Physical
Wallbreaker
540High
81Moderate
BTier

Ground moves don't affect Gyarados at all — that's the advantage of Water/Flying typing. Intimidate lowers the opponent's Attack on switch-in. An original Gen 1 pick. It needs some investment to avoid getting outsped.

Attack and Sp. Def carry most of Gyarados's stat budget. Sp. Atk's the obvious dump stat. Tough to catch and yields 2 Attack EVs. Follows a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats
540High
HP95
B
Attack125
A
Defense79
C
Sp. Atk60
C
Sp. Def100
B
Speed81
C
Total540
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Gyarados yields +2 Atk
HPAtk+2DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch45Challenging•Slow1.25M XP•6.5m / 21'04"•235kg / 518.1 lbs•189Base XP
Pokedex Entries

I suspect this Pokémon to be the true identity of a dragon written of in ancient texts, which claimed that it razed an entire village with white-hot beams from its maw.

Legends Arceus

Gyarados Weakness

Excellent

Type-wise, Gyarados takes extra damage from Electric and Rock. Watch out for Electric attacks, those deal 4x damage. Ground moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. With 95 HP and balanced defenses, Gyarados can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.

4xCriticali
Electric
2xWeaki
Rock
½xResisti
FireWaterFightingBugSteel
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
Ground
STAB (6)i
FireGroundRockGrassFightingBug
2Weak
5Resist
1Immune
Scorei+2
Stealth Rock25% on switch
4x Electric — Thunderbolt, Volt Switch, Thunder
Abilities
IntimidateLowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.
MoxieHARaises Attack one stage upon KOing a Pokémon.

Evolved from Magikarp. Gyarados is the final form in this two-stage line. A small partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs are hatches fast. Attack grew the most through evolution (+115 over Magikarp), and Gyarados peaks at 540 total stats.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Magikarp
#129Magikarp
20
Level 20
Gyarados
#130Gyarados
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Magikarp
Water
Gyarados
WaterFlying
HP
20
95+75
ATK
10
125+115
DEF
55
79+24
SP.ATK
15
60+45
SP.DEF
20
100+80
SPE
80
81+1
BST
200D-Tier
540A-Tier+340
ROLE
Balanced
Wallbreaker
TYPE
Utility
Physical
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Gyarados to get Magikarp eggs easily using 8 partners from the Dragon and Water2 egg groups.

Egg Groups
DragonWater2
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
5 cycles·1,285 steps
Fast~1 min with Flame Body
Breed With (best first)
gyaradosoctillerymagikarpremoraidgarchompgabitegibleoverqwilwhiscashlumineonqwilfishfinneon
Showing all 12

Find one free turn for Dragon Dance and Gyarados can run through teams. Adamant nature leans physical, Moxie supports the sweep, and double STAB stops anything from walling it cleanly.

Best Build

Legends: Arceus uses different battle mechanics.

Competitive build content is not applicable for this game. Select a main series game for builds.

A solid spread overall. Gyarados gets Hurricane and Hydro Pump for same-type damage alongside coverage across 10 types. It won't blow anyone away, but it doesn't leave you stuck either.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Splash
——40Normal
Lv 1
Water Pulse
6010020Water
Lv 5
Twister
4010020Dragon
Lv 9
Bite
6010025Dark
Lv 15
Focus Energy
——30Normal
Lv 21
Crunch
8010015Dark
Lv 29
Aqua Tail
909010Water
Lv 37
Hurricane
1107010Flying
Lv 47
Hydro Pump
110805Water
Lv 57
Hyper Beam
150905Normal

TM Moves

Gyarados can't learn any TM moves

Egg Moves

Gyarados doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Src
Tutor
Aqua Tail
909010Water
Tutor
Bulldoze
6010020Ground
Tutor
Dark Pulse
8010015Dark
Tutor
Flamethrower
9010015Fire
Tutor
Focus Energy
——30Normal
Tutor
Giga Impact
150905Normal
Tutor
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
Tutor
Ice Beam
9010010Ice
Tutor
Ice Fang
659515Ice
Tutor
Icy Wind
559515Ice
Tutor
Iron Head
8010015Steel
Tutor
Iron Tail
1007515Steel
Tutor
Outrage
12010010Dragon
Tutor
Rest
——10Psychic
Tutor
Rock Smash
4010015Fighting
Tutor
Stone Edge
100805Rock
Tutor
Thunderbolt
9010015Electric
Tutor
Water Pulse
6010020Water

4 encounter spots for Gyarados at decent spawn rates starting from mid-game routes. Best and Earliest sort options below help narrow down your approach based on odds vs. Accessibility.

Where To Catch Gyarados in Legends: Arceus

To get Gyarados, start by catching Magikarp through walking encounters at walking. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.

  1. Magikarp
    Step 1Catch Magikarp
    Fabled Spring
    GrassUncommon
    EASY
    Lake Verity
    GrassUncommonWater
    EASY
    Obsidian Falls
    GrassUncommonWater
    EASY
  2. Gyarados
    Step 2Gyarados ✓
    Lake Verity
    GrassUncommonWater
    EASY
    Obsidian Falls
    GrassUncommonWater
    EASY
    Primeval Grotto
    GrassUncommonCave
    EASY
    Sand's Reach
    GrassUncommonDesert
    EASY
    or evolve from Magikarp (Step 1)

  • Intimidate changes the entire equation for Gyarados. The 540 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked B-Tier as a wallbreaker.

  • Gyarados's biggest threats include Jolteon (Electric) and Golem (Rock), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Jolteon is the most dangerous since Electric moves deal 4x damage. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

  • Magikarp evolves into Gyarados at level 20. Gyarados is the fully evolved form. At 540 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • Intimidate is what you want on Gyarados. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Moxie) work on paper but Intimidate is what makes Gyarados worth using. Intimidate synergizes with Gyarados's base 100 Sp.Def, letting it soak special attacks as a pivot.

  • Base 81 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Gyarados is a physical attacker with base 125 Attack. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a wallbreaker.

  • Gyarados appears in 22 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Since debuting in Red & Blue, Gyarados has appeared in 22 titles over 9 generations. Along the way, it received a Mega form in Generation 7, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.