Summary
Gyarados has been a staple of thePokemonseries for a long time now, appearing for the first time in Gen 1 and then being available in every other mainline game since, often becoming increasingly stronger with new generations - or at least maintaining a power level that allows it to remain a competitive threat. With a type combination of Water and Flying that gives it only two weaknesses and five resistances, alongside an immunity to Ground moves, Gyarados is already a strong Pokemon, and its Intimidate Ability makes it even more powerful. However, Gyarados has a glaring issue that has been temporarily addressed from Gen 6 through Gen 9, and it puts Gen 10Pokemongames in a lose-lose situation.
While Gyarados' four-time weakness to Electric can be problematic, it is not its main issue - and it can also be offset in Gen 9, specifically, thanks toPokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Terastallization. Gyarados has a good kit overall thanks to a powerfulPokemontype combo, a great Ability that critters like Incineroar constantly make use of, and strong offensive capabilities with plenty of good moves to choose from. However, Gyarados has a good selection of Water-type moves, but it severely lacks Flying-type coverage, and that’s something that Gen 10 needs to address - but at the same time, there is no perfect solution.
How Gyarados' Flying-Type Problem Was Addressed in Modern Pokemon Games
Gyarados' Competitive Performance Hinges on Pokemon Battle Gimmicks
PokemonGen 10is still a long time coming, possibly releasing in November 2025 or even in 2026 to honor the series' 30th anniversary, and as such, fans know nothing about it just yet. It’s most likely that Gen 10 games will have an all-new battle gimmick, much like past games before it, and those have helped Gyarados shine over the years by giving it better Flying-type coverage or at least ways to do well without it.
Gen 6’s Mega Gyarados didn’t have new strong Flying-type attacks, but it was in a better spot overall as it had access to Earthquake, and it gained Dark as a secondary type as opposed to Flying, making moves like Crunch a better pick anyway. Gen 7 gave Gyarados Supersonic Skystrike as a Z-Move, which also helped with Flying-type coverage, and it was followed by Dynamax in Gen 8 and access to Max Airstream.Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Tera Blastalso gave Gyarados a powerful tool and the option to go for Tera Flying or any other type, making it more unpredictable and giving it coverage for any type, potentially.
Gen 10 is Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place With Gyarados
Gen 10 Pokemon Games Have to Address Gyarados' Coverage Problem or Skip it Altogether
to make Gyarados decent, Gen 10Pokemongames would need to add yet another gimmick capable of giving the Pokemon good Flying coverage, as it currently has only Hurricane as a Flying-type damaging move, and it doesn’t even take advantage of its high Attack stat. Without a dedicated battle gimmick to up its Flying game, Gyarados risks falling by the wayside, to the point thatGen 10Pokemongames may skip Gyaradosaltogether for the first time in the series' history.
That is not a solution, however, and the final option would be to give Gyarados new Flying-type moves to help it. This is easier said than done, though, as most Flying-type physical attacks don’t really fit thematically with Gyarados’s design, such as Brave Bird, Dual Wingbeat, or even Acrobatics. Gyarados being aFlying-type Pokemonhas always been complicated, as it has obvious Dragon-type elements that can’t be ignored, and its Water-type identity is much stronger, especially evolving from Magikarp. Overall, there is seemingly no good solution to the Gyarados problem followingPokemon Scarlet and Violet, and even a new battle gimmick would only be a temporary band-aid fix.
