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.
POLIWRATH’s highly developed, brawny muscles never grow fatigued, however much it exercises. It is so tirelessly strong, this POKéMON can swim back and forth across the Pacific Ocean without effort.
POLIWRATH’s highly developed, brawny muscles never grow fatigued, however much it exercises. It is so tirelessly strong, this POKéMON can swim back and forth across the Pacific Ocean without effort.
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass, Flying, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Bug, Rock, Dark, Steel |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
In Ruby & Sapphire, Magneton can KO Poliwrath with Thunderbolt (105-123%). Aerodactyl's Double-Edge hits Poliwrath for 61-72%. Starmie deals 56-66% with Thunderbolt.
 Magneton ElectricSteel | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityMagnetpull ItemMagnet NatureModest Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Magneton builds →Thunderbolt 2x105-123%KO | ||
 Aerodactyl Rock | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityRockhead ItemChoice Band NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Aerodactyl builds →Earthquake51-60% Rock Slide29-34% Double Edge61-72% | ||
 Starmie WaterPsychic | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityNatural Cure ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Starmie builds →Rapid Spin9-11% Ice Beam14-17% Thunderbolt 2x56-66% Surf21-25% | ||
 | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityMarvelscale ItemLeftovers NatureBold Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Milotic builds →Surf17-20% | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityEffect Spore ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Breloom builds →Mach Punch24-28% | ||
Ruby & Sapphire 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
Breeding
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.
Ruby & Sapphire 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
Poliwrath best EVs are Attack and Sp. Atk
Physical Attacker Moveset
- Focus Punch
- Substitute
- Brick Break
- Ice Beam
Recommended Teammates
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 Surf. The egg moves push it further.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
How to Get Poliwrath in Ruby & Sapphire
Poliwrath isn't available in the wild in Ruby & Sapphire. Start by transferring Poliwag from Red. The evolution path from Poliwag to Poliwrath is covered in the steps below.
Poliwrath Guide
In Ruby & Sapphire, 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.
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 Ruby & Sapphire, 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
- Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves