You know a fish pokemon when you see one, even when Game Freak makes you question your own eyes. Sharks count. Eels count. A pure Electric type that doesn’t even live in water apparently counts too, because Eelektross is based on the electric eel, which according to GameRant is actually a type of kitefish and not an eel at all. The pokemon world plays fast and loose with biology, and that’s part of the charm.
There are over 150 Water type pokemon, and Water has been the most heavily represented type since Generation 1, having been paired with every other type as of Generation 6. Not all of them are fish. Some are jellyfish, crabs, or literal puddles. This guide sticks to the ones that actually look like, swim like, or evolved from something with fins and gills, plus the honorary members the fandom refuses to leave off the list.
What Actually Counts as a Fish Pokemon
Ranker’s crowd-voted list takes the broadest possible view here, noting that the category covers anything that resembles or looks like a fish, which means sharks, seahorses, and even electric eels like Eelektross. Pocket Tactics goes even further out on a limb and counts Wailord, admitting outright that whales aren’t fish but arguing the pokemon world doesn’t follow real biology anyway, and the same writer makes the same joke about Finizen and Palafin being dolphins that get lumped into fish lists out of pure affection. We’re using that same loose definition. If it swims, has fins, and the fandom calls it a fish, it’s in.
The Starter Everyone Underestimates: Magikarp
No fish pokemon conversation skips Magikarp. It’s weak, it’s a meme, and it evolves into Gyarados, one of the most intimidating pokemon in the franchise. The joke writes itself but the lore backs it up too. ThatVideoGameBlog frames the Magikarp to Gyarados pipeline as the definitive underdog story in the entire pokedex, and it’s the reason Magikarp consistently shows up at the top of these rankings despite being borderline useless on its own.
Best Fish Pokemon by Generation
Generation 1: Goldeen and Seaking
Goldeen is the original goldfish pokemon, based on the Tosakin or curly fantail breed, and Gaming Gorilla points out it also resembles a koi, with prominent lips, flowing tail fins, and a horn it uses to fight other Goldeen for dominance. Its Pokedex lore has a mean streak too. GameRant notes its Alpha Sapphire entry warns that if placed in an aquarium it will shatter the glass with one ram of its horn and escape, which is a wild thing to print on a kid’s game cartridge.
It evolves into Seaking at level 33, gaining a solid attack stat of 92 along with decent special defense and HP, both sitting at 80, according to Gaming Gorilla. Seaking is also a koi style design and uses its horn to bore into underwater rock to lay eggs, with the Pokemon Crystal dex entry noting males patrol their nesting grounds in autumn to guard their young.
Generation 2: Chinchou, Lanturn, and Mantine
Chinchou and its evolution Lanturn are both based on deep sea anglerfish, the kind with the glowing lure dangling off their head. PokemonCoders describes Lanturn’s Pokedex lore as claiming its light is bright enough to illuminate large stretches of ocean floor, and since it’s also part Electric type, that glow comes with a warning label attached.
Mantine gets a rougher writeup. Despite being based on a genuinely cool real world animal, the manta ray, ThatVideoGameBlog calls it one of the weakest fish pokemon in the game, saying its decent special defense isn’t enough to save it from being mostly forgettable in battle. Its evolution chain is unusual too. OMG Gamer notes Mantine evolves from Mantyke, and if a Mantyke is in your party when a Remoraid you’re training levels up, that Remoraid turns into Mantine’s buddy through a quirky trade evolution mechanic.
Generation 3: The Fish Generation
Hoenn is where Game Freak went all in on fish. PokemonCoders says Gen 3 has a lot of fish and water types due to its geography, since the region is built around an ocean setting. A few standouts:
Feebas look like garbage and that’s the point. Pocket Tactics explains Feebas became a fan favorite in Ruby and Sapphire for two reasons: it’s genuinely hard to find, restricted to a handful of specific water tiles that shift with in game weather, and it evolves into Milotic, one of the most elegant designs in the series, once its Beauty stat is raised high enough.
Carvanha and Sharpedo are the piranha to shark pipelines. PokemonCoders notes Carvanha’s Pokedex entries describe a jaw strong enough to bite through boat hulls, and that aggression carries straight into its evolved shark form.
Whiscash is the catfish with earthquake powers. GameRant traces its design back to Namazu, the catfish from Japanese mythology said to cause earthquakes when it thrashes around underground, which lines up with Whiscash’s in-game lore about going on rampages.
Relicanth and Luvdisc round out the weirder end of the Hoenn fish roster, a deep sea relic fish and a heart shaped pink fish based on the kissing gourami, respectively, both pulled straight from real aquatic biology.
Generation 4: Lumineon and Finneon
Lumineon takes a real glow up from its pre evolution Finneon. PokemonCoders describes it as based on a butterfly fish, with a black body and a neon shine that genuinely looks good in competitive play screenshots, not just concept art.
Generation 5: Basculin and the Eel Squad
Basculin is Unova’s answer to an aggressive piranha, and Gaming Gorilla notes it’s territorial enough that putting two in adjacent tanks will set off a fight through the glass. In the Hisui region it gets an evolution into Basculegion, something the original Black and White versions never had.
This generation also brought Eelektrik and Eelektross, the electric eel duo that breaks the fish typing rule entirely by going pure Electric. OMG Gamer calls Eelektrik a lamprey style design that spends most of its time out of water despite being aquatic, which earns it immunity to Ground type moves, a small but clever bit of design logic.
Stunfisk also debuted here, and it might be the most contested entry on any fish pokemon list. It’s Ground and Electric typed, with zero Water typing at all. Gaming Gorilla notes its design takes more from a real life ocean sunfish, flattened out with eyes shoved into the middle of its body instead of the sides like a normal flatfish.
Generation 7: Wishiwashi’s School Trick
Wishiwashi is forgettable on its own, weak stats, plain design, nothing special. Then it shows you why it made the list. Pocket Tactics describes its School Form as a swarm mechanic where a group of Wishiwashi link up to mimic a single giant fish, directly copying a real defense tactic small fish use in the ocean to scare off predators. GameRant adds that the official Ultra Moon Pokedex entry claims even Gyarados will flee when it sees a Wishiwashi school form up, and its Water Gun in that state hits harder than Hydro Pump.
Generation 9: Tatsugiri’s Sushi Bit
Paldea’s Tatsugiri is the most self aware fish pokemon design Game Freak has ever shipped. Pocket Tactics points out it comes in three forms, each styled after a different type of sushi, and its entire signature mechanic involves controlling a much larger pokemon called Dondozo to fight on its behalf. It’s funny, it’s clever, and it’s exactly the kind of detail that makes Paldea’s pokedex worth digging through.
Fish Pokemon Stats Comparison
| Pokemon | Type | Generation | Notable Stat | Evolves Into |
| Magikarp | Water | 1 | Attack 10 | Gyarados |
| Goldeen | Water | 1 | Attack 67 | Seaking |
| Seaking | Water | 1 | Attack 92 | None |
| Lanturn | Water/Electric | 2 | HP 125 | None |
| Feebas | Water | 3 | Speed 80 | Milotic |
| Sharpedo | Water/Dark | 3 | Speed 120 | None |
| Stunfisk | Ground/Electric | 5 | HP 109 | None |
| Eelektross | Electric | 5 | Attack 115 | None |
| Wishiwashi | Water | 7 | Varies by form | None |
Honorable Mentions That Aren’t Technically Fish
Wailord and Wailmer are whales, not fish, and Pocket Tactics openly admits this while still including them because they’re too good to leave out, with Wailord standing as one of the physically largest pokemon in the franchise. Finizen and its evolution Palafin get the same treatment for being dolphins. Palafin’s Hero Form carries the highest base Attack stat of any Water type pokemon period, a detail Pocket Tactics calls out as genuinely wild given how plain the pre evolution looks.
Horsea, Seadra, and Kingdra are seahorses, not fish, but nobody’s leaving them off a fish pokemon list either. OMG Gamer calls Kingdra one of the strongest pokemon to come out of Johto, sitting near the top of the regional pokedex by base stat total once you exclude legendaries.
FAQ
What is the most powerful fish pokemon?
Among true fish, Sharpedo and Kingdra (a seahorse, technically) are consistently ranked near the top for competitive viability, with Kingdra landing in the top 10 of Johto pokemon by base stat total according to OMG Gamer. If you allow Palafin’s Hero Form into the fish category, it beats them both on raw Attack.
Is Magikarp the weakest pokemon in the game?
It’s close. Magikarp has some of the lowest base stats of any non legendary pokemon, but it’s intentional. The entire design exists to set up the payoff when it evolves into Gyarados.
Are sharks considered fish pokemon?
Yes, by every list referenced here. Sharpedo and Barraskewda both get grouped in as fish even though they’re shark and barracuda inspired designs specifically, since both fall under the broader “anything finned that swims” definition most fans use.
Why does Stunfisk count as a fish pokemon if it’s not Water type?
Design over typing. It’s based on a flatfish and an ocean sunfish, so most lists include it on appearance alone, the same logic that lets Eelektross in despite being pure Electric type.
If you’re building a team around aquatic pokemon, don’t sleep on the weird ones. Feebas looks useless until it isn’t, Wishiwashi looks pathetic until it schools up, and half the best designs in this category come from Game Freak committing fully to a real world fish you’d never expect to see turned into a pocket monster.
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