Physical
Balanced
510High
70Moderate
CTier

Poliwrath's stats are solid on their own, but Swift Swim is what pushes it over the line. It doubles its Speed in rain. 5 type weaknesses to keep in mind. Known as the Tadpole Pokemon. Flexible enough to run physical or special sets.

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.

Base Stats
510High
HP90
B
Attack95
B
Defense95
B
Sp. Atk70
C
Sp. Def90
B
Speed70
C
Total510
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Poliwrath yields +3 Def
HPAtkDef+3SpASpDSpe
Details
Catch45Challenging•Medium Slow1.06M XP•1.3m / 4'03"•54kg / 119 lbs•230Base XP
Pokedex Entries

Swims powerfully using all the muscles in its body. It can even overtake world-class swimmers.

Lets Go Pikachu / Lets Go Eevee

Poliwrath Weakness

Avg

Type-wise, Poliwrath takes extra damage from Electric, Grass, Flying, Psychic, and Fairy. 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.

4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
ElectricGrassFlyingPsychicFairy
½xResisti
FireWaterIceBugRockDarkSteel
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
Water
STAB (7)i
FireGroundRockNormalIceDarkSteel
5Weak
7Resist
1Immune
Scorei-3
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
Water AbsorbAbsorbs water moves, healing for 1/4 max HP.
DampPrevents self destruct, explosion, and aftermath from working while the Pokémon is in battle.
Swift SwimHADoubles Speed during rain.
Water Absorb grants Water immunity

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

3 Forms
Poliwag
#060Poliwag
25
Level 25
Poliwhirl
#061Poliwhirl
Water Stone
Poliwrath
#062Poliwrath
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Poliwag
Water
Poliwhirl
Water
Poliwrath
WaterFighting
HP
40
65+25
90+25
ATK
50
65+15
95+30
DEF
40
65+25
95+30
SP.ATK
40
50+10
70+20
SP.DEF
40
50+10
90+40
SPE
90
90
70-20
BST
300D-Tier
385D-Tier+85
510C-Tier+125
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Utility
Utility
Physical
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Poliwrath to get Poliwag eggs easily from the Water1 egg group.

Egg Groups
Water1
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body

the remaining moves keeps opponents guessing about Poliwrath's real targets. Sitrus Berry provides a one-time health recovery at low HP while max Attack and Speed EVs and Jolly nature handle the stat profile. Waterabsorb ties it together.

Best Build

Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee uses different battle mechanics.

Competitive build content is not applicable for this game. Select a main series game for builds.

Most of Poliwrath's flexibility comes from TMs. Same-type output runs through Superpower and Surf, but Normal and Ice and the rest of the TM pool push it from predictable to genuinely threatening.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Bubble
4010030Water
Lv 1
Bulk Up
——20Fighting
Lv 1
Haze
——30Ice
Lv 1
Hypnosis
—6020Psychic
Lv 1
Mist
——30Ice
Lv 1
Pound
4010035Normal
Lv 1
Submission
808020Fighting
Lv 1
Water Gun
4010025Water
Lv 57
Superpower
1201005Fighting

TM Moves

Src
TM51
Blizzard
110705Ice
TM13
Brick Break
7510015Fighting
TM30
Bulk Up
——20Fighting
TM10
Dig
8010010Ground
TM41
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM12
Facade
7010020Normal
TM01
Headbutt
7010015Normal
TM03
Helping Hand+5
——20Normal
TM48
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM55
Ice Beam
9010010Ice
TM35
Ice Punch
7510015Ice
TM26
Poison Jab
8010020Poison
TM07
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM40
Psychic
9010010Psychic
TM05
Rest
——10Psychic
TM22
Rock Slide
759010Rock
TM29
Scald
8010015Water
TM15
Seismic Toss
—10020Fighting
TM08
Substitute
——10Normal
TM49
Superpower
1201005Fighting
TM47
Surf
9010015Water
TM27
Toxic
—9010Poison
TM25
Waterfall
8010015Water

Egg Moves

Poliwrath doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Poliwrath can't learn any Tutor moves

Finding Poliwrath at low spawn rates takes patience. 4 spots are available in endgame water routes, but the rate difference between them matters. Lock in the top one from the sorted list below.

Where To Catch Poliwrath in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee

Poliwag is your first catch on the way to Poliwrath. You'll find surfing encounters from Lv. 3-56 across 24 total spots in the chain.

  1. Poliwag
    Step 1Catch Poliwag
    Route 22
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.3-445%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 22
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.3-445%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 25
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.9-1445%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 25
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.9-1445%EarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 23
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.41-4645%LateRoute
    EASY
    Route 23
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.41-4645%LateRoute
    EASY
    Cerulean Cave - 1F
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.51-5645%PostCave
    EASY
    Cerulean Cave - 1F
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.51-5645%PostCave
    EASY
    Cerulean Cave - B1F
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.51-5645%PostCave
    EASY
    Cerulean Cave - B1F
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.51-5645%PostCave
    EASY
  2. Poliwhirl
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Poliwhirl
    Route 22
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.3-410%EarlyRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 22
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.3-410%EarlyRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 25
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.9-1410%EarlyRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 25
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.9-1410%EarlyRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 23
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.41-4610%LateRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 23
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.41-4610%LateRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Cerulean Cave - 1F
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.51-569%PostCave
    CHALLENGING
    Cerulean Cave - 1F
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.51-569%PostCave
    CHALLENGING
    Cerulean Cave - B1F
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.51-569%PostCave
    CHALLENGING
    Cerulean Cave - B1F
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.51-569%PostCave
    CHALLENGING
    or evolve from Poliwag (Step 1)
  3. Poliwrath
    Step 3Poliwrath ✓
    Cerulean Cave - 1F
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.51-561%PostCave
    LEGENDARY
    Cerulean Cave - 1F
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.51-561%PostCave
    LEGENDARY
    Cerulean Cave - B1F
    Let's Go EeveeSurfing on waterLv.51-561%PostCave
    LEGENDARY
    Cerulean Cave - B1F
    Let's Go PikachuSurfing on waterLv.51-561%PostCave
    LEGENDARY
    or evolve from Poliwhirl (Step 2)

  • 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's biggest threats include Jolteon (Electric), Exeggutor (Grass), and Dodrio (Flying), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Psychic and Fairy-type attackers are also a problem. With 5 weakness types, most competitive teams carry at least one counter.

  • Poliwhirl evolves into Poliwrath using a Water Stone. Poliwrath is the final evolution in a 4-stage line starting from Poliwag. At 510 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • 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 physical attacker with 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.