In [[game2|Diamond|Pearl|a[[Shiny Pokémon|red]] Gyarados is featured on the TV on a program called "Search for the Red Gyarados." It is this that inspires {{ga|Lucas}} or {{ga|Dawn}} and {{ga|Barry|their rival}} to go to [[Lake Verity]], to see if there is a rare Pokémon dwelling in it.
In [[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Versions|Diamond and Pearl]] a [[Shiny Pokémon|red]] Gyarados is featured on the TV on a program called "Search for the Red Gyarados." It is this that inspires {{ga|Lucas}} or {{ga|Dawn}} and {{ga|Barry|their rival}} to go to [[Lake Verity]], to see if there is a rare Pokémon dwelling in it.
===NPC appearances===
===NPC appearances===
* {{g|Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness}}: A Gyarados appears in the [[Miracle Sea]]. He attempts to take control of the {{p|Phione}}, but is stopped by the player's team.
* {{g|Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness}}: A Gyarados appears in the [[Miracle Sea]]. He attempts to take control of the {{p|Phione}}, but is stopped by the player's team.
Gyarados is a large dragon Pokémon, resembling dragons seen in Chinese mythology. Its serpentine body is mostly blue, but its underbelly is yellow, as well as the spots along its body. It has a three-pointed, dark blue crest on its head and four white fins down its back. Its mouth is very large and gaping, bearing four canine teeth, but bears some resemblance to that of its pre-evolution Magikarp. Like Magikarp, it has one barbel on both sides of its face. Its pectoral and dorsal fins also resemble Magikarp's. Gyarados is rarely shown with its mouth closed.
Gender differences
A female has white barbels, while a male has blue.
Special abilities
Gyarados, like most dragon-like Pokémon, has a high Attack stat, causing it to rely more on physical attacks than special ones. It is one of the few Template:Type2s able to wield both Template:Type2 and Template:Type2 attacks. Its fangs can crush stones and its scales are harder than steel.
Behavior
This Pokémon bears little resemblance to its docile pre-evolution. Gyarados is infamously known for its fierce temper and wanton destructive tendencies. Once it has worked itself into a frenzy, it will not calm until everything around it is destroyed—this tendency is attributed to the dramatic structural changes its brain undergoes during evolution. It seems attracted to violence, although this Pokémon is very rarely seen in the wild. During times of human conflict Gyarados are said to appear, burning entire cities down to the ground.
Gyarados usually live in large bodies of water, such as lakes and ponds or even seas and oceans. The Lake of Rage is the best known nesting area for Gyarados, and most famously, the red Gyarados, however, they are still quite rare even in the Lake Of Rage, as they are seldom found in the wild.
Misty obtained a Gyarados after passing the PIA test in Cerulean Blues. Prior to the test, Misty was terrified of Gyarados, but in order to pass the test, she had to overcome her fear of it. In the end, she calmed and kept the Gyarados.
Groups of Gyarados were seen from within a submarine disguised as or styled after a Gyarados by Jessie, James, and Meowth in The Pi-Kahuna shortly before the onset of a massive, annual tidal wave celebrated by local surfers who were apparently not aware of the annual migration. According to James, the Gyarados gathered each year in this location to lay their eggs.
In Mewtwo Strikes Back, a Gyarados owned by Fergus was one of the Pokémon that were captured and cloned by Mewtwo. Fergus attacked Mewtwo with Gyarados' Hyper Beam but Mewtwo turned the attack back on itself, knocking the Gyarados out. The Gyarados clone is seen again in Mewtwo Returns.
Nurse Joy had befriended a giant Magikarp that later evolved into Gyarados in The Joy of Pokémon. Despite Magikarp being giant, it was regular-sized as a Gyarados.
Gyarados debuts in the Red, Green & Blue arc in its own round, Gyarados Splashes In!. Here, an enraged one attacks its own trainer, Misty, but is recaught by Red, who supposedly returns it to her. The drastic change in attitude of the Pokémon was the result of a Team Rocket experiment as is shown in Raging Rhydon.
Later on, Misty traded this Gyarados to Red in exchange for Red's Krabby which he names Gyara.
A Red Gyarados was seen in the Lake of Rage three years later, but it was caught by Silver. It had the ability to control the other Gyarados in the lake.
When Red borrows Blue's Charizard to travel to Mt. Silver, he temporarily trades his Gyarados to Blue. It later appears as one of Blue's Pokémon in Volume 13, used against Entei, and later part of his revealed team during the Gym Leader faceoff. Prior to the FireRed and LeafGreen saga, Blue returns Gyarados to Red.
The evolved form of Magikarp. Rarely seen in the wild. Huge and vicious, it is capable of destroying entire cities in a rage. Can fire a Hyper Beam from its mouth.
In Diamond and Pearl a red Gyarados is featured on the TV on a program called "Search for the Red Gyarados." It is this that inspires Lucas or Dawn and their rival to go to Lake Verity, to see if there is a rare Pokémon dwelling in it.
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.
It is an extremely vicious and violent Pokémon. When humans begin to fight, it will appear and burn everything to the ground with intensely hot flames.
According to some Nintendo of America artwork, Gyarados was originally slated to have the English name Skullkraken, a combination of the words "skull" and "kraken" (a mythological sea monster). This name would be impossible due to a 10-character limit on English Pokémon names.
In many ways, Gyarados is the Kanto counterpart of Hoenn's Milotic. Both are the evolved forms of incredibly weak fish Pokémon, and both appear in times of conflict, Gyarados to destroy, Milotic to becalm. Both have base stat totals of 540 with numbers matching down to the digits, but a different distribution in their stats: Gyarados is more Physical-Attack/Defense based while Milotic is more Special-Defense/Special Attack based. They both have the same HP, Defense, and Speed.
Unlike other Kanto/Hoenn counterparts, however, both are obtainable in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Gyarados has the greatest increase of its base stat total of any Pokémon compared to its prevolution, an increase of 340 points. It shares this distinction with Milotic.
As of Generation V, Gyarados is used by three of the six Pokémon League Champions, being used by Blue, Lance and Wallace, making it the most popular Pokémon among Pokémon League Champions thus far (although Blue does not always have a Gyarados, depending on the player's starter Pokémon).
Starting at level 20 (when it evolves from Magikarp), Gyarados learns new moves every 5 levels in Generation II and III games, and every 3 levels (20,23,26...) in the Generation V games.
In Houndoom's Special Delivery, Ash, Misty, and Brock encountered a rather small Gyarados while trying to find Togepi. Brock noted that the Gyarados was young and its parents may have been near by. This suggests that a parent Gyarados will take care of its young or that the parent will encounter the offspring later in its lifetime.
Origin
It appears to be based on a sea dragon or sea serpent. Gyarados is partially based on a legend about how carp that leapt over the Dragon Gate would become dragons. Several waterfalls and cataracts in China are believed to be the location of the Dragon Gate. (This is backed by Pokémon Snap. As you need to get Magikarp into a waterfall to evolve it into Gyarados.) This legend is an allegory of the drive and efforts needed to overcome obstacles (which can be tied to the fact that Gyarados' pre-evolution, Magikarp, could possibly take a lot of drive and effort to legitimately evolve into Gyarados).
Name origin
Gyarados's name may be derived from a combination of 虐殺 gyakusatsu massacre/slaughter, and 逆境 gyakkyō, hardship/adversity. Both words relate to the creature's violent nature and the hardship it experienced before evolving. The end of Gyarados' name, ドス dosu, is a Japanese onomatopoeic word representing the piercing of flesh, once again owing to Gyarados' violent nature. Alternatively, the dos may just indicate that it's the second in its evolutionary line.
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
δ, and in HeartGold & SoulSilver as Gyarados. The most recent appearance in HeartGold & SoulSilver most likely commemorates Red Gyarados's initial appearance as a significant part of the storyline in Pokémon Gold and Silver.
For other sprites and images, please see Gyarados images on Bulbagarden Archives.
