Gyarados



= Bio = Gyarados is brutally vicious and enormously destructive. They say that during past wars, he would appear and leave blazing ruins in his wake. Once Gyarados goes on a rampage, his ferociously violent blood doesn't calm until he has burned everything down. There are records of this Pokémon's rampages lasting a whole month. When Magikarp evolved into Gyarados, his brain cells underwent a structural transformation. It is said that this transformation is to blame for this Pokémon's wildly violent nature. The Hyper Beam he shoots from its mouth totally incinerates all targets, while his Aqua Tail can take a tree right out from its roots. (Excerpts taken from http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Gyarados_(Pokémon) & slightly modified)

Childhood
Born into the infamous body of water known as the Lake of Rage, Gyarados grew up seemingly the same as any other Magikarp. Useless and unwanted, he simply swam around aimlessly, hoping to find what ever little food he could to stay alive. Fellow Gyarados were not kind, as they would keep the food to themselves. At the ripe age of 4, he was captured by Team Rocket in their attempt to revive their radioactive experiments (yes, the same ones that caused the Red Gyarados phenomenon). However, as usual Team Rocket failed miserably in their attempt and all the captured Magikarps were dropped into the oceans of Hoenn. Separated from his family and the life he once knew, Gyarados swam and swam until he found an underwater cavern, which ultimately led to his new found home in the calm waters of Sootopolis City. Still a Magikarp, he resided there for a few more years, when the catastrophic battle broke out between Groudon and Kyogre. Summoned by the stolen orbs possessed by Team Aqua and Team Magma, the two legendaries fought right in the middle of Sootopolis City, which gave Gyarados a first-row seat. Witnessing this legendary battle, specifically the appearance of the physically similar Rayquaza, sparked a renewed sense of purpose in life for Gyarados, as he now was determined to become something much more in life.

Adolescence
After years of hardship and disappointment in his goals, Gyarados (while still a level 17 Magikarp) became depressed. Unsure of whether he should continue to pursue his lifelong dreams, coupled with the lack of guidance from family (Who still reside in the Lake of Rage) and friends, he settled into the ways of the numerous underachieving Magikarp. He seemed content with his life from the outside, but what went on in his mind was a completely different story. Gyarados would bide his time away from all the other fish in the lake, lost in a downward spiral of mental insanity. While other Magikarp & Gyarados would frolic and splash about throughout the lake, he would just float around behind the Sootopolis Gym, completely engulfed in his own world. A world that consisted of vengeful retaliation schemes, heartache & humiliation, and a mountain of regret, all brought about by his harsh upbringing and self-pity. However, after months of drowning in his sorrows and disappointment, a fire was once again ignited within his soul, and he restarted his journey toward empowerment.

Early Adulthood
As Gyarados reached level 19, he began to see things from a different perspective. For the first time in years, he felt a sense of purpose in life, a renewed lust for living. He'd seen the transformation from Magikarp to Gyarados first-hand, and knew he was close. But he didn't just want to be any odd Gyarados, he wanted to be the best one around. After all, what purpose is it coming all this way just to end up blending in with the majority? He put his problems and pains aside and focused full force on getting the most out of his evolution. And finally, in March of 2012, all his hard work paid off as he evolved into a majestic Gyarados. Despite this drastic improvement in his physical being, Gyarados had to come face to face with everything he'd shut out from his past...and if you know how the Gyarados species is, you know that it didn't go well. Gyarados has been on a steady path of destruction since his evolution, and doesn't appear to be calming down anytime soom.

Family
Separated from his family at just four years old, Gyarados lives on his own in the waters of Sootopolis City. He once ventured out to try and find his way back to the Lake of Rage, but met a Milotic along the way and fell in love, dashing all hopes of returning to his original home in Johto. It is unknown whether or not his family still resides in the Lake of Rage, but we hope to find out in the future.

= Conflicts =

Dragonite
Gyarados' ongoing feud with Lance's Dragonite (Dragonite on Twitter) is perhaps the most well-known of his conflicts. It began with a simple remark by Dragonite, who stated that Gyarados weren't real dragons, and are merely a bunch of overgrown shrimp. Gyarados, as he usually does with statements regarding him, took great offense to this and thus the feud was born. Gyarados claims that Dragonites are just discoloured replicas of a favourite children's character named Barney the Friendly Dinosaur, and has even gone as far as saying Dragonite is nothing more than a disgrace to Dragons, having gone from "pure elegance as a Dragonair to a fatass who looks like he overdosed on happy pills".

The battle between the two doesn't just stay between the two of them either - when Lance, Kanto Champion, entertained the idea of replacing the Gyarados in his party with another Dragonite, Gyarados once again took offense to this and gave Lance a stern warning, saying "replace Gyarados with Dragonite, and i'll replace your house with a casket". Needless to say, Lance decided against his idea and kept the Gyarados in his party. Gyarados has brought Dragonite's family into the matter as well - he claims to have slept with Dragonite's little sister Dragonair, as well as three of her friends. Dragonite denies this statement, saying he doesn't even have a sister, but his trainer Lance has gone on record saying he in fact has two.

On several occasions, Gyarados has challenged Dragonite to a 1-on-1 battle. Dragonite, however, has denied all these challenges for unknown reasons. Gyarados claims that Dragonite is terrified of his Ice Fang, while Dragonite rebuttals by saying his Thunderbolt would "turn Gyarados into fried shrimp". Many would like to see the two square off, but it is yet to be determined if this battle will ever happen.

Huntail
Gyarados is quite adamant about his dislike for the Huntail species, saying on several occasions that they are "bootleg Gyarados wannabes" (and their counterpart Gorebyss are just wannabe Milotics, for that matter). One Huntail in particular took offense to this, and the two exchanged insults back and forth until Huntail met Gyarados face-to-face one morning. To sum up the aftermath of that confrontation, Huntail's remains were buried in his own neighbourhood, and (perhaps out of fear) other Huntails haven't taken any shots at Gyarados since.

Spearow
A flock of Spearows (Spearow on twitter), notorious for their obnoxious and aggressive temperament, clashed with Gyarados while he was on a bird-eating spree. Gyarados was slithering through the forest near Fortree City, feasting on the range of birds in the area. A flock of Spearows flying overhead saw this destruction of their kind, and attacked Gyarados pecking him mercilessly. Unable to combat the hundreds of birds all attacking him at once, he retreated to the water. The two sides have traded harsh words back and forth occasionally since that encounter, but have not met since (although Gyarados still regularly feasts on all sorts of birds including Spearows).

Grovyle
Green the Grovyle (LeafyGecko on Twitter) was aimlessly wandering around one day, when he ventured a little too far into Gyarados' territory. As Gyarados slithered towards him fangs bearing, Green stood his ground. This proved to be a fatal error in judgement. After several Ice Fangs, Green succumbed to Gyarados' onslaught, and was promptly devoured. He has since been reborn as a Treecko, although the cycle is doomed to repeat itself.

Croconaw
Croconaw is well known around the community for harassing others, so it's no surprise that when he began harassing Gyarados things escalated to enormous proportions. For several months, the two traded insults back and forth, and even used fellow innocent pokemon as "punching bags" to display their dominance. Unsatisfied with the small talk, Gyarados challenged Crocanaw to a battle. Crocanaw accepted, and went after Gyarados in his own lake. Gyarados didn't waste any time in putting Croc away, pinning him under a huge boulder at the bottom of the sea. Crocanaw hasn't been seen since, and it is unknown what his current whereabouts or condition is. Logic would suggest that he is still pinned under the boulder, but with the amount of time that has passed since that encounter there is no way he'd still be alive.

Geodude
Gyarados has recently begun what he calls "Project Geodied", where he drags (usually several at a time) Geodudes into his lake and drowns them. It is suspected that he developed a hatred for Geodudes after succumbing to their Rock Slide attacks (Rock is Grumpy Gyarados' only weakness). In order to exact revenge upon them, he slithers into rocky regions and adds to his "project".

Lugia
Gyarados squared off with the Guardian of the Seas after running into him underwater on a particularly bad day. After a short battle, Lugia knocked Gyarados out with an Aeroblast. Misquoting the famous Skyrim phrase, Gyarados describes the battle as "I was really kicking ass, but then I took an Aeroblast to the knee". Clearly Gyarados was disoriented after the fight, seeing as he doesn't even have any knees. That said, their feud is in the past and the two have actually become acquaintances, visiting each other often.

= Love Life = Gyarados has had a storied and eventful love life, which began when he was still a Magikarp lost in the waters of Hoenn. Details are unclear, but it's been said that Gyarados has had lengthy relationships with three separate Milotics, as well as a few short ones with Dragonairs. Gyarados has also had numerous flings with Lapras, Gorebyss and Vaporeon.

= Trainers = Gyarados is known for calling Misty, leader of the Cerulean City Gym, his beloved trainer, although it is uncertain how or if he has ever even interacted with her. Speculations and rumours are abundant regarding this issue, seeing as Gyarados supposedly lives in Hoenn and can't possibly swim to the gym in Kanto and back on a daily basis.

= Moves =

4 Main Moves

 * Earthquake
 * Aqua Tail
 * Bounce
 * Ice Fang

Other Moves

 * Bite
 * Waterfall
 * Thrash
 * Hyper Beam
 * Dragon Dance
 * Dragon Rage
 * Outrage
 * Aeroblast (learned with the help of Lugia. GuardianOfSeas on Twitter)

= The "Gyarados Gang" = Gyarados has no friends, thanks to his violent behaviour and hostile attitude towards everyone. That said, he only associates with others of his kind, and thus has formed a group made up of Gyarados. This group goes by the game "Gyarados Gang". This gang consists of the following members:

Original three members:
 * Gyarados (Gang Leader)
 * Gyaraderp (Gang Admin)
 * Gyaradude (Gang Admin)

Secondary members:
 * Gyaradrugged
 * Gyaradouche
 * Gyaradick
 * Gayarados
 * Gyaradawg
 * Gyaredos
 * Gyaradoze

Tertiary members
 * Gyaradri
 * Gyaradox
 * Gyaradyke
 * Gyaradrunk
 * Gyaradoom
 * Gyaradump
 * Gyaradumb
 * Gyaradoll
 * Gyaradork
 * Gyaradrake
 * Gyaradeuce
 * Gyaraderpette
 * Gyaradoschizo

= Trivia = The average Gyarados is 21 feet, 4 inches long and weighs in at 518.1 pounds. Grumpy Gyarados is quite large in comparison, measuring an even 22 feet long and weighing in at 534.0 pounds.