Pokemon Sun & Moon: How to Get Red Gyrados (Shiny)

How to Get Red Gyrados (Shiny) in Pokemon Sun & Moon

While Pokemon Sun & Moon take the series to the Alola region for the first time, with new unique versions of classic Pokemon, the possibility to bag yourself a shiny Pokemon is still present. The Red Gyrados has been a thing since the Johto titles (Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal) which gave you the ability to catch one fairly easily (though you only got one shot at it). As such, you may be wondering what you need to do to get a red Gyrados in Pokemon Sun and Moon.

While there’s no one-off chance to get a red Gyrados in Pokemon Sun and Moon as there is in Johto, you can still get one. You can either evolve a shiny Magikarp, which will transform into the rare variant of the Dragon-type creature. For this method, you’re best heading to one of Magikarp’s main spawn points and trying to force SOS battles whenever possible to maximize the number of Magikarp encounters you have each battle. The best locations for Magikarp in Pokemon Sun and Moon are Melemele Meadow, Melemele Sea, Kala’e Bay, Paniola Town, Routes 5, 7, 8 and 9 if you’re only just starting out on your adventure.

Alternatively, you can hope the RNG Gods are smiling down at you. With red Gyrados basically being the shiny variant of the Gen I creature, every time you encounter one in the wild, you have a chance of it being shiny. How good are those odds? They’re the same pretty insane 1/8192 odds shiny hunters are likely familiar with by now.

That’s all you need to know to get a red Gyrados in Pokemon Sun & Moon. For more on the games, be sure to check out our comprehensive wiki.