Pokemon Go Magikarp Community Day announced for August, get a shiny Gyarados with Aqua Tail

Pokemon Go Magikarp Community Day
(Image credit: Niantic)

Trainers worldwide have been clamouring for this for a long time... the Pokemon Go Magikarp Community Day has finally been announced! Despite being one of the first shinies added to Pokemon Go, shiny Magikarp hasn't been the star of a Community Day yet, much to our dismay. The wait is over however, as we've got all the details on the August Community Day including the date, time, what shiny Magikarp and shiny Gyarados look like, how you can teach your Gyarados Aqua Tail during the Magikarp Community Day, and more.

Pokemon Go shiny Magikarp and shiny Gyarados

Shiny Magikarp, Shiny Gyarados

(Image credit: Niantic)

Let's cut to the chase; above you can see shiny Magikarp and shiny Gyarados in action. Shiny Magikarp has a golden tint to it, while shiny Gyarados is a lovely shade of red. Pokemon veterans reading this may remember shiny Gyarados from the Lake of Rage in Johto... those were the days.

How to get Gyarados with Aqua Tail

Pokemon Go Gyarados

(Image credit: Niantic)

Aqua Tail is the exclusive move Gyarados can learn as part of this Pokemon Go Community Day, but how do you make it happen? You essentially need to evolve a Magikarp into Gyarados during the Community Day timeframe, or for an extra two hours afterwards. It will then learn Aqua Tail. If you miss this timeframe, you're out of luck.

Magikarp Community Day date, time, and bonuses

Pokemon Go Magikarp Community Day

(Image credit: Niantic)

When is the Pokemon Go Community Day for August? There's not too long to wait, thankfully:

Date: Saturday, August 8
Time: 11am to 5pm local time

For this six-hour period, Magikarp will be found everywhere, flapping and flopping about in the streets. Pop an incense and a lucky egg then start throwing Poke Balls, because you'll quickly accumulate the 400 candy needed to evolve Magikarp thanks to the other bonuses:

  • 3x Catch Stardust
  • Incense lasts three hours
  • "Making a Splash" special research story
  • Event-exclusive field research tasks

Magikarp might be seen as a useless Pokemon sometimes, but we can't wait to get our hands on a shiny Gyarados. Good luck!

Ford James

Give me a game and I will write every "how to" I possibly can or die trying. When I'm not knee-deep in a game to write guides on, you'll find me hurtling round the track in F1, flinging balls on my phone in Pokemon Go, pretending to know what I'm doing in Football Manager, or clicking on heads in Valorant.