I love amphibians, and Pokémon's Poliwhirl is a classic go-to 'mon for some froggy action, even though it's technically categorized as a tadpole. It's a cutie, but looks aren't everything in this franchise, meaning we'll need to dig a bit deeper to find out more about it - we'll cover Poliwhirl's stats, moves, evolution, strengths and weaknesses, as well as where you can find it in each game.
If you want to catch Poliwhirl, consider using some Pokémon Go codes and Pokémon TCG Pocket codes, which can help you fill out your Pokédex - after all, there are a lot of Pokémon out there now, so you'll need all the help you can get.
Here's everything in our Poliwhirl guide:
Here's the key information you need to know about Poliwhirl:
| National Pokédex # | 0,061 |
| Type | Water |
| Abilities | Water Absorb or Damp |
| Hidden ability | Swift Swim |
| Gender ratio | Male - 50% Female - 50% |
| Catch rate | 120 (24.9 %) |
| Egg groups | Water 1 |
| EV yield | Two speed |
Poliwhirl's evolution
Poliwhirl evolves from Poliwag at level 25, and can itself either evolve into Poliwrath or Politoed - which one it evolves into depends on the conditions of evolution. To get Poliwrath, you need to expose Poliwhirl to a Water Stone, and to get Politoed, you have to trade Poliwhirl while holding a King's Rock.
Poliwhirl's locations
Here are all the locations you can find Poliwhirl in each Pokémon game:
Gen 1 locations
| Red / Blue | Route 10 and Celadon City (Super Rod) |
| Yellow | Routes 22 and 23 (Super Rod) |
Gen 2 locations
| Gold / Silver | Routes 22, 28, 30, 31, and 44, Violet City, Ecruteak City, Viridian City, Mt. Silver (Surfing) |
| Crystal | Routes 22, 28, 30, 31, and 44, Violet City, Ecruteak City, Viridian City, Mt. Silver (Surfing), Mt. Silver tall grass (Night) |
Gen 3 locations
| Ruby / Sapphire | Trade |
| Emerald | Trade |
| FireRed / LeafGreen | Routes 6, 22, 23, and 25, Four Island, Viridian City, Cape Brink, Cerulean Cave, Icefall Cave, Ruin Valley (Super Rod) |
| Colosseum | Trade |
| XD | Trade |
Gen 4 locations
| Diamond / Pearl | Routes 225 (Super Rod), 227 (Surfing), and 228 (Surfing) |
| Platinum | Routes 227 and 228 (Surfing) |
| HeartGold / SoulSilver | Routes 22, 28, 30, 31, and 44, Ecruteak City, Mt. Silver, Violet City, Viridian City (Surfing), Cerulean Cave (Super Rod, morning only), Safari Zone (Old Rod) - Meadow, Wetland, Safari Zone (Good Rod) - Wetland, Marshland, Safari Zone (Super Rod) - Meadow, Wetland, Mashland, Safari Zone (Surfing) - Rocky Beach |
Gen 5 locations
| Black / White | Route 6, Wellspring Cave, Challenger's Cave, Victory Road, Giant Chasm (Fishing) |
| Black 2 / White 2 | Routes 6, 19, 20, and 23, Floccesy Ranch, Relic Passage, Wellspring Cave, Clay Tunnel, Lostlorn Forest, Giant Chasm, Victory Road (Fishing), Pinwheel Forest (Hidden Grotto) |
Gen 6 locations
| X / Y | Routes 14-16, 19, and 21, Laverre City, Frost Cavern, Couriway Town, Pokémon Village, Victory Road (Good Rod or Super Rod), Pokémon Village, Frost Cavern, Victory Road (Surfing), Friend Safari - Water |
| Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire | Trade |
Gen 7 locations
| Sun / Moon | Trade Zubat in Konikoni City, Malie Garden's SOS Battle (raining only) |
| Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon | Malie Garden |
| Let's Go Pikachu / Let's Go Eevee | Routes 22, 23, and 25, Cerulean Cave (Sea Skim) |
Gen 8 locations
| Sword / Shield | Trade |
| Isle of Armor | Soothing Wetlands, Fields of Honor, Soothing Wetlands, Courageous Cavern's Max Raid Battle |
| Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl | Route 225 (Super Rod or Surfing), Routes 227, 228 (Surfing), Grand Underground - Grassland Cave, Sunlit Cavern, Fountainspring Cave, Riverbank Cave, Still-Water Cavern |
| Legends: Arceus | Unobtainable |
Gen 9 locations
| Scarlet / Violet | Trade |
| The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero | Mossfell Confluence, Fellhorn Gorge, three-star Tera Raid Battles |
| Legends: Z-A | Unobtainable |
How do I get Poliwhirl in Pokémon Pokopia?
To get Poliwhirl in Pokopia, you need to construct a hydrated fluffy flower bed Pokopia habitat. This is pretty straightforward, requiring only two water and four skyland flowers.
Poliwhirl's base stats
Poliwhirl's base stats are as follows. As you level it up, these stats grow.
- HP - 65
- Attack - 65
- Defense - 65
- Sp. Atk - 50
- Sp. Def - 50
- Speed - 90
Poliwhirl's type strengths and weaknesses
As a water-type Pokémon, Poliwhirl has a few types that it's strong against and weak to. For the most part, you're safe to bring Poliwhirl to any battle, though, as it's only weak to two types.
| Normal damage | Bug, Dragon, Dark, Electric, Fairy, Fighting, Flying, Ghost, Ground, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock |
| Weak | Electric, Grass |
| Resistant | Fire, Ice, Steel, Water |
| Immune | N/A |
Poliwhirl's moveset
In the latest generation of Pokémon games, Poliwhirl can learn the following moves:
Level up moves
| Level | Move | Type |
| One | Water Gun | Water |
| One | Hypnosis | Psychic |
| One | Pound | Normal |
| One | Mud Shot | Ground |
| 18 | Bubble Beam | Water |
| 24 | Rain Dance | Water |
| 32 | Body Slam | Normal |
| 40 | Earth Power | Ground |
| 48 | Hydro Pump | Water |
| 56 | Belly Drum | Normal |
| 66 | Double-Edge | Normal |
Learnable TMs
| Move | Type |
| Amnesia | Psychic |
| Blizzard | Ice |
| Body Slam | Normal |
| Brick Break | Fighting |
| Bulldoze | Ground |
| Chilling Water | Water |
| Dig | Ground |
| Double-Edge | Normal |
| Earth Power | Ground |
| Earthquake | Ground |
| Encore | Normal |
| Endeavor | Normal |
| Endure | Normal |
| Facade | Normal |
| Fling | Dark |
| Focus Punch | Fighting |
| Haze | Ice |
| Helping Hand | Normal |
| Hydro Pump | Water |
| Ice Beam | Ice |
| Ice Punch | Ice |
| Icy Wind | Ice |
| Liquidation | Water |
| Low Kick | Fighting |
| Low Sweep | Fighting |
| Metronome | Normal |
| Mud Shot | Ground |
| Mud-Slap | Ground |
| Muddy Water | Water |
| Protect | Normal |
| Psych Up | 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, or Crawdaunt |
| Mist | Ice | Lapras, Wooper, Quagsire, Lotad, Lombre, Ludicolo, Wingull, Pelipper, Surskit, Piplup, Prinplup, Empoleon, or Eiscue |
| Muddy Water | Water | Wooper, Quagsire, Mudkip, Marshtomp, Swampert, Shellos, Gastrodon, Clauncher, or Clawitzer |
| Splash | Normal | Feebas, Milotic, Clauncher, or Clawitzer |
| Water Pulse | Water | Squirtle, Wartortle, Blastoise, Psyduck, Golduck, Slowpoke (both forms), Slowbro (both forms), Slowking (both forms), 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, or Quaquaval |
You're all clued in on this tadpole friend, now, so good luck trying to get Poliwhirl on side!