Magikarp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Magikarp | |
|---|---|
 National Tauros - Magikarp (#129) - Gyarados Johto Politoed - Magikarp (#76) - Gyarados Hoenn Seaking - Magikarp (#52) - Gyarados Sinnoh Alakazam - Magikarp (#23) - Gyarados |
|
| Japanese name | Koiking |
| Stage | Basic |
| Evolves from | None |
| Evolves to | Gyarados |
| Generation | First |
| Species | Fish Pokémon |
| Type | Water |
| Height | 2 ft 11 in (0.9 m) |
| Weight | 22 lb (10.0 kg) |
| Ability | Swift Swim |
Magikarp (コイキング Koikingu?, Koiking) is a Pokémon widely considered to be the most useless Pokémon in the entire game series. It is number 129 in the original games' Pokédex and evolves into Gyarados at level 20. It is a water-type Pokémon.
Many American gamers have wondered what "magic" is supposed to indicate, given the fact that Magikarp is completely useless in terms of power. Many gamers feel that it was purely the sarcasm of the game's creators. However, there is an interesting possibility: according to Chinese legend, a carp capable of leaping over a waterfall will become a dragon. This is likely the reason that the weak Magikarp evolves into the powerful, dragon-like Gyarados.
There is also further evidence for this: in at least one episode of the anime and a level in Pokémon Snap, Magikarp were shown swimming upstream and climbing small waterfalls in order to reach a lake where they would evolve.
Its Japanese name, Koiking, is a combination of the words "koi" and "king". Nishikigoi, or koi for short, are domesticated carp that are kept primarily in outdoor ponds. The "king" part of its name comes from the golden colored dorsal fin shaped like a crown. This can also be noted as an influence of Magikarp's English name, as "Magi" means "king".
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[edit] Biology
According to the Pokédex, Magikarp can withstand waters with high levels of toxicity and therefore is the stiffest Pokémon. An example from the anime that supports this is when Team Rocket's Meowth tries to eat one and only ends up with broken teeth. However, it is also mentioned in the Pokédex that species such as Pidgeotto and Pidgeot prey upon Magikarp, possibly relying on their sharp beaks and talons to pierce its flesh.
The Pokédex also states that Magikarp used to be a much more powerful Pokémon in the past, but has grown weaker over time. It has very weak attacks, making it almost useless in battle (its primary attack does nothing whatsoever). It is so weak, that it cannot even swim and is very easily washed about by ocean currents and tides. Because it is so weak, Magikarp tend to live at the bottom of the sea where there is less of a current. However, Magikarp will come up to a higher level to feed. It may jump high on certain occasions, but never more than seven feet.
[edit] In the video games
As said above, Magikarp is mostly considered to be the most useless Pokémon. This is because it had no real physical attacks. The only move all Magikarp know by nature is Splash, an attack which does nothing. At level 15, it learns Tackle, a weak attack learned naturally by many Pokémon. Its only decent statistic is its Speed, but this is useless due to Magikarp's pathetic Attack and Defense statistics, and its extremely weak attack moves.
In Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, there is a Magikarp salesman in a Pokémon Center outside of Mt. Moon. He will sell the player a Magikarp for 500. Since Gold and Silver, Magikarp has also been able to learn the move Flail, an attack that determines its power by how damaged the user is. However, since this move is not learned until level 30, it would be worthless to stick with Magikarp long enough to get the move, as Magikarp evolves at level 20.
The evolved form of Magikarp, Gyarados, is a complete change from this Pokémon. Gyarados is instead a fearsome dragon-like Pokémon capable of learning some very strong attacks. This makes training a young Magikarp worth it in the long run.
Magikarp are found in the Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap in all six of the game’s main courses. In the Valley Course in particular, a Magikarp can be hurled by a Mankey and then shot into a waterfall by a Pester Ball in order to evolve into a Gyarados.
In Pokémon Channel, Magikarp can be found by fishing at Secret Cove. Though, many Pokémon that can be found there are found randomly as well as Magikarp.
[edit] In the anime
In the Pokémon Anime episode that takes place aboard the SS Anne, James purchases a Magikarp in a Gold ball thinking it to very valuable, and would help him become rich. He is very surprised when he asks it to save them from drowning and it is incapable of doing anything except splash in the water. In the subsequent episode, Team Rocket and the main cast are starving on a raft and think about eating the Magikarp. After Meowth discovers it was just scales and bones, James angrily kicks it into the water, triggering its evolution into a very angry Gyarados.
In the episode "The Joy of Pokémon", a Nurse Joy befriends a humongous Magikarp that saved her life as a child. Later in the episode, the Magikarp evolves into an equally-oversized Gyarados to help her again. (As Gyrados is normally a very large Pokémon, an oversized Gyrados must be quite humongous.)
In the episode "The Wacky Watcher", Ash, Misty, and Tracey help Quincy T. Quackenpoker, a Pokémon Watcher who happens to strongly resemble Groucho Marx, as he observes the migration and evolution of a group of Magikarp.
In "Pearls are a Spoink's Best Friend", James buys a Feebas from the Magikarp salesman, only to later find out that it is another Magikarp, painted to look like Feebas.
In "Judgement Day", a minor character recalled a story where he fell into a river and when he came out, he found a Gold Magikarp in his shirt. He later traded it for a Charmeleon.
Team Rocket also have a Magikarp-shaped submarine, that they use when they are around water. It was prominently used in the Orange Islands saga to travel between islands.
[edit] In the card game
Most versions of Magikarp have two different attacks. Common attacks include one that does 10 or 20 damage, and requires one or two Energy cards, respectively. For those attacks requiring just one Energy, this may or may not have to be a Water Energy.
Flail is another attack found on several cards. It does 10 damage times the number of damage counters on Magikarp.
A number of Magikarp cards have an attack that lets the player find a card to evolve Magikarp in their deck. Not all of these lets the player evolve Magikarp instantly.
The most powerful attack found on a Magikarp card is one found on Giovanni's Magikarp, a card found in the Gym Challenge card set. The attack, called Ancestral Memory, does 40 damage with just a single Water Energy. However, the attack requires the player to flip a coin, and if he flips tails, the attack fails. Additionally, the attack can only be used once, unless the card is returned to the hand or the discard pile and returned to play from there.
Magikarp is one of the ten Pokémon that have been released as a Shining Pokémon. Shining Magikarp is found in Neo Revelations, along with Shining Gyarados. Shining Magikarp by itself allows you to draw more cards or search your deck for a Gyarados, Dark Gyarados or Shining Gyarados and put it on your hand. Its true strength, however, is not unleashed until it is evolved into Shining Gyarados, a powerful card with 100 HP and the ability to do up to 120 damage by using Outrage with 9 damage counters on it. These cards, however, are limited by the restriction of only being able to have one of each in the deck.
As of August, 2005, all Magikarp cards have 30 HP. Fowards from that, there have been 4 copies of Magikarp, two of which are still legal. They are:
- EX Dragon
- EX Team Rocket Returns
- EX Deoxys
- EX Holon Phantoms (as Magikarp δ, Steel Type)
[edit] References
- The following games and their instruction manuals: Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue; Pokémon Yellow; Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2; Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal; Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald; Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen; Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
- Publications
- Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-439-15404-9.
- Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-930206-15-1.
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed Version & Pokémon LeafGreen Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 1-930206-50-X
- Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4761-4
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1-930206-58-5
[edit] External links
- Official Pokémon website
- Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Magikarp as a species
- Serebii.net’s 4th Gen Pokédex entry for Magikarp
- Pokémon Dungeon Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
- PsyPoke Pokédex entry
- Smogon Pokédex entry
- WikiKnowledge.net’s entry for Magikarp Previously hosted by Wikibooks
