Is Politoed Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Trade Poliwhirl with King's Rock, plus import from FRLG. AbilityWater Absorb or AbilityDamp which blocks self-destruct. Two trade barriers make Politoed impractical for any RS playthrough. Pure Water with no unique niche in Hoenn's deep roster.
Poliwag resists most of Roxanne's coverage and hits back hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Roxanne:
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Brawly:
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Wattson:
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Flannery:
Norman's typing presses Poliwag's defenses.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Norman:
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Winona:
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Tate & Liza:
Wallace's typing presses Poliwag's defenses.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Wallace:
Sidney's team hits Poliwag's weaknesses hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Sidney:
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Phoebe:
Glacia's typing presses Poliwag's defenses.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Glacia:
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Drake:
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Steven:
Trade
Politoed cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 5)
- LV 5PsychicHypnosisPower —Accuracy 60%PP 20
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Winona
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Mossdeep City
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Cave of Origin
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
Breed Poliwrath
Poliwrath cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 1)
- LV 1FightingSubmissionPower 120Accuracy 80%PP 25
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- After Norman
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 225Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Cave of Origin
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 113Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
Breed Politoed
Politoed cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 1)
- LV 1PsychicHypnosisPower —Accuracy 60%PP 20
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Abandoned Ship
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Winona
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Mossdeep City
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Cave of Origin
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
How to Get Politoed in Ruby & Sapphire
Politoed needs a King's Rock on a traded Poliwhirl, swapping it off the Poliwrath path. With the whole Poliwag line absent from Hoenn, this starts with a trade.
How to Obtain Politoed in RS
- Step 1Obtain PoliwagLATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Good rod · Route 12. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Poliwhirl
- Step 3Politoed ✓
How to Get Shiny Politoed in Ruby & Sapphire
No Hoenn water hosts Politoed, so trade a shiny in, or evolve one from a shiny Poliwhirl raised in another game and sent over. See every game where Shiny Politoed can be hunted
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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Politoed Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Politoed
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Route 101 Gift) | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Roselia GrassPoison | C | |
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
 Magneton ElectricSteel | A | |
 Tropius Grass | C | |
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
 Manectric Electric | C | |
 Cradily RockGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Lileep (Rustboro City Gift) | ||
 Pikachu Electric | C | |
 Plusle Electric | C | |
 Electrode Electric | B | |
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 58 partners from the Water 1 egg group. Notable egg moves include Bubble Beam, Haze, Ice Ball and 4 more.
RS Politoed Best Moveset
MoveSurf and MoveIce Beam from 90 Sp. Atk with MoveHypnosis for sleep. AbilityWater Absorb heals from Water moves for safe switch-ins. MovePerish Song forces switches or KOs after three turns. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. Water attacker with a unique win condition.
Best Build
Politoed best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Sweeper Moveset
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Hypnosis
- Thief
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The egg pool carries weight here. Bubble Beam and Haze aren't available any other way for Politoed, and they meaningfully change what it threatens. Stack those on top of Surf and Dive 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
All 27 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
The curled hair on POLITOED’s head is proof of its status as a king. It is said that the longer and more curled the hair, the more respect this POKéMON earns from its peers.
Politoed Ruby & Sapphire Guide
No. Politoed isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Obtain one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it over.
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 7Let's Go
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
Explore
Where to go next after Politoed.
Keep playing · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List