Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Here is the first of the new 7-star Tera Raid Battles for 2026…and quite likely the only one, as the focus has moved on to Pokémon Champions while development resources are probably concentrated on Pokémon Wind and Waves. Not sure what prompted the idea for this internally, but here it is, favailable for the remainder of July 2026.
Magikarp, of course, has long had a legacy as a joke character in the Pokémon series. When it was new, the name “Magikarp” held wonder, but it was to deceive you into acquiring it from an NPC. It could barely battle at all, and it was supposed to feel like a ripoff—until you can get it to Level 20, when it becomes the much stronger Gyarados. This is reflected in the anime too, where James falls for a salesman’s tricks and buys a Magikarp off of him, only to get frustrated at its lack of capacity to battle…until it evolves and becomes a rampaging monster. Its uselessness is also reflected in the TCG, where it always has the minimum 30 HP and usually no damaging attacks or minimal damage, and your goal is to find Gyarados to evolve it ASAP. More Pokémon would be designed later inspired by Magikarp, being a very weak Pokémon that assumes a far stronger form. The most direct successors are Feebas and Wishiwashi, but some downplayed examples include Beldum, Cosmog, and Tynamo.
Pretty much anything will work, as long as you remember to Terastallize promptly as to not run out of time, as Magikarp puts up the barrier immediately and holds onto it the entire battle long. However, this is what I used to speed up the battle:
Gooyère (Goodra) (Hisuian)
Level 100
Ability: Gooey
Base Stats: 252 HP, 252 Sp. Attack, 6 Defense
Hold Item: Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Tera: Dragon
Moves: Body Press, Shelter, Chilling Water, Dragon Pulse
This one is meant to invoke said reputation Magikarp has of uselessness: unlike its predecessors in the “Unrivaled” series, Magikarp the Unrivaled will not reset your stat gains, reset its own stat drops, absorb Tera energy making you wait one more turn to Terastallize, or call on moves outside of what you’d get when you catch it. It will, however, follow a script just like the others. This one is the least complicated though: at seven points in the battle, Magikarp the Unrivaled will use Splash, in addition to whatever moves it would’ve used that turn (between Splash, Tackle, and Flail).
For the record, in Pokémon Sword and Shield, Magikarp could learn Hydro Pump via TR03, but it cannot learn Hydro Pump in any way in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Magikarp the Unrivaled DOES have maximum Individual Values in all stats though, and is fixed to the Adamant Nature, fitting for evolving into Gyarados. I wonder what’s going to be more common over time: leaving it as Magikarp the Unrivaled or evolving it into Gyarados the Unrivaled.
Here is the first of the new 7-star Tera Raid Battles for 2026…and quite likely the only one, as the focus has moved on to Pokémon Champions while development resources are probably concentrated on Pokémon Wind and Waves. Not sure what prompted the idea for this internally, but here it is, favailable for the remainder of July 2026.
Magikarp, of course, has long had a legacy as a joke character in the Pokémon series. When it was new, the name “Magikarp” held wonder, but it was to deceive you into acquiring it from an NPC. It could barely battle at all, and it was supposed to feel like a ripoff—until you can get it to Level 20, when it becomes the much stronger Gyarados. This is reflected in the anime too, where James falls for a salesman’s tricks and buys a Magikarp off of him, only to get frustrated at its lack of capacity to battle…until it evolves and becomes a rampaging monster. Its uselessness is also reflected in the TCG, where it always has the minimum 30 HP and usually no damaging attacks or minimal damage, and your goal is to find Gyarados to evolve it ASAP. More Pokémon would be designed later inspired by Magikarp, being a very weak Pokémon that assumes a far stronger form. The most direct successors are Feebas and Wishiwashi, but some downplayed examples include Beldum, Cosmog, and Tynamo.
Pretty much anything will work, as long as you remember to Terastallize promptly as to not run out of time, as Magikarp puts up the barrier immediately and holds onto it the entire battle long. However, this is what I used to speed up the battle:
Gooyère (Goodra) (Hisuian)
Level 100
Ability: Gooey
Base Stats: 252 HP, 252 Sp. Attack, 6 Defense
Hold Item: Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Tera: Dragon
Moves: Body Press, Shelter, Chilling Water, Dragon Pulse
This one is meant to invoke said reputation Magikarp has of uselessness: unlike its predecessors in the “Unrivaled” series, Magikarp the Unrivaled will not reset your stat gains, reset its own stat drops, absorb Tera energy making you wait one more turn to Terastallize, or call on moves outside of what you’d get when you catch it. It will, however, follow a script just like the others. This one is the least complicated though: at seven points in the battle, Magikarp the Unrivaled will use Splash, in addition to whatever moves it would’ve used that turn (between Splash, Tackle, and Flail).
For the record, in Pokémon Sword and Shield, Magikarp could learn Hydro Pump via TR03, but it cannot learn Hydro Pump in any way in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Magikarp the Unrivaled DOES have maximum Individual Values in all stats though, and is fixed to the Adamant Nature, fitting for evolving into Gyarados. I wonder what’s going to be more common over time: leaving it as Magikarp the Unrivaled or evolving it into Gyarados the Unrivaled.
