Since the release of the first Pokemon titles, fans of the franchise have created unique art that's inspired by the characters in the games, with some offering alternate versions of existing Pokemon. One Pokemon fan has looked at Magikarp and its evolution, Gyarados, in a different light by creating a Ground-type alternative.
Twitter user Maumesart recently shared their interpretation of a Ground-type Magikarp and Gyarados, who are both from the Red, Blue, and Yellow Gen 1 Pokemon titles and have been featured in many games since. Maumesart's Magikarp and Gyarados swap in the Ground typing where the two Pokemon are usually seen as Water-type, and Flying and Water-type respectively, with many Pokemon fans seeing Gyarados as a Dragon based on its design. Swapping to the Ground typing makes Magikarp resemble a baby sand shark from the Star Wars universe, and Gyarados looks like the beasts from Tremors with its worm-like frame.
Maumesart's Pokemon fan art depicts both Magikarp and Gyarados as vicious creatures rather than just the evolution, which could suggest that this Magikarp has a different move set than Splash, Tackle, and Flail. Magikarp's color scheme remains quite similar to its original design as it retains the orange and light yellow, while its fins are darker than normal, and the Pokemon has sharp teeth between its whiskers. Gyarados' colors differ drastically from the standard Pokemon design in Maumesart's fan art as it has no blue and is mostly brown and black with even larger and sharper teeth but seemingly no eyes above its mouth.
Just like with the Water-type Magikarp and Gyarados, Maumesart's Ground-type Pokemon evolves at level twenty, which is among the mid-range in terms of initial evolution level despite the fact that Gyarados doesn't have an evolution. Magikarp's edgier design in Maumesart's fan art shows the Pokemon baring its teeth with glaring eyes, which suggests that it may have the Glare move, while both Pokemon almost certainly would use Bite to defeat their opponents in battle. Because Magikarp loses its eyes when it evolves into Gyarados in Maumesart's fan art, it's likely that the Gyarados would navigate underground even better if the Pokemon were real based on existing animals.
The eyeless Gyarados isn't too abnormal considering its Ground typing because many underground creatures are blind such as the blind cave fish, which may have inspired the fan art. Although Maumesart claimed the Ground-type Magikarp and Gyarados as his regional variant of the Pokemon, it's currently unclear if the two Pokemon will be revisited with a new design in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Maumesart's Pokemon fan art has also caused comparisons between the Pokemon and the ancient Mongolian Deathworm, a Terraria enemy, Dune's Sandworms, and Molgera from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.