Inky, as shown in Zenless Zone Zero.
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How to adopt Inky in Zenless Zone Zero: Inky trust guide and best answers

It's time to give Inky a home.

Apart from diving into the hollows and unlocking the mysteries of New Eridu, Zenless Zone Zero allows players to grow closer to their agents by completing quests and trust events. But did you know that it’s also possible to get a pet by adopting Inky, one of Sixth Street’s street cats?

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So that you can get a new video store mascot and give the cutest cat in the game a home, here’s how to adopt Inky in ZZZ.

How to adopt Inky in ZZZ

You can adopt Inky in Zenless Zone Zero by maxing their trust rank before completing the Adoption Plan commission. Inky’s trust gauge can be unlocked by completing Spending Time with Inky, which only becomes available after clearing Soldier 11’s Agent Story and reaching Chapter 2: Interlude. If clearing both tasks failed to trigger the commission for you, try completing Anby’s Problem as well.

After triggering Spending Time with Inky, you can complete it by talking to Soldier 11 in the alley behind the Godfinger Arcade. All of Inky’s following Trust Rank commissions will also take place in this area.

How to raise Inky’s trust

The only way to raise Inky’s trust in ZZZ can be done by spotting them on Sixth Street and picking the right actions during their chance trust events. You can check out all of the places where Inky might spawn below, as well as an in-depth guide on which options to pick during each event and how to unlock the Adoption Plan commission by heading further down.

  • Atop a generator facing the Gadget Store.
  • In the alley located at the back of the Godfinger Arcade and the 141 Convenience Store.
  • Atop a wall in the street leading to the Godfinger Arcade.
  • Atop a motor tricycle parked by the Waterfall Soup Noodle Shop (After reaching Friendly).
  • At one of Coff Cafe’s tables (After reaching Friendly).
  • By a few boxes right of the Remodeling Shop (After reaching Friendly/only at night).
  • On the small passageway leading to the Arcade’s back alley (After reaching Friendly).
  • By Officer MewMew (After reaching Friendly).
  • At Random Play’s entrance (After reaching Close).

If Inky fails to spawn in any of the areas above during a period of the day, simply advance time and resume your search, as whether or not they will spawn is up to chance. To advance time fast, I recommend resting and taking either the Testing With Your Life Actually on the Line or the Gaze: Route Maintenance commissions.

Zenless Zone Zero Inky trust guide

Inky's trust gauge in ZZZ.
Image by Destructoid

During your first interactions with Inky, you can raise their trust level by always choosing to observe. As the cat will still be wary of you, choosing anything else will produce negative results. Continue doing that until you complete the game’s third chapter and reach Intermission Reverberations.

If Inky’s trust has been raised to an acceptable level at any time after you finish Chapter 3, you will unlock the Inky’s Request commission, which will unlock the choice to feed or pet the black cat during each encounter. To get the best results and steadily raise their trust to Friendly, only pet Inky if their meows are followed by “Perhaps it’s trying to ask for your help”. If the phrase starts with “Maybe”, select “Pull out a can of cat food.”

How to get cat food in ZZZ

You can get the cat food needed to feed Inky by completing the Warrior of the Abyss Needs Backup commission. Available after completing Inky’s Request, you can clear the commission by heading to the 141 Convenience Store and interacting with the NPCs in front of it before talking to Ask and purchasing a few cans of Seafish Canned Cat Food. Now, return to Inky to feed them. After clearing Warrior of the Abyss Needs Backup, you will be able to buy 10 cat food cans per week.

All Friendly and Close trust event answers

Once Inky’s trust reaches Friendly, they will begin to appear together with a few other cats in three locations; at Coff Cafe, by a lion statue on the alleyway leading to the arcade’s back alley, and atop the steps facing the Remodeling Shop. To boost their trust rank if found in any of the locations, always pick “Put out a can of cat food” and then “Feed the little black cat”.

After having a few more encounters while in the Friendly rank, you will unlock another event featuring Inky and Soldier 11, where she will for the first time look back while walking away. Upon its conclusion, Inky will begin to appear alone in front of Coff Cafe, atop the dumpster by Officer Mewmew, and atop the motor tricycle parked by the Noodle Shop. Be aware, as you won’t be able to spot the cat from a distance in any of the locations. Instead, if they are nearby, the events will play once you get close.

During the encounters, Inky’s meows will indicate which action you should choose. To be more specific, if they say ”Meow~ Purr~ Purr~”, pet them, if not, feed them. To reach the Close rank, continue to pick the right options in all trust event types until you trigger Eat Up, Inky.

All Inky hide-and-seek locations and how to reach Trusted

Inky invites the Proxy for a game of hide-and-seek in ZZZ.
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After meeting Soldier 11 and completing Eat Up, Inky, focus solely on filling around 70% of their trust gauge. Doing that will unlock a new chance encounter at the entrance of the video store at midnight, where you will be able to play a game of hide and seek with Inky for a huge trust boost. Although their hiding spots will be chosen at random, Inky will always hide in two of the following per game:

  • Atop a box on Howl’s Newsstand.
  • In the wall separating the Gadget Store and a building left of it.
  • On either the truck or within the construction tubes located left of the 141 Convenience Store.
  • Behind the Mr. Panda statue on Coff Cafe.
  • By a set of two tires in the alley where you meet Soldier 11 during all of Inky’s Trust Commissions.

Now, simply work on raising Inky’s trust to 95% and then wait until the next evening for Soldier 11 to send you the messages below and kickstart Inky’s “A Date with the Balck Cat” Rank Up commission. If you are on PS5, completing the commission will also reward you with the Purrfect Partner trophy.

How to unlock and complete Adoption Plan in Zenless Zone Zero

Now that you maxed out Inky’s trust, you can trigger the Adoption Plan commission in ZZZ by waiting until the following evening. Once the time comes, Soldier 11 will message you once again, this time asking to talk about Inky. To complete the adoption process, simply talk to her and pick Inky’s new name.

After adopting Inky in Zenless Zone Zero, you will be able to find them at the Random Play store and pet them if they are awake. A few days later, you will also find a picture of you and Inky at the store’s counter, celebrating their inclusion into your family. The picture can be added to your Memory Board.


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Author
Image of Franklin Bellone Borges
Franklin Bellone Borges
An avid RPG fan, and someone who cannot seem to stop spending money while playing his favorite gacha games, Franklin began writing about games in 2018 and has since then been living the dream of working with what he loves. He joined the Destructoid team in May 2024 as a Contributing Writer and can always be found either thinking about Final Fantasy VII or eagerly waiting for news on Kingdom Hearts IV.