Is Poliwhirl Good in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Playthrough?
Poliwhirl evolves from a traded Poliwag with two branching paths. Poliwrath or Politoed both fill roles that Hoenn's native Water-types handle without needing an import.
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.
Poliwhirl resists most of Flannery's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Winona:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Poliwhirl 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:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Wallace:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Sidney's team.
Politoed trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Sidney:
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Politoed trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Phoebe:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Politoed trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Glacia:
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Politoed trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Drake:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Politoed 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:
Poliwhirl 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. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 25.
You can pick up the Water Stone in Route 106.
Most players are ready to trade before reaching Winona.
How to Get Poliwhirl in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
No wild encounters for Poliwhirl in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. Bring Poliwag over from Red & Blue, then level through the stages. Each step in the chain is laid out below.
How to Obtain Poliwhirl in ORAS
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
Poliwhirl Weakness
Electric and Grass moves hit Poliwhirl for super-effective damage. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Water Absorb grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
What is Poliwhirl Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Poliwhirl
 Torterra GrassGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Route 101 Gift) Available Move Moves
Damage vs Poliwhirl View Torterra builds →Wood Hammer 2x148-175%KO | ||
 Meganium Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Chikorita (Route 101 Gift) Available Move Moves
Damage vs Poliwhirl View Meganium builds →Petal Dance 2x143-169%KO | ||
 Magnezone ElectricSteel | B | |
 Jolteon Electric | B | |
 Roselia GrassPoison | C | |
 Maractus Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Poliwhirl View Maractus builds →Petal Dance 2x175-206%KO | ||
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
 Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
 Lilligant Grass | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Poliwhirl View Lilligant builds →Petal Dance 2x181-213%KO | ||
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Raikou can KO Poliwhirl with Thunderbolt (193-227%). Breloom's Bullet Seed hits Poliwhirl for 44-52%.
 Raikou Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Poliwhirl View Raikou builds →Volt Switch 2x151-177%KO Thunderbolt 2x193-227%KO Shadow Ball57-68% | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityTechnician ItemFocus Sash NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Poliwhirl View Breloom builds →Mach Punch35-41% Bullet Seed 2x44-52% | ||
Poliwhirl Evolutions
From here, Poliwhirl's line branches into Poliwrath and Politoed. That's 2 possible evolutions, each with its own method. So far, HP got the biggest boost (+25 from Poliwag). The final form adds another 125 stats on top. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Poliwhirl to get Poliwag eggs easily using 87 partners from the Water1 egg group. Notable egg moves include Bubble Beam, Encore, Endeavor and 10 more.
ORAS Poliwhirl Best Moveset
Water at 65 Attack and 90 Speed. AbilitySwift Swim doubles Speed in rain. The moveset fires at mid-stage power but can't justify a slot. Poliwrath adds Fighting typing one evolution away, or Politoed brings AbilityDrizzle through alternate evolution.
Best Build
Poliwhirl best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Attacker Moveset
- Belly Drum
- Ice Punch
- Hydro Pump
- Hypnosis
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Poliwhirl misses out on Bubble Beam and Encore. That's 13 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Hydro Pump and Surf, with Normal and Ground coverage and more rounding things out.
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
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
The surface of Poliwhirl’s body is always wet and slick with a slimy fluid. Because of this slippery covering, it can easily slip and slide out of the clutches of any enemy in battle.
Poliwhirl Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Guide
Poliwhirl is meant to evolve into Poliwrath. At 385 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.
No. Poliwhirl only evolves into Politoed through a real trade. There is no in-game alternative in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. 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.
Swift Swim is what you want on Poliwhirl. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Water Absorb, Damp) work on paper but Swift Swim is what makes Poliwhirl worth using.
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Poliwhirl's hidden ability is Swift Swim. Doubles Speed during rain. Better than the standard options for competitive play.
Game Availability
One of the original 151, Poliwhirl has appeared in 20 games — most mainline games. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.
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 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