Is Poliwhirl Good in Emerald Playthrough?
Poliwhirl with AbilityWater Absorb evolves into Poliwrath with a Water Stone or Politoed with a King's Rock trade. The Poliwrath path adds Fighting for Norman coverage. Functional mid-stage waiting for a stone.
Poliwhirl resists most of Roxanne's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Poliwhirl resists most of Flannery's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Norman's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Juan's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Glacia's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Wallace's team hits Poliwhirl's weaknesses hard.
Trade
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.
Recommended Moves
- 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
- 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
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- LV 51WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- Post-Game
- TUTORNormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Battle Frontier
- TUTORNormalMega PunchPower 80Accuracy 85%PP 20Battle Frontier
- TUTORIceIce PunchPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Battle Frontier
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. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 25.
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. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 25.
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 Poliwhirl in Emerald
A Poliwag evolves into Poliwhirl at level 25, so the line only starts with an imported base. From there a Water Stone makes Poliwrath, while a traded King's Rock leads to Politoed.
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 Poliwhirl in Emerald
Poliwhirl stays off Hoenn's route tables, so hook one on the Super Rod in Icefall Cave or off Cape Brink in FireRed or LeafGreen, keep casting until it shines, then send it over by trade. See every game where Shiny Poliwhirl can be hunted
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 |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Poliwhirl Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Poliwhirl
 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 | |
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 58 partners from the Water 1 egg group. Notable egg moves include Bubble Beam, Haze, Ice Ball and 4 more.
E Poliwhirl Best Moveset
Middle stage with AbilityWater Absorb. One evolution from Poliwrath's Fighting coverage moveset. Stats below competitive demands.
Best Build
Poliwhirl best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Belly Drum
- Hidden Power Flying
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Poliwhirl misses out on Bubble Beam and Haze. That's 7 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Hydro Pump and Surf, with Normal and Ice 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
All 26 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Its body surface is always wet and slick with an oily fluid. Because of this greasy covering, it can easily slip and slide out of the clutches of any enemy in battle.
Poliwhirl Emerald Guide
Poliwhirl isn't catchable in Emerald. Catch one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it to Emerald.
In Emerald, Poliwhirl has 385 BST and evolves into Poliwrath. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
In Emerald, use Poliwhirl as a balanced. Special attacks are the main output. Speed is middling,
For Emerald, run Jolly on Poliwhirl. +Speed is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the balanced role.
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 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 Poliwhirl.
Keep playing · EmeraldEmerald Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Emerald Tier List