Biology
Poliwrath is a blue, bipedal amphibian Pokémon with a round body and muscular arms. It has bulbous eyes that protrude from the top of its head and its belly is covered by a white and black swirl. There appear to be white gloves on its hands, and it has rounded, digit-less feet.
Poliwrath's body is almost entirely muscle, and the muscles in its arms and legs never tire. It also has zero percent body-fat. When it swims, it uses all of the muscles in its body and is able to swim vast distances with minimal breathing. It is even capable of briefly running on the water's surface. It can also smash through ice and plow forward using its strong arms. Poliwrath is capable of out-swimming even world-class swimmers. Poliwrath is also skilled at martial arts. It can launch powerful square punches capable of crushing boulders into dust. Many children learn how to swim by replicating Poliwrath's movement. It is one of the most gifted swimmers of all Water-type Pokémon.
Being the result of an evolution via Evolution stone, Poliwrath is rarely found in the wild. When found, it is usually seen living on dry land near the water's edge, despite it being an excellent swimmer. In Alola, Poliwrath found are strong enough to use the breaststroke while swimming.
Evolution
Poliwrath evolves from Poliwhirl and is one of the final forms of Poliwag, the other being Politoed.
(For specifics on this Pokémon's evolution in the games, refer to Game data→Evolution data.)
In the anime
Main series
Major appearances
In Charizard Chills, Tad used a Poliwrath in his battle against Ash. It was able to defeat both Pikachu and Charizard easily. Later, Charizard managed to defeat Poliwrath in a rematch. It reappeared in a flashback in The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!.
In Hook, Line, and Stinker, Andreas's Poliwrath participated in a Seaking Catching contest. It later battled Misty's Poliwhirl to decide who would win the contest and was defeated.
In Machoke, Machoke Man, Chuck used a Poliwrath during his Gym battle against Ash. It quickly defeated Pikachu with Double Slap, but then lost to Bayleef's Body Slam. After a long absence, it reappeared in Octo-Gridlock at the Gym!, where it battled Bea's Grapploct.
In Outrageous Fortunes, Delaney's Poliwrath upheld an excelling winning streak, prompting an impressed Team Rocket to target it.
In A Young Royal Flame Ignites!, the Revengers own a Poliwrath. It helped Viren during his Battle Royal by distracting Incineroar.
In Kicking It from Here Into Tomorrow!, James pulled a Poliwrath from the Rocket Prize Master. It was used to battle Ash and Goh when the latter intruded on Team Rocket's base, but it was soon defeated.
Minor appearances
Poliwrath debuted in The Punchy Pokémon, where one was seen competing in the P1 Grand Prix.
In The Battling Eevee Brothers!, a Poliwrath evolved from a Poliwhirl during the evolution party in Stone Town.
A Poliwrath was depicted in the Pokémon League entrance exam in the dubbed version of The Ultimate Test.
A Poliwrath appeared in The Breeding Center Secret.
In Pikachu's Vacation, a Poliwrath was at the Pokémon Theme Park.
In Lights, Camera, Quack-tion, a Poliwrath was part of the cast for the movie "Pokémon in Love".
A Poliwrath appeared in Marina's fantasy in Bye Bye Psyduck.
In The Power of One, multiple Poliwrath sensed the disturbance caused by Lawrence III.
In Wired for Battle!, a Poliwrath was in Muramasa's dojo.
In Ring Masters, a Poliwrath competed in Rikishii Town's Sumo Conference.
In Got Miltank?, a Poliwrath lived at a Pokémon-exclusive oasis.
A Poliwrath appeared in Extreme Pokémon!, under the ownership of a participant in the Extreme Pokémon Race.
In Pop Goes The Sneasel, a Trainer's Poliwrath was knocked out off-screen after training near the place where the Sacred Fire of Ho-Oh was kept.
A Poliwrath appeared in Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias, under the ownership of a competitor in the Tour de Alto Mare.
In Journey to the Starting Line!, a Poliwrath was at Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Multiple Poliwrath appeared in A Six Pack Attack!.
In One Team, Two Team, Red Team, Blue Team!, the Pokémon Summer Academy temporarily lent a Poliwrath to one of the students for the second leg of the Pokémon Triathlon.
A Poliwrath appeared in a flashback or a fantasy in The Forest Champion!.
In Battle Royal 151!, a Trainer's Poliwrath competed in the Battle Royal preliminary round of the Manalo Conference but was defeated by Ash's Pikachu.
In Caring for a Mystery!, a Poliwrath battled a wild Riolu after it attacked it.
A Trainer's Poliwrath appeared in A Festival Reunion!.
A Poliwrath appeared in This Could be the Start of Something Big!.
Pokédex entries
| Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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| EP105
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Poliwrath
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Ash's Pokédex
|
Poliwrath, the Tadpole Pokémon. Poliwrath is an excellent swimmer and its powerful muscles make its attacks extremely effective.
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GOTCHA!
A Poliwrath briefly appeared in GOTCHA!, under the ownership of Chuck.
Pokémon Evolutions
A Poliwrath appeared in The Discovery, briefly disrupting Green and her Blastoise in Cerulean Cave.
In the manga
Pocket Monsters DP
A Poliwrath appeared in PMDP16.
Pokémon Adventures
- Main article: Poli
Poliwrath debuted in Buzz Off, Electabuzz! when Red's Poliwhirl Poli evolved into it to save his Trainer from drowning. His evolution wasn't explained until the Yellow arc, where it was revealed there were four Evolution stones that could be used without any limit.
A Poliwrath appeared in Gold's fantasy after seeing Polibo evolved into Politoed in Ampharos Amore.
Chuck, Blue's own master, owns a Poliwrath, as seen in Scrappy Skarmory. It was first seen training with him and his Primeape. Together with Primeape, it used Dynamic Punch to reveal Suicune's presence in the ocean off the Cianwood coast, but the Gym Leader was defeated in the end, even after being joined by a friend.
A Poliwrath appeared alongside a Venusaur in PSs1, kidnapping Pibu.
Magnus's Poliwrath first appeared in Attaway, Aipom!.
A Trainer's Poliwrath appeared in Weavile Wobbles But It Won't Fall Down as one of the Pokémon seen at the Safari Zone.
A Trainer's Poliwrath appeared in Truth and the Mastermind Behind Team Skull.
Pokémon Battle Frontier
A Poliwrath appeared in Aim for the Top!.
Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys
A Poliwrath first appeared in The Secret Of The Fighting Type Pokémon, under the ownership of Chuck.
A Poliwrath appeared in a flashback in Let's Fight For The Future!!.
Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All
A Poliwrath appeared in GDZ36.
A Poliwrath appeared in GDZ51.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
In Kicking It from Here into Tomorrow!, a Poliwrath was used by Team Rocket through the Rocket Prize Master, like in the anime.
A Poliwrath appeared in Caring for a Mystery!.
Pokémon Pocket Monsters
Green's Poliwrath debuted in The Big Battle In The Viridian Forest!!.
A Poliwrath appeared in Part-Time Job At The Swimming Pool!!.
One of Giovanni's Poliwhirl appeared in The Thrill of a Perfect Score, Big Rampage at the Amusement Park!, where it evolved into a Poliwrath in order to get rid of Red and his Clefairy and Pikachu when they went to the amusement park that he built.
Professor Oak owns a Poliwrath, which debuted in Save the Pokémon Zoo!!.
In the TCGGame data
Pokédex entries
| Generation I
|
|
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Kanto
#062
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| Red(JPN)
|
(This entry was originally untranslated in English until it was reused in Pokémon FireRed.)
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| Green
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| Red(ENG)
|
An adept swimmer at both the front crawl and breast stroke. Easily overtakes the best human swimmers.
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| Blue
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| Yellow
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Swims powerfully using all the muscles in its body. It can even overtake champion swimmers.
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| Stadium
|
A strong swimmer, it is faster than a human champ in an individual medley. It can go far and fast with minimal breathing.
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| Generation II
|
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Johto
#074
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| Gold
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This strong and skilled swimmer is even capable of crossing the Pacific Ocean just by kicking.
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| Silver
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Although an energetic, skilled swimmer that uses all of its muscles, it lives on dry land.
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| Crystal
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It can use its well-developed arms and legs to run on the surface of the water for a split second.
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| Stadium 2
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This strong and skilled swimmer is even capable of crossing the Pacific Ocean just by kicking.
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| Generation III
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Hoenn
#—
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Kanto
#062
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| Ruby
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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.
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| Sapphire
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| Emerald
|
Its highly developed muscles never grow fatigued, however much it exercises. This Pokémon can swim back and forth across the Pacific Ocean without effort.
|
| FireRed
|
An adept swimmer, it knows the front crawl, butterfly, and more. It is faster than the best human swimmers.
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| LeafGreen
|
A swimmer adept at both the front crawl and breaststroke. Easily overtakes the best human swimmers.
|
|
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| Generation IV
|
|
Sinnoh
#—
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Johto
#074
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| Diamond
|
With its extremely tough muscles, it can keep swimming in the Pacific Ocean without resting.
|
| Pearl
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| Platinum
|
| HeartGold
|
This strong and skilled swimmer is even capable of crossing the Pacific Ocean just by kicking.
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| SoulSilver
|
Although an energetic, skilled swimmer that uses all of its muscles, it lives on dry land.
|
|
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| Generation V
|
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Unova
#—
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| Black
|
With its extremely tough muscles, it can keep swimming in the Pacific Ocean without resting.
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| White
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| Black 2
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With its extremely tough muscles, it can keep swimming in the Pacific Ocean without resting.
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| White 2
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|
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| Generation VI
|
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Kalos
Mountain #035
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Hoenn
#—
|
| X
|
With its extremely tough muscles, it can keep swimming in the Pacific Ocean without resting.
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| Y
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A swimmer adept at both the front crawl and breaststroke. Easily overtakes the best human swimmers.
|
| Omega Ruby
|
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 ocean without effort.
|
| Alpha Sapphire
|
|
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| Generation VII
|
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Alola
S M : #151
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Alola
US UM : #184
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Kanto
#062
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| Sun
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Poliwrath in the Alola region are strong swimmers that use the breaststroke. Many children learn to swim by imitating Poliwrath.
|
| Moon
|
Its percentage of body fat is nearly zero. Its body is entirely muscle, which makes it heavy and forces its swimming prowess to develop.
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| Ultra Sun
|
It's quite a gifted swimmer, even among Water-type Pokémon, but it normally spends its time on land.
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| Ultra Moon
|
The muscles it has developed through swimming are thick and powerful. When it lands a square punch, it can turn huge boulders to dust.
|
| Let's Go Pikachu
|
Swims powerfully using all the muscles in its body. It can even overtake world-class swimmers.
|
| Let's Go Eevee
|
|
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| Generation VIII
|
|
Galar
Isle of Armor #144
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Sinnoh
#—
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Hisui
#—
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| This Pokémon has no Pokédex entries in Legends: Arceus.
|
| Sword
|
Its body is solid muscle. When swimming through cold seas, Poliwrath uses its impressive arms to smash through drift ice and plow forward.
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| Shield
|
Poliwrath is skilled at both swimming and martial arts. It uses its well-trained arms to dish out powerful punches.
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| Brilliant Diamond
|
With its extremely tough muscles, it could keep swimming in the Pacific Ocean without resting.
|
| Shining Pearl
|
|
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| Generation IX
|
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Paldea
#—
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Kitakami
#41
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Blueberry
#—
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| Scarlet
|
Although it's skilled in a style of dynamic swimming that uses all its muscles, for some reason it lives on dry land.
|
| Violet
|
It can use its well-developed arms and legs to run on the surface of the water for a split second.
|
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Game locations
In side games
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| Generation II
|
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| This Pokémon is unavailable in Generation II side games.
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Held items
Pokémon caught in Generation I must be traded to a Generation II game in order for a held item to appear. In Pokémon Emerald, Poliwrath can only be found in the Battle Frontier.
Stats
Base stats
Generations I-V
| Stat
|
Range
|
| At Lv. 50
|
At Lv. 100
|
90
|
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150 - 197
|
290 - 384
|
85
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81 - 150
|
157 - 295
|
95
|
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90 - 161
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175 - 317
|
70
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67 - 134
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130 - 262
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90
|
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85 - 156
|
166 - 306
|
70
|
|
67 - 134
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130 - 262
|
Total: 500
|
Other Pokémon with this total
|
- Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and (if applicable) a hindering nature.
- Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.
- This Pokémon's Special base stat in Generation I was 70.
|
Generation VI onward
| Stat
|
Range
|
| At Lv. 50
|
At Lv. 100
|
90
|
|
150 - 197
|
290 - 384
|
95
|
|
90 - 161
|
175 - 317
|
95
|
|
90 - 161
|
175 - 317
|
70
|
|
67 - 134
|
130 - 262
|
90
|
|
85 - 156
|
166 - 306
|
70
|
|
67 - 134
|
130 - 262
|
Total: 510
|
Other Pokémon with this total
|
- Minimum stats are calculated with 0 EVs, IVs of 0, and (if applicable) a hindering nature.
- Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.
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Pokéathlon stats
Type effectiveness
| Under normal battle conditions in Generation IX, this Pokémon is:
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Learnset
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Poliwrath
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Poliwrath
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see level-up moves from other generations
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|
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Poliwrath
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution or an alternate form of Poliwrath
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see TM moves from other generations
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- Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must be chain bred onto Poliwrath
- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Poliwrath
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Poliwrath
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Egg moves from other generations
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- Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Poliwrath
- Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an Evolution of Poliwrath
- Click on the generation numbers at the top to see moves from other generations
|
Side game data
|
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Pokémon Ranger
| Group:
|
|
Poké Assist:
|
|
Field move:
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(Soak ×3)
|
| Loops: 11
|
Min. exp.: 60
|
Max. exp.: 90
|
Browser entry R-054
|
| Poliwrath blasts surging jets of water with tremendous force.
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Pokémon Rumble Rush
|
Walking Speed: 1.42 seconds
|
Base HP: 57
|
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| Base Attack: 79
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Base Defense: 58
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Base Speed: 60
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Pokémon GO
|
Base HP: 207
|
Base Attack: 182
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Base Defense: 184
|
| Egg Distance: N/A
|
Buddy Distance: 3 km
|
Evolution Requirement: N/A
|
| Fast Attacks: Bubble, Rock Smash*, Mud Shot*, Counter†
|
Charged Attacks: Hydro Pump, Dynamic Punch*, Ice Punch, Power-Up Punch*, Scald*, Icy Wind*, Submission†, Frustration , Return
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Evolution data
Sprites
Trivia
Poliwrath's early design, Nyosuka
- In Generation II and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, a man in Celadon City with a Poliwrath says that he hopes that it will evolve into a frog Pokémon one day. Although the Pokémon he was thinking of is most likely Politoed, it is too late, as it is Poliwhirl, not Poliwrath, that evolves into Politoed when traded while holding a King's Rock.
- An early design of Poliwrath revealed on Game Freak's official Japanese website circa 1997 depicts it wearing a crown, similar to the King's Rock, which is necessary to evolve Poliwhirl into Politoed.
- Poliwrath shares its category with Poliwag, Poliwhirl, and Tympole. They are all known as the Tadpole Pokémon.
- In some illustrations, Poliwrath is depicted with four fingers instead of three.
- Prior to Generation VI, Poliwrath and its evolutionary counterpart Politoed shared the same base stats. This changed in Generation VI when Poliwrath received a ten-point increase to its Attack, but Politoed did not receive a stat increase. It shares this counterpart difference with Beautifly.
Origin
Poliwrath may be based on a tadpole and a frog. The spiral pattern on its belly is supposed to represent how the organs of tadpoles can sometimes be seen through their transparent skin. It may also be based on amphibian neoteny, as it stays in tadpole form and does not metamorphose into a frog. Its brawny body and newfound Fighting-type, and thus boxing gloves, could be an interpretation of the frogs' bulky bodies and vastly heightened muscle mass and strength in comparison to the infant tadpole.
Name origin
Poliwrath may be a combination of polliwog (outdated term for tadpole) and wrath.
Nyorobon may be a combination of ニョロニョロ nyoronyoro (onomatopoeia for wriggling) and 坊 bon (boy).
In other languagesRelated articlesExternal links
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This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
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Berry (100%)
King's Rock (5%)
For other sprites and images, please see Poliwrath images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
