Summary
Pokemon Unitefans were treated to a solid year in 2023, with the game adding 14 new playable creatures for players to check out. Most recently,Pokemon Uniteadded Meowscarada and Metagross in December 2023, capping off the year with two popular mons joining its playable roster. While it might be hard for 2024 to deliver the same level of exciting new additions,Pokemon Uniteis starting the year off right by bringing players one of the most iconic Gen 1 critters, and they won’t have to wait long to try it out since this new addition releases on January 24.
Although it might seem like a strange choice to include inPokemon Unite’s roster of playable charactersdue to it being an infamously weak critter, Magikarp is likely one of the series' most well-known creatures outside of Pikachu. With this in mind, it’s odd that Magikarp took this long to come toPokemon Unitegiven its iconic status as a recognizable Gen 1 mon. The addition of Magikarp also means that Gyarados will be playable inPokemon Unite, and players will be able to use this fearsome monster as well when Magikarp drops later this month.
Pacific (PST)
11:00 PM June 02, 2025
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2:00 AM June 30, 2025
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Players can begin accessingMagikarp and Gyarados inPokemon Uniteas the update starts rolling out on January 24 and 25, depending on the player’s region. Despite not being fully released until this date, some information is known about how these characters will play based on their availability onPokemon Unite’s Public Test server back in December of last year. Those players who were able to access Magikarp and Gyarados during their test periods have revealed what players can expect in terms of gameplay when joining the fray as these new critters.
What Players Can Expect from Magikarp and Gyarados' Pokemon Unite Gameplay
Magikarp itself is not the most powerful creature, infamously only being able to use a few attacks in the mainlinePokemonseries. These moves translate toPokemon Uniteas well, with Magikarp only knowing Splash, which doesn’t deal damage but allows players to launch themselves a short distance, and Flail, which deals more damage the less HP Magikarp has left. Another interesting mechanic that Magikarp is introducing is a new evolution method, whereMagikarp evolves into Gyaradoswhen its effort gauge is full rather than when it reaches a specific level like other mons inPokemon Unite.
Once Magikarp evolves into Gyarados, it gains access to some of Gyarados' most powerful moves from the main series, such as Waterfall, Aqua Tail, Dragon Breath, and Bounce. This moveset gives Gyarados a wide variety of options that support its role as aMelee Speedstersince moves like Bounce and Waterfall give it mobility, while Aqua Tail and Dragon Breath deal damage and allow Gyarados to close the gap against opponents. Gyarados' aggressive play style is also supported by its Passive Ability Moxie, which reduces the cooldowns for its moves every time it scores a KO or Assist.
One factor that is still largely unknown about Magikarp and Gyarados’Pokemon Unitedebut is the cosmetic options that will be available for them via Holowear. While giving Gyarados a costume themed around its classicRed Gyarados shiny formnotable for its appearance in the Johto games makes a lot of sense,Pokemon Unitehas yet to feature shiny variants of its playable characters as cosmetics. There will likely be some kind of special Holowear available to commemorate these new additions, but it’s unclear what that cosmetic would look like.
