Is Poliwag Good in Emerald Playthrough?
Import from FRLG for the Poliwrath line. Poliwag's AbilityWater Absorb heals HP from Water attacks. Water/Fighting at the end handles Norman and Flannery. Hoenn has Water everywhere natively, but the Fighting subtype on Poliwrath is the unique angle.
Poliwag resists most of Roxanne's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Brawly's team.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Juan's typing presses Poliwag's defenses.
Sidney's team hits Poliwag's weaknesses hard.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Glacia's typing presses Poliwag's defenses.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Wallace's team hits Poliwag's weaknesses hard.
Trade
Poliwag 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
- After Brawly
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Mauville Game Corner
- TM29PsychicPsychicPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Mauville Game Corner
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wally's father at Wally's house in Petalburg City after you defeat Norman
- LV 37NormalBelly DrumPower —Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wallace in Sootopolis City
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Given by Steven Stone in his house in Mossdeep City
- TUTORNormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- LV 43WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
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 Norman
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 225Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wally's father at Wally's house in Petalburg City after you defeat Norman
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wallace in Sootopolis City
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 113Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- TUTORNormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Battle Frontier
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
- TUTORNormalMega PunchPower 80Accuracy 85%PP 20Battle Frontier
- TUTORIceIce PunchPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
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 10Mauville Game Corner
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wally's father at Wally's house in Petalburg City after you defeat Norman
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Lilycove Department Store
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Given by Wallace in Sootopolis City
- TUTORNormalDouble-EdgePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Sootopolis City
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Battle Frontier
- TUTORNormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
- TUTORNormalMega PunchPower 80Accuracy 85%PP 20Battle Frontier
How to Get Poliwag in Emerald
No wild tadpole swims the local water, so Poliwag has to be traded in. From there the line splits two ways once it reaches Poliwhirl.
How to Obtain Poliwhirl in E
- 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 2Poliwhirl ✓
Available in-game· 2 pathsPick one
How to Get Shiny Poliwag in Emerald
Poliwag stays out of Emerald's waters, so cast a Good or Super Rod at Fuchsia City or the Cape Brink in FireRed or LeafGreen, reel your shiny loose, then trade it back across the link. See every game where Shiny Poliwag can be hunted
Poliwag Weakness
Poliwag is weak to Electric and Grass. It resists 4 types, giving it decent defensive coverage. Water Absorb grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
| 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 Poliwag Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Poliwag
 Ludicolo WaterGrass | C | |
 Sceptile Grass | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Treecko (Route 101 Gift) | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Sunflora Grass | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (Littleroot Town Gift) | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
 Ampharos Electric | 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 | |
Poliwag Evolutions
Poliwag's evolution chain splits 2 ways into Poliwrath and Politoed. The method you choose determines which form you get. Evolving adds up to 210 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Poliwag easily with 58 breeding partners from the Water 1 egg group. Pass egg moves like Bubble Beam, Haze, Ice Ball and 4 more to offspring.
E Poliwag Best Moveset
Water pre-evolution with AbilityWater Absorb healing from Water hits. 90 Speed is genuinely fast for the stage, but 40 Sp. Atk behind it turns the moveset into damage that barely registers. Poliwrath two evolutions away brings the power.
Best Build
Poliwag best EVs are Attack and Speed
Utility Moveset
- Belly Drum
- Surf
- Endure
- Hidden Power Flying
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Poliwag gets Bubble Beam and Haze exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Normal and Ice coverage and more rounds out the picture alongside Hydro Pump and Surf.
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 21 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It is possible to see this POKéMON’s spiral innards right through its thin skin. However, the skin is also very flexible. Even sharp fangs bounce right off it.
Poliwag Emerald Guide
No. Poliwag isn't catchable in Emerald. Catch one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it over.
In Emerald, Poliwag has 300 BST and evolves into Poliwhirl. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
Game Availability
Poliwag has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 20 titles across all 9 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
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 Poliwag.
Keep playing · EmeraldEmerald Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Emerald Tier List