Level 25To Poliwhirl

Water StoneTo Poliwrath

PoliwrathLast stage shown

#0062 · GENERATION 1

Poliwrath Build Guide

WaterFighting

Bulky physical attacker with recovery options

Build a Poliwrath team ↓

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Custom Pokédex collection.

Starter moveset

Generation 9 · casual singles · base form

ITEMLeftovers

ABILITYWater Absorb

NATUREAdamant

Drain Punch

Liquidation

Ice Punch

Bulk Up

How to play

Use a favorable turn for Bulk Up to raise Attack and Defense. Drain Punch restores some HP while dealing damage; Water Absorb can heal Poliwrath when an eligible Water attack hits it.

Watch out for

Key risk. Water Absorb does not protect against Electric, Grass, Flying, Psychic or Fairy attacks. Bulk Up does not raise Special Defense, and Drain Punch fails against Ghost targets.

About this example

This editorial starting point is not a ranked-format recommendation or a legality check. It does not specify EVs or Tera type. Moves, items and abilities here do not change the builder score.

BATTLE PLAN

When to attack, set up or switch

Use a favorable turn for Bulk Up to raise Attack and Defense. Drain Punch restores some HP while dealing damage; Water Absorb can heal Poliwrath when an eligible Water attack hits it.

A Ghost type is the target

Drain Punch does nothing to a Ghost, and Drain Punch is also the move that pays back the HP the set generates. Liquidation or Ice Punch is the answer there.

You have a safe Bulk Up turn

Bulk Up raises Attack and Defense, never Special Defense, so a boosted Poliwrath still takes a full-strength Psychic or Fairy hit — and both of those types already deal 2×.

What does a safe pivot mean?

A teammate uses a switching move to bring Poliwrath in. A slower pivot may take the opponent’s hit first. Turn order and the opponent’s move still matter.

ITEM & ABILITY

How this build works

Water Absorb converts a Water attack into healing rather than a resistance, which is the part of Poliwrath’s typing that earns its keep. Electric, Fairy, Flying, Grass and Psychic all deal 2×, none of them are absorbed, and Bulk Up only raises Attack and Defense.

Watch the tradeoff. Water Absorb does not protect against Electric, Grass, Flying, Psychic or Fairy attacks. Bulk Up does not raise Special Defense, and Drain Punch fails against Ghost targets.

These battle mechanics do not change the builder’s type-and-base-stat score. The tool does not simulate moves, abilities, held items or damage.

COMPARE YOUR OPTIONS

Poliwrath or Quaquaval?

Quaquaval offers Aqua Step and a more speed-focused physical Water/Fighting role.

Base stats · standard forms in the local Generation 9 dataset
Stat	Poliwrath	Quaquaval
HP	90	85
Attack	95	120
Defense	95	80
Sp. Attack	70	85
Sp. Defense	90	75
Speed	70	85

Base stats are not final battle stats. Level, nature, IVs, EVs and battle effects affect the result. Check availability in your game before choosing an alternative.

Teammate ideas

A Steel partner can resist Grass, Flying, Psychic and Fairy attacks. Add Electric immunity and special damage elsewhere.

Empoleon

Resists Flying, Psychic and Fairy and supplies special damage; Grass damage is neutral.

Read Empoleon guide →Compare teammates →

Garchomp

Electric immunity and faster physical pressure support the team.

Read Garchomp guide →Compare teammates →

These are typing-based starting pairs, not a complete competitive team. Check the remaining four slots and your game’s rules.

Compare computed teammate suggestions →

Alternative: Quaquaval

Quaquaval offers Aqua Step and a more speed-focused physical Water/Fighting role.

Read Quaquaval guide →

Try Quaquaval →

Type matchups

Weak to

Electric2×Grass2×Flying2×Psychic2×Fairy2×

Resistances and immunities

Fire0.5×Water0.5×Ice0.5×Bug0.5×Rock0.5×Dark0.5×Steel0.5×

Typing only. Abilities, items and battle effects can change these matchups.

HP90

Attack95

Defense95

Sp. Attack70

Sp. Defense90

Speed70

Evolution chain

Poliwag#060
Level 25
Poliwhirl#061
Water Stone
Poliwrath#062

Standard main-series evolution conditions. Regional forms and games with special evolution systems can differ.

Build your Poliwrath team

Start with Poliwrath. Add teammates and compare your type-and-base-stat score.

Gen 9 · National Dex · Casual Settings & scope

GameFormat

Format scope · casual planning

Base species #001–1025, using Generation 9 data. A casual planning pool, not a VGC, ranked, or Showdown National Dex legality validator. Regional, Mega and alternate forms are not included yet.

SLOT 01#062

Poliwrath

WaterFighting

SLOT 02

SLOT 03

SLOT 04

SLOT 05

SLOT 06

Understand your team

Offense84

Defense64

Coverage39

Synergy17

Types & base stats only · Not a win probability.

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Key insights

Electric attacks threaten 1 of 1 teammates, with no teammate resisting them by type.
Fairy attacks threaten 1 of 1 teammates, with no teammate resisting them by type.
Your own types can hit 7 of 18 single-type targets super effectively. Actual move coverage can differ.
No teammate has a base Speed of 100 or higher. Consider adding a faster option.

Detailed type analysis · all 18 types

Incoming damage assumes typing only. 0× = immune, ½× / ¼× = resistant, 2× / 4× = weak. Resistance counts include immunities.

Incoming damage by attacking type
Attack	Poliwrath	Weak	Resist
Normal	1×	0	0
Fire	½×	0	1
Water	½×	0	1
Electric	2×	1	0
Grass	2×	1	0
Ice	½×	0	1
Fighting	1×	0	0
Poison	1×	0	0
Ground	1×	0	0
Flying	2×	1	0
Psychic	2×	1	0
Bug	½×	0	1
Rock	½×	0	1
Ghost	1×	0	0
Dragon	1×	0	0
Dark	½×	0	1
Steel	½×	0	1
Fairy	2×	1	0

Offensive type coverage

Against single-type targets, using only same-type attacks. This is not coverage against every dual-type species.

Normal✓ Super effective

Fire✓ Super effective

WaterNeutral

ElectricNeutral

GrassNeutral

Ice✓ Super effective

FightingNeutral

PoisonNeutral

Ground✓ Super effective

FlyingNeutral

PsychicNeutral

BugNeutral

Rock✓ Super effective

GhostNeutral

DragonNeutral

Dark✓ Super effective

Steel✓ Super effective

FairyNeutral

How is the score calculated?

Offense (25%): neutral-or-better type coverage and strongest attacking base stats. Defense (30%): team resistances, unprotected and repeated weaknesses, and 4× vulnerabilities. Coverage (25%): fraction of 18 single-type targets hit super effectively by your own types. Synergy (20%): teammates resisting each other’s weaknesses, physical/special/bulk stat signals and base Speed ≥100. Scores are rounded to 0–100; the total uses the displayed subscores.

Rating bands: Excellent ≥80, Good ≥65, Fair ≥45, Poor below 45. An empty team has no rating.

Small teams are provisional and are not given a separate completion bonus. Adding a Pokémon can lower the score if it creates new weaknesses or lowers averages. These initial heuristics have not been calibrated against battle outcomes.