Favorite Water Pokémon Picker

From Magikarp to Palafin: The Vast Ocean of Water-Types

There are more Water-type Pokémon than any other elemental type, and the reason is elegantly simple: Pokémon regions are designed after real-world locations, and roughly 71% of Earth's surface is covered by water. From the island-hopping routes of Kanto and the deep-sea diving areas of Hoenn to the vast ocean routes of Alola, every region is teeming with aquatic life waiting to be discovered.

The Magikarp-to-Gyarados evolution is one of the most emotionally satisfying moments in the franchise. Trainers raise a Pokémon that literally only knows Splash—the most useless move ever designed—through 20 grueling levels, only to be rewarded with a monstrous dragon-like serpent with 125 base Attack and an absolute roar. This underdog narrative is pure storytelling gold and explains why the Gyarados line is universally beloved even decades after Gen 1.

Water-type Legendaries are particularly noteworthy. Lugia, the silver guardian of the seas, starred in Pokémon: The Movie 2000 and remains a fan-favorite Legendary with its elegant, aerodynamic design and haunting film theme. Kyogre—the primordial deity of the ocean—represents water in its most ancient and elemental form, capable of expanding seas and blotting out the sky with endless rain. These titans give the Water type a mythological weight that rivals any other typing in the game. Use our Legendary Picker to rank the most powerful Water-type gods!

Rain Dominance: Competitive Water Strategies

In competitive Pokémon, Water-types are pillar Pokémon in virtually every metagame. Their excellent defensive typing, reliable recovery options, and access to powerful boosting moves make them some of the most durable and threatening Pokémon available. Perhaps no competitive archetype demonstrates this better than Rain Teams.

A Rain Team is built around the Drizzle ability (automatic Rainy weather) or a fast Pokémon using the Rain Dance move. Under rain, Water-type moves receive a 50% power boost, while Fire-type moves are weakened by 50%. Combined with the Swift Swim ability (which doubles the Speed of a Water-type Pokémon in rain), you create an archetype where Pokémon like Kingdra (with Swift Swim) become blindingly fast, massively powered-up threats that can shred through unprepared teams in a single turn.

Toxapex is perhaps the single most influential Water-type in Smogon competitive history. This regenerating pink sea urchin spent years as the single most-used Pokémon across all Smogon singles formats. Its combination of Regenerator (which heals it for a third of its max HP upon switching out), Baneful Bunker (a protective move that poisons contact attackers), and Scald (which has a 30% burn chance) made it a nearly impossible defensive wall to break through sustainably.

Greninja—specifically its Ash-Greninja Battle Bond form from the X and Y anime—became so powerful that it was banned from all non-Ubers formats. Its unique ability transformed it mid-battle after knocking out a foe, dramatically boosting its stats and giving it a super-powered Water Shuriken. The controversy around this form became one of the defining competitive stories of Generation 7.