Malicious isn’t a term used to describe developer choices often. And, while the steps needed to obtain Malicious Armor for evolving Charcadet in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are a bit annoying depending on how you like to play the games, it isn’t that bad if you know what you are doing.
Charcadet is one of the rare Pokémon designed by Game Freak to actually include a different evolution that is exclusive to a specific game version. This doesn’t mean you can’t obtain Armarouge or Ceruledge in the opposite games under the right circumstances, but it won’t occur naturally due to how things were coded.
The pre-evolution Charcadet itself is easy to stumble across if you explore the nooks and crannies of the areas surrounding Mesagoza post-tutorial slog—-it will even approach you if you get close. The real test comes with finding the Malicious Armor item needed to evolve it, which involves an item exchange fetch quest.
How to get Malicious Armor in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Ceruledge is arguably the more popular of Charcadet’s evolutions, meaning players will swarm to try and add it to their teams. However, Pokémon Scarlet players will have to find a friend with Violet to either trade them a Ceruledge or the item used for its evolution—Malicious Armor—since it is exclusive to the other game.
Recommended: How to evolve Charcadet into Ceruledge in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
The Malicious Armor, much like its Scarlet counterpart, is locked behind a side quest where you need to gather 10 Sinistea Chips in order to get it. Doing so requires you to find the areas where Sinistea spawns, use the Let’s Go battle mechanic, and farm up the materials.
Malicious Armor location in Pokémon Violet
Once you have 10 Sinistea Chips, you can travel to Zapapico and look for an NPC with yellow text above their head talking about a trade. This is where you can exchange the materials for a set of Malicious Armor that can be used to immediately evolve Charcadet into Ceruledge.
