Anyone ever raised a Gyarados from a Magikarp?

[E-Man]

I know what a lot of you guys are thinking. You don't have a lot of respect for a fish that does nothing but splash about. Even when it learns Tackle, it is still barely useful. Despite that, though, if you are able to put up with the orange pile of deadweight, it'll evolve into a vicious dragon that chews almost any opponent up and spits out the bones! That reason is enough for me to respect Magikarp.

Until about a year ago, I never raised a Gyarados from a Magikarp in any old school Pokémon game. I attempted to, but I never got a lot of success. Previous attempts to raise a Magikarp came from using the Magikarp I caught with an old rod, but the lucky fish that became a mighty beast was actually purchased from that shady guy in the Pokémon Center at the foot of Mt. Moon. I didn't want to at first, but since I heard that it would guarantee me a powerful ally early, I gave it as shot. It was tough to do, but I actually got my Magikarp to evolve after completing a battle with my rival on the Nugget Bridge. I gotta say that it was worth it!

Anyone else had the patience to obtain a Gyarados that way?

[TomGuycott]

Does this really warrant it's own thread?

Well, since I'm already here; yes, I have raised a Magikarp that way. In every Pokemon I've ever played actually.

[Deathbringer]

I'm working on it in HeartGold and it's going ok since it has tackle.

[E-Man]

Everything prior to getting Tackle is the hard part. Since Magikarp's only "attack" is flopping about like the pathetic fish it is, it is unable to defeat foes on its own. Switching it out with other Pokémon after a while gets tedious, but once it learns Tackle, it can take out foes on its own to reap every last ounce of exp. Of course, having it battle weak Pokémon at that point is a good idea. Besides, it wouldn't do you any good if it gets KO'ed.

[Candel]

Magicarp is not pathethic....
And yes, for nuzlocke runs since its a different route

[E-Man]

I was only joking about it being pathetic. I'm actually quite found of the fish, to be honest. Not only does it evolve into an impressive Pokémon, but the way it keeps its mouth open, its eyes, and its whiskers are simply dashing!

...... Too bad not that many Pokémon fans want to deal with Magikarp and just want to snag that Gyarados right away.

[Kriven]

EXP Share and Rare Candies make this the easiest thing in the world.

In R/B/Y I had all 151 Pokemon at level 100 (mainly because of the item multiplying glitch), and S/Y/C I was pretty close to 100ing all the new Pokemon. I don't know if this took me a ridiculous number of hours or not (I was younger back then, and time is a meaningless concept at that age), but I don't recall it being too life-consuming, as I played dozens of other games as well.

[Koh]

If you give it an EXP Share, and put it at the front of the team, then switch over, it gets 75% of the EXP. Makes grinding it go by fast; you can get it to Level 20 to evolve in like...10 minutes.

[AuraLancer]

In the original games, if I had decided to use a Gyarados on my team for that particular playthrough (which was often), I would buy that Magikarp from the guy at the Pokecenter at the entrance to Mt Moon. The big joke was always about that guy being a scammer, but by buying from him I'd nearly have a Gyarados by the time the old rod was available.

But yeah, whenever I use a Gyarados in any game, I raise it from a Magikarp and never use Exp Share.

[Psycho]

i have, plenty of times. i love growing pokemon like that, because i love the bond that grows with my pokemon as a trainer. i know it's just a game lol, but i feel connected with my pokemon when i raise them myself in-game. just one of the great reasons i play pokemon!

[E-Man]

In the original games, if I had decided to use a Gyarados on my team for that particular playthrough (which was often), I would buy that Magikarp from the guy at the Pokecenter at the entrance to Mt Moon. The big joke was always about that guy being a scammer, but by buying from him I'd nearly have a Gyarados by the time the old rod was available.

But yeah, whenever I use a Gyarados in any game, I raise it from a Magikarp and never use Exp Share.

You know, I actually did all that in a pervious run of Pokémon, but I got my Gyarados after defeating my rival.

Anyway, if that guy is supposed to be a con-artist and he is unwittingly giving away what would ending being a useful Pokémon, how about he just sells you the Gyarados instead and charges you a hefty fee for it? It'll save a lot of trouble that way.

[DioShiba]

Obligatory.

In all seriousness, if I'm going to raise a magikarp to a gyrados I might as well put my magikarp in the first slot of my party, have the rest of my party be all high leveled pokemon, and train against high leveled pokemon by switching magikarp out with something more powerful and rely on EXP sharing.

It's a hassle to just use magikarp... unless you want to waste time relying on splash for the first 15 or so levels so it can learn tackle. Just fish out a level 100 magikarp.

[Koh]

You know what would really be a pain in the ass? I just thought about it...breeding a Magikarp in Gen 4 and Up (Level 1), and trying to EV train it. I don't think Magikarp can get anything from breeding in terms of moves, besides Flail and Tackle.