Is Poliwhirl Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
Perfectly average mid-stage. Water Stone it into Poliwrath whenever you're ready. No reason to linger here.
Poliwag resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Misty's typing presses Poliwag's defenses.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Erika's team hits Poliwag's weaknesses hard.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Sabrina's team hits Poliwrath's weaknesses hard.
Poliwrath resists most of Blaine's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwrath resists most of Giovanni's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up 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 trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catch Poliwag
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
- After Sabrina
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 90%PP 5Pokémon Mansion
- After Koga
- TM29PsychicPsychicPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Saffron City
- LV 45WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
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 43)
- LV 43PsychicHypnosisPower —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 Poliwhirl in Red & Blue
Super Rod only, and just two spots: Celadon City and Route 10. Poliwhirl is common where it bites, but you need the strongest rod to bring it up.
2 locations to catch Poliwhirl25 locations to catch Poliwag
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Badge 3
Badge 4Catch Poliwag at any of the 25 locations below, then level it up to 25 — it evolves into Poliwhirl.
Badge 1
Badge 2 Badge 3 Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Poliwhirl in RB
The path to Poliwhirl starts with Poliwag at Lv. 10-15 via fishing encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 1Catch PoliwagCeladon 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%Pallet TownLv.15Super RodRate 50%Route 22Lv.15Super RodRate 50%Viridian CityLv.15Super RodRate 50%
- Step 2Poliwhirl ✓or evolve from Poliwag (Step 1)
- Step 3Evolve into Poliwrath
Bring the right balls: check Poliwhirl catch odds in the Red & Blue Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
Poliwhirl Weakness
Electric and Grass moves hit Poliwhirl for super-effective damage. Few weaknesses and 3 resistances make the typing clean. Just 2 weak spots to worry about, which keeps teambuilding straightforward.
| 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 Poliwhirl Weak Against
Avg
Poliwhirl Evolutions
Partway through Poliwag's chain, Poliwhirl is a Water type pushing toward Poliwrath. No breeding at this stage. 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
RB Poliwhirl Best Moveset
70 Special with MoveAmnesia doubling it every use. Amnesia-boosted MoveSurf hits surprisingly hard after one boost, and MoveHypnosis puts threats to sleep first. Sometimes preferred over Poliwrath because Amnesia stacking creates a Special stat the evolution can't match.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Amnesia
- Hypnosis
- Blizzard
- Surf
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Level-up moves are just the starting point for Poliwhirl. TMs unlock Normal and Ice coverage and more and turn a straightforward STAB kit around Hydro Pump and Surf into something with actual range.
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 27 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Capable of living in or out of water. When out of water, it sweats to keep its body slimy.
Poliwhirl Red & Blue Guide
For Red & Blue, you can run Poliwhirl through the first few routes without issues. 385 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Poliwrath as fast as you can.
In Red & Blue, use Poliwhirl as a pivot. Special attacks are the main output. Speed is middling, Surf is the primary attack.
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 · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List