Poliwrath
Poliwrath is a Water/Fighting-type Pokémon, the Tadpole Pokémon, number 62 (#0062) in the National Pokédex. It was introduced in Generation 1 and comes from the Kanto region. It is 1.3 m tall and weighs 54 kg.
Poliwrath is a Water and Fighting type whose body is almost pure muscle, so it swims faster than the best human swimmers and can punch boulders to dust. Oddly for such a strong swimmer, the Pokédex says it often lives on dry land.
How to pronounce Poliwrath
Poliwrath is pronounced POL-ee-rath. The capital letters show the stressed syllable.
Listen to Poliwrath said out loud:
In Japanese it is ニョロボン (Nyorobon).
Hear every other name on the Pokémon pronunciation guide.
Lore
Biology
Poliwrath is 1.3 m tall and weighs 54 kg: a blue, round-bodied amphibian with thick arms, bulging eyes on top of its head, white mitten-like hands and the belly spiral of its earlier stages. The Pokédex says its body fat is close to zero and its muscles never tire. It can smash through drift ice with its arms and run briefly across the water's surface.
Behaviour
Poliwrath swims with every muscle, and the Pokédex says it can overtake world-class swimmers and cross an ocean without rest. In Alola, children learn to swim by copying its breaststroke. It is also a martial artist, and its square punches can turn big boulders to dust.
Habitat
The Pokédex habitat is the water's edge, but Bulbapedia says it is rarely wild, as it comes from an Evolution stone, and usually lives on dry land beside the water. In Scarlet and Violet it is found in Kitakami, by evolving Poliwhirl; it is unobtainable in Legends: Z-A.
Powers
Its Abilities are Water Absorb and Damp, with Swift Swim hidden. It mixes martial arts with water attacks: Dynamic Punch, Close Combat, Circle Throw and Liquidation, plus Waterfall and Bulk Up. With 95 base Attack and Defense and 90 in HP and Special Defense, it is a sturdy bruiser.
Name origin
Poliwrath may combine 'polliwog', an old word for a tadpole, and 'wrath'. Its Japanese name, Nyorobon (ニョロボン), may blend nyoronyoro (a wriggling sound) with bon ('boy').
Design inspiration
Poliwrath keeps its tadpole spiral and never becomes a frog, which may reflect neoteny, where an amphibian keeps its young features. Its brawny build might echo adult frogs or competitive swimmers.
Evolution notes
A Water Stone turns Poliwhirl into Poliwrath, which cannot evolve further. It is one of Poliwag's two final forms, the other being Politoed.
In the games
Three Poliwrath brothers and a Poliwag are the bosses of Poliwrath River in Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon. Poliwrath debuted in Generation I, and in Scarlet and Violet it appears in 5-star and 6-star Tera Raid Battles.
In the anime
Tad's Poliwrath beat both Pikachu and Charizard in 'Charizard Chills', before Charizard won a rematch. Chuck's Poliwrath beat Pikachu with Double Slap in 'Machoke, Machoke Man', then lost to Bayleef's Body Slam.
Fun facts
- An early Poliwrath design on Game Freak's Japanese website, around 1997, wore a crown like the King's Rock and was called Nyōsuka.
- In Generation II and HeartGold and SoulSilver, a man in Celadon City hopes his Poliwrath will become a frog Pokémon, but only Poliwhirl can.
- Among Generation I Fighting types, none has a higher base stat total than Poliwrath's 510.
Base stats
- HP: 90
- Attack: 95
- Defense: 95
- Sp. Atk: 70
- Sp. Def: 90
- Speed: 70
Poliwrath’s base stat total is 510. Its highest stat is Attack and Defense.
Type matchups
What is Poliwrath weak to?
Poliwrath takes extra damage from Electric (2×), Grass (2×), Flying (2×), Psychic (2×), Fairy (2×) moves.
It resists Fire (½×), Water (½×), Ice (½×), Bug (½×), Rock (½×), Dark (½×), Steel (½×).
Evolution
What does Poliwrath evolve from?
Poliwrath evolves from Poliwhirl (Water Stone).
Poliwrath is the final stage of its evolution family.
The whole family: Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Poliwrath, Politoed.
- Poliwag evolves into Poliwhirl at level 25.
- Poliwhirl evolves into Politoed (Trade holding King’s Rock).
Abilities
- 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 Swim (hidden ability): Doubles Speed during rain.
Moves
Moves Poliwrath learns by level up in Scarlet / Violet
| Level | Move | Type | Category | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evo | Dynamic Punch | Fighting | Physical | 100 |
| 1 | Body Slam | Normal | Physical | 85 |
| 1 | Bubble Beam | Water | Special | 65 |
| 1 | Hypnosis | Psychic | Status | — |
“Evo” means Poliwrath learns the move the moment it evolves: Dynamic Punch.
TM moves (64)
Poliwrath can learn 64 moves from TMs in Scarlet / Violet: Take Down, Mud-Slap, Scary Face, Protect, Water Pulse, Low Kick, Thief, Chilling Water, Facade, Bulldoze, Swift, Icy Wind, Mud Shot, Rock Tomb, Low Sweep, Fling, Endure, Rain Dance, Dig, Brick Break, Bulk Up, Body Slam, Ice Punch, Sleep Talk, Drain Punch, Waterfall, Metronome, Poison Jab, Rest, Rock Slide, Taunt, Substitute, Liquidation, Psychic, Encore, Surf, Amnesia, Helping Hand, Baton Pass, Earth Power, Reversal, Ice Beam, Hydro Pump, Blizzard, Earthquake, Giga Impact, Focus Blast, Hyper Beam, Close Combat, Tera Blast, Haze, Knock Off, Vacuum Wave, High Horsepower, Focus Punch, Weather Ball, Psych Up, Double-Edge, Endeavor, Whirlpool, Muddy Water, Coaching, Throat Chop, Upper Hand.
Egg moves (14):Belly Drum, Circle Throw, Double-Edge, Earth Power, Endeavor, Hydro Pump, Mist, Mud Shot, Muddy Water, Pound, Rain Dance, Splash, Water Gun, Water Pulse.
Breeding & training
- Gender: 50% male, 50% female.
- Egg groups: Water 1.
- Egg cycles: 20 (steps to hatch, Scarlet/Violet: 2,560).
- Catch rate: 45 out of 255.
- Base friendship (Gen 8 onward): 50.
- Growth rate: Medium Slow (1,059,860 experience points to reach level 100).
- Defeating it gives 3 Defense effort values.
- Base experience yield: 230.
Pokédex entries
Poliwrath is skilled at both swimming and martial arts. It uses its well-trained arms to dish out powerful punches. (Shield)
Its body is solid muscle. When swimming through cold seas, Poliwrath uses its impressive arms to smash through drift ice and plow forward. (Sword)
Swims powerfully using all the muscles in its body. It can even overtake world-class swimmers. (Let’s Go, Pikachu!, Let’s Go, Eevee!)
The muscles it has developed through swimming are thick and powerful. When it lands a square punch, it can turn huge boulders to dust. (Ultra Moon)
It's quite a gifted swimmer, even among Water-type Pokémon, but it normally spends its time on land. (Ultra Sun)
Its percentage of body fat is nearly zero. Its body is entirely muscle, which makes it heavy and forces its swimming prowess to develop. (Moon)
Names around the world
| Japanese | ニョロボン |
|---|---|
| Romaji | Nyorobon |
| French | Tartard |
| German | Quappo |
| Spanish | Poliwrath |
| Italian | Poliwrath |
| Korean | 강챙이 |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 蚊香泳士 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 蚊香泳士 |
Trivia
- Highest HP among Fighting types in Gen 1: 90, shared with 1 other.
- Highest Defense among Fighting types in Gen 1: 95.
- Highest Sp. Atk among Fighting types in Gen 1: 70.
- Highest base stat total among Fighting types in Gen 1: 510.
- Taller than 64% of all Pokémon (1.3 m).
- Heavier than 68% of all Pokémon (54 kg).
- Base stat total 510, ranked #237 of 1,025.
- One of 3 Pokémon that are both Water and Fighting.
- One of 170 blue Pokémon.
- Number 62 of 151 Pokémon introduced in Generation 1 (Kanto).
- Part of an evolution family of 4 Pokémon.
- Can learn 73 different moves in Scarlet / Violet.
- Catch rate 45: about 5.9% per Poké Ball at full health.
- Appears in 18 distinct Pokédex entries.
Sources and fact-checking
- Stats, types, abilities, moves, evolutions, forms and Pokédex entries: PokéAPI open game data.
- Lore: written by pokee.si in our own words, researched from Bulbapedia: Poliwrath (Pokémon), Serebii: Poliwrath (Scarlet/Violet Pokédex).
- Pronunciation (POL-ee-rath): it follows how the English anime, games or official videos say it.
Last checked: . Every sentence of the lore was checked against Bulbapedia, Serebii and the game data.
Explore
Water-type Pokémon · Fighting-type Pokémon · Water/Fighting weaknesses and matchups · Poliwrath vs Politoed · Kanto region guide · Water Absorb ability · Damp ability · Swift Swim ability · Compare Poliwrath · Full Pokédex · Type chart · All moves
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