“ | Once it begins to rampage, a Gyarados will burn everything down, even in a harsh storm. |
” |
— Pokédex entry, Pokémon Platinum.
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Gyarados | |||
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Naming | |||
Others | Magikarp (juvenile stage) Fish Pokémon (Magikarp) Atrocious Pokémon (Gyarados) | ||
Binomen | N/A | ||
Original | コイキング and ギャラドス | ||
Romanization | Koikingu and Gyaradosu | ||
Morphology | |||
Body type | Ichtyoid (Magikarp) Serpentine (Gyarados) | ||
Average height | 90 cm (Magikarp) 6.5 meters (Gyarados) | ||
Average weight | 10 kg (Magikarp) 235 kg (Gyarados) 305 kg (Mega Gyarados) | ||
Intelligence | |||
Sentience | Sentient | ||
Sapience | Non-sapient | ||
Ecology | |||
Place of origin | Kanto region, Pokémon World | ||
Habitat | Aquatic | ||
Locomotion | Swimming | ||
Status | LC | ||
Behind the Scenes | |||
Universe | Pokémon | ||
Designed by | Ken Sugimori (Gyarados) |
Gyarados is a large, serpentine Pokémon species, classified as a Water/Flying-type. It has a juvenile stage known as Magikarp, which is a pure Water-type. Exposure to Gyaradosite causes it to temporarily assume the more powerful form known as Mega Gyarados, which becomes a Water/Dark-type.
Known for its fierceness, Gyarados can be found inhabiting both the oceans and freshwater bodies. Its formidable power has led it to become known as the "Atrocious Pokémon".
Biology[]
Magikarp[]
Members of this species start life as Magikarp, a medium-sized fish-like creature infamous for its worthlessness in battle. This pure Water-type is so weak that it can't swim against even slow-moving currents and is thus dragged away by them. They are, however, known for their leaping abilities, as they can jump up to 7 ft (~ 2.1 meters) in the air. While they jump, they're vulnerable to being preyed by aerial predators, such as Pidgeotto.
It is said that an old-enough Magikarp can leap over an entire mountain using Splash (although in terms of battling ability, the move remains useless). They're also physiologically efficient, very fertile and extremely resistant to pollution, which has allowed this species to colonize even the most contaminated environments.
Magikarp is usually red in coloration. However, the rare shiny variant is gold. When it evolves to Gyarados, this shiny form becomes red rather than blue. There are at least 31 unique pattern and coloration varieties of Magikarp. It is believed that in the distant past, Magikarp's ancestral form was much stronger.
Giant Magikarp are known to exist, as one was featured in the anime episode "The Joy of Pokémon".
Gyarados[]
Gyarados, unlike its previous stage, is an extremely powerful and widely respected Pokémon which is rarely seen in the wild. Its serpentine body is over six meters long and resembles an oriental dragon or sea serpent. It seems to use vertical undulation for swimming, which is unusual for a fish. Like Magikarp, it can still survive in both the sea and freshwater.
Gyarados is infamous for its fierce temperament and requires great effort to be properly tamed. Its fangs are strong enough to crush stones and its scales are harder than steel. It naturally learns highly destructive moves such as Hyper Beam, which burns down everything on its path and is capable of destroying entire cities when sufficiently angered.