Is Gyarados Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
AbilityIntimidate on Gyarados is one of Gen 3's best ability assignments. Attack drops on switch-in plus Water/Flying coverage make Gyarados both offensive and defensive. Native to Hoenn via fishing. Handles Flannery, contributes against Steven. One of the strongest Pokemon in RS.
Roxanne's Pokemon outpace and outclass Magikarp here.
Brawly's typing presses Magikarp's defenses.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Gyarados has the type edge here and should clean up Winona's team.
Gyarados has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Gyarados has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Gyarados has the type edge here and should clean up Drake's team.
Gyarados has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Catch Magikarp
Catch Magikarp on Route 103 (Old Rod fishing, Lv 5-10, common).
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 Wattson, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Brawly
- TM35FireFlamethrowerPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Mauville Game Corner
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- LV 40WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Cave of Origin
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- LV 50DragonDragon DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 55NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
How to Get Gyarados in Ruby & Sapphire
Gyarados can be hooked rarely on a Super Rod in the Sootopolis crater lake, anywhere from level 5 to 45. The reliable path is still to evolve a Magikarp at level 20.
1 location to catch Gyarados44 locations to catch Magikarp
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Encountered via fishing with a Rod, Surfing
Badge 8Catch Magikarp at any of the 44 locations below, then level it up to 20 — it evolves into Gyarados.
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7 Badge 8Where To Catch Gyarados in RS
Magikarp gets you Gyarados sooner: catch it (before Badge 2) and evolve it at Lv 20. Wild Gyarados first appears at Sootopolis City (after Badge 7).
- Step 1Catch MagikarpRoute 104Lv.5-10Old RodRate 100%Sootopolis CityLv.5-35Surfing on waterRate 100%Sootopolis CityLv.5-15Old RodRubyRate 100%Route 104Lv.10-30Good RodRate 100%Sootopolis CityLv.10-30Good RodRate 100%Abandoned Ship - Cabins B1FLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Abandoned Ship - B2FLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Dewford TownLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Ever Grande CityLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Lilycove CityLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Meteor Falls - 1F Room 1Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Meteor Falls - 1F Room 2Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Meteor Falls - B1F Room 1Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Meteor Falls - B1F Room 2Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Mossdeep CityLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Pacifidlog TownLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Petalburg CityLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 102Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 103Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 105 - OutsideLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 106Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 107Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 108Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 109Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 110Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 111 - SouthLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 114Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 115Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 117Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 118Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 119Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 120Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 121Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 122Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 123Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 124Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 125Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 126Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 127Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 128Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 129Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 130Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 131Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 132Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 133Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Route 134Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Safari Zone - NorthwestLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Safari Zone - SouthwestLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Seafloor Cavern - EntranceLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Seafloor Cavern - Room 6Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Seafloor Cavern - Room 7Lv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Shoal Cave - 1F Room 1, High TideLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Shoal Cave - 1F Room 2, High TideLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Slateport CityLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Sootopolis CityLv.5-10Old RodSapphireRate 70%Victory Road - B2FLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Abandoned Ship - Cabins B1FLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Abandoned Ship - B2FLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Dewford TownLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Ever Grande CityLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Lilycove CityLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Meteor Falls - 1F Room 1Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Meteor Falls - 1F Room 2Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Meteor Falls - B1F Room 1Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Meteor Falls - B1F Room 2Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Mossdeep CityLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Pacifidlog TownLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Petalburg CityLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 102Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 103Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 105 - OutsideLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 106Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 107Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 108Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 109Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 110Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 111 - SouthLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 114Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 115Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 117Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 118Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 119Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 120Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 121Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 122Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 123Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 124Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 125Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 126Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 127Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 128Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 129Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 130Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 131Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 132Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 133Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 134Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Safari Zone - NorthwestLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Safari Zone - SouthwestLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Seafloor Cavern - EntranceLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Seafloor Cavern - Room 6Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Seafloor Cavern - Room 7Lv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Shoal Cave - 1F Room 1, High TideLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Shoal Cave - 1F Room 2, High TideLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Slateport CityLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Victory Road - B2FLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Route 104Lv.20-45Super RodRate 100%Sootopolis CityLv.30-35Super RodRate 80%
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Ruby & Sapphire for Gyarados.
How to Get Shiny Gyarados in Ruby & Sapphire
Gyarados can be reeled in with the Super Rod at Sootopolis City, so keep casting and check every one you hook for a shiny. Compare Shiny Gyarados odds across every game
Ruby & Sapphire Shiny Gyarados Calculator
2 MethodsBoth methods here share the same odds, about 1 in 8,192 on each try. Pick whichever fits how you play.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
Breeding: Hatch eggs of this line; each egg rolls at the base shiny rate (no Masuda before Gen IV).
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 864-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 2,357-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 5,678-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 18,862-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your Ruby & Sapphire shiny odds for Gyarados.
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. 5 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, Steel |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Gyarados Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Gyarados
 Magneton ElectricSteel | A | |
 Manectric Electric | C | |
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Gyarados View Electrode builds →Thunderbolt 4x110-130%KO Rollout 2x11-14% | ||
 Raichu Electric | C | |
 Plusle Electric | C | |
 Minun Electric | C | |
 Regirock Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 111 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Gyarados View Regirock builds →Thunderbolt 4x53-62% Ancient Power 2x49-59% | ||
 Armaldo RockBug | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Anorith (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
 Lairon SteelRock | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Gyarados View Lairon builds →Rock Tomb 2x38-45% Shock Wave 4x34-41% | ||
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Rhyhorn GroundRock | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Gyarados View Rhyhorn builds →Rock Tomb 2x38-45% Thunderbolt 4x39-46% | ||
 Magcargo FireRock | C | |
Gyarados Evolutions
Evolved from Magikarp. Gyarados is the final form in this two-stage line. A decent partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs hatch fast. Attack grew the most through evolution (+115 over Magikarp), and Gyarados peaks at 540 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Gyarados to get Magikarp eggs easily using 27 partners from the Dragon and Water 2 egg groups.
RS Gyarados Best Moveset
MoveDragon Dance boosts Attack and Speed simultaneously for sweep setup, and AbilityIntimidate drops opponent Attack on switch-in to compensate for Rock and Electric weaknesses. 125 Attack after one Dance threatens everything. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. Dragon Dance attacker with defensive utility on arrival.
Best Build
Gyarados best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Stallbreaker Moveset
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Hidden Power Flying
- Taunt
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. Normal and Dark 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.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- 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. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, 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, Egg, 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 30 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
When MAGIKARP evolves into GYARADOS, its brain cells undergo a structural transformation. It is said that this transformation is to blame for this POKéMON’s wildly violent nature.
Once GYARADOS goes on a rampage, its ferociously violent blood doesn’t calm until it has burned everything down. There are records of this POKéMON’s rampages lasting a whole month.
Gyarados Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Gyarados can be fished up at Hoenn Sootopolis City in Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire.
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.
Keep playing · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List