Pokémon: Magikarp Jump

Titles	Pokémon: Magikarp Jump はねろ！コイキング (Hanero! Koiking) 튀어올라라! 잉어킹 (Korea) · 跳躍吧!鯉魚王 / 跳跃吧!鲤鱼王 (Chinese)
Platforms	iOS & iPadOS (App Store) · Android (Google Play) · Amazon Fire tablets (Amazon Appstore, from October 2017; since withdrawn)
Developer	Select Button inc.
Publisher	The Pokémon Company
Director	Koya Nakahata
Producers	Kanako Murata · general producers Takato Utsunomiya, Yasunori Suenaga, Takanori Sowa and Kazunori Sugiura · executive producer Tsunekazu Ishihara
Music	SOLIDTUNE (sound)
Players	1
Genre	Idle raising simulation
Business model	Free-to-play, with optional Diamond packs (US$0.99–34.99 in the US; lifetime purchases capped at 5,000 Diamonds)
Leagues	10, from the Friend League to the Master League
Collectables	33 Magikarp patterns · 7 fishing rods · 16 support Pokémon · 46 random events · 21 decorations
Languages	English, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese
Released	23 May 2017 (Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan) · 24 May 2017 (North and Latin America) · 25 May 2017 (Europe, Australia) Soft launch: 17 May 2017 (Italy, iOS only) · Amazon Appstore: 23 October 2017
Status	Still on sale; no new content since August 2017, last updated in 2022 (iOS 1.3.101, Android 1.3.11); needs iOS or iPadOS 14.0 or later
Rating	ESRB E · PEGI 3 · ACB G · App Store 4+
Predecessor	None
Successor	None (Select Button turned down a sequel; its next Pokémon app was Pokémon Sleep)
Downloads	More than 27 million (November 2024) · 10 million by early July 2017

Overview · Quick Answers · Story · Leagues, Patterns & Events · Gameplay · Characters · Pokémon · Updates · Regional Variations · Glitches · Videos · Trivia · Legacy · Sales & Reviews

Overview

Pokémon: Magikarp Jump is a free-to-play game for phones and tablets about one Pokémon and one Pokémon only: Magikarp, the Fish Pokémon whose only real talent is flopping about uselessly. It was made by Select Button, a three-person Tokyo studio best known for Survive! Mola Mola!, a game about keeping a hopelessly fragile sunfish alive, and published by The Pokémon Company. Called Hanero! Koiking (roughly “Jump! Magikarp”) in Japan, it went live there and across much of Asia on 23 May 2017 and reached the rest of the world on 24 and 25 May, a week after a quiet iOS-only debut in Italy.

The setting is Hoppy Town, a place that takes Magikarp jumping contests very seriously indeed. You fish a single Magikarp out of the pond, tap the food that drifts in to feed it and send it off to train, all to raise its Jump Power, then enter it in a ladder of Leagues where the higher leap wins. Your Trainer Rank caps how far each fish can grow, so sooner or later it retires, or is carried off by a passing Pidgeotto, and a slightly stronger new generation takes over. Sixteen support Pokémon, pond decorations, 46 random events and 33 patterns to collect dress up what is, underneath, a relaxed idle clicker with a light role-playing wrapper.

Magikarp Jump arrived in the wave of smartphone experiments that followed Pokémon GO, and it turned one of the series’ oldest jokes into a whole game with real charm. Content updates finished in August 2017 with the Elite Four and Master Leagues, but the app has stayed on sale ever since, and by November 2024 it had been downloaded more than 27 million times, more than Pokémon Sleep had managed at that point.

It also mattered more than its size suggests. This was where The Pokémon Company’s partnership with Select Button began, and when the studio turned down a sequel, the two made Pokémon Sleep together instead, which makes a small fishing game an unexpectedly important step in the history of Pokémon on mobile.

Quick Answers

The questions people ask most about Pokémon: Magikarp Jump, answered first and explained further down the page.

Is Pokémon: Magikarp Jump free, and is it pay-to-win?

Yes, it is free, and you can see it through to the end without paying a penny. Diamonds, the premium currency, also trickle in from League wins, events and achievements. Real-money packs run from US$0.99 to US$34.99 in the US, total purchases are capped at 5,000 Diamonds, and what they mostly buy is extra support Pokémon, decorations and time-savers rather than victories. More →

Can you still play Magikarp Jump in 2026?

Yes. In October 2026 it is still a free download on the App Store, for iOS or iPadOS 14.0 or later, and on Google Play, and no end of service has been announced. It has had no new content since August 2017, though, and the most recent releases were bug-fix updates in 2022. More →

Is Magikarp Jump on Nintendo Switch?

No. It has only ever been made for phones and tablets: iPhone and iPad through the App Store and Android through Google Play. An edition for Amazon Fire tablets reached the Amazon Appstore in October 2017 but has since been withdrawn, and there has never been a Switch, 3DS or PC version. More →

How many Magikarp patterns are there, and how do you unlock them?

There are 33: 32 numbered patterns plus the rare Gold pattern, No. 99. The starting Old Rod can catch six basic patterns and Gold, and the rest arrive in batches as better rods are earned by beating the Quick, Great, Luxury, Heal, Ultra and Master Leagues. More →

How do you get Gyarados in Magikarp Jump?

You begin with an Everstone that stops evolution. Tap your Magikarp over and over and the stone cracks until it breaks; after that, a Magikarp at level 20 or higher can evolve into Gyarados. Gyarados cannot enter jumping Leagues, so it leaves the pond for Mayor Karp to look after and you fish up a new Magikarp. More →

Does Magikarp Jump connect to Pokémon HOME, Pokémon GO or other games?

No. There is no link to Pokémon HOME, Pokémon GO or any console game, and nothing can be sent out of it. Its only online features were Facebook friend rankings, which went in May 2018 when Facebook closed that service, photo sharing on social media and a data backup for moving to a new device. More →

How many Leagues are there, and what happens after the Master League?

There are ten main Leagues, from the five-battle Friend League up to the 20-battle Luxury, Heal, Ultra and Elite Four Leagues and the 15-battle Master League, and the launch version also had three Expert Leagues on the side. The Master League, added in August 2017, is the finale: winning it brings the ending, the Supreme Old Rod and the last four patterns, and you can carry on playing afterwards to catch them. More →

Is there a sequel to Magikarp Jump?

No. The Pokémon Company asked Select Button for a follow-up, but the studio said no, because it wanted a rest after pouring its energy into Magikarp Jump. The partnership carried on instead with Pokémon Sleep, the sleep-tracking app the same team made, which launched in July 2023. More →

Story

Hoppy Town adores Magikarp, but its jumping Leagues have lost their sparkle, because no local Trainer has raised a true champion. Mayor Karp, once a Magikarp Trainer himself, welcomes the player, hands over an Old Rod and helps reel in a first Magikarp from the town pond.

From then on the story is told through the mayor’s pep talks after each League and through a string of chance encounters. A suspicious stranger’s stare might bring a gift or a setback, the rod-mad Roddy Tackle drops by, the head of the Pokémon Research Lab pays out for pattern discoveries, a Pidgeotto snatches any Magikarp that leaps too high, a Voltorb explodes in the pond and a Ditto turns up on the line disguised as a Magikarp. Every Magikarp reaches its limit in the end and retires to the pond, and a new generation carries on.

League by League, from the Friend and Quick Leagues through the Heavy, Great, Fast, Luxury, Heal and Ultra Leagues, the player climbs the ranks, collecting better rods, new pond themes and, after the Ultra League, Mayor Karp’s prized Red Rock. The final update added the Elite Four League and the Master League. Conquering the Master League makes the player the champion Hoppy Town has been waiting for: Mayor Karp hails them as the finest Magikarp Trainer the town has ever had and sends them off to make a real big splash. The game carries on afterwards, with the Supreme Old Rod’s last four patterns to catch and the Has-Been Basin to visit.

Leagues, patterns & random events

Three systems give Magikarp Jump its shape. The Leagues are the backbone: ten main ladders, most of them named after Poké Balls, each paying out Diamonds, support Pokémon and decorations. Clearing key Leagues brings better fishing rods, and every rod adds new patterns to the pond, from koi-style calicos at the start to the blues and violets of the post-game. In between, 46 random events break up the feeding and training with gifts, gambles and the occasional disaster that ends a Magikarp’s career on the spot.

• 10main Leagues, from Friend to Master
• 33Magikarp patterns, Gold included
• 7fishing rods, Old Rod to Supreme Old Rod
• 46random events

The League ladder

Every League, with its Japanese name, length and prizes. Each final battle also pays 25 Diamonds, and every fifth win along the way brings Diamonds and Support Candy:

League	Japanese name	Battles	Added	Final prize	Also unlocks
Friend League	フレンドリーグ	5	Launch	Light Ball (Pikachu)	–
Quick League	クイックリーグ	10	Launch	Mystic Water (Piplup)	So-So Old Rod
Heavy League	ヘビーリーグ	15	Launch	Octillery Pot (+10% JP from food)	–
Great League	スーパーリーグ (Super League)	15	Launch	Amulet Coin (Meowth)	Good Old Rod
Fast League	スピードリーグ (Speed League)	15	Launch	Sudowoodo Bonsai (+29% Coins from events)	–
Luxury League	ゴージャスリーグ (Gorgeous League)	20	Launch	Miracle Seed (Bulbasaur)	Great Old Rod
Heal League	ヒールリーグ	20	1.1.0, June 2017	Starmie Bubbler	Rare Old Rod
Ultra League	ハイパーリーグ (Hyper League)	20	1.2.0, June 2017	Soft Sand (Mudkip)	Pro’s Old Rod and the Red Rock theme
Elite Four League	してんのうリーグ (Shitennō League)	20	1.3.0, August 2017	Red Cap	–
Master League	マスターリーグ	15	1.3.0, August 2017	Gold Magikarp Statue	Supreme Old Rod and the ending
Expert Leagues 1–3	エクストラリーグ (Extra League)	10, 10 and 15	Launch	Diamonds and Support Candy	–

Rods and patterns

Each new Magikarp is fished from the pond with the best rod you own, and each rod adds its own batch of patterns to the pool. There are seven rods in all:

Fishing for patternsA catch’s pattern is drawn at random from everything your rod can reach, and the gleaming Gold pattern can turn up from the very first cast, rare as it is. A Magikarp’s pattern only shows clearly once it has grown to about three-quarters of its maximum level, and anyone unhappy with a catch can spend Diamonds to cast again. Collecting patterns counts towards one of the game’s achievement tracks.

Koi and confectionerySeveral designs copy real ornamental koi. Orange Forehead (No. 25) mirrors the Tanchō, a white koi with a single red patch on its head; Calico Orange/White/Black (No. 4) follows the Shōwa, Calico Orange/Gold the Matsuba, and the orange-and-white calicos the Kōhaku. The Saucy patterns, meanwhile, are mitarashi in Japanese, which shares its name with the sweet soy glaze brushed on dango.

Random events

Forty-six little storiesFeeding, training and League results can all set off one of 46 short random events, told in illustrated scenes that often end with a choice. Many are simple boosts: a massage from Mayor Karp restores a Training Point, a lost Luvdisc brings 4 Diamonds, and in “Food Fever” Manaphy calls other Pokémon to bring food. Several need a particular support Pokémon in the pond, such as Snorlax, Pikachu, Slowpoke, Mudkip or Mimikyu.

Risk and rewardOthers are wagers. “Out of Nowhere…” can bring a big JP boost or a Pidgeotto abduction, “Is It Treasure?” may turn out to be an exploding Voltorb, and “Macho Karp” can raise your fish’s maximum level by one or turn it into a Gyarados that has to retire. A handful of events can end a Magikarp’s career on the spot, which is all part of the joke.

Events with conditionsSome events only appear in the right circumstances: “Snoozing with Snorlax” needs Snorlax in the pond, “Name Rater” needs a nicknamed Magikarp and “You Can Do It!” follows three defeats in a row. In “Be Gone!” you tap the television until it fills with static, and the reward is one extra level on the current Magikarp’s maximum.

Ditto in disguise“Transforming Magikarp”, added in version 1.3.0, has a Ditto posing as a Magikarp turn up on the line. Unmasking it unlocks the Ditto Cushion, a decoration that adds 10% to Coins, which then costs 550 Diamonds to buy.

Gameplay

Magikarp Jump runs on a simple loop, repeated for one fish after another:

1. Fish: cast into the pond for a new Magikarp, whose pattern is picked at random.
2. Feed and train: tap the food that appears in the pond and spend Training Points on training sessions, all to raise its Jump Power.
3. Battle: enter it in the Leagues, where the higher jump wins.
4. Retire: a fish at the level cap set by your Trainer Rank bows out after its next League defeat, and the next generation levels faster and climbs higher.

Growing a Magikarp

Feeding and Jump PowerEverything turns on Jump Power (JP), the number that decides how high a Magikarp leaps. Food drops into the pond at regular intervals and is eaten with a tap, each piece adding JP. There are 17 foods, from the Oran and Sitrus Berries you start with to treats such as the Lava Cookie, Casteliacone and Big Malasada, which unlock between Trainer Ranks 3 and 81 and are bought with Coins. Each food can then be upgraded with Coins to give more JP; taking a single Oran Berry all the way to rank 100 costs more than 4.3 million Coins.

TrainingEach training session costs Training Points, which refill over time, and picks one of your regimens at random: there are 17, from Sandbag Slam and Jump Counter at the start to Dwebble Push, Timber!, Rock Cruncher, Steelix Push and the Tackle Machine, unlocked with Coins between Trainer Ranks 4 and 84. Results come in three grades: a Good effort gives the normal JP, a Great one multiplies it by 1.5 and an Amazing one by 3.5. Regimens can be upgraded with Coins too, and Training Soda or Piplup’s skill tops up spent points.

Levels, Trainer Rank and generationsA Magikarp’s JP sets its level, but its maximum level is capped by your Trainer Rank, which grows with the Trainer EXP earned in League battles. A Magikarp at its cap retires to the back of the pond the next time it loses a League battle, and a new one has to be caught, but each generation levels faster and climbs higher than the one before. The Trainer Rank limit began at 51, rose to 63 and then 79 in June 2017, and reached 100 with the final update in August.

League battles

Evolution and the Everstone

Support Pokémon and the pond

Support Pokémon and Friendship ItemsSixteen support Pokémon can join the pond, each brought by a Friendship Item. Pikachu (Light Ball), Piplup (Mystic Water), Meowth (Amulet Coin), Bulbasaur (Miracle Seed) and Mudkip (Soft Sand) are League prizes; the other 11, among them Snorlax, Charizard, Greninja, Gengar, Mimikyu and Gardevoir, cost between 250 and 600 Diamonds. Each dozes in the pond until a light bulb shows that its skill is ready, and a tap then grants JP, Coins, food, Training Points, items or a League Play, followed by a recovery time of anything from 50 minutes to 12 hours. Support Candy raises most skills through up to five ranks.

Decorations and pond themesThe pond can be furnished with 21 decorations, each a passive bonus as well as an ornament: the Shaymin Planter adds 14% to the JP from food, the Aegislash Statue 20% to the JP from training, the S.S. Anne Model 68% to the Coins from sunken treasure, and the Bronze Eevee improves the chance of League events. Most cost 100 to 550 Diamonds, while others, such as the Octillery Pot and the Gold Magikarp Statue, are League prizes, and the Important Sign is a gift from Mayor Karp. Eight pond themes change the scenery, among them Starter Pond, Forest Lagoon, Hot Springs, Swampy Jungle and Robo Lab.

Coins, Diamonds and spending

The Leagues pit you against in-game rivals rather than other players, so spending never puts anyone ahead of anyone else, and the whole game, ending included, can be finished without paying.

Achievements, sharing and settings

Characters

Hoppy Town’s cast is small and mostly there to cheer you on. Four of its regulars:

The player

A newcomer to Hoppy Town who takes up Magikarp training at Mayor Karp’s urging. The player’s Trainer Rank, which rises with every League battle, is the thread running through the whole game: it caps how far each Magikarp can level, so every new generation can reach a little higher than the last. The player’s portrait appears in conversations, events and League scenes.

Mayor Karp

Japanese name カープ町長 (Kāpu Chōchō). A former Magikarp Trainer who now runs Hoppy Town and acts as the player’s guide and cheerleader. He is warm, happy to poke fun at himself as a washed-up old man and very fond of a Magikarp pun. He hands over the first Old Rod, rewards League wins with pond themes and special items, including his treasured Red Rock after the Ultra League, and takes in any Magikarp that evolves into Gyarados.

Roddy Tackle

Japanese name つりアニキ (Tsuri Aniki), roughly “fishing big bro”. A keen angler for whom rods are everything: better versions of the Old Rod, from the So-So Old Rod to the Supreme Old Rod, arrive as the player passes key League milestones, each one opening up new patterns. He also has a random event of his own after a League win, in which he marvels at how far your Magikarp has come and hands over some Coins.

Little Boy and Little Girl

Japanese names げんきなボーイ and げんきなガール, meaning “Energetic Boy” and “Energetic Girl”. Hoppy Town’s youngsters each come in three variations, so a handful of portraits can stand in for a whole crowd of local children, in a town where young and old alike treat Magikarp jumping as the only sport that matters.

Hoppy Town has a few more residents, among them the Man of Mystery, Dr. Splash, Flop Hoppington and an unnamed ghost. Two of them have portraits in the same style:

Pokémon

Magikarp is the only Pokémon you raise, collected in 33 patterns, and Gyarados appears whenever one evolves. Sixteen more species join as support Pokémon: ten at launch, then Greninja and Gengar in June 2017, Eevee and Mudkip at the end of that month, and Mimikyu and Gardevoir with the final update in August. Plenty of others drop in through random events, push training equipment about or simply swim past, as schools of Wishiwashi do, and many more turn up as pond decorations.

• MagikarpThe star: 33 patterns
• GyaradosEvolves, then leaves

Support Pokémon

Five support Pokémon are won in the Leagues and the other 11 are bought with Diamonds. Each has its own skill: Pikachu grants JP, Piplup restores Training Points, Meowth brings Coins, Bulbasaur recovers League Plays, Snorlax serves up extra food and Slowpoke recharges another support Pokémon’s skill.

• PikachuLight Ball · Friend League
• PiplupMystic Water · Quick League
• MeowthAmulet Coin · Great League
• BulbasaurMiracle Seed · Luxury League
• MudkipSoft Sand · Ultra League
• SnorlaxLeftovers · Diamonds
• SlowpokeDamp Rock · Diamonds
• CharizardDiamonds · launch
• RowletDiamonds · launch
• LittenDiamonds · launch
• PopplioDiamonds · launch
• GreninjaDiamonds · June 2017
• GengarDiamonds · June 2017
• EeveeDiamonds · June 2017
• MimikyuSpell Tag · August 2017
• GardevoirDiamonds · August 2017

In events, training and the background

Some of the Pokémon that turn up in random events, in training and in the background. Feebas boosts JP during feeding in its event, Manaphy summons food, and Ditto poses as a Magikarp on the end of the line:

• PidgeottoSnatches high jumpers
• Voltorb“Is It Treasure?”
• Ditto“Transforming Magikarp”
• Feebas“Is It Feebas?”
• Manaphy“Food Fever”
• LuvdiscRandom events
• CorsolaRandom events
• WishiwashiSwims past in schools
• Dwebble“Dwebble Push” training
• BoldoreTraining
• ForretressTraining
• GolemTraining
• Steelix“Steelix Push” training

Updates & version history

Magikarp Jump grew fast in its first three months, with three content updates between June and August 2017, and has had only occasional bug-fix updates since. The main versions (dates are for iOS unless marked; Android usually had each update a day earlier):

Regional Variations

Magikarp Jump launched as one app in nine languages, but a few things differ from region to region:

• The Japanese title is Hanero! Koiking (“Jump! Magikarp”), and the Korean and Chinese titles translate the same way. European versions keep the English title but swap in the local name for Magikarp: Pokémon: Karpador Jump in German and Pokémon: Magicarpe Jump in French.
• The two logos at the top of this page are not quite the same fish: the Japanese logo is based on a female Magikarp and the English one on a male.
• Several League names follow the Japanese Poké Ball names, so the Great, Fast, Luxury and Ultra Leagues are the Super, Speed, Gorgeous and Hyper Leagues in Japanese, and the Expert Leagues are Extra Leagues.
• Italy got the game first, as an iOS-only release on 17 May 2017. Japan and much of Asia followed on 23 May, a day ahead of the Americas, and Europe and Oceania on 25 May.
• Diamond packs are priced locally, from US$0.99 to US$34.99 in the United States and from ¥120 to ¥4,200 in Japan.
• Player support in Japan runs through a Japanese-only web form, and enquiries from elsewhere are sent to The Pokémon Company International.

Left in the data

• Six decorations that never made it into the shop are still in the game data: an Oddish Kokedama, a Camerupt Volcano, a Pikachu Bed, a Gyarados Slide, a Pikachu Pocket Watch and a Dedenne Blush.
• Two pond themes are defined but unused: Undersea Volcano, a pond charged with volcanic energy, and Sunken Boat, where everyone can jump and splash together.
• An unused “Wild Magikarp” event has a wild Magikarp challenge yours to a jumping contest, with a JP bonus for winning, a penalty for losing and no effect for running away; its script still uses placeholder values.
• The Starmie Bubbler decoration was already pictured in the How to Play guide to decorations in version 1.0, although it only arrived in the game with version 1.1.0.
• Version 1.2.0 renamed the Sunflora Bunch decoration Sunflora Bloom, and the “Events Triggered” achievement became “Events Discovered”.

Glitches, exploits and oddities

Magikarp Jump’s first weeks brought a handful of bugs, all fixed quickly:

Expert League 3 reward repeat

In the launch version, winning the final battle of Expert League 3 could pay out its Diamonds and Support Candy over and over, an easy supply of premium currency and skill upgrades. Version 1.0.3 closed the loophole barely a week after launch, on 30 May 2017 on Android and a day later on iOS.

Coin counter display bugs

On 29 May 2017 the official Japanese site warned that the Coin total might look as if it had not gone up properly, even though the Coins had in fact been credited, and the display was put right in the 9 June update. A related fault, in which the Coin count seemed to fall when moving between the town and League screens, was fixed in version 1.3.2 on 15 September 2017.

Backup and pond graphics faults

Version 1.2.1, released in July 2017, fixed a bug that stopped players backing up their data to move it to another device, a serious matter in a game built on weeks of slow progress. Version 1.2.2 followed a day later on both platforms to clear up graphical glitches in the pond and during training sessions.

Videos & media

Three official videos: the Japanese introduction, an Italian promotional clip and the English Magikarp song.

The official Japanese introduction to Hanero! Koiking, from The Pokémon Company’s Japanese channel.

A promotional video from the official Italian Pokémon channel. Italy was the first country to get the game, a week before everyone else.

The English version of the Magikarp song, released on 12 May 2017 in the run-up to the launch.

Trivia & facts

• Many of the game’s ideas come straight from Select Button’s earlier Survive! Mola Mola!, in which players try to keep a hapless ocean sunfish alive.
• Magikarp’s National Pokédex number, 129, is hidden in plain sight: it is printed on the Jump Counter training equipment, and the Jump Power counter stops at 12.9T.
• In April 2021 a Japanese player reached the maximum Jump Power of 12,900,605,640,709 with their 169th Magikarp, after about two years and a month of ten-minute daily sessions, and reported spending just ¥1,830 along the way. The figure is a little over 129 multiplied by 100 billion.

• 

  Any jump over 100 metres has a Pidgeotto flying past in the background, a running gag that ties in with the official description’s warning about Magikarp that flop too high.

• The Jump Counter training is a lot like Magikarp’s Splash, one of the mini-games in Pokémon Stadium.
• The Magikarp Biscuit food looks very much like taiyaki, the fish-shaped Japanese cake.

• 

  One in-game Trainer Tip says a Magikarp’s pattern shows at two-thirds of its maximum level, but it only really becomes clear at three-quarters.

• Corsola, Feebas and Luvdisc can sometimes appear Shiny in their random events.
• Alongside the classics, the cast leans on the then-new Alola generation, with Rowlet, Litten, Popplio, Mimikyu and Wishiwashi all appearing, a sign of a game made in the Pokémon Sun and Moon era.

Legacy

What came after

• Italian soft launch – 17 May 2017. iOS only, on the Italian App Store, under the English title
• Launch in Japan and Asia – 23 May 2017. On the App Store and Google Play in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and much of Asia
• Worldwide launch – 24–25 May 2017. The Americas on 24 May, then Europe and Oceania on 25 May
• 10 million downloads – Early July 2017. Marked with free official wallpapers for iPhone and Android
• Final content update – 15 August 2017. Version 1.3.0 added the Elite Four and Master Leagues and the ending, completing the game
• Amazon Appstore release – 23 October 2017. A version for Amazon Fire tablets, since withdrawn
• Pokémon Sleep – July 2023. Select Button’s second app with The Pokémon Company, born of the partnership that began with Magikarp Jump
• 27 million downloads – 15 November 2024. Takato Utsunomiya told Famitsu that downloads had passed 27 million, more than Pokémon Sleep had at the time

Where to play it today

As of October 2026 Magikarp Jump is still a free download from the App Store, for iOS or iPadOS 14.0 or later, and from Google Play, where it shows more than 10 million installs. Diamond packs are still on sale and the game still runs, though nothing new has been added since August 2017 and the last updates were minor bug fixes in 2022. No end of service has been announced. The Amazon Appstore edition for Fire tablets has been withdrawn, and there has never been a Switch or any other console version.

How it was made

Select Button was founded in Tokyo on 16 July 2014 by Koya Nakahata, Takumi Tsukada and Keisuke Miyagawa, three former Kayac staff all born in 1989, after a side project of theirs, Survive! Mola Mola!, became a hit. In around February 2016 Kei Ogawa, a Kayac alumnus who had moved to The Pokémon Company, introduced the trio to Takato Utsunomiya, who had enjoyed Mola Mola and Hunt Cook, and Utsunomiya asked them to make a game.

Of the ideas they pitched, Magikarp was the one that amused Tsunekazu Ishihara most; Nakahata joked that it might otherwise have ended up a Metapod game. Nakahata directed and wrote the text, Tsukada handled the art and interface and Miyagawa the programming, with Kanako Murata producing for The Pokémon Company and SOLIDTUNE on sound. The team wanted something anyone could play, from young children to older people who never touch games, and dropped action elements early on. Pixel art went too, because sprites could not show off Magikarp’s patterns, which became the main reward for raising a fish since its only evolution is Gyarados; Nakahata said the game might never have been finished in pixel art. Miyagawa also built a tool to preview translations inside the game, so that every language could launch at the same time.

The Pokémon Company teased a mysterious new smartphone app in Japan on 16 February 2017 and confirmed the release date and the game’s content on 22 May, the day before launch. Later, the company asked for a sequel, but Select Button turned it down: the team felt it had given Magikarp Jump everything it had and needed a rest. The partnership carried on instead with Pokémon Sleep, which the studio developed and which launched in July 2023.

Magikarp Jump elsewhere

The Magikarp SongThe song “I LOVE Magikarp” was first made in July 2016 for a joint promotion between the Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team and Pokémon Center Hiroshima, and was brought back to promote Magikarp Jump. A dance version came out on 23 February 2017, a week after the Japanese teaser, and the English “The Magikarp Song”, produced by Madcap Labs and sung by nine-year-old Robin Goldfarb, premiered on the official Pokémon YouTube channel on 12 May 2017, days before the Italian launch.

Download wallpapersTo celebrate passing 10 million downloads worldwide in early July 2017, The Pokémon Company released free smartphone wallpapers for iPhone and Android based on the game’s art, one of the few promotional extras the game had after launch.

Sales & reviews

Downloads

As a free-to-play app, Magikarp Jump is measured in downloads rather than sales. It passed 10 million downloads worldwide in early July 2017, about six weeks after launch, and The Pokémon Company marked the milestone with free wallpapers. In November 2024 the company’s chief operating officer, Takato Utsunomiya, told Famitsu that it had passed 27 million, more than Pokémon Sleep had reached at that point, and the Android version alone shows more than 10 million installs on Google Play. No revenue figures have ever been published, and the lifetime cap of 5,000 purchased Diamonds limits how much any one player can spend.

• 27m+downloads by November 2024
• 10m+downloads in about six weeks
• 64on Metacritic, iOS (11 critics)
• 4.8App Store (US) user rating

Review scores

Critics were split between charmed and bored. Time’s Matt Peckham reckoned the premise was “probably dumb enough to work”, and Harry Slater of Pocket Gamer called it “a strange but compelling package”, while Joe Merrick of Nintendo Life summed up the doubters: “It has great style, but it severely lacks in gameplay.” If you have played it yourself, you can compare notes with a reader review of Magikarp Jump on the site.

Most critics found plenty to smile at but not much to do. Metacritic’s iOS listing averages 64 from 11 reviews, a mixed verdict. Time’s Matt Peckham enjoyed how daft the whole idea was and only minded having to start over after each retirement, Gamezebo liked how many series staples it packed in, and Pocket Gamer’s Harry Slater found it oddly compulsive for a game that offers so little real control. The doubters dwelt on how little you actually do: Game Informer’s Kyle Hilliard found the training and the Leagues dull, though he enjoyed watching each new generation grow faster than the last, and Nintendo Life’s Joe Merrick admired the art and the catchy music but saw little gameplay and poor value in the purchases. App Trigger hardly counted it as a game at all. Players have been far kinder, rating it 4.8 out of 5 on the US App Store and 4.7 on Google Play.

Further reading

More Pokémon games for phones and tablets on the site: