Magikarp

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Template:Pokeinfobox Magikarp (コイキング Koikingu in Japanese, Karpador in German and Magicarp in French) 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. However, there is an interesting possibility: according to Chinese legend, a carp capable of leaping over the "Dragon Gate" will become a dragon. This is likely the reason that the weak Magikarp evolves into the 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, and there are several waterfalls in China that are believed to be the location of the Dragon Gate.

If this is indeed the reasoning behind Magikarp's name an evolution, it would also explain why the carp was the fish chosen for the second half of the name.

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".

Its German name is Karpador. Its French name, Magicarpe, is similar to the English name.

Contents

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Biology

According to the Pokédex, Magikarp can withstand waters with high levels of toxicity and therefore is the hardiest 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. 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. 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.

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In the video games

As said above, Magikarp is mostly considered to be a very useless Pokémon at this stage in its evolution. 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.

In Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, there is a Magikarp salesman in a Pokémon Center outside of Mt. Moon. He will sell you 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 if 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 worthless 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.

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In the animé

In the Pokémon Anime episode that takes place aboard the SS Anne, James buys a Magikarp in a Gold ball thinking it was very valuable, and would help him to get rich. He turned out very surprised when he asked it to save them from drowning and it did nothing except splash in the water.

In the episode "Who Gets to Keep Togepi?", Ash's group and Team Rocket are seen eating at a diner whose logo is a Magikarp. It is odd that a distinctly inedible Pokémon like Magikarp would be used to promote a restaurant.

In the episode "The Joy of Pokemon", 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 Gyrados to help her again.

In the episode "The Wacky Watcher", Ash, Misty, and Tracey help Quincy T. Quackenpoker, a Pokemon 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.

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.

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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.

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References

Publications
  • Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0439154049.
  • Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 130206151.
  • Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed Version & Pokémon LeafGreen Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 193020650X
  • Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0761547614
  • Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1930206585
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External links

it:Magikarp pt:Magikarp fi:Magikarp

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