
Is Gyarados Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
The payoff for dragging Magikarp through 19 levels of nothing. Gyarados hits hard, takes hits well, and stays relevant from mid-game through the Champion fight. One of the most satisfying evolutions in the game and one of the best team members you can get.
Brock's Pokemon outpace and outclass Magikarp here.
Misty's typing presses Magikarp's defenses.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Gyarados has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Gyarados resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Gyarados resists most of Giovanni's coverage and hits back hard.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Gyarados resists most of Bruno's coverage and hits back hard.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Gyarados has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Buy Magikarp
Magikarp can be purchased on Route 4 at Lv 5. Buy for 500. Sold by a salesman inside the Route 4 Pokemon Center for 500. Evolves into Gyarados at Level 20.
Recommended Moves
- LV 15NormalTacklePower 35Accuracy 95%PP 35
Evolve Magikarp to Gyarados
Magikarp evolves into Gyarados at Level 20. Your Magikarp should hit Level 20 before you reach Lt. Surge, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 20)
- LV 20WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- After Misty
- TM11WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Cerulean Gym Leader Misty
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
- LV 52NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
How to Get Gyarados in Red & Blue
Gyarados is the payoff for sticking with the worthless fish. A Magikarp evolves at level 20 into one of the strongest things in the game, and since Magikarp bites on any rod everywhere, the only cost is patience.
Catch Magikarp at any of these 26 spots to eventually evolve into Gyarados.
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
- 1Catch Magikarp
- 2Evolve Gyaradosat Lv.20
How to Obtain Gyarados in RB
The path to Gyarados starts with Magikarp at Lv. 5-15 via fishing and gift encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 1Catch MagikarpCeladon CityLv.5Old RodRate 100%Cerulean Cave - 1FLv.5Old RodRate 100%Cerulean Cave - B1FLv.5Old RodRate 100%Cerulean CityLv.5Old RodRate 100%Cerulean GymLv.5Old RodRate 100%Cinnabar IslandLv.5Old RodRate 100%Fuchsia CityLv.5Old RodRate 100%Pallet TownLv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 10Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 11Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 12Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 13Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 17Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 18Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 19Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 20Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 21Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 22Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 23Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 24Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 25Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Route 6Lv.5Old RodRate 100%Safari Zone - CenterLv.5Old RodRate 100%Safari Zone - EastLv.5Old RodRate 100%Safari Zone - NorthLv.5Old RodRate 100%Safari Zone - WestLv.5Old RodRate 100%Seafoam Islands - B3FLv.5Old RodRate 100%Seafoam Islands - B4FLv.5Old RodRate 100%Vermilion City - CityLv.5Old RodRate 100%Vermilion City - HarborLv.5Old RodRate 100%Viridian CityLv.5Old RodRate 100%Fuchsia CityLv.15Super RodRate 25%Route 12Lv.15Super RodRate 25%Route 13Lv.15Super RodRate 25%Route 17Lv.15Super RodRate 25%Route 18Lv.15Super RodRate 25%Route 4Lv.5Purchase from NPCLimitedBuy for 500
Step 2Gyarados ✓
Gyarados Weakness
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Electric |
| 2x (Weak) | Rock |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Fighting, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- 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
What is Gyarados Weak Against
GoodGyarados Evolutions
Magikarp's chain leads to Gyarados (at level 20). A Water/Flying type at 580 stats, sitting in the Undiscovered group. Attack grew the most through evolution (+115 over Magikarp), and Gyarados peaks at 580 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Gyarados Best Moveset
125 Attack is massive, but all Water moves use the Special stat (100) instead. MoveSurf can't tap that Attack power at all. MoveHyper Beam and MoveBody Slam use Attack and hit hard, so the move slots work around the type split with Normal moves that leverage the real strength.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Hyper Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
TMs carry this one. Gyarados learns Hydro Pump and Surf naturally for STAB, but the offensive range comes almost entirely from technical machines. Dark and Dragon and beyond give it real matchup play.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Rarely seen in the wild. Huge and vicious, it is capable of destroying entire cities in a rage.
Gyarados Red & Blue Guide
Mega Evolution isn't available in Red & Blue, but Gyarados does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Gyarados hits 680 BST.
In Red & Blue, Gyarados plays as a wallbreaker. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Red & Blue, Gyarados has appeared in 22 titles over 9 generations. Along the way, it received a Mega form in Generation 6, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut

Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS

Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS

Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG

FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP

Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS

HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW

Black & White - Gen 5B2W2

Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY

X & Y - Gen 6ORASMega

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM

Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh

Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV

Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW

Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Gyarados.