From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
Red Gyarados (Japanese: あかいギャラドス Red Gyarados) is a term used to refer to a Gyarados that is Shiny, which is red rather than its usual blue. According to the anime, this is due to the forced evolution; the Magikarp it evolves from retains its red color, having no time to change its scale color to blue. Unlike other shiny Pokémon, the red Gyarados's existence is canon in that it is encountered as part of an event in the Generation II games and their remakes.
In the games
In Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver, the red Gyarados is found in the Lake of Rage. The player has one chance to catch it and the incident triggers the battle against Team Rocket in the Team Rocket HQ in Mahogany Town. When captured or defeated, the red Gyarados drops a Red Scale. While this is the only chance to catch the Red Gyarados in the original games, it will respawn in the remakes after the player defeats Lance and the Elite Four, should the player fail to capture it.
In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, in the Rocket Warehouse located on Chrono Island, one of the computers displays information about induced evolution using electromagnetic waves, hinting at what occurs to other Gyarados in Generation II's Lake of Rage. This is only an indirect reference to the red Gyarados, since the two events are supposedly independent of each other, despite taking place at the same location and time.
Sightings of a red Gyarados were national news. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl begins with a news report broadcast in Twinleaf Town of Sinnoh, according to which the Red Gyarados had eluded detection by a research crew; it is unknown to which point in time this corresponds in the Johto-based games. The player accompanies his/her best friend to Lake Verity in hopes of seeing a similar Pokémon.
While the easiest and most common way to obtain a red Gyarados is at the Lake of Rage in Generations II or IV, any Shiny Gyarados will be red, no matter how it is encountered, through evolution of a gold Magikarp or by encountering it with the normal 1/8192 odds. This is the only possible way to get a red Gyarados outside of the Johto-based games without trading.
Starting moves and sprites
In the anime
The red Gyarados was first seen in Talkin' 'Bout an Evolution and Rage of Innocence. It was the result of a Team Rocket plot to induce evolution. The process was successful, but as the evolution was forced, it kept the red coloration it had as a Magikarp. It went on a rampage down a river towards Mahogany Town, but Lance eventually captured and calmed it.
It returned, along with its trainer, Lance, to help out Brock, May and Max during the fight between Groudon and Kyogre in Gaining Groudon and The Scuffle of Legends.
Lance's Gyarados appeared in Marina's scrapbook and fantasy, along with its Trainer and his Dragonite. However, instead of red, the color of the Pokémon in The Legend of Thunder! was the regular blue. This may have been because the original airing of Talkin' 'Bout an Evolution in Japan was after The Legend of Thunder! already had aired. This may also mean that Lance also possesses another, normally-colored Gyarados.
Moves used
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In the Pokémon Adventures manga
This red Gyarados was shown to be the leader of a group of Gyarados. When Team Rocket used the Goldenrod City Radio Tower to disturb Pokémon with their evolution-inducing waves, these Gyarados went crazy. At the end he was caught by Silver with Gold's aid. After a battle with the Masked Man where even his Hyper Beam attack was futile, this Gyarados was frozen and remained at the bottom of Lake of Rage until Lt. Surge discovered him. Gyarados was able to free himself and Lt. Surge acquired and returned him to Silver following a brief battle between the former Team Rocket triad and itself.
The same Gyarados was then seen participating in Silver's brief search for Entei with Gyara, then traded to Blue, and again in the FireRed & LeafGreen arc, where he fought a losing battle against Sird's Banette.
Moves used
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| A † shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves.
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In the TCG
The red Gyarados serves as the basis for the Shining Gyarados card in the Neo Revelation expansion, the Gyarados 
δ card in the EX Holon Phantoms expansion and the Gyarados card from the L-P Promotional cards and HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Trivia
- Red Gyarados is the only one of Silver's Water-type Pokémon that did not evolve, as it was caught already in its final stage, unlike Feraligatr and Kingdra, who were received in their initial stage.
Related articles
For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Magikarp and Gyarados.
δ card in the EX Holon Phantoms expansion and the Gyarados card from the L-P Promotional cards and HeartGold & SoulSilver.
