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 stat exp.

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
Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.
Water Absorb
Absorbs water moves, healing for 1/4 max HP.
Damp
Prevents self destruct, explosion, and aftermath from working while the Pokémon is in battle.
Swift SwimHA
Doubles Speed during rain.
Water Absorb grants Water immunity
EV Yield
HPAtkDef+3SpASpDSpe
Strong Defense training target
Pokedex Entries

An adept swimmer at both the front crawl and breast stroke. Easily overtakes the best human swimmers.

Poliwrath Weakness

Type-wise, Poliwrath takes extra damage from Electric, Grass, Flying, and Psychic. The Water/Fighting typing picks up 5 resistances to work with.

Poliwrath Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Electric, Grass, Flying, Psychic
0.5x (Resist)Fire, Water, Ice, Bug, Rock
Type ChartAvg
4Weak
5Resist
0Immune
Score-3
Gen I Type Chart
  • 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
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
ElectricGrassFlyingPsychic
½xResist
FireWaterIceBugRock
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
None
STAB (5)
FireGroundRockNormalIce
How to Beat Poliwrath in Red & Blue (Best Counters)

In Red & Blue, Jolteon can KO Poliwrath with Thunderbolt (88-104%).

Jolteon
Jolteon
Electric
A
Recommended Build
Moves
  • ThunderboltSTAB
  • Thunder Wave
  • Double Kick
  • Pin Missile
Damage vs Poliwrath
Thunderbolt 2x
88-104%KO
Pin Missile
2-2%
View Jolteon builds →

Red & Blue Evolution

Poliwag's chain leads to Poliwrath (using a Water Stone). A Water/Fighting type at 500 stats, sitting in the Undiscovered group. 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

3 Forms
Poliwag
#060Poliwag
25
Level 25
Poliwhirl
#061Poliwhirl
Water Stone
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 not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Red & Blue Poliwrath Best Moveset

Best Build

Experimental
Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 1
Item
Not in Gen 1
Nature
Not in Gen 1

Utility Moveset

  • AmnesiaUtility
  • HypnosisUtility
  • SubmissionSTAB
  • Hydro PumpSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Tauros
TaurosGood
Chansey
ChanseyGood
Alakazam
AlakazamDecent

Moves

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

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Body Slam
C8510015Normal
Lv 1
Double Slap
—158510Normal
Lv 1
Hypnosis
S—6020Psychic
Lv 1
Water Gun
D4010025Water
Lv 16
Hypnosis
S—6020Psychic
Lv 19
Water Gun
D4010025Water

TM Moves

TM
TM34
Bide+1
———10Normal
TM14
Blizzard
B110905Ice
TM08
Body Slam
C8510015Normal
TM11
Bubble Beam
C6510020Water
TM18
Counter-5
D—10020Fighting
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM10
Double-Edge
C12010015Normal
TM26
Earthquake
C10010010Ground
TM27
Fissure
——305Ground
TM15
Hyper Beam
C150905Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
A9510010Ice
TM05
Mega Kick
C120755Normal
TM01
Mega Punch
D808520Normal
TM35
Metronome
D——10Normal
TM31
Mimic
———10Normal
TM29
Psychic
C9010010Psychic
TM46
Psywave
——10015Psychic
TM20
Rage
—2010020Normal
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM19
Seismic Toss
D—10020Fighting
TM40
Skull Bash
C10010010Normal
HM04
Strength
—8010015Normal
TM17
Submission
A808025Fighting
TM50
Substitute
C——10Normal
HM03
Surf
A9510015Water
TM09
Take Down
—908520Normal
TM06
Toxic
C—9010Poison
TM12
Water Gun
D4010025Water

Egg Moves

Poliwrath doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Poliwrath can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Poliwrath in Red & Blue

Poliwrath doesn't appear wild. Catch Poliwag instead, it shows up at solid rates. Evolve it through a special method to get Poliwrath. The 3-stage chain is mapped in the step cards below.

How to Obtain Poliwrath in Red & Blue

To get Poliwrath, start by catching Poliwag through fishing encounters at Lv. 10-23. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.

  1. Poliwag
    Step 1Catch Poliwag
    Celadon City
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Celadon City
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Cerulean Cave - 1F
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Cave
    50%Early
    Cerulean Cave - 1F
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Cave
    50%Early
    Cerulean Cave - B1F
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Cave
    50%Early
    Cerulean Cave - B1F
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Cave
    50%Early
    Fuchsia City
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Fuchsia City
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Pallet Town
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Pallet Town
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Route 10
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 10
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 11
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 11
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 12
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 12
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 13
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 13
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 17
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 17
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 18
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 18
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 19
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 19
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 20
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 20
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 21
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 21
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 22
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 22
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 23
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 23
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 24
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 24
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 25
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 25
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 6
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Route 6
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Route
    50%Early
    Safari Zone - Center
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Facility
    50%Early
    Safari Zone - Center
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Facility
    50%Early
    Safari Zone - East
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Facility
    50%Early
    Safari Zone - East
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Facility
    50%Early
    Safari Zone - North
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Facility
    50%Early
    Safari Zone - North
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Facility
    50%Early
    Safari Zone - West
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Facility
    50%Early
    Safari Zone - West
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Facility
    50%Early
    Seafoam Islands - B4F
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Water
    50%Early
    Seafoam Islands - B4F
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Water
    50%Early
    Seafoam Islands - B3F
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 Water
    50%Early
    Seafoam Islands - B3F
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 Water
    50%Early
    Vermilion City - City
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Vermilion City - City
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Vermilion City - Harbor
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Vermilion City - Harbor
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Viridian City
    BlueGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Viridian City
    RedGood Rod Lv.10 City
    50%Early
    Pallet Town
    BlueSuper Rod Lv.15 City
    50%Early
    Pallet Town
    RedSuper Rod Lv.15 City
    50%Early
    Route 22
    BlueSuper Rod Lv.15 Route
    50%Early
    Route 22
    RedSuper Rod Lv.15 Route
    50%Early
    Viridian City
    BlueSuper Rod Lv.15 City
    50%Early
    Viridian City
    RedSuper Rod Lv.15 City
    50%Early
  2. Poliwhirl
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Poliwhirl
    Celadon City
    BlueSuper Rod Lv.23 City
    50%Mid
    Celadon City
    RedSuper Rod Lv.23 City
    50%Mid
    Route 10
    BlueSuper Rod Lv.23 Route
    50%Mid
    Route 10
    RedSuper Rod Lv.23 Route
    50%Mid
    or evolve from Poliwag (Step 1)
  3. Poliwrath
    Step 3Poliwrath ✓

Poliwrath Guide

  • In Red & Blue, Poliwrath brings 500 BST to the table. C-Tier on our list: a niche pick in Red & Blue's meta. Amnesia anchors the moveset.

  • In Red & Blue, 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 is a mixed attacker with base 85 Attack and 70 Special. 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.

  • In Red & Blue, the best way to handle Poliwrath: Super-effective STAB from faster Pokemon is the simplest answer. Electric, Grass, and Flying-type attackers hit hardest.

  • In Red & Blue, Poliwrath plays as a balanced. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully. Submission is the primary attack.

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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