Is Poliwhirl Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
Trade-only mid-stage. AbilityWater Absorb is already active, turning Water attacks into healing. Evolve into Poliwrath with a Water Stone for the Fighting sub-typing. The import is a lot of work for Hoenn's deep Water roster.
Poliwag resists most of Roxanne's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwag has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Poliwag trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Poliwhirl resists most of Flannery's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Norman's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Tate & Liza:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Wallace's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Wallace:
Poliwrath resists most of Sidney's coverage and hits back hard.
Poliwhirl trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Sidney:
Poliwrath trades roughly evenly with Phoebe's team.
Poliwhirl has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Phoebe:
Poliwrath resists most of Glacia's coverage and hits back hard.
Politoed has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Glacia:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Drake's team.
Politoed has the type edge here and should clean up Drake's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Drake:
Poliwrath has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Politoed has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Your evolution path matters here. Pick a branch to see how it fares against Steven:
Poliwhirl cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 25.
- After Wattson
- TM13IceIce Beam90100%10
- TM29PsychicPsychic90100%10
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurf135100%15
- TM01FightingFocus Punch150100%20
- After Tate & Liza
- HM08WaterDive120100%10
- HM07WaterWaterfall120100%15
- TM26GroundEarthquake100100%10
- LV 51WaterHydro Pump16580%5
You can pick up the Water Stone in Abandoned Ship.
- STARTING (Lv 33)
- LV 33FightingSubmission12080%20
- After Norman
- TM01FightingFocus Punch225100%20
- HM03WaterSurf135100%15
- After Winona
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- After Tate & Liza
- HM08WaterDive120100%10
- HM07WaterWaterfall120100%15
- TM26GroundEarthquake100100%10
- After Wallace
- TM31FightingBrick Break113100%15
Most players are ready to trade before reaching Tate & Liza.
- STARTING (Lv 33)
- LV 33PsychicHypnosis—60%20
- After Wattson
- TM13IceIce Beam90100%10
- After Norman
- HM03WaterSurf135100%15
- TM01FightingFocus Punch150100%20
- After Winona
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- After Tate & Liza
- HM08WaterDive120100%10
- HM07WaterWaterfall120100%15
- TM26GroundEarthquake100100%10
How to Get Poliwhirl in Ruby & Sapphire
Poliwhirl isn't available in the wild in Ruby & Sapphire. Start by transferring Poliwag from Red & Blue. The evolution path from Poliwag to Poliwhirl is covered in the steps below.
How to Obtain Poliwhirl in RS
Step 1Obtain PoliwagLATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Good rod · Safari Zone. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
Step 2Poliwhirl ✓Available in-game· 2 pathsPick one
Poliwhirl Weakness
Electric and Grass moves hit Poliwhirl for super-effective damage. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Water Absorb grants an additional Water immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Poliwhirl Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Poliwhirl
In Ruby & Sapphire, Raikou can KO Poliwhirl with Thunderbolt (172-203%). Breloom's Mach Punch hits Poliwhirl for 35-41%.
 Raikou Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Poliwhirl View Raikou builds →Thunderbolt 2x172-203%KO | ||
 Breloom GrassFighting | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityEffect Spore ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Poliwhirl View Breloom builds →Mach Punch35-41% | ||
Poliwhirl Evolutions
From here, Poliwhirl's line branches into Poliwrath and Politoed. That's 2 possible evolutions, each with its own method. So far, HP got the biggest boost (+25 from Poliwag). The final form adds another 125 stats on top. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Poliwhirl 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.
RS Poliwhirl Best Moveset
MoveSurf and MoveIce Beam at moderate Sp. Atk provide coverage while AbilityWater Absorb heals from Water moves. MoveHypnosis adds unreliable sleep. Poliwrath and Politoed offer better competitive endpoints.
Best Build
Poliwhirl best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Belly Drum
- Hidden Power Flying
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Poliwhirl misses out on Bubble Beam and Haze. That's 7 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Hydro Pump and Surf, with Normal and Ice coverage and more rounding things out.
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
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
The surface of POLIWHIRL’s body is always wet and slick with an oily fluid. Because of this greasy covering, it can easily slip and slide out of the clutches of any enemy in battle.
Poliwhirl Ruby & Sapphire Guide
Poliwhirl is meant to evolve into Poliwrath. At 385 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.
No. Poliwhirl only evolves into Politoed through a real trade. There is no in-game alternative in Ruby & Sapphire. Trade needs a Game Boy Advance link cable and a second GBA running another Gen 3 game (FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald). Trade Poliwhirl to a friend, then have them trade it back. The 2026 Switch re-release supports the same trade through local wireless on the Pokemon Center 2F Wireless Club, with no cables required. The Kings Rock must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
Water Absorb is what you want on Poliwhirl. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Damp) work on paper but Water Absorb is what makes Poliwhirl worth using.
Base 90 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Poliwhirl is a special attacker with base 50 Sp. Atk.
Game Availability
One of the original 151, Poliwhirl has appeared in 20 games — most mainline games. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.
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 7LGPE
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