Special
Wallbreaker
540High
81Moderate
BTier

Ground moves don't affect Gyarados at all — that's the advantage of Water/Flying typing. It needs some investment to avoid getting outsped. Built to hit on the physical side. An original Gen 1 pick.

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

Brutally vicious and enormously destructive. Known for totally destroying cities in ancient times.

Yellow

Gyarados Weakness

Good

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. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. With 95 HP and balanced defenses, Gyarados can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.

Gen I Type Chart
  • Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
  • Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
  • Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
4xCriticali
Electric
2xWeaki
Rock
½xResisti
FireWaterFightingBug
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
Ground
STAB (6)i
FireGroundRockGrassFightingBug
2Weak
4Resist
1Immune
Scorei+1
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.

Magikarp's chain leads to Gyarados (at level 20). A Water/Flying type at 540 stats, sitting in the Undiscovered group. 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 not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Nothing fancy here. Gyarados builds around an item for extra utility, a nature nature for the right stat lean, and flexible EVs EVs. An ability does its job quietly.

Best Build

Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 1
Item
Not in Gen 1
Nature
Not in Gen 1

Best Gyarados Moveset

  • Hyper Beam
  • Hydro PumpSTAB
  • BlizzardCoverage
  • Body Slam

Recommended Teammates

Alakazam
AlakazamDecent
Rhydon
RhydonDecent
Tauros
TaurosDecent

TMs carry this one. Gyarados learns Hydro Pump and Surf naturally for STAB, but the offensive range comes almost entirely from technical machines. Normal and Dark and beyond give it real matchup play.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Tackle
3510035Normal
Lv 20
Bite
6010025Normal
Lv 25
Dragon Rage
—10010Dragon
Lv 32
Leer
—10030Normal
Lv 41
Hydro Pump
120805Water
Lv 52
Hyper Beam
150905Normal

TM Moves

Src
TM34
Bide+1
——10Normal
TM14
Blizzard
110905Ice
TM08
Body Slam
8510015Normal
TM11
Bubble Beam
6510020Water
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM10
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
TM23
Dragon Rage
—10010Dragon
TM38
Fire Blast
120855Fire
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
9510010Ice
TM31
Mimic
——10Normal
TM20
Rage
2010020Normal
TM33
Reflect
——20Psychic
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM40
Skull Bash
10010010Normal
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM50
Substitute
——10Normal
HM03
Surf
9510015Water
TM09
Take Down
908520Normal
TM25
Thunder
1107010Electric
TM24
Thunderbolt
9510015Electric
TM06
Toxic
—9010Poison
TM12
Water Gun
4010025Water

Egg Moves

Gyarados doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Gyarados can't learn any Tutor moves

Reminder Moves

Src
Rem
Splash
——40Normal

decent spawn rates for Gyarados across 1 locations in early-game fishing spots. Nothing complicated. Check the sorted list below, compare the top few options, and head to whichever is closest.

Where To Catch Gyarados in Yellow

The path to Gyarados starts with Magikarp at Lv. 5-15 via fishing and gift encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.

  1. Magikarp
    Step 1Catch Magikarp
    Celadon City
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyCity
    EASY
    Cerulean Cave - 1F
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyCave
    EASY
    Cerulean Cave - B1F
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyCave
    EASY
    Fuchsia City
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyCity
    EASY
    Fuchsia City
    Super RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCity
    EASY
    Pallet Town
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyCity
    EASY
    Route 10
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 11
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 12
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 13
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 17
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 18
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 19
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 20
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 21
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 22
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 23
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 24
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 25
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 4
    Gift from NPCLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 6
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Safari Zone - Center
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - Center
    Super RodLv.5-10CommonEarlyFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - East
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - East
    Super RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - North
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - North
    Super RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - West
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyFacility
    EASY
    Safari Zone - West
    Super RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyFacility
    EASY
    Seafoam Islands - B4F
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyWater
    EASY
    Seafoam Islands - B3F
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyWater
    EASY
    Vermilion City - City
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyCity
    EASY
    Vermilion City - Harbor
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyCity
    EASY
    Viridian City
    Old RodLv.5CommonEarlyCity
    EASY
  2. Gyarados
    Step 2Gyarados ✓
    Fuchsia City
    Super RodLv.15UncommonEarlyCity
    MODERATE
    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.

  • Base 81 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Gyarados is a special attacker with base 60 Sp. Atk. 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.