Is Magikarp Good in Emerald Playthrough?
Catch one anywhere you can fish. Magikarp does nothing until level 20 brings Gyarados. AbilitySwift Swim is irrelevant for Magikarp. The investment is one of the best in Emerald. Gyarados with AbilityIntimidate handles Sidney, Phoebe, and contributes everywhere.
Roxanne's Pokemon outpace and outclass Magikarp here.
Brawly's typing presses Magikarp's defenses.
Wattson's Pokemon outpace and outclass Magikarp here.
Flannery's typing presses Magikarp's defenses.
Norman's typing presses Magikarp's defenses.
Winona's team hits Magikarp's weaknesses hard.
Tate & Liza's Pokemon outpace and outclass Magikarp here.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Juan's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Gyarados trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Catchable
Catch Magikarp in Sootopolis City (Surf, Lv 5-35, 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 Juan, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wally's father at Wally's house in Petalburg City after you defeat Norman
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- LV 40WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wallace in Sootopolis City
- TUTORNormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- LV 50DragonDragon DancePower —Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 55NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
How to Get Magikarp in Emerald
Magikarp is the fishing default. With 109 encounters across 44 spots, it bites on every rod and while surfing at almost any water in the region. You will hook far more of these than anything else.
44 locations to catch Magikarp
Encountered via fishing with a Rod, Surfing
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Magikarp in E
Magikarp is where the line starts, caught through fishing and surfing encounters at Lv. 5-45. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
- Step 1Magikarp ✓Route 104Lv.5-10Old RodRate 100%Sootopolis CityLv.5-35Surfing on waterRate 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: 500 entry fee, 30 Safari BallsSafari Zone - SouthwestLv.5-10Old RodRate 70%Safari Zone: 500 entry fee, 30 Safari BallsSeafloor 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 RodRate 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: 500 entry fee, 30 Safari BallsSafari Zone - SouthwestLv.10-30Good RodRate 60%Safari Zone: 500 entry fee, 30 Safari BallsSeafloor 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%Safari Zone - South ExtensionLv.25-30Old RodRate 70%Safari Zone: 500 entry fee, 30 Safari BallsSafari Zone - South ExtensionLv.25-30Good RodRate 60%Safari Zone: 500 entry fee, 30 Safari Balls
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into Gyaradosor evolve from Magikarp (Step 1)
Not landing the catch? Calculate Magikarp catch rates for Emerald by ball, status, and HP.
How to Get Shiny Magikarp in Emerald
Magikarp bites on the Old and Good Rods around Dewford Town and the Abandoned Ship; cast, check each splash, and toss back every dull one across the same long full-odds grind. Compare Shiny Magikarp odds across every game
Emerald Shiny Magikarp 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.
Want exact numbers for your session? Calculate your shiny odds in Emerald with Magikarp preloaded.
Magikarp Weakness
Electric and Grass moves hit Magikarp for super-effective damage. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Magikarp's physical bulk (base 55 Def) helps cushion physical weakness hits, but special attackers are the bigger threat.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Magikarp Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Magikarp
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Route 101 Gift) | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Sunflora Grass | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (Littleroot Town Gift) | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
 Ampharos Electric | C | |
 Magneton ElectricSteel | A | |
 Tropius Grass | C | |
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
 Manectric Electric | C | |
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
 Pikachu Electric | C | |
Magikarp Evolutions
Magikarp evolves into Gyarados. It's a two-stage chain with the method shown below. A decent partner pool for breeding via two egg groups. Eggs hatch fast. The evolved forms gain up to 340 total stats over Magikarp. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Magikarp easily with 27 breeding partners from the Dragon and Water 2 egg groups.
E Magikarp Best Moveset
AbilitySwift Swim doubles Speed in rain on a Pokemon with no moves worth accelerating. The moveset is irrelevant. Gyarados after evolution is the only purpose.
Best Build
Magikarp best EVs are Defense and Speed
Bulky Support Moveset
- Splash
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Magikarp's options are limited here. You've got Water STAB for STAB damage, but there isn't much beyond Water hitting power. TMs help fill gaps, though the kit stays tight.
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
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its swimming muscles are weak, so it is easily washed away by currents. In places where water pools, you can see many MAGIKARP deposited there by the flow.
Magikarp Emerald Guide
- Where in the Emerald Safari Zone can I find Magikarp?
See the Locations section above for where to find Magikarp in Emerald.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Magikarp from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Magikarp easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
In Emerald, Magikarp does the job early-game if you need a Water type on your team. Evolve it into Gyarados before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
Magikarp has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 22 titles across all 9 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.
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 6ORAS
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 Magikarp.
Keep playing · EmeraldEmerald Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Emerald Tier List