Why on earth is Gyrados water flying type?

[MudkipMeister]

I mean seriously! He can´t Fly! Why is he not a dragon type! He learns dragon moves, can´t learn flying moves, and yet he´s a water FLYING type! WHY?!

 

[KantoManto]

He could never learn fly in the games either, never understood the flying type, was always a OHKO with Thunder

 

[Guest123_x1]

I didn't think being part-Flying made sense for Gyarados until I noticed there were little "wings" on its head. One would think the Dragon type would make more sense for it, but they probably didn't want to test the waters with a Water/Dragon type back then (mainly because the only Dragon-type move of Generation I is a fixed-HP move, and Water/Dragon was only weak to Dragon until Generation VI-never mind that Game Freak introduced a no-weakness type combo in Dark/Ghost with Sableye in Generation III-though its no-weakness situation was resolved with Generation VI's Fairy type).

 

[VisionofMilotic]

I think had Gyarados been born into any generation other than the first one he would have joined his brother kingdra as a water/dragon type. His physical attributes and movepool tell us that he's a dragon trapped behind a water/flying label.

I agree with what has been previously mentioned that he would have been ahead of his time without fairy types to check him. There would have been no way to get any super-effective damage on him. His water typing would have neutralized ice weakness and dragon would have neutralized grass and electricity, rendering him op.

Though I can see the rationale of adding flying to make it weak to something, I do find it odd that they did not attempt to put any restraints on psychic Pokemon in a similar fashion during gen 1 since bug type moves were left totally undeveloped and not a viable way to hurt them.

In any case since Game Freak chose to make Gyarados a water/flying type they need to actually give him some flying moves. He learns absolutely zero flying moves by level up and can be tutored in 1 silly move of bounce. Tl

Gyarados is one of my all time favorite Pokemon and there are a lot of possibilities I think that could be explored. If Gyarados could learn roost he would shoot up to just fantastic on defense. Sky attack with a power herb would also leave the blood of your enemies all over the walls and ceiling...

This probably would be too overpowered for normal in-game, but perhaps there could a special event Gyarados limited in number with the move Dragon Ascent. Much like the dragon rage magikarp in Japan. Just tossing some ideas around...

 

[Deepak706]

i think gyrados is Dragon Water not flying

 

[feniter91]

Maybe Gyarados is Flying type so it can be stronger against more types and vs grass types? :o

 

[CidHazard]

Magicarp and Gyarados based on a old Chinese myth about a lowly carp jumping upwards atop a waterfall aptly named the dragon gate, after doing so the carp turns into a giant dragon (It's meant to symbolize great fortune or success for those who try hard)

Now we can see it in Gyarados's design that he's meant to be a Dragon (Heck the Water/Dragon makes sense because of the myth), and if he was designed in any gen other than one, I think that'd be the case. But you got to look at it from a Gen 1 designers point of view, Dragons are special - no weakness (That's why Dragonite has two types, just so it can be given a weakness;remember that the only damaging dragon type move was Dragon rage which deals base HP damage so it doesn't really hit super effective and twister which is just a weak move - can you imagine having a mono Dragon back in gen 1) Giving the type to other pokemon would be a balancing issue. With the later gens more dragon type moves are introduced, and the Ice typing and the recent fairy typing (The reason why we can have a Dragon/Fighting) meant that dragons we're more susceptible (just look at gen 5 where the fairy typing gave us 8 new dragon type pokemon [not counting those that already had the dragon typing]).

Just by design Charizard, Gyarados, and Tyranitar are dragon based Pokemon, they just don't have the dragon type (Game freak addressed it in XY giving Charizard Fire/Dragon oddly enough tho they gave Gyarados Water/Dark) In the end you can just say that they were dragons they just don't have the typing to show it.

 

[Aura-]

I always loved his design. The thing that I don't understand is, why can't they change his typing in these generations? I mean, Marril for example went from just Water to Water-Fairy and I didn't hear anybody complain about it? Or the Clefairy/Jigglypuff line went from Normal -> Fairy. Game Freak bro, give Gyarados some love...

 

[PercyX]

That moment when "Gyarados used Fly" would be possible.
Actually it might be logically.
there is a certain kind of fish specie (whose name I don't remember) which jumps so high and can be postulated to be flying .
also, it looks very similar to our beloved M-gyarados .

 

[Hikamaru]

As CidHazard said, the Magikarp line was based on a Chinese myth about a carp that became a dragon, hence Gyarados' dragon-like appearance. As for why Gyarados was Water/Flying, I think it was because Magikarp are obtainable early and giving Gyarados the Dragon-type would make it overpowered as well as devalue the rarity that the Dragon-type is meant to be.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

Well, its official... It took us 6 generations to get to this point, but Gyarados finally learned a flying move by level up. In Pokemon sun and moon Gyarados will take flight for the first time at level 48. The bad news is the move is hurricane...

Great move, but not for a strictly physical attacker. I think we haven't seen him touch the sky for the last time though, a physical move wil follow eventually.

 

[LadyLucina]

Maybe Gyarados is Flying type because, like Bagon, Magikarp dreamed of flying. So it became the Flying type.

 

[Hikamaru]

Well, its official... It took us 6 generations to get to this point, but Gyarados finally learned a flying move by level up. In Pokemon sun and moon Gyarados will take flight for the first time at level 48. The bad news is the move is hurricane...

Great move, but not for a strictly physical attacker. I think we haven't seen him touch the sky for the last time though, a physical move wil follow eventually.

Wow I never knew Gyarados got a new move in 7th Gen!

But it had to work off its worse attacking stat, and that makes me very sad.

 

[Somewhere_]

magikarp was just tired of splashing and needed a more airy feeling