Poliwrath's stats are solid on their own, but Swift Swim is what pushes it over the line. It doubles its Speed in rain. Only weak to Electric, Grass, Flying, and Psychic. Known as the Tadpole Pokemon.
You won't find a real weakness in Poliwrath's stat line. It's well-rounded for the Tadpole Pokemon, and what it does with that depends on moveset and items. Yields 3 Defense EVs, on a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.
An adept swimmer, it knows the front crawl, butterfly, and more. It is faster than the best human swimmers.
A swimmer adept at both the front crawl and breaststroke. Easily overtakes the best human swimmers.
Poliwrath Weakness
AvgType-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.
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
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 edges out Politoed by 10 total stats (510 vs 500). Defense is where most of the advantage lives.
How to Evolve
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.
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. A spread EV build EVs and utility options make it hard to safely switch into.
Best Build
Best Poliwrath Moveset
- Focus Punch
- Substitute
- Brick Break
- Ice Beam
Recommended Teammates
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
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Reminder Moves
No wild encounters for Poliwrath. The 3-stage chain runs through Poliwag, which you can catch at solid rates from the locations below. Evolve through a special method once you've got the levels.
How to Obtain Poliwrath in FireRed & LeafGreen
To get Poliwrath, start by catching Poliwag through fishing encounters at Lv. 5-30. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
Step 1Catch PoliwagEASYCape BrinkLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyEASYCape BrinkFireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyEASYCerulean Cave - 1FLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCaveEASYCerulean Cave - 1FFireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCaveEASYCerulean Cave - B1FFireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCaveEASYCerulean Cave - B1FLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCaveEASYFour IslandFireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyWaterEASYFour IslandLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyWaterEASYFuchsia CityFireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCityEASYFuchsia CityLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCityEASYIcefall Cave - 1F Room 1FireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCaveEASYIcefall Cave - 1F Room 1LeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCaveEASYRoute 22LeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 22FireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 23LeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 23FireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 25FireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 25LeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 6FireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 6LeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyRouteEASYRuin ValleyFireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyEASYRuin ValleyLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyEASYViridian CityFireRedGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCityEASYViridian CityLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15CommonEarlyCityEASYCape BrinkFireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyEASYCape BrinkLeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyEASYCerulean Cave - 1FLeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyCaveEASYCerulean Cave - 1FFireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyCaveEASYCerulean Cave - B1FLeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyCaveEASYCerulean Cave - B1FFireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyCaveEASYFour IslandFireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyWaterEASYFour IslandLeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyWaterEASYIcefall Cave - 1F Room 1FireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyCaveEASYIcefall Cave - 1F Room 1LeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyCaveEASYRoute 22LeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 22FireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 23LeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 23FireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 25FireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 25LeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 6FireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyRouteEASYRoute 6LeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyRouteEASYRuin ValleyFireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyEASYRuin ValleyLeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyEASYViridian CityLeafGreenSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyCityEASYViridian CityFireRedSuper RodLv.15-25CommonEarlyCityMODERATEBerry ForestFireRedGood RodLv.5-15UncommonEarlyForestMODERATEBerry ForestLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15UncommonEarlyForestMODERATESafari Zone - CenterFireRedGood RodLv.5-15UncommonEarlyFacilityMODERATESafari Zone - CenterLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15UncommonEarlyFacilityMODERATESafari Zone - EastLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15UncommonEarlyFacilityMODERATESafari Zone - EastFireRedGood RodLv.5-15UncommonEarlyFacilityMODERATESafari Zone - NorthLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15UncommonEarlyFacilityMODERATESafari Zone - NorthFireRedGood RodLv.5-15UncommonEarlyFacilityMODERATESafari Zone - WestLeafGreenGood RodLv.5-15UncommonEarlyFacilityMODERATESafari Zone - WestFireRedGood RodLv.5-15UncommonEarlyFacility
Step 2Catch or Evolve PoliwhirlEASYCape BrinkLeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidEASYCape BrinkFireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidEASYCerulean Cave - 1FFireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidCaveEASYCerulean Cave - 1FLeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidCaveEASYCerulean Cave - B1FLeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidCaveEASYCerulean Cave - B1FFireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidCaveEASYFour IslandLeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidWaterEASYFour IslandFireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidWaterEASYIcefall Cave - 1F Room 1LeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidCaveEASYIcefall Cave - 1F Room 1FireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidCaveEASYRoute 22LeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidRouteEASYRoute 22FireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidRouteEASYRoute 23LeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidRouteEASYRoute 23FireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidRouteEASYRoute 25LeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidRouteEASYRoute 25FireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidRouteEASYRoute 6LeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidRouteEASYRoute 6FireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidRouteEASYRuin ValleyLeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidEASYRuin ValleyFireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidEASYViridian CityLeafGreenSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidCityEASYViridian CityFireRedSuper RodLv.20-30CommonMidCityor evolve from Poliwag (Step 1)
Step 3Poliwrath ✓
Poliwrath looks average on paper at 510 BST. But Swift Swim is why it sees play — build around that and it pulls its weight. C-Tier on our tier list.
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 leaning toward the physical side (base 95 Attack). Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. But the speed tells the real story — base 70 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many.
Poliwrath appears in 20 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.
Present since Red & Blue, Poliwrath appears in 20 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Poliwrath have the longest track record of availability in the series.
- Gen IY
Yellow - Gen IRBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen IIGS
Gold & Silver - Gen IIC
Crystal - Gen IIIRS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen IIIFRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen IIIE
Emerald - Gen IVPt
Platinum - Gen IVHGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen IVDP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen VBW
Black & White - Gen VB2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen VIXY
X & Y - Gen VIORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen VIIUSUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen VIISM
Sun & Moon - Gen VIILGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen VIIISwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen VIIIPLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen VIIIBDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen IXSV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen IXLZA
Legends: Z-A