Is Politoed Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Trade Poliwhirl with King's Rock. AbilityDrizzle sets rain permanently, which powers up Water moves and enables AbilitySwift Swim users. Rain team centerpiece if you want to build around weather. Niche but powerful.
Poliwag resists most of Roark's coverage and hits back hard.
Gardenia's team hits Poliwag's weaknesses hard.
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Fantina's team.
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Candice's team hits Poliwag's weaknesses hard.
Volkner's team hits Poliwag's weaknesses hard.
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Aaron's team.
Politoed has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Aaron:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Politoed has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Bertha:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Politoed has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Flint:
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Politoed trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Lucian:
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Politoed trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Cynthia:
Catch Poliwhirl on Route 225 (Surf, Lv 40-50, common).
Most players are ready to trade before reaching Aaron.
You can pick up the Water Stone in Route 213.
How to Get Politoed in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
Politoed's 3-stage chain starts with Poliwag, which appears at solid rates in the locations below. Level through 3 stages while you find a trade partner. Everything except the trade step is solo.
How to Obtain Politoed in BDSP
Poliwag is your first catch on the way to Politoed. You'll find walking, surfing, and more encounters from Lv. 10-63 across 34 total spots in the chain.
Step 1Catch PoliwagRoute 225Lv.10-25Good RodRate 35%Route 227Lv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 30%Route 228Lv.20-30Surfing on waterRate 30%Fountainspring CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameGrassland CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameRiverbank CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameStill-Water CavernLv.58-63CavePost-gameSunlit CavernLv.58-63CavePost-game
Step 2Catch or Evolve PoliwhirlRoute 225Lv.30-55Super RodRate 35%Route 227Lv.40-55Surfing on waterRate 70%Route 228Lv.40-55Surfing on waterRate 70%Route 225Lv.40-50Surfing on waterRate 30%Fountainspring CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameGrassland CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameRiverbank CaveLv.58-63CavePost-gameStill-Water CavernLv.58-63CavePost-gameSunlit CavernLv.58-63CavePost-gameor evolve from Poliwag (Step 1)
Step 3Politoed ✓
Politoed Weakness
Type-wise, Politoed takes extra damage from Electric and Grass. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Water Absorb grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. Politoed's special bulk (base 100 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
What is Politoed Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Politoed
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Abomasnow GrassIce | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Politoed View Abomasnow builds →Wood Hammer 2x96-113%KO | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Kartana's Knock Off hits Politoed for 36-43%.
 Kartana GrassSteel | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityBeastboost ItemChoice Scarf NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Politoed View Kartana builds →Knock Off36-43% | ||
 Rotom ElectricGhost | C | |
Recommended Build AbilityLevitate ItemStickybarb NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Politoed View Rotom builds →Hex27-32% | ||
Politoed Evolutions
Politoed is one of 2 ways Poliwhirl's chain can end. This one takes the trade route, while the siblings go different directions. Breed through Poliwag to get eggs. Poliwrath has 10 more total stats, but Politoed makes up for it with a stronger Sp.Def gain (+60 from Poliwag). View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Politoed to get Poliwag eggs easily using 69 partners from the Water1 egg group. Notable egg moves include Bubble Beam, Encore, Endeavor and 5 more.
BDSP Politoed Best Moveset
Hidden AbilityDrizzle sets rain automatically on entry, one of the most valuable team support abilities in the game. 90 Sp. Atk at 70 Speed gives the moveset Water TermStab under its own rain, but the primary role is enabling rain-dependent teammates. Fell from C-tier because Politoed's own offensive contribution is modest compared to what it enables for others.
Best Build
Politoed best EVs are Attack and Speed
Support Moveset
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Encore
- Toxic
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Bubble Beam and Encore aren't available any other way for Politoed, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Hydro Pump and Surf for solid options.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
A group of Poliwag and Poliwhirl will form with a Politoed as the leader. Politoed’s cries make the Pokémon of the group obey.
Politoed Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Don't let Politoed's 500 base stat total fool you. Drizzle is what makes it tick. It punches way above its weight class. We rate it C-Tier. Ice Beam with Leftovers is the standard set.
Politoed is obtained by trade-evolving Poliwhirl. Catch or evolve a Poliwhirl first, then trade. Trade needs a Game Boy Advance link cable and a second GBA running another Gen 3 game (FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald). Trade Poliwhirl to a friend, then have them trade it back. The 2026 Switch re-release supports the same trade through local wireless on the Pokemon Center 2F Wireless Club, with no cables required. The Kings Rock must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Run Drizzle on Politoed. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche. Politoed also gets Water Absorb and Damp, but they don't compare.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Politoed fills the balanced role. It's a mixed attacker with base 75 Attack and 90 Sp. Atk. Base 70 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. And it's enough bulk to take a hit or two.
Game Availability
Politoed has been available in 17 games since Gold & Silver, though obtaining it requires a trade evolution. This extra step makes it less common than Pokemon found through standard wild encounters.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves