Is Poliwhirl Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Trade-only mid-stage. AbilityWater Absorb is already active, turning Water attacks into healing. Evolve into Poliwrath with a Water Stone for the Fighting sub-typing. The import is a lot of work for Hoenn's deep Water roster.
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 trades roughly evenly with 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 Wallace's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Drake's team.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
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 10Abandoned Ship
- TM29PsychicPsychicPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Mauville Game Corner
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Petalburg City
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Route 115
- After Winona
- HM08WaterDivePower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Mossdeep City
- After Tate & Liza
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Cave of Origin
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Seafloor Cavern
- LV 51WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
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 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. 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 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 Poliwhirl in Ruby & Sapphire
A traded Poliwag becomes Poliwhirl at level 25, the only way the middle stage shows up here.
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 Poliwhirl in Ruby & Sapphire
Poliwhirl shows up in Hoenn strictly through trading, so fish a shiny from Route 22 in FireRed or LeafGreen, then send it across. 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 | |
 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 | |
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.
RS Poliwhirl Best Moveset
MoveSurf and MoveIce Beam at moderate Sp. Atk provide coverage while AbilityWater Absorb heals from Water moves. MoveHypnosis adds unreliable sleep. Poliwrath and Politoed offer better competitive endpoints.
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
The surface of POLIWHIRL’s body 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 Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Poliwhirl isn't catchable in Ruby & Sapphire. Catch one in FireRed or LeafGreen, then trade it to Ruby & Sapphire.
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 · Ruby & SapphireRuby & Sapphire Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Ruby & Sapphire Tier List