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It’s worth evolving Magikarp because you’ll get its powerful evolved form, Gyarados. Magikarp has no attack moves and must therefore be trained passively.
Evolving Magikarp—Here Are the Requirements
Fortunately, to evolve Magikarp, you don’t need an item, nor do you have to spin in a circle at a specific time of day, as required by the Pokémon Hokumil.
- Magikarp evolves—regardless of which edition you’re playing—at Level 20 into Gyarados. You’ll usually find this Pokémon in bodies of water—for example, by fishing there or swimming in the water. If you’ve caught a Magikarp that’s already reached Level 20 or higher, you simply need to level it up once for it to evolve.
- What’s special about Magikarp is that for the first 15 levels it can’t really attack. This is because, up to level 15, it only knows the move Splash, which has no effect on the opponent, let alone deals any damage.
- In most editions, Pokémon gain experience points (XP) by participating in battles. If you have Magikarp as the first Pokémon in your party, it will always be sent into battle at the start. If you immediately switch to a stronger Pokémon and defeat the opponent with it, Magikarp will still receive a certain amount of XP, even though it didn’t actively participate in the battle.
- Feed your Magikarp the “Special Candy” item to raise its level. Magikarp levels up by one for each Special Candy. Since these aren’t always easy to find, you should think carefully about whether you want to use them for lower levels. In Pokémon Purple and Crimson, there are also XP Candies of various sizes that grant a specific amount of XP instead of a full level.
- The availability of the Pokémon Day Care also depends on the edition you’re playing. This service allows you to leave a certain number of Pokémon in the Day Care’s care, where they continuously gain experience points even though they aren’t part of your team.
- In most editions, there is either an item or a setting that allows you to distribute earned experience points among your Pokémon. In the latest games, Crimson and Violet, for example, this feature is permanently enabled.
- Once your Magikarp reaches Level 20, it automatically evolves into the significantly stronger Gyarados and begins learning more powerful attacks. In addition to its Flying/Water dual type, it is also capable of learning Dragon-type moves—both through regular leveling up and by using TMs.
These weak Pokémon also have powerful evolutions
Karpador isn’t the only Pokémon known for only becoming a capable Pokémon after evolving. While there isn’t a Pokémon quite as useless as the helplessly floundering Fishmon, there are certain Pokémon whose evolved forms are much stronger in comparison.
- One of the best-known evolutionary lines in this context is that of the Pokémon Larvitar. It evolves late—at Level 30—into Pupitar, a metallic cocoon, and then at Level 55 into the powerhouse Despotar. Despotar’s total base stats of 600 are twice as high as Larvitar’s, and it was long considered one of the most powerful Pokémon in the competitive scene.
- The situation is similar with Tanhel, the Steel/Psychic-type Pokémon from the third Pokémon generation. It evolves into Metang as early as Level 20, but until then learns no moves other than Tackle, which it already has at Level 1. At Level 45, Metang evolves into Metagross, which, like Despotar, has a total base stat of 600 and is therefore also twice as strong as Tanhel.
- Like Magikarp, the Pokémon Abra—which has been around since the first generation—is very helpless. If you encounter Abra in the wild, you’ll have to act fast, as this Psychic-type Pokémon only has the Teleport ability, which causes it to flee the battle immediately. It doesn’t learn new moves until Level 16, when it evolves into Kadabra. Kadabra evolves into Simsala only if it is traded with another player.
- Bonus: The tables are turned with the evolution of the Pokémon Nincada. The Bug-type Pokémon evolves into Ninjask at Level 20. If you have at least one Poké Ball in your inventory at that time, you’ll also receive the Pokémon Ninjatom. While Ninjask is stronger than Nincada, Ninjatom—which represents the shed shell of the newly hatched Pokémon— is weaker than the base Pokémon.
Magikarp Evolution in Pokémon Go
Magikarp often seems unremarkable, but with patience and the right steps, it can evolve into the powerful Gyarados. In Pokémon Go, evolution is achieved using candies.
- The evolution requires 400 Magikarp Candies, which you can collect by catching Magikarp, sending them to the Professor, or setting Magikarp as your Buddy
- It’s especially worthwhile to wait for events where Magikarp appears more frequently or where double Candy is distributed, as this can significantly speed up the evolution process.
- You should also pay attention to the IVs since they determine how strong Gyarados will be after evolution. High Attack stats are particularly important, as Gyarados primarily uses physical attacks. You can use the Appraisal feature to select the best candidates
- After evolving, Gyarados can also become Mega Gyarados in Pokémon Go when you use Mega Energy, which is especially useful in gyms and raids.
- If you’re looking for collectibles, keep an eye out for the Shiny variants : Shiny Magikarp is gold-colored, while Shiny Gyarados has a dark blue appearance.
Evolution in Magikarp Jump and Differences from Other Editions
In Karpador Jump evolution works differently than in the classic Pokémon games or Pokémon Go.
- Here, leveling up and training determine evolution, and Karpador must be fed regularly to gain experience points.
- Special items like the Eternal Stone can further speed up evolution, while the Day Care and XP Candies help you gain experience passively or more quickly.
- Every Magikarp has a level cap that can be raised through in-game progress, allowing you to evolve stronger Magikarp to higher stages.
- Unlike in classic editions, where Magikarp automatically evolves at a fixed level (usually Level 20), in Pokémon Go, Candies and events—and in Magikarp Jump, training and items—play the central role.
- In practical terms for Trainers, this means: In Pokémon Go, you should collect Candies during events, select Magikarp with good IVs, and use them as a Buddy, while in Magikarp Jump, you should feed Magikarp regularly, rely on XP Candies, and use the Day Care to increase the level cap and speed up evolution. This way, every little fish can become a powerful Gyarados—and maybe even a Shiny or Mega Gyarados that turns heads in battles.
