item that restores a small amount of HP at the end of each turn if held by a Poison-type Pokémon. If held by a non-Poison-type Pokémon, it instead inflicts damage at the end of each turn.

Stealing Black Sludge from Wild Grimer or Trubbish

Using TM46 Thief on a wild Grimer

Black Sludge can be obtained from either wild Trubbish or Grimer.

You can walk anywhere inside Fiery Path to find Grimer. But they are much more common in Pokémon Alpha Sapphire.

On the other hand, Trubbish are located on Route 110 by using the DexNav after obtaining the National Dex.

When you encounter either of these Pokémon, there’s a 5% chance they will be holding a Black Sludge. To take the item, use a Pokémon that knows Thief.

Or if you want more tips on how to optimally farm held items from wild Pokémon then check out our guide here.

Here’s the complete list of all wild Pokémon available in these areas:

Fiery Path – Wild Pokémon

Fiery Path

SCROLL

Pokemon (Tall Grass)	Chance		Levels
Grimer	30% (AS)	5% (OR)	14-16
Koffing	30% (OR)	5% (AS)	15
Numel	40%		13-16
Slugma	10%		15
Torkoal	10%		15
Machop	5%		15

Route 110 – DexNav (Post National Dex)

Standing on Route 110

Pokemon (DexNav)	Chance	Levels
Trubbish	-%	13
Shellos	-%	13
Chatot	-%	13

To increase the chances of finding a Black Sludge, you can use your DexNav’s Detector Mode.

Here’s how it works:

After catching a specific species of Pokémon, you can use the DexNav to track more of the same species in the wild.

Using the DexNav’s Detector Mode

The DexNav’s search level increases with each encounter with this Pokémon, regardless of whether you catch it or not. As this level rises, the likelihood of encountering Pokémon carrying items also increases.

What Does Black Sludge Do?

In-game details for Black Sludge

The Black Sludge is a held item that, if held by a Poison-type Pokémon, will restore 6.25% (1/16th) of the Pokémon’s maximum HP at the end of each turn. But if the Black Sludge is held by a non-Poison-type Pokémon, it will instead inflict damage at the end of each turn, equal to 12.5% (1/8th) of the Pokémon’s maximum HP.

Black Sludge is a popular held item used by bulky Poison-type Pokémon in competitive battles.

Similar to Leftovers, it provides gradual healing over time. However, Black Sludge is especially effective for Poison-types because if it gets stolen by a non-Poison-type opponent using Trick or Switcheroo, the opponent will suffer damage over time.

Tip: You can also use the interaction between Trick/Switcheroo and Black Sludge to your advantage. By using Trick/Switcheroo to swap items with your opponent, you can force them to switch out or continue enduring damage from Black Sludge. This also deprives them of their held item, disrupting your opponent’s strategy.

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StormSwampert

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Though he spends most of his time playing a wide variety of games, Pokémon has always been his favorite. When he’s not playing games or writing guides, you can find him watching anime and collecting trading cards.

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