Becoming a Magikarp Jump master

Magikarp Jump! is here! This is a free Pokemon spin-off for Android and iOS devices. Your goal is to raise Magikarps one after another, trying to help them flail their way to fame. Each fish goes through various leagues, trying to jump higher than other Magikarps. Between such attempts, you need to try and raise your partners as well as you can. To help you out, I’ve gathered some information you should keep in mind on your way to making Magikarp history.

Maximize your JP.

Since Magikarp is all about Magikarps jumping, their jumping power is rather important. In each league, you’ll face fellow fish with certain amounts of JP that determine the heights they can reach. Your goal? To always exceed those sums and surpass them to make a splash.

The first thing you should do is pay attention to what Roddy Tackle says when you first fish up a Magikarp in Magikarp Jump. His assessment tells you how likely that fish is to succeed “And it’s quite the individual! It’s got some real personality” means you have the best fish you can get. “Not much of an individual though, is it” means you caught a dud. His phrase tells you how good the bonus the fish has will be. A really good one will have “increased JP from events,” “increased JP from food” or “increased JP from training.” Though, when you are starting out, you will want “increased money” or “increased money from events” instead, as that will help you earn more gold you can pump into your berries and training methods.

Magikarps will always gain more JP each generation, making it easier to reach each one’s max level. The starting Magikarp you are drawing from will be more enthusiastic each time. This means they will earn power faster, even if their personal skills aren’t the best. Still, there are other elements to take into account when training.

Visiting Magikarp Jump‘s shop regularly is important. Not to spend real cash, mind you. As your trainer levels up, you will unlock new food and training options. What you want to do is take the gold you earn from league battles or find during events or in the pond and use it to invest in activities and berries. Once you unlock a new option by hitting a level, you need to pay a fee to unlock it. Pumping further funds into various berries and foods will make them more effective.

Finally, you should always be on the look out for Feebas, Luvdisc and Manaphy. These Pokemon can briefly visit Magikarp’s habitat. Feebas will instantly bestow JP on your fish. Luvdisc, who will start appearing after beating the Fast League, offers free Diamonds. Manaphy summons a fleet of Corsolas and Luvdiscs who drop a ton of berries. Each instance gives you a chance to improve your aquatic friend.

Be efficient

You only have a limited amount of time with each Magikarp in Magikarp Jump. People who are obsessed could probably go through about five generations a day. This means you want to use your time wisely. It is best to do all you can to earn as many JP and level up as best you can.

Interior decorating is a good start. You can rearrange Magikarp’s home. Diamonds can be spent on accessories, and some can be earned by succeeding in the various leagues. As soon as you get any decoration, place it. They can make more gold appear, spawn more sunken treasure, help with earning JP and provide a bevy of other benefits. Who cares how tacky your pond looks, when it is helping you get more out of your efforts?

In addition to decorating, you should be making sure Magikarp makes friends. Some buddies, like Pikachu, Piplup, Meowth and Bulbasaur, will join after completing leagues. Others require you to spend Diamonds on friendship items to lure them to your pond. All of them will be a huge help and offer a bonus periodically throughout the day. Pikachu and Litten award JP. Charizard gives you items. Rowlet and Meowth give you money. Popplio provides sunken treasure. Snorlax makes food appear. Piplup restores your training points. Bulbasaur restores League Points, allowing you to challenge the league again even after you fail. Slowpoke restores one of your other Pokemon friends’ abilities. Many of them, like Pikachu and Rowlet, may also show up at one of Magikarp’s league battles and cheer for it, temporarily boosting JP. Acquiring Support Candies, either from League Challenges, item drops or Diamond purchases, is a good way to make these friends even more invaluable.

Maximizing your Training efforts are important. Whenever you can train, you should. What task you’ll get is rather random, so feel free to “skip” when you get the chance. Make good use of Piplup and level him up with Support Candies, so you can restore more Training Points. Also, if you see you are near an experience plateau, go challenge the League. After you rank up, your Magikarp’s Training Points will be refilled.

There is also a one-time, special event you can trigger. I recommend saving this one up, though. You know how Pokemon games always have a ghostly girl? She’s here too. If you tap the TV in Magikarp’s habitat 14 times, choosing to “Cancel” after each tap, static will appear on its screen. Go train. After the training session is complete, the “Be Gone!” event will appear. Choose to leave and your level cap will be increased by one.

Death is all around you

Death is something you don’t want to fear in Magikarp Jump. Rather, it is something you may want to strategically avoid or embrace. It all depends on how your run is going. While you may want to sacrifice a few fish to earn achievement rewards, avoiding death or dying is a good way to earn JP or get rid of a less desirable Magikarp.

It all depends on what your current fish is like. Remember earlier how I said Roddy will give you an assessment of your fish? If he says “And it’s quite the individual! It’s got some real personality” or “That is one singularly stunning individual,” you want to keep it alive. If he says, “It’s got some individuality, I’d say” or “Not much of an individual, though, is it,” you may want to raise it a bit, then let it go to earn more experience and move on to a better one.

Here are some of the more common deaths and how you can avoid or embrace them.

• “Is It Treasure?” has the Magikarp approach what seems to be a Poke Ball. If you approach, it might be a Voltorb that kills your fish. Don’t approach it to earn JP and stay alive.
• “Out of Nowhere…” has Magikarp approach a berry tree. Jumping could result in a Pidgetto snatching your fish away to eat as a snack. Not jumping increases your JP and keeps it alive.
• “Macho Karp” has a scientist come up and ask to experiment on your Magikarp. Saying yes could have it turn into a Gyarados, “killing” your fish.
• “Hop, Skip & Whump!” is triggered by making your Magikarp repeatedly jump in its habitat. A Pidgetto will fly up and grab it. You can only lose a Magikarp in this manner once.
• “Adios, Gyarados” is triggered by repeatedly tapping a Magikarp who is at level 19 or higher. This breaks its Everstone, so it evolves into Gyarados the next time it levels up.

Don’t waste Diamonds on Dratini

Yes, Dratini is in Magikarp Jump. No, you don’t want to actually get it. Why? Because it isn’t worth the cost. See, Dratini only appears when you continually recast when trying to fish up a new Magikarp. If you spend 210 Diamonds to keep trying your luck, “You’re No Magikarp” will happen. You will get a peek at the adorable dragon and a single Skill Restore. It isn’t worth it; save your Diamonds for a 250 Diamond Litten instead.