Is Poliwag Good in Yellow Playthrough?
An investment toward Poliwrath. Poliwag itself is too weak to contribute much, but the Fighting sub-typing on the final form makes the grind worthwhile if you need that coverage.
Poliwag resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Misty's typing presses Poliwag's defenses.
Lt. Surge's team hits Poliwag's weaknesses hard.
Erika's team hits Poliwag's weaknesses hard.
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Sabrina's team hits Poliwrath's weaknesses hard.
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Poliwrath resists most of Bruno's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Catchable
Catch Poliwag in Pallet Town (Good Rod fishing, Lv 10, common).
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM11WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Cerulean Gym Leader Misty
- After Lt. Surge
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Celadon Department Store roof
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- LV 45WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Koga
- TM29PsychicPsychicPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Saffron City
Evolve Poliwag to Poliwrath
Poliwhirl evolves into Poliwrath with a Water Stone. You can buy the Water Stone at the Celadon Department Store on the 4th floor (₽2,100).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 32)
- LV 32PsychicHypnosisPower —Accuracy 60%PP 20
- After Misty
- TM11WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Cerulean Gym Leader Misty
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- After Erika
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Koga
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Silph Co.
How to Get Poliwag in Yellow
Poliwag is everywhere you can fish. 34 rod encounters stretch across 25 water spots, more than any other Pokemon in this range. Common at nearly all of them, so a single Good Rod cast near almost any water tends to hook one.
25 locations to catch Poliwag
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Poliwag in Y
Poliwag is the chain's first catch. You'll find fishing encounters from Lv. 5-40 across 36 total spots in the chain.
- Step 1Poliwag ✓Viridian CityLv.5-15Super RodRate 100%Route 22Lv.5-15Super RodRate 90%Celadon CityLv.10Good RodRate 50%Cerulean Cave - 1FLv.10Good RodRate 50%Cerulean Cave - B1FLv.10Good RodRate 50%Cerulean CityLv.10Good RodRate 50%Cerulean GymLv.10Good RodRate 50%Cinnabar IslandLv.10Good RodRate 50%Fuchsia CityLv.10Good RodRate 50%Pallet TownLv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 10Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 11Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 12Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 13Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 17Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 18Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 19Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 20Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 21Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 22Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 23Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 24Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 25Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 6Lv.10Good RodRate 50%Safari Zone - CenterLv.10Good RodRate 50%Safari Zone - EastLv.10Good RodRate 50%Safari Zone - NorthLv.10Good RodRate 50%Safari Zone - WestLv.10Good RodRate 50%Seafoam Islands - B3FLv.10Good RodRate 50%Seafoam Islands - B4FLv.10Good RodRate 50%Vermilion City - CityLv.10Good RodRate 50%Vermilion City - HarborLv.10Good RodRate 50%Viridian CityLv.10Good RodRate 50%Route 23Lv.25-30Super RodRate 70%
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into Poliwhirlor evolve from Poliwag (Step 1)
- Step 3Evolve into Poliwrath
Want the exact numbers? Work out your catch odds in Yellow for Poliwag.
Poliwag Weakness
Poliwag is weak to Electric and Grass. Its Water typing keeps the defensive matchups simple. Only 2 weaknesses makes it relatively easy to build around defensively.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Poliwag Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Poliwag
 Pikachu Electric | C | |
Obtain MethodPallet Town Gift | ||
 Ivysaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Cerulean City Gift) | ||
 Bellsprout GrassPoison | D | |
 Oddish GrassPoison | C | |
Poliwag Evolutions
Poliwag evolves into Poliwrath, but can't breed. At 300 stats as a Water type, evolution is the only path. Evolving adds up to 210 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Y Poliwag Best Moveset
MoveHypnosis at 60%% accuracy is the only move that matters, and the odds aren't good enough to build around. 40 Special can't power MoveSurf at any competitive level. Poliwhirl and Poliwrath wait down the evolution line.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Hypnosis
- Amnesia
- Blizzard
- Surf
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
TMs define Poliwag's movepool. The natural moves cover basics with Hydro Pump and Surf, but the real versatility comes from technical machines giving it Normal and Ice coverage. That's where the options open up.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- 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.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM 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 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 18 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
The direction of the spiral on the belly differs by area. It is more adept at swimming than walking.
Poliwag Yellow Guide
- How do I catch Poliwag in the Yellow Safari Zone?
See the Locations section above for where to find Poliwag in Yellow.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Poliwag from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Poliwag easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
In Yellow, Poliwag does the job early-game if you need a Water type on your team. Evolve it into Poliwhirl before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
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 · YellowYellow Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Yellow Tier List