Is Poliwag Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Not native to Hoenn. Trade from FireRed or LeafGreen. AbilityWater Absorb heals from Water attacks, giving Poliwrath a free switch-in against Water moves. Importing the entire line requires effort that RS's native Water options don't ask for.
Poliwag resists most of Roxanne's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Norman's typing presses Poliwag's defenses.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Wallace'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.
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
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 10Abandoned Ship
- TM29PsychicPsychicPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Mauville Game Corner
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- After Winona
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Mossdeep City
- LV 37NormalBelly DrumPower —Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Cave of Origin
- LV 43WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- After Wallace
- TM03WaterWater PulsePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Wallace
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 Poliwag in Ruby & Sapphire
Poliwag does not appear in Ruby or Sapphire; the water-tadpole slot sits empty here. You have to trade one over to start the line.
How to Obtain Poliwhirl 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 2Poliwhirl ✓
Available in-game· 2 pathsPick one
How to Get Shiny Poliwag in Ruby & Sapphire
Poliwag paddles into Hoenn only by trade, so reel a shiny from the water near Fuchsia City in FireRed or LeafGreen and bring it back. 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 | |
 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 | |
 Electrode Electric | B | |
 Plusle 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.
RS Poliwag Best Moveset
Water pre-evolution with MoveHypnosis at 60% accuracy as the only competitive tool. AbilityWater Absorb heals from Water attacks for switch-in utility. Stats too low otherwise.
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
POLIWAG has a very thin skin. It is possible to see the POKéMON’s spiral innards right through the skin. Despite its thinness, however, the skin is also very flexible. Even sharp fangs bounce right off it.
Poliwag Ruby & Sapphire Guide
No. Poliwag isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Catch one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it over.
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 · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List