I’m going in Pokémon Legends: A.SI expected hard encounters with alpha Pokémon, similar to the game’s predecessor. What I didn’t expect was this Alpha Magikarp brutally Hydro Pump me into oblivion for daring to look his way. How was I supposed to know he could do that?
Appearing in Pokémon ZA’s Wild Zone 2, Alpha Magikarp is a sight to behold. A very gigantic fish Pokémon slithers through the grass or lurks in the pond and, at least during my encounter, starts a fight with Splash. This lulled me into a false sense of security and I thought, “Oh, this must be an alpha joke!” But then the aforementioned Hydro Pump shot my busy mon and rendered my trainer unconscious. I came to the conclusion that this brave Magikarp must take revenge for all of his fallen brothers over the decades.
To be fair, the first generation Pokémon is known for its incredibly faint skill set, which has never included a Hydro Pump outside of TM-learned moves. So once you get over your initial fear of that falling fish, you should consider it an advantage. Magikarp evolves into Gyarados starting at level 20, so if you catch this bad boy, you can get a monster with boosted stats for your team. However, make sure you rank high enough in ZA Royale for it to actually listen to you.
So what do you need to catch the alpha Magikarp? In addition to plenty of Poké Balls and good dodging skills, you’ll need decent Grass- and Electric-type attackers to cover Magikarp’s weaknesses. You have plenty of options to choose from given the abundance of Grass-type Pokémon ZA starters, and catching Pokémon ZA Pikachu early is a good move in preparation for February’s DLC. Additionally, paralysis is extremely sturdy in this game, significantly slowing down Magikarp’s relentless alpha attacks. With all these things combined and some additional training, you’ll have alpha Gyarados in no time.
Once you’ve secured your Gyarados, check out our Pokémon ZA mega stones guide to learn how to take it to the next level. We also have guides covering many other Pokémon ZA zones, so you can find even more amazing alphas for your team.
