History VideoGame / PokemonMagikarpJump

* CurbstompBattle: If you fully raised your Magikarp after the Expert League before the Elite Four update, you can bring it with you and literally sweep through '''three-fourths''' of the Elite Four League without any issues whatsoever.

* AmbiguousGender: The Magikarp trainers, both your PlayerCharacter and opponent trainers in the league, since the latter is a [[PaletteSwap recolor]] of your character. Their character design can invoke either gender, especially combined with the fact that most of their face is covered up.[[note]]The red cap and blue sweater can evoke the male protagonists of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' or ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', however.[[/note]] [[{{NPC}} Man of Mystery]] even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by not being sure of whether to refer your character as a boy or a girl in the English translation[[note]]the Japanese version has the protagonist feeling unnerved by him giving them a "Nugget" (whose Japanese name translates to "golden balls", a slang term for "testicles"[[/note]].

* AmbiguousGender: The Magikarp trainers, both your PlayerCharacter and opponent trainers in the league, since the latter is a [[PaletteSwap recolor]] of your character. Their character design can invoke either gender, especially combined with the fact that most of their face is covered up.[[note]]The red cap and blue sweater can evoke the male protagonists of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' or ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', however.[[/note]] [[{{NPC}} Man of Mystery]] even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by not being sure of whether to refer your character as a boy or a girl in the English translation[[note]]the Japanese translation has the protagonist feeling unnerved by him giving them a "Nugget" (whose Japanese name translates to "golden balls", a slang term for "testicles"[[/note]].

* AmbiguousGender: The Magikarp trainers, both your PlayerCharacter and opponent trainers in the league, since the latter is a [[PaletteSwap recolor]] of your character. Their character design can invoke either gender, especially combined with the fact that most of their face is covered up.[[note]]The red cap and blue sweater can evoke the male protagonists of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' or ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', however.[[/note]] [[{{NPC}} Man of Mystery]] even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by not being sure of whether to refer your character as a boy or a girl.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/SurviveMolaMola'', as mentioned above. The expendable fish protagonists, training points, swiping to feed, and gradually steeping level curves are all carryovers from it, as are some of the more dangerous outcomes of adventures. ''Magikarp Jump'' at least gives you some say in the matter.

* DifficultySpike: Several throughout the game, the first major one being in the Heavy League: "Karpen" in battle 10 is nearly a full 20k JP stronger than the Magikarp before it.

* JokeCharacter: Mimiyku in the final update. It does the same exact thing as Pikachu, with even the candy amounts for the upgrade being the same, until its final level, where it requires '''[[UpToEleven 78]]''' [[UpToEleven Support Candies to upgrade]]. The JP payout is higher than Pikachu's, but it's not WorthIt, as Greninja and Litten both reward higher JP at their max levels. Once you've got both maxed out, though, Mimikyu becomes a decent addition and a way to get rid of the rest of your support candy once everything is maxed out.

* RandomNumberGod: Raising Magikarp in general. Training can either give you a small boost to JP or bigger depending on the training type (randomly) picked and whether the effort is "Good", "Great", or "Amazing" (again, randomly decided). Random events can happen between activities, some good and some bad, with the latter having a possibility of either JP loss ("All That Glitters" event if you're unlucky when investigating the "sparkling item") or [[FinalDeath you actually losing your current Magikarp forever]] (infamously, "Out of Nowhere..." if you fail). It's worth noting that Select Button's previous game, ''VideoGame/SurviveMolaMola'' runs on this exact concept even more strongly than ''Magikarp Jump'', with that game's fish of choice (the similarly MemeticLoser ocean sunfish) able to be killed by ''everything''. Be thankful your Magikarp doesn't run the risk of choking on food or going into shock if you change your screen brightness too fast.

* FinalDeath: Certain events can cause your Magikarp to be lost forever, and forced into retiring early.
** HilarityEnsues: Many of these events show the many ''spectacular'' ways your fish is gonna die; from being scooped ''in midair'' by a Pidgeotto to being ''blown to bits'' by a Voltorb.

* JokeCharacter: Mimiyku in the final update. It does the same exact thing as Pikachu, with even the candy amounts for the upgrade being the same, until its final level, where it requires [[UpToEleven '''78''' Support Candies to upgrade]]. The JP payout is higher than Pikachu's, but it's not WorthIt, as Greninja and Litten both reward higher JP at their max levels. Once you've got both maxed out, though, Mimikyu becomes a decent addition and a way to get rid of the rest of your support candy once everything is maxed out.

* RandomNumberGod: Raising Magikarp in general. Training can either give you a small boost to JP or bigger depending on the training type (randomly) picked and whether the effort is "Good", "Great", or "Amazing" (again, randomly decided). Random events can happen between activities, some good and some bad, with the latter having a possibility of either JP loss ("All That Glitters" event if you're unlucky when investigating the "sparkling item") or [[FinalDeath you actually losing your current Magikarp forever]] (infamously, "Out of Nowhere..." if you fail). It's worth noting that Select Button's previous game, ''Survive! Mola Mola!'' runs on this exact concept even more strongly than ''Magikarp Jump'', with that game's fish of choice (the similarly MemeticLoser ocean sunfish) able to be killed by ''everything''. Be thankful your Magikarp doesn't run the risk of choking on food or going into shock if you change your screen brightness too fast.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Survive! Mola Mola!'', as mentioned above. The expendable fish protagonists, training points, swiping to feed, and gradually steeping level curves are all carryovers from it, as are some of the more dangerous outcomes of adventures. ''Magikarp Jump'' at least gives you some say in the matter.

* CurbstompBattle: If you fully raised your Magikarp after the Expert League before the Elite Four update, you can bring it with you and literally sweep through the '''three-fourths''' of the Elite Four League without any issues whatsoever.

* DifficultySpike: Several throughout the game, the first major on being in the Heavy League: "Karpen" in battle 10 is nearly a full 20k JP stronger than the Magikarp before it.

** When your Magikarp is at its max level, you have no choice but to enter the league and compete as many battles as you can. Only by losing a battle you can allow your maxed-out Magikarp to retire. However, if a maxed out Magikarp wins the current league, they will retire immediately.

* GoneHorriblyRight: In the "Macho Karp" event, Dr. Splash offers to train the Player characters Magikarp to make it stronger. If successful, Magikarp's LevelCap will increase by one. If it fails, Magikarp evolves into a Gyarados, which is definitely much stronger than a Magikarp... but then is unable to compete in the '''Magikarp''' jumping competition.
* GottaCatchEmAll: In this game the Magikarp have several kinds of color patterns.

* LuckBasedMission: Want to beat a league quicker instead of leveling up your Magikarp? Well after Great League, the "Macho Karp" event will allow you to give the Magikarp to a scientist. If it's successful, the max level cap increases by 1, meaning that you can potentially sweep through matches that you wouldn't have had access to if you waited. What happens if it fails? Your Magikarp evolves into a Gyarados, forcing you to get a new one.

** The Random Event "Tag Battle?" Plays out like a normal Pokemon battle, complete with your Magikarp's Splash having no effect, and Pikachu's Thunder Shock being super effective on the attacking Pidgeotto.

** One random event even has a chance of your Magikarp evolving if you accept the request, regardless of whether you have Everstone or not. If you don't want to risk it (you'll get lower JP reward instead though), it's better to decline at all times... unless you want your Magikarp to retire early.

** Like in the main games, there's a rare possibility of you reeling in a Shiny Magikarp (called Gold pattern in this game). [[spoiler: Evolving this Magikarp results in a red Gyarados]].

** Also the NPC Dr. Splash. Splash is the only move Magikarp knows until level 15, and is the most useless move a Pokemon can use. The events with Dr. Splash have her trying to convince the Player character that her plans will help their Magikarp get stronger. The events can end with Magikarp ''losing'' jumping power (Mystery Drink) or training it so hard by herself that it ''evolves'' (Macho Karp) and can't be used in the competition anymore.

* ReplacementGoldfish: Literally. If you lose a Magikarp you can just get another with little penalty (no motivation bonus), and the game actually ''rewards'' you for losing certain amounts of them, but you'll probably feel rather sour when getting a new Magikarp this way.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Survive! Mola Mola!'', as mentioned above. The expendable fish protagonists, training points, swiping to feed and gradually steeping level curves are all carryovers from it, as are some of the more dangerous outcomes of adventures. ''Magikarp Jump'' at least gives you some say in the matter.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: If you want a free way of getting a new Magikarp (subsequent fishing attempts after getting a Magikarp cost diamonds) when the Magikarp you just fished up isn't your liking, you can force it to retire. And there are many ways to do this (though some don't seem "cruel", and you can manually retire one if your rank is 15 or higher). In fact, there's no VideoGameCrueltyPunishment for this. See ReplacementGoldfish above.
* VirtualPet: Has many of the hallmarks of one, such as feeding, training, and raising them long enough to grow. Atypically, however, is that keeping a single one alive as long as possible ''isn't'' really a main goal - several events lead to "forced retirement" with no penalty other than having to start over.

* ReplacementGoldfish: Literally. If you lose a Magikarp you can just get another with no penalty, and the game actually ''rewards'' you for losing them, but you'll probably feel rather sour when getting a new Magikarp this way.

* StringyHairedGhostGirl: One appears in a one-time event.

** Another NPC, called Flop Hoppington, is the commentator for the jumping matches. The word "hop" can be another word for jump, and a flop can mean that something is a failure(which goes with the theme of Magikarp being weak and pathetic), can be a term for when something heavy moves or falls in an ungainly way, and when fish are on land, their movements are usually described as "flopping" around.

* NonPlayerCharacterCompanion: You can unlock other Pokémon to cheer on your Magikarp.

* PaletteSwap: The challengers are all palette swaps of the player character