How To Get Lagging Tails in Pokémon Platinum

Lagging Tail Locations
1	Route 226—Inside a Poké Ball on a terrace to the west of two Ace Trainers (requires Rock Climb and the National Pokédex)	No
2	Held item (5% chance) found on the following Pokémon: Slowpoke (Route 205) (requires Poké Radar) Lickitung (Route 215)	Yes

Lagging Tail Locations

Method

Repeatable?

Route 226—Inside a Poké Ball on a terrace to the west of two Ace Trainers (requires Rock Climb and the National Pokédex)

Held item (5% chance) found on the following Pokémon:

Slowpoke (Route 205) (requires Poké Radar)
Lickitung (Route 215)

Yes

The simplest way to get a Lagging Tail is to grab the one in the mountains of Route 226. Although this is only available in the post-game of Platinum.

You can technically find Lagging Tails much earlier on wild Lickitung on Route 215. But this can be a massive time sink due to how rare it is to find a wild Lickitung, plus how rare it is to find a Lickitung holding a Lagging Tail (and you probably won’t have any use for a Lagging Tail until late in the game anyway).

Acquiring Lagging Tails

Method 1: Route 226 (Step-by-Step)

The main overworld Lagging Tail’s primary location is in the mountains of Route 226. The item can be seen on one of the terraces as a Poké Ball item.

But a Pokémon will need to be able to use Rock Climb in order to reach it. You will also need to receive the National Pokédex upgrade from Professor Oak before you can even set foot on Route 226.

When you’re ready to search for this Lagging Tail, head to the Survival Area in the Battle Zone and head east from the Pokémon Center.

Heading eastward from the Survival Area’s Pokémon Center.

Move southeast to get in front of the mountains.

Moving to the south of the mountains.

Use Rock Climb on the first rocky wall you encounter.

Using Rock Climb to scale the mountain.

Pass the jogging Ace Trainer and climb down the rocky wall to your immediate right.

Passing the Ace Trainer and climbing down the rocky wall.

Move eastward and climb the rock wall that leads higher up the mountains.

Climbing the next rocky wall.

When you reach the top, approach the Poké Ball item on the narrow ledge to your left.

Making a left for the Poké Ball.

Pick this up to obtain the one Lagging Tail in the overworld.

Obtaining the Lagging Tail on Route 226.

Method 2: Wild Slowpoke and Lickitung (Repeatable)

You can also find Lagging Tails on wild Slowpoke and wild Lickitung.

Of these two Pokémon, Lickitung are found much earlier in the game.

You can find wild Lickitung on Route 215, which is northeast of Solaceon Town, at any time of day.

Lickitung’s sole habitat according to the Pokédex.

Lickitung’s 10% spawn rate makes it a relatively rare Pokémon to find already. And since each wild Lickitung has a mere 5% chance of carrying a Lagging Tail, this method can take a while.

Hunting for wild Lickitung on Route 215.

But you can speed up the process by creating a held item farming team.

These special teams use Pokémon with the Abilities Frisk and Compoundeyes to increase the odds of finding items, and to identify any items being held.

Finding a wild Lickitung on Route 215.

If you’re using an item-farming team, the Compoundeyes Ability will raise the odds of a Lickitung having a Lagging Tail from 5% to 20%.

Frisk will also alert you to any items the foe is holding, saving you from wasting time on guesswork.

Identifying the wild Lickitung’s held item using the Frisk Ability.

After discovering a Lickitung with a Lagging Tail, either use a stealing move (like Thief or Trick) or catch the Lickitung to obtain the item.

Stealing the Lagging Tail using Trick.

Then end the battle however you prefer—you will keep the Lagging Tail even if you flee.

Lagging Tail Details and Uses

The in-game description of the Lagging Tail.

The Lagging Tail is a held item that delays the holder’s turn.

Unlike the Iron Ball—which halves the holder’s Speed stat—the Lagging Tail causes the holder to move last in its priority bracket.

If more than one Pokémon is holding a Lagging Tail or a Full Incense, the one with the lower Speed stat moves last.

Although it might seem counterintuitive at first, the Lagging Tail has its uses.

For example:

Certain moves like Payback do more damage if the user moves after the target.

One effective maneuver is to have the holder of a Lagging Tail use Trick or Switcheroo to swap items with the target, bogging the opponent down with the Lagging Tail in return for a (presumably) more useful item.

Another interesting (albeit risky) strategy is to give a Lagging Tail to a Pokémon with the Sturdy Ability—which leaves the user with 1 HP after being hit with what normally would be a one-hit KO. Then you can have it strike back with Flail. At 1 HP in this scenario, Flail will hit the opponent with an astronomical base power of 200.

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Chris Haygood

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Chris is an American freelance writer and lifelong gamer. RPGs have been his genre of choice ever since he got Pokémon Blue in 1867, but if he finds a good rhythm game, he will prioritize playing it over both eating and breathing.

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