Shadow Gyarados
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Best Movesets
Analysis
Shadow Gyarados is powerful without a doubt. It stands very high on the Water Type DPS charts in particular, making it a great choice for most players. In fact, Shadow Gyarados actually out-damages Mega Gyarados when not counting Mega Boosts! If you're lucky enough to find a high-IV Shadow magikarp, then Shadow Gyarados may be worth keeping over purifying for the sake of Mega Gyarados.
Offense
- Waterfall and Hydro Pump give Shadow Gyarados maximum Water Type damage
- Aqua Tail* is a solid second choice thanks to its lower energy cost and reliability, but the damage drop is noticeable.
- Bite and Crunch can make Shadow Gyarados acceptable as a Dark Type
- Dragon Breath and Outrage work if you're desperate for Dragon Type DPS
- Dragon Tail* is actually better for this, but it's legacy and not worth an Elite TM to obtain.
- Twister and Dragon Pulse* are not worth using.
Defense
- Dragon Tail* is arguably the best move for defense, though its Elite status makes it hard to obtain.
- Waterfall is generally just as good.
- Crunch and Aqua Tail* both have a low energy cost and solid neutral coverage, making them great choices for defense.
- Outrage also has great neutral coverage and high power, but it's more expensive and is fairly easy to dodge.
- Twister comes out fast and often, but it's also a weak move.
- Dragon Pulse*, Dragon Breath, and Bite are all inferior choices.
Dragon Breath is a blessing to virtually anything that has it, and Shadow Gyarados is definitely no exception. It sports solid Damage per Turn despite a lack of STAB and high Energy per Turn, which makes it Shadow Gyarados' objectively best quick move despite lacking stab.
Aqua Tail is an incredibly cheap move that can provide frequent shield pressure, while Twister offers additional threats against many of the Dragons of the league while retaining a very low energy cost and great DPE.
For other options, we have Crunch and its good neutral coverage/chance to debuff Defense, though it's generally not worth losing Aqua Tail or Twister. Outrage has just a little bit of a DPE advantage over Twister, but the substantially higher energy cost makes it not really worth it, while Dragon Pulse has a lower DPE and higher energy cost compared to Twister. Finally, Hydro Pump can offer a sudden Water Type nuke, but it's hard to fit into Shadow Gyarados' moveset and is very expensive.
Shadow Gyarados is a great Pokemon, but not here.
