Is Poliwrath Good in Platinum Playthrough?
Water Stone on Poliwhirl. Water/Fighting gives coverage against Byron's Steel team and Candice's Ice team in their Battleground rematches. AbilityWater Absorb heals from Water moves. Postgame availability limits Poliwrath to post-game battles like the Battleground and the Battle Frontier.
Poliwhirl resists most of Roark's coverage and hits back hard.
Gardenia's team hits Poliwhirl's weaknesses hard.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Maylene's team.
Crasher Wake's typing presses Poliwhirl's defenses.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Byron's team.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Candice's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Aaron:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Bertha:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Flint:
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Lucian's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Lucian:
Poliwrath resists most of Jupiter's coverage and hits back hard.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Jupiter:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Mars:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Saturn's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Saturn:
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Cynthia:
Catch Poliwhirl
Catch Poliwhirl on Route 227 (Surf, Lv 35-55, common).
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 35)
- LV 35WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Gardenia
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- After Fantina
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 216
- After Maylene
- TUTORWaterDivePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 212
- After Crasher Wake
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15From Cynthia's grandmother inside the ruins
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- LV 48WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
- After Volkner
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15From Jasmine in Sunyshore City
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Poliwhirl to Poliwrath
Poliwhirl evolves into Poliwrath with a Water Stone. You can pick up the Water Stone in Route 213. 2 other locations are also available. Use the Water Stone in the post-game, after you beat Cynthia.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM31FightingBrick BreakPower 113Accuracy 100%PP 15Oreburgh Gate (basement)
- After Fantina
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 180Accuracy 70%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- After Maylene
- TUTORWaterDivePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 212
- After Crasher Wake
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15From Cynthia's grandmother inside the ruins
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 225Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- After Volkner
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15From Jasmine in Sunyshore City
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Poliwhirl to Politoed
Poliwhirl evolves into Politoed when traded. Trade it in the post-game, after you beat Cynthia.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 50)
- LV 50WaterBubble BeamPower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Gardenia
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- After Fantina
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- After Maylene
- TUTORWaterDivePower 120Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 212
- After Crasher Wake
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15From Cynthia's grandmother inside the ruins
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- After Volkner
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15From Jasmine in Sunyshore City
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Poliwrath in Platinum
No Poliwrath swims wild in Sinnoh. You make one by surfing up a Poliwhirl and handing it a Water Stone, so the open-water hunt for the base form is all there is to it.
Wild Poliwrath may be holding when caught:
Kings Rock (5% chance) An item to be held by a Pokemon. It may cause the foe to flinch when the holder inflicts damage.Catch Poliwag or Poliwhirl at any of these 2 spots to eventually evolve into Poliwrath.
Encountered via Surfing
Badge 8How to Obtain Poliwrath in Pt
To get Poliwrath, start by catching Poliwag through surfing encounters at Lv. 35-45. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve Poliwhirlor evolve from Poliwag (Step 1)
- Step 3Poliwrath ✓BREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Poliwag egg.
How to Get Shiny Poliwrath in Platinum
Poliwrath comes by Water Stone, so breed a shiny Poliwag with a foreign Ditto, then raise and evolve it. Compare Shiny Poliwrath odds across every game
Platinum Shiny Poliwrath Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Poliwrath in the Platinum Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Poliwrath Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Poliwrath
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Exeggutor builds →Leaf Storm 2x127-149%KO Dream Eater 2x91-107%KO | ||
 Tangrowth Grass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Tangrowth builds →Solar Beam 2x97-115%KO Shock Wave 2x33-39% Aerial Ace 2x29-34% | ||
 Roserade GrassPoison | B | |
 Vileplume GrassPoison | C | |
 Torterra GrassGround | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Turtwig (Route 201 Gift) | ||
 Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Victreebel builds →Leaf Storm 2x104-123%KO | ||
 Azelf Psychic | A | |
Obtain MethodLake Valor Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Azelf builds →Future Sight 2x109-128%KO Thunderbolt 2x57-68% Energy Ball 2x48-57% | ||
 Tropius Grass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Tropius builds →Leaf Storm 2x81-95% Fly 2x48-57% | ||
 Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Gardevoir builds →Future Sight 2x109-128%KO Thunderbolt 2x57-68% Energy Ball 2x48-57% | ||
 Mesprit Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Mesprit builds →Future Sight 2x93-110%KO Thunderbolt 2x49-58% Energy Ball 2x42-49% | ||
 Altaria Dragon | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Altaria builds →Sky Attack 2x75-89% Solar Beam 2x45-53% Dream Eater 2x37-44% | ||
 Cresselia Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Cresselia builds →Future Sight 2x72-85% Solar Beam 2x48-56% Charge Beam 2x20-24% | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Kadabra Psychic | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Poliwrath View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x104-123%KO Energy Ball 2x47-56% Shock Wave 2x35-41% | ||
Poliwrath Evolutions
Poliwrath is one of 2 ways Poliwhirl's chain can end. This one takes the Water Stone 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 69 partners from the Water 1 egg group. Notable egg moves include Bubble Beam, Endeavor, Haze and 7 more.
Pt Poliwrath Best Moveset
Water/Fighting hits a different set of weaknesses than most Fighting types, and 95 Attack makes the moveset's physical Fighting and Water attacks land with real force. 90 HP adds bulk that keeps Poliwrath on the field, and AbilityWater Absorb gives free switches into Water.
Best Build
Poliwrath best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Waterfall
- Substitute
- Ice Punch
- Bulk Up
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding's the move. Bubble Beam and Endeavor give Poliwrath options it can't learn any other way, and coverage across 7 types already covers a decent range on top of Focus Punch and Focus Blast. The egg moves push it further.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
39 of 41 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Reminder Moves
Base Stats
With its extremely tough muscles, it can keep swimming in the Pacific Ocean without resting.
Poliwrath Platinum Guide
Yes. Poliwrath is not available during the main story. It can only be obtained after entering the Hall of Fame. Poliwrath becomes available after the main story is complete in Platinum.
In Platinum, Poliwrath plays as a balanced. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully. Waterfall is the primary attack.
In Platinum, Jolly is the go-to nature for Poliwrath. That's +Speed / -Sp. Atk. Pair it with 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe EVs. Fits the balanced role.
Game Availability
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.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Poliwrath.
Keep playing · PlatinumPlatinum Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Platinum Tier List