Gyarados (Mega)
Mega Gyarados is a Dark and Water type Mega Raid boss. Optimal raid counters will include powerful Electric Grass Fighting Bug and Fairy types, with quite a broad range of different counters available to help you defeat it.
Gyarados can be caught in the following CP ranges:
- 1855 CP – 1937 CP (no weather boost)
- 2319 CP – 2422 CP (boosted by Windy or Rainy weather)
Depending on your levels and counters, we would recommend 3-5 trainers who are high level, and more if you don’t have optimal teams. This guide will tell you how to beat this fan favourite Mega, as well as its optimal stats, moves and CP range.
Best Mega Gyarados Counters
Since Shadow Pokémon are extremely expensive to power up and require specific events to remove Frustration with a Charge TM, they will NOT be listed as raid counters in this article. That being said, if you have the shadow form of a listed raid counter Pokémon powered up and TMed, use it.
Let’s check out the top raid counters for Mega Gyarados:
| # | Pokémon | Fast Move | Charge Move | Time to win | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Gardevoir (Mega)
|
Charm Fairy |
Dazzling Gleam Fairy |
497.70s | 18.67 |
| 2. |
Blaziken (Mega)
|
Counter Fighting |
Focus Blast Fighting |
509.24s | 28.08 |
| 3. |
Sceptile (Mega)
|
Fury Cutter Bug |
Frenzy Plant Grass |
498.93s | 31.42 |
| 4. |
Venusaur (Mega)
|
Vine Whip Grass |
Frenzy Plant Grass |
571.85s | 20.83 |
| 5. |
Manectric (Mega)
|
Thunder Fang Electric |
Wild Charge Electric |
536.58s | 31.33 |
| 6. |
Pinsir (Mega)
|
Bug Bite Bug |
X-Scissor Bug |
593.40s | 31.17 |
| 7. |
Scizor (Mega)
|
Fury Cutter Bug |
X-Scissor Bug |
625.89s | 24.00 |
| 8. |
Ampharos (Mega)
|
Volt Switch Electric |
Zap Cannon Electric |
612.37s | 27.75 |
| 9. |
Beedrill (Mega)
|
Bug Bite Bug |
X-Scissor Bug |
580.93s | 37.25 |
| 10. |
Lopunny (Mega)
|
Double Kick Fighting |
Focus Blast Fighting |
611.70s | 30.58 |
| 11. |
Kartana
|
Razor Leaf Grass |
Leaf Blade Grass |
640.46s | 32.33 |
| 12. |
Alakazam (Mega)
|
Counter Fighting |
Dazzling Gleam Fairy |
634.80s | 40.58 |
| 13. |
Keldeo
|
Low Kick Fighting |
Sacred Sword Fighting |
690.20s | 26.42 |
| 14. |
Keldeo (Ordinary)
|
Low Kick Fighting |
Sacred Sword Fighting |
690.78s | 26.17 |
| 15. |
Terrakion
|
Double Kick Fighting |
Sacred Sword Fighting |
664.39s | 33.25 |
| 16. |
Latios (Mega)
|
Dragon Breath Dragon |
Solar Beam Grass |
686.67s | 31.83 |
| 17. |
Xurkitree
|
Thunder Shock Electric |
Discharge Electric |
665.11s | 38.92 |
| 18. |
Zekrom
|
Charge Beam Electric |
Wild Charge Electric |
713.55s | 31.75 |
| 19. |
Pheromosa
|
Bug Bite Bug |
Bug Buzz Bug |
658.81s | 46.67 |
| 20. |
Groudon (Primal)
|
Mud Shot Ground |
Solar Beam Grass |
758.84s | 26.78 |
| 21. |
Abomasnow (Mega)
|
Leafage Grass |
Energy Ball Grass |
738.88s | 31.17 |
| 22. |
Zarude
|
Vine Whip Grass |
Power Whip Grass |
771.01s | 23.17 |
| 23. |
Lucario
|
Counter Fighting |
Aura Sphere Fighting |
717.84s | 37.33 |
| 24. |
Medicham (Mega)
|
Counter Fighting |
Dynamic Punch Fighting |
722.34s | 41.67 |
| 25. |
Conkeldurr
|
Counter Fighting |
Dynamic Punch Fighting |
764.66s | 32.70 |
| 26. |
Salamence (Mega)
|
Dragon Tail Dragon |
Outrage Dragon |
791.14s | 28.90 |
| 27. |
Altaria (Mega)
|
Dragon Breath Dragon |
Dazzling Gleam Fairy |
810.19s | 24.83 |
| 28. |
Thundurus (Therian)
|
Volt Switch Electric |
Thunderbolt Electric |
753.78s | 40.00 |
| 29. |
Hawlucha
|
Low Kick Fighting |
Flying Press Fighting |
790.50s | 39.00 |
| 30. |
Machamp
|
Counter Fighting |
Dynamic Punch Fighting |
811.41s | 33.67 |
| 31. |
Sceptile
|
Fury Cutter Bug |
Frenzy Plant Grass |
774.31s | 39.14 |
| 32. |
Volcarona
|
Bug Bite Bug |
Bug Buzz Bug |
771.78s | 39.38 |
| 33. |
Breloom
|
Counter Fighting |
Dynamic Punch Fighting |
768.98s | 47.50 |
| 34. |
Electivire
|
Thunder Shock Electric |
Wild Charge Electric |
775.40s | 37.40 |
| 35. |
Gengar (Mega)
|
Lick Ghost |
Sludge Bomb Poison |
780.19s | 39.25 |
With a wide range of counters and a fair few different type weaknesses thanks to that Water and Dark dual typing, most trainers should find themselves able to whip up a strong team of counters. Many of the strong counters have had events or community days which helps! Reach for those powerful Grass Electric Fighting Fairy and Bug type Pokémon. So many of these counters are incredibly useful and versatile in terms of PVE, the likes of Machamp, Togekiss and Zekrom being a name we see pop up again and again.
How to Get Mega Gyarados
You cannot catch Gyarados in its mega evolved form from the raid. The mega raid boss is always catchable in its base form and as such, the CP ranges are for a regular Gyarados.
Gyarados can be caught with the following CP values:
- 1855 – 1937 CP no weather boost
- 2319 – 2422 CP boosted by Rainy or Fog weather boost
In order to get Mega Gyarados you will need 200 Mega Energy for the initial evolution, then 40 Mega Energy to evolve the same Gyarados again in the future. Mega Energy can be obtained via Mega Gyarados Raids, and once you have evolved Mega Gyarados, you can earn 5 Mega Energy per candy while walking it as your buddy. You can walk any Magikarp or Gyarados to earn Mega Energy, as long as you have previously evolved one to register it to your Mega Pokédex.
Gyarados Shiny
Like all Mega Raid Bosses, you can catch the shiny version of Gyarados from a raid, and also in the wild potentially, if you can find it! Gyarados does have a slight gender difference in both the regular and shiny sprites, with its whiskers changing colour.
| Regular Sprite (Male) | Shiny Sprite (Male) |
 |
 |
| Regular Sprite (Female) | Shiny Sprite (Female) |
 |
 |
Mega Gyarados Stats
|
Gyarados (Mega)
WaterDark
|
|||||
| Max CP at lvl 40 4717 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATK 292 | DEF 247 | HP 216 | |||
| Weak to | Strong Against | ||||
| Grass Electric Fighting Fairy Bug | Fire Ground Rock Psychic | ||||
With a whopping max CP at level 50 of 5332, Mega Gyarados was for a time, the highest CP Pokémon in Pokémon GO, overtaking the previous highest Mega Charizard Y. It is an absolute beast!
Mega Gyarados Moveset Analysis
| Fast Moves | Charge Moves |
|---|---|
|
|
* denotes Legacy move, only obtainable via Elite TM.
For optimal DPS Bite and Hydro Pump are the way to go. If you need your strongest Water type attacker, Waterfall and Hydro Pump are preferred for DPS, and for a Dark type attacker Bite and Crunch. Mega Gyarados doesn’t have Dragon typing, but if you want to use it as a Dragon type attacker you will need legacy move Dragon Tail with Outrage as the Charge move.
Conclusion
Mega Gyarados is a Pokémon that regardless of its stats, is going to be a Mega that people want on their teams, Gyarados is a fan favourite! It has a huge CP stat, and a high attack stat of 292, making it a great Water type attacker. It does have some big weaknesses, losing that type it has in its regular form means it is much more weak to Grass types than it used to be.
Mega Gyarados isn’t generally considered one of the top tier Megas, but with such a cool design, and so many trainers having a soft spot in their heart for this big shiny red beasty, does it really matter? It’ll be great to raid strong Fire types, and can be a help against Psychic and Ghost types, including the Mega Mewtwo forms, whenever they become available.
