How to Evolve Magikarp into Gyarados in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Ahh Magikarp, the absolutely useless fish Pokemon… until it evolves into an absolute monster of a water/flying-type in Gyarados. As such, you’re probably wondering how to evolve Magikarp into Gyarados in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, and we’re here to explain exactly what you need to know, including how to level up Magikarp easily.

Catching a Magikarp

Magikarp can be caught with an Old Rod from the water in Canalave City. It can also be caught using the Old Rod from pretty much any body of water in the game, making it incredibly easy to find.

Magikarp has a 33.3% chance of being caught with a Poke Ball at full HP, so you shouldn’t have many issues catching one.

Evolving Magikarp Into Gyarados in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

To evolve Magikarp into Gyarados, you’ll need to level it up to level 20. At this point, after the end of the Pokemon battle which caused it to level up, an animation will play.

Your Magikarp will then evolve into Gyarados in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.

How to Level Up Magikarp

The easiest way to level up Pokemon in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is to keep it in your party. That’s because this time around there is no EXP Share item, but your entire team will receive experience after every battle regardless of whether they battled or not.

You can also use Rare Candies whenever you find them, which immediately level up the Pokemon you use them on.

That’s everything you need to know on how to evolve Magikarp into Gyarados in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. For more tips, tricks and guides, head over to our wiki or see more of our coverage on the game below.