Gyarados

Gyarados in the anime: James's runaway and Misty's test

Two anime Gyarados stand out. In "Pokémon Shipwreck," James's Magikarp evolves after he kicks it into the water in frustration, and the new Gyarados turns on him and leaves. Later, in "Cerulean Blues," Misty has to face down her fear of Gyarados to pass an inspection of the Cerulean Gym; she calms one and keeps it.

Gyarados on cards: from Base Set to Misty's Gyarados, twice

Gyarados's first card is Base Set #6 from January 1999, one of that set's holographic rares, illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita. Our catalog lists 61 Gyarados printings across 41 sets, most heavily from the XY (12) and WOTC (10) eras. Mitsuhiro Arita and 5ban Graphics lead its illustrator credits with 11 and 9.

The Wizards era gave it a run of owner variants: Dark Gyarados in Team Rocket (2000), then Misty's Gyarados and Giovanni's Gyarados in Gym Challenge (2000), both illustrated by Ken Sugimori. Destined Rivals (2025) revived the Misty's Gyarados name with a new card illustrated by GOSSAN, Gyarados's most recent printing. In between, Neo Revelation (2001) gave it a Shining card, FireRed & LeafGreen (2004) a Gyarados ex, Holon Phantoms (2006) a Gold Star Gyarados ☆ δ, and later sets Secret Rare EX, GX and VMAX treatments in BREAKpoint (2016), Crimson Invasion (2017) and Evolving Skies (2021). Celebrations' Classic Collection (2021) reprinted Team Rocket's Dark Gyarados.

Why collectors care about Gyarados

Gyarados has picked up nearly every rare treatment the game has offered. Its Base Set holo belongs to the original 1999 print run, and since then it has received a Shining card, a Gold Star, an EX-era ex, Secret Rare EX, GX and VMAX printings and two different Misty's Gyarados cards, which lets collectors follow the game's changing rare treatments through a single Pokémon.

Cards to know

• Gyarados (Base Set #6)

  Gyarados's first card, a 1999 Base Set holo illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita.

• Misty's Gyarados (Gym Challenge #13)

  A 2000 Holo Rare from the Gym series of Gym Leader's Pokémon, illustrated by Ken Sugimori.

• Shining Gyarados (Neo Revelation #65)

  One of Neo Revelation's alternate-colored Shining Pokémon, illustrated by Ken Sugimori.

• Gyarados ☆ δ (Holon Phantoms #102)

  A 2006 Gold Star Delta Species Gyarados, illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda.

• Gyarados VMAX (Evolving Skies #207)

  A 2021 Secret Rare illustrated by Shin Nagasawa.

• Misty's Gyarados (Destined Rivals #049)

  A 2025 Rare illustrated by GOSSAN, reviving the Misty's Gyarados name about 25 years after Gym Challenge, and Gyarados's most recent card.