Mixed
Balanced
CTier
70Speed · Below Avg

Stats & Training

Poliwrath's built to absorb hits, not race for knockouts. Balanced defenses with Defense doing the heavy lifting. And the 1.06M XP medium-slow curve means it won't take forever to bring up, worth 3 Defense EVs.

Base Stats
High
HP90
B
Attack85
C
Defense95
B
Sp. Atk70
C
Sp. Def90
B
Speed70
C
Total500
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging45 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Slow1.06M XP
Height1.3 m
4'03"Average
Weight54.0 kg
119.0 lbsStandard
Base XP230
High Yield
Abilities
Water AbsorbTop Pick
Absorbs water moves, healing for 1/4 max HP.
DampRare
Prevents self destruct, explosion, and aftermath from working while the Pokémon is in battle.
Swift SwimHANot in game
Doubles Speed during rain.
Water Absorb grants Water immunity
EV Yield
HPAtkDef+3SpASpDSpe
Strong Defense training target
Pokedex Entries

Its highly developed muscles never grow fatigued, however much it exercises. This POKéMON can swim back and forth across the Pacific Ocean without effort.

Emerald

Poliwrath Weakness

Type-wise, Poliwrath takes extra damage from Electric, Grass, Flying, and Psychic. It resists 7 types, so it can switch into a lot of moves safely. Water Absorb grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.

Poliwrath Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Electric, Grass, Flying, Psychic
0.5x (Resist)Fire, Water, Ice, Bug, Rock, Dark, Steel
Type ChartAvg
4Weak
7Resist
1Immune
Score-1
Gen III Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
ElectricGrassFlyingPsychic
½xResist
FireWaterIceBugRockDarkSteel
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Water
STAB (7)
FireGroundRockNormalIceDarkSteel
How to Beat Poliwrath in Emerald (Best Counters)

In Emerald, Magneton can KO Poliwrath with Thunderbolt (105-123%). Aerodactyl's Double-Edge hits Poliwrath for 61-72%. Starmie deals 56-66% with Thunderbolt.

Magneton
Magneton
ElectricSteel
A
Recommended Build
AbilityMagnetpull
ItemMagnet
NatureModest
Moves
  • ThunderboltSTAB
  • Hidden Power Fire
  • ToxicUtility
  • Thunder Wave
Damage vs Poliwrath
Thunderbolt 2x
105-123%KO
View Magneton builds →

Emerald Evolution

Poliwrath is one of 2 ways Poliwhirl's chain can end. This one takes the item path, while the siblings go different directions. Breed through Poliwag to get eggs. Poliwrath and Politoed share the same 500 total stats, but they're distributed differently. Check the comparison below to see where each one specializes. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

4 Forms
Poliwag
#060Poliwag
25
Level 25
Poliwhirl
#061Poliwhirl
Poliwrath
#062PoliwrathWater Stone
Politoed
#186PolitoedTrade + Kings Rock
Stat Comparison 4 Stages
Poliwag
Water
Poliwhirl
Water
Poliwrath
WaterFighting
Politoed
Water
HP
40
65+25
90+25
90+25
ATK
50
65+15
95+30
75+10
DEF
40
65+25
95+30
75+10
SP.ATK
40
50+10
70+20
90+40
SP.DEF
40
50+10
90+40
100+50
SPE
90
90
70-20
70-20
BST
300D-Tier
385D-Tier+85
510C-Tier+125
500B-Tier+115
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Utility
Utility
Physical
Mixed

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Poliwrath to get Poliwag eggs easily using 58 partners from the Water1 egg group. Notable egg moves include Bubble Beam, Haze, Ice Ball and 4 more.

Egg Groups
Water1
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
7moves
Breed With (best first)
azumarillblastoisegolduckferaligatrkingdraswampertslowbroslowkingoctilleryludicolodewgongcrawdaunt
12 of 58·

Emerald Poliwrath Best Moveset

Bulk and offense in one package. Poliwrath runs Leftovers for passive recovery each turn with a Mild nature, so it survives long enough to threaten with Focuspunch. Spread EVs and utility options make it hard to safely switch into.

Best Build

Solid pick
Physical Attacker
Ability
Water Absorb
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Poliwrath
Mild+SPA

Poliwrath best EVs are Attack and Sp. Atk

EVs

Physical Attacker Moveset

  • Focus PunchSTAB
  • SubstituteUtility
  • Brick BreakSTAB
  • Ice Beam

Recommended Teammates

Salamence
SalamenceDecent
Forretress
ForretressDecent
Blissey
BlisseyDecent

Moves

Breeding's the move. Bubble Beam and Haze give Poliwrath options it can't learn any other way, and Normal and Ice coverage and more already covers a decent range on top of Focus Punch and Hydro Pump. The egg moves push it further.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Double Slap
—158510Normal
Lv 1
Hypnosis
B—6020Psychic
Lv 1
Submission
—808025Fighting
Lv 1
Water Gun
—4010025Water
Lv 35
Submission
—808025Fighting
Lv 51
Mind Reader
——1005Normal

TM Moves

TM
TM45
Attract
——10015Normal
TM14
Blizzard
D120705Ice
TM31
Brick Break
A7510015Fighting
TM08
Bulk Up
B——20Fighting
TM28
Dig
—6010010Ground
HM08
Dive
—6010010Water
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM26
Earthquake
C10010010Ground
TM42
Facade
D7010020Normal
TM01
Focus Punch-3
A15010020Fighting
TM21
Frustration
——10020Normal
TM07
Hail
———10Ice
TM10
Hidden Power
—6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
C150905Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
A9510010Ice
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM29
Psychic
C9010010Psychic
TM18
Rain Dance
C——5Water
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM27
Return
D—10020Normal
HM06
Rock Smash
—2010015Fighting
TM39
Rock Tomb
—609510Rock
TM43
Secret Power
—7010020Normal
HM04
Strength
—8010015Normal
HM03
Surf
C9510015Water
TM46
Thief
D6010025Dark
TM06
Toxic
C—8510Poison
TM03
Water Pulse
—6010020Water
HM07
Waterfall
C8010015Water

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Bubble Beam
—6510020Water
Egg
Haze
D——30Ice
Egg
Ice Ball
—309020Ice
Egg
Mind Reader
——1005Normal
Egg
Mist
———30Ice
Egg
Splash
———40Normal
Egg
Water Sport
———15Water

Tutor Moves

Tut
Tutor
Body Slam
C8510015Normal
Tutor
Counter-5
D—10020Fighting
Tutor
Defense Curl
———40Normal
Tutor
Double-Edge
C12010015Normal
Tutor
Dynamic Punch
C100505Fighting
Tutor
Endure+4
D——10Normal
Tutor
Ice Punch
C7510015Ice
Tutor
Icy Wind
—559515Ice
Tutor
Mega Kick
—120755Normal
Tutor
Mega Punch
—808520Normal
Tutor
Metronome
D——10Normal
Tutor
Mimic
———10Normal
Tutor
Mud-Slap
D2010010Ground
Tutor
Seismic Toss
D—10020Fighting
Tutor
Sleep Talk
D——10Normal
Tutor
Snore
—4010015Normal
Tutor
Substitute
A——10Normal
Tutor
Swagger
——9015Normal

Reminder Moves

Rem
Rem
Belly Drum
D——10Normal
Rem
Body Slam
C8510015Normal
Rem
Bubble
—2010030Water
Rem
Hydro Pump
C120805Water
Rem
Rain Dance
C——5Water

How to Get Poliwrath in Emerald

Poliwrath isn't available in the wild in Emerald. Start by transferring Poliwag from Red. The evolution path from Poliwag to Poliwrath is covered in the steps below.

How to Obtain Poliwrath in Emerald

  1. Poliwag
    Step 1Obtain Poliwag

    Also found in:

    Red
  2. Poliwhirl
    Step 2Evolve into Poliwhirl

    Also found in:

    Red
  3. Poliwrath
    Step 3Poliwrath ✓

Poliwrath Guide

  • In Emerald, Poliwrath looks average on paper at 500 BST. But Swift Swim is why it sees play. Build around that and it pulls its weight. C-Tier on our tier list. Focuspunch with Leftovers is the standard set.

  • In Emerald, Poliwrath's biggest threats include Jolteon (Electric), Exeggutor (Grass), and Dodrio (Flying), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Psychic-type attackers are also a problem.

  • Poliwrath gets Swift Swim, Water Absorb, and Damp. But Swift Swim is the one that matters. It's the centerpiece of every viable set. Build around that.

  • Poliwrath is a mixed attacker with base 85 Attack and 70 Sp. Atk. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. Speed tells the real story. Base 70 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many.

  • For Emerald, the core moveset is Focuspunch, Substitute, Brickbreak, and Ice Beam. Focuspunch leads at 15% usage. This set covers the balanced role with a mix of damage and utility.

Game Availability

Present since Red & Blue, Poliwrath appears in 20 games spanning 10 generations. Gen 1 originals like Poliwrath have the longest track record of availability in the series.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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