Going into Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A, I expected to face some difficult encounters with alpha Pok\u00e9mon, much like in the game\u2019s predecessor. What I wasn\u2019t expecting was for an alpha Magikarp to brutally Hydro Pump me into oblivion for daring to look its way. How was I supposed to know it could do that?<\/p>\n
Appearing in Pok\u00e9mon ZA\u2019s Wild Zone 2, alpha Magikarp is a sight to behold. The extra-large fish Pok\u00e9mon flops around on the grass or lurks in the pond and, at least in my encounter, starts the battle with Splash. This lulled me into a false sense of security, thinking, \u201cOh, this must be a joke alpha!\u201d But then, the aforementioned Hydro Pump one-shot my active \u2018mon and made my trainer black out. I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that this brave Magikarp must be taking revenge for all its fallen brethren over the decades.<\/p>\n
To be fair to myself, the gen 1 Pok\u00e9mon is known for its incredibly weak learnset, which has never included Hydro Pump outside of moves learned by TM. So, once you get over the initial fear of this flopping fish, you should consider it as an asset. Magikarp evolves into Gyarados starting from level 20, so if you catch this bad boy, you can get a stat-boosted behemoth for your team. Just make sure that you\u2019re a high enough rank in the Z-A Royale that it\u2019ll actually listen to you, though.<\/p>\n