Gyarados Infinite Fusion Guide: Stats, Evolution, Best Fusions & Movesets

Few Pokémon in any game make an entrance like Gyarados. It starts as the floppy, useless Magikarp everyone laughs at, then explodes into a rampaging sea serpent with 125 base Attack, the Intimidate ability, and one of the most reliable Dragon Dance sweeps in the franchise. This Gyarados Infinite Fusion guide covers everything you need: Gyarados’ base stats and abilities, exactly how to get Magikarp and evolve it, where to fish or surf for a wild Gyarados, the best natures, EV spreads, and movesets, how Gyarados works as fusion material in both head and body slots, the best Gyarados fusion partners, and how Mega Gyarados changes the picture.

If you have not started playing yet, you can download Pokémon Infinite Fusion (version 6.7.2) for free and follow this guide step by step. This is a fan-written guide for players of the fan game — it is not affiliated with Nintendo, Game Freak, or The Pokémon Company. Everything here is written for Infinite Fusion players by fans who have actually trained one.

Gyarados at a Glance

Before you build a team around Gyarados, here are the raw numbers that make it tick in version 6.7.2:

• Type: Water / Flying
• HP: 95
• Attack: 125
• Defense: 79
• Sp. Attack: 60
• Sp. Defense: 100
• Speed: 81
• Total: 540

That 125 base Attack is the headline number — it puts Gyarados within striking distance of true heavy hitters like Dragonite, and it is fully physical, so every point feeds directly into its best moves: Waterfall, Earthquake, Crunch, and Bounce. The 95 / 79 / 100 defensive spread is genuinely bulky, especially on the special side, and it pairs beautifully with Intimidate to shrug off physical hits. The 81 base Speed is the stat that keeps Gyarados honest: without a Dragon Dance boost it sits in an awkward middle tier, outpaced by most dedicated sweepers, but after a single Dance it outruns the majority of the game.

Gyarados has two regular abilities. Intimidate lowers the Attack of every opponent that switches in — this is the ability you want for most builds, because it effectively gives Gyarados a free turn to set up and makes it one of the best physical pivots in the game. Moxie is its hidden ability and the alternative for pure sweepers: every time Gyarados knocks out a Pokémon, its Attack goes up one stage. A Moxie Gyarados that gets rolling can snowball through an entire team with no need for Dragon Dance at all. Mega Gyarados gets Mold Breaker instead, which ignores abilities like Multiscale, Sturdy, and Levitate — more on that below.

The Water / Flying typing is a classic double-edged sword. On the plus side, Gyarados resists Fire, Water, Fighting, Bug, and Steel, is immune to Ground, and only takes neutral damage from a wide middle band of types. On the minus side, it carries the single most famous weakness in the franchise: a 4x weakness to Electric, plus 2x weaknesses to Rock. You cannot build a team around Gyarados without planning for Electric coverage — which makes its fusion options, where you can shed that typing entirely, so exciting.

How to Get Gyarados in Infinite Fusion

There are two paths to a Gyarados in Infinite Fusion: evolve a Magikarp (the reliable way) or catch a wild Gyarados directly (the fast way, if you are lucky). Either way you start by getting a fishing rod, because the sea is where both of them live.

Step 1: Catch a Magikarp

Magikarp is one of the most common catches in the entire game. Almost every route with water spawns it on the Old Rod, so you can grab one within minutes of getting the rod. Keep a Poké Ball or two handy — even a weak Magikarp can waste your time with Splash spam while you chip it down, so throwing a ball immediately is usually fine. Catch rate is generous, and Magikarp shows up at low levels, which matters because you need it weak enough to fit under your team’s obedience cap in the early game.

Step 2: Evolve Magikarp at Level 20

Magikarp evolves into Gyarados at level 20 — no item, no trade, no friendship, just levels. This is one of the shortest evolution grinds in the game, and the payoff is enormous: Magikarp has a base stat total of 200, and Gyarados has 540. That is the single biggest stat jump of any evolution line in the franchise, which is why the “useless fish becomes sea dragon” moment feels so good.

The fastest way to grind Magikarp to level 20:

• EXP Share: Give Magikarp the EXP Share and battle with your strongest Pokémon. It earns half of every battle’s experience without ever fighting.
• Daycare: Drop Magikarp in the daycare and let it level passively while you play the story.
• Rare Candies: If you have picked up any Rare Candies from item balls or events, spending a few here is worth it — Gyarados pays back the investment immediately.
• Trainer battles: Route trainers with weak teams give big experience relative to Magikarp’s tiny level, and the EXP Share makes it safe.

Once Magikarp hits level 20, the evolution triggers automatically. Make sure your party has a free slot worth of power budget — a fresh level 20 Gyarados is immediately usable and often outclasses everything else you own at that point in the game.

Step 3 (Optional): Catch a Wild Gyarados

If you would rather skip the grind, wild Gyarados are widely available once you get the Super Rod. They appear on the Super Rod across a huge list of routes — Route 4, Route 6, Route 10, Route 11, Route 12, Route 13, Route 17, Route 19, Route 20, Route 22, and Route 24 — at rates around 15-16% between levels 15 and 25. You can also find them while surfing on Route 19 and Route 20 (around 15% at level 15-25) and, for higher-level specimens, surfing on Route 23 at around 5% between levels 30 and 34.

Wild Gyarados are much stronger than the Magikarp you fished earlier, so come prepared: bring a Pokémon with Thunder Wave or Sleep Powder, weaken it to the yellow, and throw Ultra Balls if you have them. With catch rate 45 it can be stubborn, so patience pays. If you are still early in the game and do not have a Super Rod yet, just evolve a Magikarp instead — it is faster than waiting for the rod.

A Note About the Red Gyarados at Lake of Rage

Veteran players will remember the famous red Gyarados from the Lake of Rage storyline. In Infinite Fusion the surprise at the lake is real but different: the red “Gyarados” waiting in the center of the lake turns out to be an impostor — a Magikarp/Gyarados fusion in red. It is a fun story moment, but you cannot catch a legitimate shiny Gyarados there. If you want the iconic red Gyarados for real, shiny hunting is the honest path — see our shiny hunting guide for the best methods.

Best Gyarados Moveset, Nature, and EVs in This Gyarados Infinite Fusion Guide

Gyarados is almost always a physical attacker in Infinite Fusion. Its 125 Attack versus 60 Special Attack makes the choice obvious, and its physical movepool is excellent. Here is the standard Dragon Dance sweeper set that works from mid-game all the way through the post-game:

• Dragon Dance — the whole point of the set. +1 Attack and +1 Speed turns Gyarados from a mid-tier attacker into a sweeper that outruns most of the game.
• Waterfall — your main STAB move. 80 power, 100% accuracy, and a 20% flinch chance. Reliable and spammable.
• Earthquake — covers the Electric types that threaten you and hits most Steel and Rock types hard. Non-STAB, but 100 base power fixes that.
• Crunch — Dark coverage for Psychic and Ghost types, with a handy Defense-drop chance.

Nature: Jolly (+Speed, -Sp. Attack) is the default choice — the Speed boost lets Gyarados outrun key threats after one Dragon Dance. Adamant (+Attack, -Sp. Attack) is the alternative if you want maximum wall-breaking power and are willing to risk a Speed tie or two.

EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP. Simple and optimal for a sweeper — maximize the two stats that define the role. You can run some HP or Defense investment for bulkier Intimidate pivot builds, but for the standard sweeper this spread is the standard for a reason. Use our fusion calculator to check how your EVs, IVs, and nature affect your final stats at any level.

Alternative Sets Worth Knowing

The Dragon Dance set is the flagship, but Gyarados has depth:

• Substitute + Dragon Dance: Substitute behind Gyarados’ natural bulk, then set up Dance while the opponent breaks the sub. Brutal against slower teams.
• Moxie cleaner: Same moves, Moxie ability instead of Intimidate. Weaken the opposing team first, then send Gyarados in to grab one KO and start snowballing.
• Intimidate pivot: Waterfall / Earthquake / Taunt or Thunder Wave / Dragon Tail, with bulkier EVs. Switch into physical attackers, drop their Attack, and force them out.
• Bounce: A Flying STAB option with a paralysis chance, though the two-turn nature makes it risky — usually worse than the three core coverage moves.

Gyarados as Fusion Material: Head vs Body

In Infinite Fusion, the head Pokémon contributes its primary type, ability pool, and movepool, while the body Pokémon contributes its stat spread, secondary typing, and movepool. Gyarados is a strong fusion parent on both sides, but the two roles give you very different things. Before you commit any DNA Splicers, plan the combination on our fusion tool so you can preview the typing, stats, and sprite.

Gyarados as Head

With Gyarados as the head, the fusion inherits Water as its primary type plus Gyarados’ abilities (Intimidate and Moxie) and its physical movepool — Waterfall, Dragon Dance, Earthquake, Crunch, and Bounce. This is the slot for fusions where you want the Dragon Dance sweep gameplan backed by a partner’s stats and typing. Gyarados-head fusions keep the classic serpentine face and tend to look appropriately menacing, which is half the fun.

Gyarados as Body

With Gyarados as the body, the fusion inherits the 125 Attack, the bulky 95/79/100 defensive spread, and Gyarados’ movepool, while the head partner sets the typing. This is arguably the more flexible slot: you can drop the Flying type (and that 4x Electric weakness) entirely, or keep a strong physical attacker chassis and bolt on a partner with better Speed or a better ability. Water/Flying head combinations with a Gyarados body keep the classic typing but upgrade the face.

Best Gyarados Fusions in Infinite Fusion

Gyarados pairs beautifully with physical attackers, fast sweepers, and bulky partners alike. These are the combinations that consistently perform, with both slot orders noted where the order matters. If you are new to fusion strategy generally, our best fusion combinations guide explains the typing and ability rules in more depth.

1. Gyarados + Dragonite

The two most iconic sea-and-sky serpents in one body. Gyarados-head / Dragonite-body gives you a Water primary typing with Dragonite’s monstrous 600 BST spread — the attack stat climbs even higher than base Gyarados, and you get Dragon Dance on a stronger chassis. Reversed, Dragonite-head / Gyarados-body hands you Multiscale on Gyarados’ body, which is genuinely unfair: a free setup turn behind the best defensive ability in the game. Either order is excellent; check both on the stat calculator before you commit. Our Dragonite guide covers Dragonite’s own side of the matchup if you want the full picture.

2. Gyarados + Charizard

The fan-favorite nuzlocke pairing for a reason: it covers almost everything. Gyarados-head / Charizard-body gives Water/Fire typing — one of the best offensive type pairs in the game — with Dragon Dance, Earthquake, and a special side that can actually use Fire STAB if the head/body stats line up. Charizard-head / Gyarados-body flips it to Fire/Water with a 125-Attack body and Gyarados’ physical bulk. Electric attacks still sting, but Ground immunity and a mountain of resistances make this fusion surprisingly hard to knock out.

3. Gyarados + Lapras

Gyarados + Lapras collapses to pure Water — and that is the point. Without Flying in the typing, the 4x Electric weakness disappears, and Lapras’ body brings an enormous HP stat and excellent special bulk to back Gyarados’ movepool. You keep Waterfall STAB and gain Lapras’ Ice coverage for the Dragon and Grass types that annoy pure Gyarados. This is the safest, most consistent Gyarados fusion: no glaring weaknesses, great bulk, and reliable damage. Perfect for players who want Gyarados’ power without the teambuilding headache.

4. Gyarados + Metagross

Metagross-body gives Gyarados-head a Steel defensive backbone: 130 Defense backing Intimidate, plus a typing that resists most of what hurts Water/Flying. The result is a Dragon Dance sweeper that can actually set up on physical attackers instead of fearing them. Metagross-head / Gyarados-body is the weirder but arguably scarier variant — Steel primary typing with 125 Attack, Earthquake, and Clear Body or Tough Claws depending on the ability pool, bulldozing through Fairy and Rock types that normally wall Steel sweepers. Either way, Steel coverage patches Gyarados’ worst matchups.

5. Gyarados + Tyranitar

Two Intimidate-era bruisers become one sandstorm tyrant. Tyranitar’s body brings Sand Stream and monstrous physical stats, and combined with Dragon Dance the fusion sweeps through anything that does not resist its STAB combo. The Rock typing helps with Flying and Bug coverage while Sandstorm chips away at opponents that try to stall out your setup turns. The shared weaknesses stack up (both dislike Fighting and Ground), so this one needs team support — but raw power-wise it is one of the strongest Gyarados fusions available. Build your team around it with our team builder.

6. Gyarados + Feraligatr

The budget-friendly monster fusion. Feraligatr brings Sheer Force-boosted Waterfall and Crunch to an already scary physical movepool, and the Water typing doubles down on the rain-game plan: set up rain (or use Feraligatr-body’s bulk to survive setting up Dragon Dance yourself), and Waterfall becomes one of the strongest spammable moves in the game. Both parents are available early and easy to train, making this the best Gyarados fusion for players who want results without late-game hunting. It pairs naturally with the money-farming strategies in our money farming guide, since you will want the vitamins and held items to max it out.

Mega Gyarados in Infinite Fusion

Mega Evolution takes everything Gyarados does and turns the volume up — while fixing its most famous problem. When Gyarados Mega Evolves, its typing changes from Water/Flying to Water/Dark, and that single change rewrites its matchup chart:

• The 4x Electric weakness is gone. Electric drops to a 2x weakness, and you gain immunity to Psychic plus resistances to Dark and Ghost.
• New weaknesses: Fairy, Grass, Bug, and Fighting are 2x. Electric joins them at 2x. You trade one devastating weakness for several manageable ones.
• Ability: Mold Breaker. Mega Gyarados ignores abilities like Sturdy, Multiscale, Levitate, and Unaware. Earthquake hits Levitate users, and setup sweepers relying on Multiscale get no free turn.

The stat changes are just as dramatic:

• HP: 95 (unchanged)
• Attack: 155 (+30)
• Defense: 109 (+30)
• Sp. Attack: 70 (+10)
• Sp. Defense: 130 (+30)
• Speed: 81 (unchanged)
• Total: 640 (+100)

That is +100 base stat total, concentrated exactly where Gyarados wants it: Attack, Defense, and Special Defense. A 155 Attack with Dragon Dance and Mold Breaker sweeps teams that base Gyarados could only dream about. The practical lesson: you do not need to Mega Evolve immediately. Base Gyarados’ Intimidate is often better for the setup turn, so many players lead with Intimidate, use Dragon Dance while the opponent switches, and Mega Evolve the following turn to lock in Mold Breaker and the Water/Dark typing for the sweep. Try the timing on the team builder to see how the typing shift changes your team’s coverage.

Team Role and Type Coverage

On a real team, Gyarados is a mid-game pivot and late-game sweeper in one slot. Early in a battle, Intimidate lets it switch into physical attackers almost for free — Fighting, Fire, and Ground types that threaten the rest of your team bounce off. Mid-battle, it forces switches: opponents hate letting Gyarados get a free Dragon Dance, which gives you momentum. Late-battle, after a Dance or a Moxie KO, it cleans up whatever is left.

The one non-negotiable rule of teambuilding with Gyarados is Electric coverage. You need at least one of: a Ground type that is immune to Electric, a fast Electric resist that can revenge-kill, or a fusion partner that removes the 4x weakness (like the Lapras fusion above). Pair Gyarados with a Ground/Flying or Grass type and the team’s defensive core snaps into place — Grass resists Electric and Water while Gyarados resists Fire and is immune to Ground, a natural synergy that has worked since the earliest competitive teams.

Gyarados Infinite Fusion Guide: FAQ

What level does Magikarp evolve into Gyarados in Infinite Fusion?

Magikarp evolves into Gyarados at level 20. No item or trade is needed — just level it up, most easily with the EXP Share while your stronger Pokémon do the fighting.

Where can I catch Gyarados in Pokémon Infinite Fusion?

Wild Gyarados appear on the Super Rod on many routes — Route 4, Route 6, Route 10, Route 11, Route 12, Route 13, Route 17, Route 19, Route 20, Route 22, and Route 24 — at around 15-16% between levels 15 and 25. You can also surf into them on Route 19 and Route 20 (about 15%, levels 15-25) and Route 23 (about 5%, levels 30-34).

What is the best nature for Gyarados?

Jolly is the best nature for most Gyarados builds because the Speed boost matters after a Dragon Dance. Adamant is the alternative for pure wall-breaking power. Never use a nature that lowers Attack or Speed.

Intimidate or Moxie — which Gyarados ability is better?

Intimidate is better for setup sweepers and pivot sets because it effectively gives you a free Dragon Dance turn and protects the team from physical attackers. Moxie is better for late-game cleaners that only come in once the opposing team is weakened — one KO starts a snowball that needs no setup at all.

Can you get the red Gyarados in Infinite Fusion?

Not at the Lake of Rage — the red “Gyarados” there is a story-event Magikarp/Gyarados fusion, not a catchable shiny. Real red Gyarados come from shiny hunting. A shiny Gyarados is one of the most iconic shinies in the franchise, so the hunt is worth it.

What is Gyarados’ best fusion partner?

For raw power, Dragonite — the combined stats and shared Dragon Dance gameplan are elite in either slot order. For the safest and most consistent fusion, Lapras, which removes the Flying type and its 4x Electric weakness entirely. For coverage and style, Charizard (Fire/Water) and Metagross (Steel defense) are both outstanding.

Is Gyarados good in Pokémon Infinite Fusion?

Yes — Gyarados is one of the best value-for-effort Pokémon in the game. A level 20 evolution from the most common fish in the game gives you a 540 BST sweeper with Dragon Dance, Intimidate, and excellent fusion potential. It stays relevant through the entire game and gets even better with Mega Evolution.

Conclusion

That is the complete Gyarados Infinite Fusion guide: catch a Magikarp almost anywhere there is water, evolve it at level 20, run Dragon Dance with Waterfall, Earthquake, and Crunch, pick Jolly or Adamant, and never build a team without an Electric answer. Then take it further — fuse it with Dragonite, Lapras, or Charizard, or Mega Evolve it into a Water/Dark Mold Breaker monster. Gyarados rewards you at every stage of the game, and it asks for almost nothing in return. Now go download Pokémon Infinite Fusion if you have not already, fish up your Magikarp, and let the sea serpent do what it does best.