
Is Popplio Good in Sun & Moon Playthrough?
Popplio is the Water starter with a Fairy typing payoff at Primarina. Handles Kiawe's Fire trial from the start and Olivia's Rock Grand Trial. The Fairy evolution adds coverage against Nanu's Dark Grand Trial later.
Popplio trades roughly evenly with Ilima's team.
Popplio has the type edge here and should clean up Hala's team.
Lana's typing presses Brionne's defenses.
Brionne has the type edge here and should clean up Kiawe's team.
Mallow's team hits Brionne's weaknesses hard.
Brionne has the type edge here and should clean up Olivia's team.
Brionne trades roughly evenly with Sophocles's team.
Brionne trades roughly evenly with Acerola's team.
Primarina has the type edge here and should clean up Nanu's team.
Primarina resists most of Totem Kommo-o's coverage and hits back hard.
Primarina resists most of Hapu's coverage and hits back hard.
Primarina resists most of Hala's coverage and hits back hard.
Primarina has the type edge here and should clean up Olivia's team.
Primarina has the type edge here and should clean up Acerola's team.
Primarina has the type edge here and should clean up Kahili's team.
Popplio is available as a starter at Lv 5.
Your Popplio should hit Level 17 before you reach Lana, at typical leveling pace.
Your Brionne should hit Level 34 before you reach Nanu, at typical leveling pace.
How to Get Popplio in Sun & Moon
Popplio is handed to you at Iki Town. No encounter rates or random spawns involved, so there's nothing to grind. Check the location details below for the exact conditions to trigger it.
Popplio Weakness
Popplio is weak to Electric and Grass. The Water typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Popplio's Water typing only leaves 2 gaps to cover.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Grass |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Steel |
What is Popplio Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Popplio
Vikavolt BugElectric | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Popplio View Vikavolt builds →Thunderbolt 2x165-196%KO Energy Ball 2x110-131%KO | ||
Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
Dartrix Grass | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Rowlet (Iki Town Gift) | ||
Raichu Electric | C | |
Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Meganium Grass | C | |
Lilligant Grass | C | |
Jolteon Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Paniola Ranch Gift) | ||
Victreebel GrassPoison | C | |
Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Meganium Grass | C | |
Lilligant Grass | C | |
Jolteon Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Paniola Ranch Gift) | ||
In Sun & Moon, Jolteon can KO Popplio with Thunderbolt (260-306%). Venusaur threatens a KO with Giga Drain (194-228%).
Jolteon Electric | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityVoltabsorb ItemChoice Specs NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Popplio View Jolteon builds →Shadow Ball77-91% Thunderbolt 2x260-306%KO Volt Switch 2x202-238%KO | ||
Venusaur GrassPoison | C | |
Recommended Build AbilityChlorophyll ItemLife Orb NatureModest Moves
Damage vs Popplio View Venusaur builds →Sludge Bomb116-137%KO Giga Drain 2x194-228%KO | ||
Popplio Evolutions
Popplio kicks off a three-stage evolution line through Brionne all the way to Primarina. For breeding, quick to hatch with a massive partner pool via two egg groups. Evolving adds up to 210 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Popplio easily with 218 breeding partners from the Ground and Water1 egg groups. Pass egg moves like Amnesia, Aqua Ring, Aromatic Mist and 3 more to offspring.
SM Popplio Best Moveset
Water at 66 Sp. Atk with AbilityLiquid Voice converting sound moves to Water as a hidden ability and AbilityTorrent boosting Water at low HP. The moveset fires at pre-evolution power. Primarina two evolutions away earns A-tier through Water/Fairy.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Hydro Pump
- Moonblast
- Aqua Jet
- Blizzard
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding opens up real options for Popplio. Amnesia and Aqua Ring come exclusively from egg moves, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Hydro Pump and Surf and Normal and Fairy coverage and more.
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
This Pokémon snorts body fluids from its nose, blowing balloons to smash into its foes. It’s famous for being a hard worker.
This Pokémon can control water bubbles. It practices diligently so it can learn to make big bubbles.
Popplio Sun & Moon Guide
In Sun & Moon, For a casual playthrough, Popplio works as a placeholder. Water coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Brionne. That's where the stats start mattering.
Game Availability
Since Sun & Moon, Popplio has been obtainable in 4 games. A Generation 7 debut means a shorter history, but Popplio has appeared steadily across every generation since.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB

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 7SMDebut

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