Of all the water Pokémon, Poliwag has got to be one of the cutest. Its massive eyes make you want to hold it and never let go. But this tiny tadpole has some tricks up its sleeves with its moveset, abilities, and evolutions, so keep reading.
Take a journey through the Pokédex via our water Pokémon and gen 1 Pokémon guides to learn more about Poliwag's siblings from the early days of the series. Or, visit any of the other amazing Pokémon content we have here on Pocket Tactics.
Here's everything in our Poliwag guide:
Here's the key information you need to know about Poliwag:
| National Pokédex # | 0,060 |
| Type | Water |
| Abilities | Water Absorb or Damp |
| Hidden ability | Swift Swim |
| Gender ratio | Male - 50% Female - 50% |
| Catch rate | 43.9% |
| Egg groups | Water 1 |
| EV yield | One speed |
Poliwag's evolution
Poliwag evolves into Poliwhirl starting from level 25, with no special conditions. You can find out more about how to evolve Poliwhirl into Poliwrath and Politoed in their guides.
Poliwag's locations
Here are all the locations you can find Poliwag in each Pokémon game:
Gen 1 locations
| Red / Blue | Routes 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, Pallet Town, Viridian City, Cerulean City, Cerulean Gym, Cerulean Cave, Vermilion City, Celadon City, Fuchsia City, Safari Zone, Seafoam Islands, Cinnabar Island, and Indigo Plateau |
| Yellow | Routes 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, Pallet Town, Viridian City, Cerulean City, Cerulean Gym, Cerulean Cave, Vermilion City, Celadon City, Fuchsia City, Safari Zone, Seafoam Islands, Cinnabar Island, and Indigo Plateau |
Gen 2 locations
| Gold / Silver | Routes 6, 22, 28, 30, 31, 35, 43, and 44, Violet City, Ecruteak City, Viridian City, Mt. Silver, Ruins of Alph, Ilex Forest, and Blackthorn City |
| Crystal | Routes 6, 22, 28, 30, 31, 35, 43, and 44, Violet City, Ecruteak City, Viridian City, Mt. Silver, Ruins of Alph, Ilex Forest, and Blackthorn City |
Gen 3 locations
| Ruby / Sapphire | Trade |
| Emerald | Trade |
| FireRed / LeafGreen | Fuchsia City, Berry Forest, Safari Zone, routes 6, 22, 23, and 25, Four Island, Viridian City, Cape Brink, Cerulean Cave, Icefall Cave, and Ruin Valley |
| Colosseum | Trade |
| XD | Trade |
Gen 4 locations
| Diamond / Pearl | Routes 225, 227, and 228 |
| Platinum | Routes 227 and 228 |
| HeartGold / SoulSilver | Routes 6, 22, 28, 30, 31, 35, 43, 44, and 45, Violet City, Ecruteak City, Viridian City, Mt. Silver, Ruins of Alph, Ilex Forest, Blackthorn City, Cliff Edge Gate, Cerulean Cave, Mt. Moon Square, and Safari Zone |
Gen 5 locations
| Black / White | Route 6, Wellspring Cave, Challenger's Cave, Victory Road, and Giant Chasm |
| Black 2 / White 2 | Routes 6, 19, 20, and 23, Floccesy Ranch, Relic Passage, Lostlorn Forest, Giant Chasm, Victory Road, Clay Tunnel, and Wellspring Cave |
Gen 6 locations
| X / Y | Routes 14, 15, 16, 19, and 21, Laverre City, Frost Cavern, Couriway Town, Pokémon Village, Victory Road, and Pokémon Village (Horde Encounter) |
| Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire | Trade |
Gen 7 locations
| Sun / Moon | Brooklet Hill, Malie Garden, and Poké Pelago |
| Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon | Brooklet Hill |
| Let's Go Pikachu / Let's Go Eevee | Routes 22, 23, and 25, and Cerulean Cave |
Gen 8 locations
| Sword / Shield | Trade |
| Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra | Brawlers' Cave, Field of Honor, Soothing Wetlands, and Courageous Cave Max Raid Battles |
| Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl | Routes 225, 227, and 228, and the Grand Underground - Grassland Cave, Sunlit Cavern, Fountainspring Cave, Riverbank Cave, and Still-Water Cavern |
| Legends: Arceus | Unobtainable |
Gen 9 locations
| Scarlet / Violet | Trade |
| The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero | Kitakami Road, Reveler's Road, Mossfell Confluence, Fellhorn Gorge, and one-star Tera Raid Battles |
| Legends: Z-A | Unobtainable |
How do I get Poliwag in Pokémon Pokopia?
You can get Poliwag in Pokopia by building the Squeaky Clean Pokopia habitat. This requires a bathtub and cleaning supplies, but you can build it in any biome to summon the little swimmer.
Poliwag's base stats
Poliwag's base stats are as follows. As you level it up, these stats grow.
Poliwag's type strengths and weaknesses
It might not be the biggest or strongest Pokémon, but as a mono-water type, Poliwag has a pretty good matchup chart. While it's not immune to anything, it resists four different types, and you only really need to worry about electric and grass-type attacks.
| Normal damage | Bug, Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Fighting, Flying, Ghost, Ground, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock |
| Weak | Electric, Grass |
| Resistant | Fire, Ice, Steel, Water |
| Immune | N/A |
Poliwag's moveset
In the latest generation of Pokémon games, Poliwag can learn the following moves:
Level up moves
| Level | Move | Type |
| One | Water Gun | Water |
| One | Hypnosis | Psychic |
| Six | Pound | Normal |
| 12 | Mud Shot | Ground |
| 18 | Bubble Beam | Water |
| 24 | Rain Dance | Water |
| 30 | Body Slam | Normal |
| 36 | Earth Power | Ground |
| 42 | Hydro Pump | Water |
| 48 | Belly Drum | Normal |
| 54 | Double-Edge | Normal |
Learnable TMs
| Move | Type |
| Amnesia | Psychic |
| Blizzard | Ice |
| Body Slam | Normal |
| Bulldoze | Ground |
| Chilling Water | Water |
| Dig | Ground |
| Double-Edge | Normal |
| Earth Power | Ground |
| Encore | Normal |
| Endeavor | Normal |
| Endure | Normal |
| Facade | Normal |
| Focus Punch | Fighting |
| Haze | Ice |
| Helping Hand | Normal |
| Hydro Pump | Water |
| Ice Beam | Ice |
| Icy Wind | Ice |
| Liquidation | Water |
| Low Kick | Fighting |
| Mud Shot | Ground |
| Mud-Slap | Ground |
| Muddy Water | Water |
| Protect | Normal |
| Psychic | Psychic |
| Rain Dance | Water |
| Rest | Psychic |
| Sleep Talk | Normal |
| Substitute | Normal |
| Surf | Water |
| Swift | Normal |
| Take Down | Normal |
| Tera Blast | Normal |
| Thief | Dark |
| Water Pulse | Water |
| Waterfall | Water |
| Weather Ball | Normal |
| Whirlpool | Water |
Egg moves
| Move | Type | Breed with |
| Endeavor | Normal | Mudkip, Marshtomp, Swampert, Corphish, Crawdaunt |
| Mist | Ice | Lapras, Wooper, Quagsire, Lotad, Lombre, Ludicolo, Wingull, Pelipper, Surskit, Piplup, Prinplup, Empoleon, Eiscue |
| Muddy Water | Water | Wooper, Quagsire, Mudkip, Marshtomp, Swampert, Shellos, Gastrodon, Clauncher, Clawitzer |
| Splash | Normal | Feebas, Milotic, Clauncher, Clawitzer |
| Water Pulse | Water | Squirtle, Wartortle, Blastoise, Psyduck, Golduck, Slowpoke, Galarian Slowpoke, Slowbro, Galarian Slowbro, Slowking, Galarian Slowking, Horsea, Seadra, Kingdra, Lapras, Mudkip, Marshtomp, Swampert, Wingull, Pelipper, Milotic, Shellos, Gastrodon, Ducklett, Swanna, Alomomola, Froakie, Frogadier, Greninja, Skrelp, Dragalge, Clauncher, Clawitzer, Sobble, Drizzile, Inteleon, Quaxwell, Quaquaval |
That's everything you need to know about Poliwag.