Poliwag and its evolutions are all Water-type Pokemon that made their debut in the first and second generation of Pokemon. Like Slowpoke, Poliwag is unique. It will evolve into its second-stage evolution, but it can then choose to evolve into two different Pokemon: Poliwrath or Politoed. Now that the Poliwag-family is compatible with Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet, trainers may want to know how they can obtain them for the Kitakami Pokedex.
The Teal Mask is the first part of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC Expansion Pack. It released worldwide on September 12-13, 2023, but only for those that bought the DLC. Scarlet/Violet trainers will also need to start the Treasure Hunt before they can access the Teal Mask's exclusive content - including the Poliwag-line.
How to Get Poliwag
Poliwag can be found by the river south of Reveler's Road, which is east of Mossui Town. Poliwag prefers to swim in the waters or walk along the bank, so it's recommended that Scarlet/Violet players unlock Koraidon/Miraidon's Swim Ability. Depending on where players are at in their playthrough, the Poliwag's level will differ. If trainers are going straight to Kitakami from the post-game, the Poliwag will be around level 60.
Quick Balls are generally recommended for catching Pokemon on the first turn of battle. If they fail, then trainers will need to start wearing away at Poliwag's HP. As a Water-type, Poliwag is weak to Grass-type and Electric-type moves. It's generally not recommended to target Poliwag's Type Weakness if trying to catch it. It's a speedy Pokemon, but its Defense and Special Defense are poor. One lucky strike will 1HKO.
Net Balls or Dive Balls are good to use on Poliwag. A Net Ball has a higher catch rate if the Pokemon is a Bug or Water-type. A Dive Ball is good to use if the Poliwag is in water at the time of the encounter.
How to Get Poliwhirl (How to Evolve Poliwag)
Once it reaches level 25, Poliwag will evolve into Poliwhirl. If the Poliwag is already beyond the level of evolution at the time of its capture, increase its level once more to initiate the evolution. This can be done by battling or giving it a Rare Candy/Exp Candy. From there, Poliwhirl can either evolve into Poliwrath or Politoed.
How to Get Poliwrath
Poliwhirl will evolve into the Water/Fighting-type Poliwrath when exposed to a Water Stone. When Poliwhirl evolves into Poliwrath, it will learn the move Dynamic Punch. This is a Fighting-type move that deals 100 damage, but it only has 5PP and an accuracy of 50%. Dynamic Punch will also confuse the target if it manages to hit the opponent.
Water Stones can be found on the ground as sparkling objects near bodies of water. If players have three Gym Badges, they can buy a Water Stone for 3000 in the General section of Delibird Presents.
Players don't have to keep Dynamic Punch, as Poliwrath can Remember Moves in its summary page (X-button, select Poliwrath, then tab over to the second page and press A-button). Since Poliwrath requires a Water Stone to evolve, it can only learn its moves via Remembering, as Poliwrath will not learn anything as it levels.
Poliwrath's new Fighting-typing means it can deal super-effective damage to Normal, Steel, Rock, and Ice-type Pokemon. On the downside, this means it has a weakness to Flying, Psychic, and Fairy-type moves in addition to Electric and Grass-types.
Stat-wise, Poliwrath is actually slower than Poliwhirl and Poliwag. Here's what its stat spread looks like compared to Poliwhirl:
|
Poliwhirl |
Poliwrath |
|
|---|---|---|
|
HP |
65 |
90 |
|
Attack |
65 |
95 |
|
Defense |
65 |
95 |
|
Special Attack |
50 |
70 |
|
Special Defense |
50 |
90 |
|
Speed |
90 |
70 |
Despite the trade-off in Speed, Poliwrath has better stats in everything else. It can inflict more damage and withstand more attacks than a Poliwhirl without an Eviolite. If players intend on adding Poliwrath to their team, they'll want to consider the pros and cons. It's a stronger hitter than Poliwhirl, but is the loss in Speed worth it? Remember that Poliwrath will have Water/Fighting-typing, so it will have more Type Weaknesses, too.
How to Get Politoed
Getting Poliwhirl to evolve into Politoed is a bit trickier. Players will need an item called a King's Rock and have Nintendo Online Membership. To get Politoed, players need to Give a King's Rock to Poliwhirl, and then find someone to Trade the Poliwhirl to and back. Trading can be done via the Union Circle or PokePortal, but it requires an online subscription. Because the goal is to evolve Poliwhirl, players will want to do a Link Trade. This will generate a Link Code that can be exchanged with a Friend. Trade Poliwhirl, then get it back as a newly-evolved Politoed.
King's Rock can be bought from Delibird Presents at 10000 once players have four Gym Badges. Another way to get a King's Rock is to defeat all the Gym Leaders in the post-game, then speaking to Geeta.
Although Politoed isn't obtainable via stone evolution, Politoed's moves can be accessed via the Remember Moves on the Summary Page. It's recommended to go through its movepool to give it a better moveset for battle.
How to Get Politoed Without Trading (Pokemon GO & Pokemon HOME)
For those that don't have an online membership or don't want to trade, they can get Politoed via Pokemon GO. Evolving Poliwhirl into Politoed requires the King's Rock item, but it doesn't need to be traded. Instead, it can evolve with King's Rock + 100 Poliwag Candy.
Once trainers have a Politoed, they can send it to Pokemon HOME. To do this, they'll need to link/log in to their HOME account through GO. Here's what to do:
- Tap the Poke Ball icon on the main screen.
- Select Settings.
- Select Connected Devices and Services.
- Choose Pokemon HOME, then select Send Pokemon and Continue.
As long as players have GO Transport Energy, they can send Politoed. Make sure that Politoed isn't set as the Buddy Pokemon or that its "Starred". Otherwise, it can't be transferred.
Once Politoed has been sent over, go into Pokemon HOME on the Nintendo Switch. Retrieve the Pokemon sent from GO by selecting the Pokemon GO icon, and move it to the Basic Box. From there, access either Scarlet or Violet, and move Politoed from Basic Box to a PC Box.
A Politoed retrieved from Pokemon GO cannot be nicknamed, as its Trainer ID will be different from the Scarlet/Violet Trainer ID. It also means that its Friendship level will always reset if it's traded back to Scarlet/Violet.
Should You Get Poliwrath or Politoed?
Unlike Poliwrath, Politoed is a pure Water-type Pokemon. It's slower than Poliwhirl, but it does have some stat differences with Poliwrath:
|
Poliwrath |
Politoed |
|
|---|---|---|
|
HP |
90 |
90 |
|
Attack |
95 |
75 |
|
Defense |
95 |
75 |
|
Special Attack |
70 |
90 |
|
Special Defense |
90 |
100 |
|
Speed |
70 |
70 |
The biggest difference between Politoed and Poliwrath are its Special Attack. Poliwrath relies more on Physical Attacks and, despite it having a lower base Special Defense than Politoed, is more likely to withstand hits from opponents. Its dual Water/Fighting-type means that it has more Type Coverage than Politoed. However, Politoed's only two Type Weaknesses are Electric and Grass-type.
As for its potential movepool, Politoed can run Special Moves such as Ice Beam or Surf better than Poliwrath. On the other hand, Poliwrath has more access to Physical Moves, such as Throat Chop, which gives it coverage against most Psychic-type Pokemon.
If trainers are unsure whether to evolve Poliwhirl into Poliwrath or Politoed, they should decide on whether they want a Special or Physical Battler.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available for Nintendo Switch.