
Is Magikarp Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
The most famous investment in Pokemon. Magikarp does absolutely nothing until level 20, and then Gyarados happens. Buy one from the salesman before Mt. Moon or fish one up later. Either way, the wait is worth it.
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.
Purchase
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 Magikarp in Red & Blue
You can buy a Magikarp for 500 PokeDollars at the Route 4 Pokemon Center, but with 76 fishing encounters across 25 spots, any rod at almost any water will hook one.
26 locations to catch Magikarp
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Where To Catch Magikarp in RB
The line opens with Magikarp at Lv. 5-15 via fishing and gift encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Step 1Magikarp ✓Celadon 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 2Evolve into Gyarados
Not landing the catch? Calculate Magikarp catch rates for Red & Blue by ball, status, and HP.
Magikarp Weakness
Electric and Grass moves hit Magikarp for super-effective damage. Its Water typing keeps the defensive matchups simple. 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 |
- 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 Magikarp Weak Against
AvgMagikarp Evolutions
You'll evolve Magikarp into Gyarados the traditional way. This Water type doesn't breed despite having a chain ahead. The evolved forms gain up to 335 total stats over Magikarp. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Magikarp Best Moveset
10 Attack and base stats near zero everywhere else. MoveSplash does literally nothing. The definition of dead weight until level 20 brings Gyarados.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Tackle
- Splash
- Dragon Rage
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.
- 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
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
In the distant past, it was somewhat stronger than the horribly weak descendants that exist today.
Magikarp Red & Blue Guide
- Where in the Red & Blue Safari Zone can I find Magikarp?
See the Locations section above for where to find Magikarp in Red & Blue.
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 Red & Blue, 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.