[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 3-4 points
**Overview**: By the day, Poliwrath’s strong typing, impressive natural bulk, and excellent ability in Water Absorb lets it play as a hearty utility attacker capable of soft-checking many relevant Pokemon such as Palafin, Gholdengo, and Greninja. But under the guise of rainfall, Poliwrath becomes a menacing Swift Swim cleaner, capable of ending unprepared teams with its powerful STAB combination and access to the gut-wrenching Belly Drum! So why have you never heard of this unsung vigilante of the rivers? It’s unfortunately simple: like many late-round picks, Poliwrath’s stats and moves just don't pack enough punch on their own. Poliwrath can be a monster when all the pieces fall into place, but its inconsistent recovery and inability to pivot prevents it from being an outstanding tank, its only-“good” Attack can require several boosts to make more than a drop in the bucket, and its below-average Speed allows many foes to revenge kill it in rain or shine.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Rain Cleaner**: When the weather is right, Poliwrath is one Belly Drum away from ending the game. Of course, when you've got bulk like Poliwrath's, the swiftness of Swift Swim, and a plethora of setup-allowing moves like Substitute, Throat Chop, and Encore, you'll find no shortage of ways of getting that +6 off. Poliwrath has just enough coverage to make any physical wall squirm, but who cares? After a Belly Drum, there's almost nothing that can take its STAB moves and live to tell the tale!
**Bulky Utility**: Armed with defensive stats rivaling Blastoise and a utility movepool blessed by the developers of Gen 1, Poliwrath has bulk and bulk to spare. Its recovery options in Water Absorb, Drain Punch, and Rest keep it fairly healthy, and its reliable STAB moves and access to Knock Off keep it as annoying as ever to switch into. Bulk Up is often run to maximize Poliwrath's offensive presence without losing any of its longevity, but disruptive tools like Circle Throw and Haze mean it's far from setup fodder without any boosts.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Liquidation, Waterfall, Close Combat, Drain Punch, Low Kick
**Setup Moves**: Belly Drum, Bulk Up, Rain Dance
**Utility Moves**: Encore, Taunt, Whirlpool, Haze, Circle Throw, Knock Off, Brick Break, Rest, Substitute, Protect
**Coverage**: Earthquake, High Horsepower, Ice Punch, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Throat Chop
Niche Moves
========
**Hypnosis**: With a bit of good luck, Poliwrath can effectively eliminate one of its checks, granting itself more than enough time to set up a sweep.
**Reversal**: All those Belly Drums and Substitutes can get Poliwrath into low health pretty quickly, but it can use that to its advantage by unleashing a nuclear Reversal!
**Special attacks**: Poliwrath can’t boost its Special Attack very easily, but with great STAB moves and acceptable coverage, it can still use special moves to great effectiveness—much to the chagrin of opposing physical walls. Notably, Vacuum Wave is Poliwrath's only reliable priority option, making it an excellent surprise tool in certain matchups!
**Amnesia**: With Amensia, Poliwrath forgets about any special attackers that were supposed to beat it, becoming practically impervious on the special side.
Common Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Life Orb, Expert Belt, Black Belt, and Mystic Water all give Poliwrath the extra punch it needs to secure a victory.
**Leftovers**: Poliwrath's regular recovery options are fairly inconsistent, making Leftovers the perfect item for changing its longevity from good to great.
**Sitrus Berry**: A delicacy best paired with Belly Drum, Sitrus Berry gives Poliwrath a solid burst in longevity and the flexibility to take a hit while going for the win.
**Assault Vest**: Most special attackers would be better off trying to break an actual brick wall instead of Assault Vest Poliwrath—at least bricks don't have Drain Punch and Water Absorb to keep them healthy.
Niche Items
========
**Salac Berry**: Poliwrath already runs both Substitute and Belly Drum on the regular—pair the two with a Salac Berry, and not even the fastest of foes will be able to keep pace with Poliwrath in its element!
**Choice Band**: Should Belly Drum not be necessary, Choice Band acts as an alterative to maximize Poliwrath's damage output in no time at all.
**Chesto Berry**: After a good night's Rest, Chesto Berry lets Poliwrath perk right back up with full health and no status.
**Rocky Helmet**: Trying to outdamage Poliwrath on the physical side is a losing game when it's sporting a Rocky Helmet.
**Weakness Policy**: Need to boost your Attack, but you can't avoid taking super-effective damage? Say hello to Weakness Policy Poliwrath, a cleaner that uses its excellent defenses to get surprise boosts without hurting itself.
**Eject Pack**: Poliwrath's baffling lack of Flip Turn becomes less noticeable when Eject Pack is in the equation: now you're one Close Combat away from turning any defensive check into setup fodder.
Tera
========
Poliwrath is proud of the many resistances and powerful STAB moves offered by its base typing, and its coverage is usually enough to deal with any walls—no Terastallization required. But should you make Poliwrath a secondary Tera Captain anyway, you’ll have a number of types to choose from both offensively and defensively. Tera Ground and Fire pair excellently with Water Absorb, with the former boosting its strongest coverage move and the latter giving it a new way to hit Grass-types. Tera Steel turns almost all of Poliwrath’s weaknesses into resistances, while Tera Poison makes it much harder for many of the common revenge killers to eliminate. Finally, Tera Water and Tera Fighting need little explanation, skyrocketing Poliwrath’s STAB moves to the point that it won't even need to think about running coverage.
Draft Strategy
========
Poliwrath works best on balance teams as a cheap bulky Water-type and on semi-rain teams as a cheap Swift Swim user, with its access to Belly Drum and ability to nullify other Water-types making it stand out from the sea of fat low tiers. It's a very self-sufficient Pokemon that requires little from its teammates... unless it's running Belly Drum, in which case you'd better dedicate at least a few turns to making things go Poliwrath's way!
**Alternative Rain Setters**: While drafting Poliwrath's younger sibling Politoed may be excessive, reliable Flying-types like Zapdos, Pranksters like Klefki, or plain ol' bulky pivots that don't mind holding Damp Rock like Blastoise are a must-have for any team looking to make the most out of this happy little tadpole.
**Water-Weak Allies**: As a unique bulky Water-type that preys on other Water-types, Poliwrath works swimmingly with teammates that struggle to deal with Water-types themselves like Iron Treads and Chi-Yu.
**Entry Hazard Support**: Poliwrath can force a good number of switches both offensively and defensively, so it loves good hazard setters like Ting-Lu and Deoxys-S.
Checks and Counters
========
**Fast Offensive Threats**: Even in rain, Poliwrath’s underwhelming Speed isn't enough to stop Speed-boosting foes like Iron Valiant, Ogerpon, and Thundurus from hanging it up to dry. A simple Salac Berry turns that weakness on its head, but setting that up digs into the limited rain time Poliwrath gets, and it's curtains for the tadpole once the weather clears!
**Super-effective coverage**: Poliwrath has the muscle to go toe-to-toe with many meta staples, but its average offenses and lack of true recovery means some foes can simply outdamage it with super-effective coverage. Belly Drum sets are especially worried about unexpected coverage, as Poliwrath needs to be in peak form to get its sweeps done.
**Disruption and Phazing**: Though Poliwrath has plenty of tools to prevent it from getting phazed out, moves like Dragon Tail, Whirlwind, and items like Red Card still keep Belly Drum sets up at night; it's hard enough for Poliwrath to get a single Belly Drum off as is. Defensive sets don't fare much better, as its low Speed and meager unboosted Attack won't hold water against disruption options like Encore and Trick.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/big-pharma.657717/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 3-4 points
**Overview**: By the day, Poliwrath’s strong typing, impressive natural bulk, and excellent ability in Water Absorb lets it play as a hearty utility attacker capable of soft-checking many relevant Pokemon such as Palafin, Gholdengo, and Greninja. But under the guise of rainfall, Poliwrath becomes a menacing Swift Swim cleaner, capable of ending unprepared teams with its powerful STAB combination and access to the gut-wrenching Belly Drum! So why have you never heard of this unsung vigilante of the rivers? It’s unfortunately simple: like many late-round picks, Poliwrath’s stats and moves just don't pack enough punch on their own. Poliwrath can be a monster when all the pieces fall into place, but its inconsistent recovery and inability to pivot prevents it from being an outstanding tank, its only-“good” Attack can require several boosts to make more than a drop in the bucket, and its below-average Speed allows many foes to revenge kill it in rain or shine.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Rain Cleaner**: When the weather is right, Poliwrath is one Belly Drum away from ending the game. Of course, when you've got bulk like Poliwrath's, the swiftness of Swift Swim, and a plethora of setup-allowing moves like Substitute, Throat Chop, and Encore, you'll find no shortage of ways of getting that +6 off. Poliwrath has just enough coverage to make any physical wall squirm, but who cares? After a Belly Drum, there's almost nothing that can take its STAB moves and live to tell the tale!
**Bulky Utility**: Armed with defensive stats rivaling Blastoise and a utility movepool blessed by the developers of Gen 1, Poliwrath has bulk and bulk to spare. Its recovery options in Water Absorb, Drain Punch, and Rest keep it fairly healthy, and its reliable STAB moves and access to Knock Off keep it as annoying as ever to switch into. Bulk Up is often run to maximize Poliwrath's offensive presence without losing any of its longevity, but disruptive tools like Circle Throw and Haze mean it's far from setup fodder without any boosts.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Liquidation, Waterfall, Close Combat, Drain Punch, Low Kick
**Setup Moves**: Belly Drum, Bulk Up, Rain Dance
**Utility Moves**: Encore, Taunt, Whirlpool, Haze, Circle Throw, Knock Off, Brick Break, Rest, Substitute, Protect
**Coverage**: Earthquake, High Horsepower, Ice Punch, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Throat Chop
Niche Moves
========
**Hypnosis**: With a bit of good luck, Poliwrath can effectively eliminate one of its checks, granting itself more than enough time to set up a sweep.
**Reversal**: All those Belly Drums and Substitutes can get Poliwrath into low health pretty quickly, but it can use that to its advantage by unleashing a nuclear Reversal!
**Special attacks**: Poliwrath can’t boost its Special Attack very easily, but with great STAB moves and acceptable coverage, it can still use special moves to great effectiveness—much to the chagrin of opposing physical walls. Notably, Vacuum Wave is Poliwrath's only reliable priority option, making it an excellent surprise tool in certain matchups!
**Amnesia**: With Amensia, Poliwrath forgets about any special attackers that were supposed to beat it, becoming practically impervious on the special side.
Common Items
========
**Damage-boosting Items**: Life Orb, Expert Belt, Black Belt, and Mystic Water all give Poliwrath the extra punch it needs to secure a victory.
**Leftovers**: Poliwrath's regular recovery options are fairly inconsistent, making Leftovers the perfect item for changing its longevity from good to great.
**Sitrus Berry**: A delicacy best paired with Belly Drum, Sitrus Berry gives Poliwrath a solid burst in longevity and the flexibility to take a hit while going for the win.
**Assault Vest**: Most special attackers would be better off trying to break an actual brick wall instead of Assault Vest Poliwrath—at least bricks don't have Drain Punch and Water Absorb to keep them healthy.
Niche Items
========
**Salac Berry**: Poliwrath already runs both Substitute and Belly Drum on the regular—pair the two with a Salac Berry, and not even the fastest of foes will be able to keep pace with Poliwrath in its element!
**Choice Band**: Should Belly Drum not be necessary, Choice Band acts as an alterative to maximize Poliwrath's damage output in no time at all.
**Chesto Berry**: After a good night's Rest, Chesto Berry lets Poliwrath perk right back up with full health and no status.
**Rocky Helmet**: Trying to outdamage Poliwrath on the physical side is a losing game when it's sporting a Rocky Helmet.
**Weakness Policy**: Need to boost your Attack, but you can't avoid taking super-effective damage? Say hello to Weakness Policy Poliwrath, a cleaner that uses its excellent defenses to get surprise boosts without hurting itself.
**Eject Pack**: Poliwrath's baffling lack of Flip Turn becomes less noticeable when Eject Pack is in the equation: now you're one Close Combat away from turning any defensive check into setup fodder.
Tera
========
Poliwrath is proud of the many resistances and powerful STAB moves offered by its base typing, and its coverage is usually enough to deal with any walls—no Terastallization required. But should you make Poliwrath a secondary Tera Captain anyway, you’ll have a number of types to choose from both offensively and defensively. Tera Ground and Fire pair excellently with Water Absorb, with the former boosting its strongest coverage move and the latter giving it a new way to hit Grass-types. Tera Steel turns almost all of Poliwrath’s weaknesses into resistances, while Tera Poison makes it much harder for many of the common revenge killers to eliminate. Finally, Tera Water and Tera Fighting need little explanation, skyrocketing Poliwrath’s STAB moves to the point that it won't even need to think about running coverage.
Draft Strategy
========
Poliwrath works best on balance teams as a cheap bulky Water-type and on semi-rain teams as a cheap Swift Swim user, with its access to Belly Drum and ability to nullify other Water-types making it stand out from the sea of fat low tiers. It's a very self-sufficient Pokemon that requires little from its teammates... unless it's running Belly Drum, in which case you'd better dedicate at least a few turns to making things go Poliwrath's way!
**Alternative Rain Setters**: While drafting Poliwrath's younger sibling Politoed may be excessive, reliable Flying-types like Zapdos, Pranksters like Klefki, or plain ol' bulky pivots that don't mind holding Damp Rock like Blastoise are a must-have for any team looking to make the most out of this happy little tadpole.
**Water-Weak Allies**: As a unique bulky Water-type that preys on other Water-types, Poliwrath works swimmingly with teammates that struggle to deal with Water-types themselves like Iron Treads and Chi-Yu.
**Entry Hazard Support**: Poliwrath can force a good number of switches both offensively and defensively, so it loves good hazard setters like Ting-Lu and Deoxys-S.
Checks and Counters
========
**Fast Offensive Threats**: Even in rain, Poliwrath’s underwhelming Speed isn't enough to stop Speed-boosting foes like Iron Valiant, Ogerpon, and Thundurus from hanging it up to dry. A simple Salac Berry turns that weakness on its head, but setting that up digs into the limited rain time Poliwrath gets, and it's curtains for the tadpole once the weather clears!
**Super-effective coverage**: Poliwrath has the muscle to go toe-to-toe with many meta staples, but its average offenses and lack of true recovery means some foes can simply outdamage it with super-effective coverage. Belly Drum sets are especially worried about unexpected coverage, as Poliwrath needs to be in peak form to get its sweeps done.
**Disruption and Phazing**: Though Poliwrath has plenty of tools to prevent it from getting phazed out, moves like Dragon Tail, Whirlwind, and items like Red Card still keep Belly Drum sets up at night; it's hard enough for Poliwrath to get a single Belly Drum off as is. Defensive sets don't fare much better, as its low Speed and meager unboosted Attack won't hold water against disruption options like Encore and Trick.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/big-pharma.657717/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
Last edited:
