Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokémon, is instantly recognizable with its fierce appearance and powerful presence. A key characteristic that often sparks curiosity among trainers is its dual Water and Flying-type. This combination, especially the Flying type, leads to the question: Why exactly is Gyarados a Flying type, and how does this influence its capabilities, including learning moves like Fly?
In the landscape of Pokémon type matchups, a Water/Dragon typing for Gyarados might seem intuitive given its serpentine design and immense power. However, in the original Generation 1 games, this typing would have been extraordinarily unbalanced. Water/Dragon boasted the incredible advantage of having no type weaknesses. This formidable combination would have made Gyarados virtually unstoppable offensively and defensively in the context of the early game mechanics.
The concept of Dragon-type Pokémon in Generation 1 was deliberately designed around rarity and strength. Pokémon like Dragonite were intended to be the pinnacle of non-legendary power, challenging to obtain and requiring significant effort to train. Imagine if Magikarp, one of the most common and easily accessible Pokémon, evolving into a no-weakness powerhouse at just level 20. A Water/Dragon Gyarados, especially with the Gen 1 Special stat mechanics where Special Attack and Special Defense were combined, would have completely overshadowed Dragonite and disrupted the intended balance. Its Base Stat Total of 540 (or even higher effective BST due to the Special stat split) would have been available far too early and easily.
The design philosophy behind Magikarp and Gyarados is crucial to understanding this typing decision. The evolution line is a narrative of transformation from utter uselessness to overwhelming power. Magikarp, the epitome of a weak and undesirable Pokémon, evolves into the fearsome Gyarados. This dramatic shift serves as a lesson: appearances can be deceiving, and even seemingly “garbage” Pokémon can hold incredible potential. Giving Gyarados a Water/Dragon typing would have clashed with the intended gameplay balance and diluted the special status of Dragon-types.
Therefore, the Flying type was strategically chosen for Gyarados. While seemingly less connected to its physical design than Dragon, the Flying type offered a crucial gameplay balancing factor: a significant 4x weakness to Electric-type attacks. This weakness, in turn, provided a clear counter and prevented Gyarados from being overwhelmingly dominant. Furthermore, the Flying type is not entirely without lore justification. Gyarados is often depicted leaping and soaring from the water, exhibiting aerial behaviors that, while not true flight, align with the thematic elements of the Flying type in the Pokémon world.
From a movepool perspective, the Flying type also opens up design space for Gyarados. While it doesn’t learn “Fly” through leveling up in most generations, it can learn Flying-type moves through TMs, HMs, or event distributions, moves like Bounce or Hurricane in later generations. This access to Flying-type moves is thematically consistent with its dual typing and allows for diverse battle strategies. Ultimately, the Water/Flying typing of Gyarados is a carefully considered design choice. It balances gameplay, respects the intended rarity and power of Dragon-types in Generation 1, and reinforces the core concept of the Magikarp evolution line. It allows Gyarados to be incredibly powerful, as befitting its fearsome reputation, while still maintaining strategic vulnerabilities within the established Pokémon battle system.
