• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

Community POTW #143

Serebii

And, as if by magic, the webmaster appeared...
Staff member
Admin
Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and we're going back to Kanto!

130.png


It's Gyarados!

 

XaelOstigian

Competitive...kinda
Gyarados is the living embodiment of hard work and patience paying off. Turns out that shady salesman at the Mt. Moon Pokemon Center was right about how incredible Magikarp is:
Magikarp_salesman_FRLG.png

I seriously hope that conman is a millionaire by now, because once you get it up to level 20 you will have your hands on a Pokemon that can easily 6-0 your opponent with the right set up in the competitive metagame. This is no thanks to amazing stats, access to the coveted Dragon Dance, possessing an incredibly wide movepool that can cover any threat the game can throw at you, and even possessing two great abilities that can either drop your opponent's attack or boost your own once you get a sweep going. The rage-aholoic sea serpent is a ubiquitous Pokemon in the main games often being on the teams of the crime bosses or the champion, not to mention they are the default water hazard Pokemon in the anime itself just as Beedrill are on land. Even since gen 1 Gyarados has been a top threat, and I don't see this changing any time soon.
pokemon-magikarp.gif
 
Last edited:

Mestorn

Wandering Battler
Gyarados, originally the poor man's Dragonite, you often had a far better deal with Gyarados. Early Access to Dragon Dance, phenomenal abilities in Intimidate (which makes Gyarados exceptionally bulky thanks to its high SDEF) and Moxie (which with the aforementioned Dragon Dance enables Gyarados to easily snowball out of control into a Sweep). Dynamax was very, very kind to Gyarados. Bounce turning into Max Airstream gives it its first viable Flying STAB, and in conjunction with Moxie, now not only does Gyarados have a Flying STAB, but a Flying STAB that can effectively act as a Dragon Dance each time Gyarados uses it. The addition of Power Whip to its moveset is just gravy, giving Gyarados a reliable answer to the Water types that troubled it in the past. Make no mistake, Gyarados is a force to be reckoned with, both now and in the foreseeable future.

Jormungandr
Gyarados
Ability:
Moxie
Item: Choice Band
-Waterfall
-Bounce
-Earthquake
-Power Whip
Nature: Jolly (+SPE, -SATK)
EVs: 4 HP / 252 ATK / 252 SPE

Dynamax sweeper Gyarados. Dynamax, boost up with Max Airstream and eat your opponent's team alive. Waterfall becoming Max Geyser is another boon, as post Dynamax Rain Boosted Choice Band Waterfalls after a moxie boost or two is insanely powerful. Earthquake answers Electric types that would try to switch in to Max Airstream and Max Quake's Special Defense boost is appreciated. Power Whip rounds out the set, answering Water Absorbers that otherwise don't mind Waterfall or Earthquake.
 

Divine Retribution

Conquistador de pan
I've always thought Magikarp and Gyarados were pretty neat on a conceptual level. You've got a Pokemon that, at an initial glance, seems to be the most useless entry in the entire series. It doesn't start with a damaging move, the damaging moves it can eventually learn are weak and inconsistent, and its stats are awful even compared to other unevolved Pokemon. Many players who didn't know any better cast Magikarp aside as a troll Pokemon. Why would you invest time training something so bad?

Well, as it turns out, those who did invest time training the seemingly useless fish would eventually be rewarded with one of the strongest Pokemon in the entire franchise. This is a really simple yet interesting dynamic that I don't see a whole lot in other games; a monster or character or item that starts out nearly useless, but, if time is invested into mastering it, becomes one of the most potent options in your arsenal.

Gyarados is also a Pokemon that just can't stop winning when it comes to its competitive career. Gen 2 introduced Hidden Power, which gave it a decentish Flying STAB to leverage its higher Attack stat with. Gen 3 gave it Intimidate and Dragon Dance, turning it into a deadly sweeper. Gen 4 introduced the physical/special split, finally giving it physical Water moves to work with. Gen 5 gave it Moxie, another fantastic ability option that makes it easier to snowball into sweeps. Gen 6 gave it a Mega Evolution that lets it bypass many of its usual checks. Gen 7 gave it access to Flyinium-Z, letting it turn Bounce into a one-time super-powered Flying move. Gen 8 introduced Dynamax, which Gyarados happens to be one of the best abusers of thanks to STAB Max Airstream and Moxie letting it get pseudo-Dragon Dance boosts just by KOing opponents.

I wonder what new toys Gen 9 will bring our classic sea serpent murder machine.
 

Mestorn

Wandering Battler
Gyarados could be a potent abuser of the Terastal Phenomenon. Changing from Water/Flying to Ground or Grass type can be a great swerve to counter its traditional weakness (Grass gets a mention as Gyarados is better equipped to handle Grass weaknesses than Ground weaknesses even if Resistance < Immunity)
 
Top