Is Poliwhirl Good in Yellow Playthrough?
In Yellow, you can trade Poliwhirl for Jynx in Cerulean City. That trade is worth considering since Jynx's Ice/Psychic combination is excellent for the E4. Otherwise, Water Stone into Poliwrath when you're ready.
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.
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
- 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 Poliwhirl in Yellow
The Super Rod hooks Poliwhirl at a couple of spots, but the bites are thin. With Poliwag swarming every fishing hole, raising one to 25 is far less work.
2 locations to catch Poliwhirl25 locations to catch Poliwag
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
Badge 8Catch 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 Y
Available earlier: catch Poliwag (before Badge 5) and evolve it at Lv 25. Wild Poliwhirl first appears at Route 23 (after Badge 8).
- Step 1Catch PoliwagViridian 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 2Poliwhirl ✓or evolve from Poliwag (Step 1)
- Step 3Evolve into Poliwrath
Bring the right balls: check Poliwhirl catch odds in the Yellow 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
AvgBest Pokemon Against Poliwhirl
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
 Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Bulbasaur (Cerulean City Gift) | ||
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
 Tangela Grass | C | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
 Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
 Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Magneton Electric | C | |
 Raichu Electric | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Pichu (Pallet Town Gift) | ||
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
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
Y Poliwhirl Best Moveset
MoveAmnesia doubles the 70 Special stat with each use, turning weak MoveSurf into real damage after one or two boosts. MoveHypnosis puts threats to sleep while the stat climbs. Sometimes chosen over Poliwrath because the Amnesia stacking reaches Special levels the evolution can't match naturally.
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
Under attack, it uses its belly spiral to put the foe to sleep. It then makes its escape.
Poliwhirl Yellow Guide
For Yellow, 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 Yellow, 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 · YellowYellow Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Yellow Tier List