Poliwrath

Forte.EXE

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Code: 
[B]#062 Poliwrath
[/B]    
  Typing: Water / Fighting
   
  Ability 1: Water Absorb
     Restores HP if hit by a Water-type move.
  Ability 2: Damp
     Explosion and Selfdestruct will not work while the Pokémon is on the field.
  Ability 3: Swift Swim (Dream World)
     When rainy, The Pokémon’s Speed doubles. However, Speed will not double on the turn weather becomes Heavy Rain.
   
  HP:  90
  Atk: 85
  Def: 95
  SpA: 70
  SpD: 90
  Spe: 70
   
  Evolutionary Chain:
  Poliwag --> (Lv 25) Poliwhirl --> (Water Stone) Poliwrath
                                --> (Trade while holding a King's Rock) Politoad
   
  [B]Level-Up Moves:[/B]
  Lv-: Bubblebeam
  Lv-: Hypnosis
  Lv-: Doubleslap
  Lv-: Submission
  Lv32: DynamicPunch
  Lv43: Mind Reader
  Lv53: Overhead Throw
   
  [B]TMs / HMs: [/B]
  TM06: Toxic
  TM07: Hail
  TM08: Bulk Up
  TM10: Hidden Power
  TM13: Ice Beam
  TM14: Blizzard
  TM15: Hyper Beam
  TM17: Protect
  TM18: Rain Dance
  TM21: Frustration
  TM27: Return
  TM28: Dig
  TM29: Psychic
  TM30: Shadow Ball
  TM32: Double Team
  TM39: Rock Tomb
  TM42: Facade
  TM44: Rest
  TM45: Attract
  TM46: Theif
  TM47: Ankle Sweep
  TM48: Sing a Round
  TM52: Focus Blast
  TM55: Boiling Water
  TM56: Fling
  TM66: Payback
  TM68: Giga Impact
  TM78: Level Ground
  TM80: Rock Slide
  TM83: Cheer Up
  TM84: Poison Jab
  TM90: Substitute
  TM94: Rock Smash
  HM03: Surf
  HM04: Rock Smash
  HM05: Waterfall
  HM06: Dive
   
  [B]Egg Moves:[/B]
  Mist
  Splash
  Bubblebeam
  Haze
  Mind Reader
  Water Sport
  Ice Ball
  Mud Shot
  Refresh
  Endeavor
  Encore
  Endure
  Water Pulse
There seems to be quite the hype about Politoad this Generation, and I admit, it's well deserved. I mean, being the second Pokemon with Drizzle that isn't (or isn't yet) banned to Ubers? That's a pretty big deal, in and of itself. Yet it seems like everyone's missed Poliwhirl's other evolution in this Weather-frenzy. Poliwrath an interesting move to play around with this Generation. Cheer Up makes a bulky mixed set much more viable than it was in Gen IV. It also got Swift Swim, so it can pair up with Politoad to do some decent damage.

Rain Dance Sweeper
Poliwrath @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Lonely
EVs: 252 Atk | 66 SpA | 192 Spe
Normal.png
- Cheer Up
Water.png
- Waterfall
Fighting.png
- Brick Break
Water.png
- Hydro Pump / Ice Punch

The EVs look rather strange at a glance, but they serve a useful purpose. 192 Spe gives Poliwrath a Speed stat of 224, which, after the Swift Swim boost, becomes 448, one Speed point ahead of Choice Scarf Rotom-A and anything below it. 66 SpA gives Hydro Pump some extra power, which is good against something like Skarmory, which you wouldn't have a chance in hell scratching if you ran Ice Punch. Physically Defensive Skarmory is OHKOed by Rain +1 Hydro Pump 100% of the time, while Specially Defensive Skarmory takes 90.1% - 106.3%, a very nice chance for a OHKO after Stealth Rock damage. This set, without Ice Punch, is helpless against Salamence and Grass-types, and won't be putting a hurt on Gyarados any time soon. Of course, if you're using this in UU (where the walls are a little bit softer), then you're going to run into some problems with Slowbro (which you can't beat at all), and possibly an annoying Drought Ninetales.

Encore
Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP | 252 Atk | 4 Spe
Normal.png
- Encore
Normal.png
- Substitute / Bulk Up
Fighting.png
- Focus Punch / Brick Break
Water.png
- Waterfall / Ice Punch

This is a perfect example of a set that hasn't changed from the move to Gen V. Encore Poliwrath has always been a decent Pokemon, and work as the Water-type element to the classic Fire/Water/Grass core that so many UU teams base themselves around. This set in particular enjoys Spikes support, since Encore causes quite a few switches in and out. Bulk Up can be used over Substitute to boost Poliwrath's power, and Brick Break would be the superior choice in that scenario. Waterfall is Poliwrath's second STAB attack, but leaves you walled by Dragon and Grass-types, whereas Ice Punch would take a chunk out of them, possibly OHKOing at +1.

Nothing much else has changed for Poliwrath from the transition to Gen V. The older sets, such as SubPunch are still viable, and Belly Drum may have gotten better with Poliwrath's Swift Swim ability (+6 Poliwrath in infinite Rain? Sign me up for some of that.) What are your opinions, Smogon? Think Poliwrath can shake things up a bit?

This was my first ever attempt at something like this. Did I do a decent job?
 
Sorry but what does cheer up do? I tried using Poliwrath a lot in Gen IV, and I just found that the 85 Base Attack repeatedly let Poliwrath down. When a pokemon gets to +1 it should be able to do a lot of damage and be able to KO a wide number of things which Poliwrath is unfortunately unable to do. One idea I do like though is sub/bellydrum/waterfall/ice punch or brick break Poliwrath (no CC :/) paired with Politoad of course. The fact that it resists aqua jet, ice shard, and bullet punch helps a lot here too.
 
Maybe you should try running Ice Beam as the fourth slot on the mixed set. I didn't run the calcs, but based on Hydro Pump's damage, I believe Ice Beam can easily 2HKO Skarm, and he can still take down Salamence and Grass-types.
 
A Belly Drum set under Swift Swim could be awesome; +6 Rain-Waterfall should dent everything; Maybe Brick Break and Return/Ice Punch for coverage?
 
On a MixWrath set, Boiling Water is an obvious choice. Burn on the opponent can make Poliwrath an excellent bulky-water, especially with Bulk-Up. Sacrifice some attack EV's for some Special EV's, Poliwrath could be a force to be reckoned with.
 
I am pretty sure you can run politoed and poliwrath. If you can run 2 of the eeveelutions, you should be alowed to run those 2 together.
 
One thing that a pokemon with such fantastic resistances as Poliwrath has always wanted is Roar. GF obliged and gave him Overhead throw and I definately think there's room for OHT on the encore set. Encore forces tons of switches and with a STAB OHT backing him up, Poliwrath is gonna be really annoying. I cannot say for sure, but my instinct is that OHT can't be taunted, which makes him a fantastic check to Gyarados and anyone else that enjoys using taunt. Considering that Poliwrath resists Ice, Fire, Bug, Rock, Dark, Steel with an immunity to Water and has reasonable 90/95/90 defenses, I think he'll find a niche on defensively minded teams.
 
Yes indeed, overhead throw is an attack, hence it can't be taunted.

Shuffler
Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 Atk
Normal.png
- Overhead Throw
Water.png
- Waterfall
Fighting.png
- Encore
Water.png
- Refresh

Maybe the speed can be worked out to encore faster and OHT before slower roars.
 
Phantom Renegade said:
Don't forget that it gets overhead throw by level, it can actually phaze now.
Click to expand...

What this guy said.

You say that Poliwrath got nothing new- he gained Overhead throw as level up.

In turn, he also gained a slew of new attacks that might help him.

Moves that are interesting:

-Boiling Water
-Level Ground
-Ankle Sweep


On top of that: Running Life Orb with Belly Drum just cuts you short. It isn't a smart idea. If you want to use him for things that don't involve sub-punching on a swift swim team, try:

Poliwrath@ Choice Band
Adamat
252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP

Ice Punch/Rock Slide
Waterfall
Brick Break/Ankle Sweep
Earthquake

You can give him psuedo edgequake coverage if you want, and with water+fighting stab that allows him to hit a lot of things extremely hard. If you're worried about dragons and grass, carry ice punch. You could also move some out of speed and in HP since with a choice band he'll be switching a lot, and in rain he has doubled speed which means he can outspeed MOST things unless they're packing a scarf or swift swim of their own.

Boiling Water/Refresh/Encore/Rest/Sleep Talk(on one moved from 4th Gen) could also be used for an annoying, bulky Poliwrath.

There are also some hilarious gimmick sets you could run with Hypnosis and Wake-Up Slap, but I would advise against it.
 
Poliwrath can't learn Stone Edge, just to point this out.

Anyway, here's a supporting Poliwrath set I threw together:
-Overhead Throw
-Hypnosis
-Waterfall
-Return
Nature: Impish
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD or Atk
Item: Leftovers

Overhead Throw provides pseudo-hazing; Hypnosis is for sleep support. Waterfall and Return provide neutral coverage together.
 
I think Wrath could use the BD set in the rain, since it won't need to boost it's speed with a pinch berry. It could find the time to use it while the opponent tries to run down rain turns by "resist switching." It's still pretty dangerous, but Belly Drum is a high risk - high reward move, whatever's using it.
 
Dan Dan said:
I think Wrath could use the BD set in the rain, since it won't need to boost it's speed with a pinch berry. It could find the time to use it while the opponent tries to run down rain turns by "resist switching." It's still pretty dangerous, but Belly Drum is a high risk - high reward move, whatever's using it.
Click to expand...


He could- but the life orb just exacerbates how quickly he'll go down. He only has 5 uses(4? I don't remember if LO activates on buff moves). He also drops down low enough that priority will drop him like nobody's business.

Leftovers or another item(expert belt, maybe? Muscle Band? i don't know) would give him more staying power.

The main problem would boil down to his stats being far too balanced though. His attack is nice, his speed is nice, and he has the tools to improve them, but he has to jump through some serious hoops to do it which lets him get checked rather hard.
 
If Stealth Rock isn't on the field, Skarmory will stop the BD set cold.

It will survive the +6 Waterfall with Sturdy and defeat it even with a Drill Peck, although if Poliwrath runs leftovers, it can still survive after a couple of leftover ticks.
With Brave Bird, however, this won't happen, but it will sacrifice Skarmory due to the recoil.

Also, you have to sent Skarmory in after Poliwrath defeats something.
 
What's Overhead throw do? Link me? And I believe the Bully Drum set could be a bit too powerful in UU, even though it is risky to use. Though, with the addition of Drought Ninetales, along with Hippopotas/Snover, in UU, it could spell disaster for his Speed boost. I'd use a Speed raising berry if I ran a Belly Drum set. Possibly put in Substitute to get me to that range. With or without Rain, if he sets up at the right moment, he's going to be taking at least one of the opponents Pokemon down if not the rest of the game.

It's basically just going to be using the Belly Drum set listed on its analysis, just with Swift Swim instead of Water Absorb. It's still pretty risky, though. I can barely, at times, pull off sending in my Kingdra in a Rain Dance team to come in, force a switch, DD on the switch, and in comes a weather changer to ruin my fun. To run the Belly Drum set with SS, best you make sure you defeat all the opponents weather changers.

Edit: Also, what the hell is 'Heavy Rain'?

~ Aether Nexus
 
Aether Nexus said:
What's Overhead throw do? Link me? And I believe the Bully Drum set could be a bit too powerful in UU, even though it is risky to use. Though, with the addition of Drought Ninetales, along with Hippopotas/Snover, in UU, it could spell disaster for his Speed boost. I'd use a Speed raising berry if I ran a Belly Drum set. Possibly put in Substitute to get me to that range. With or without Rain, if he sets up at the right moment, he's going to be taking at least one of the opponents Pokemon down if not the rest of the game.

It's basically just going to be using the Belly Drum set listed on its analysis, just with Swift Swim instead of Water Absorb. It's still pretty risky, though. I can barely, at times, pull off sending in my Kingdra in a Rain Dance team to come in, force a switch, DD on the switch, and in comes a weather changer to ruin my fun. To run the Belly Drum set with SS, best you make sure you defeat all the opponents weather changers.

Edit: Also, what the hell is 'Heavy Rain'?

~ Aether Nexus
Click to expand...

Overhead throw does dmg and chucks them out. It's basically Dragon Tail or Roar with dmg, fighting type.

Heavy rain is any rain. Just a typography thing iirc.
 
Poliwrath has its uses in a rain team, being the one rain sweeper which can switch safely into the nuisance that is Tyranitar. But Poliwrath is almost immediately outclassed by Kerudio which gets the exact same array of useful resistances along with superior stats and boosting options. If anything Poliwrath should stick to what it does best - a sturdy wall in the lower tiers with the ability to hit back hard when needed, with Overhead Throw complementing its defensive capabilities.
 
I still like Water Absorb, the speed helps but I ran a standard Focus Punch with Waterfall and Bulk Up and WA helped keep it alive. That set could be a decent switch in to all 4 non-uber weather-makers. Overhead Throw could replace FP
 
He could make quite an interesting supporter/wall thing. I always found encore along with bulk up really helped him to set up, and now with overhead throw, he could really be forcing some switches. I imagine spikes+toxic spikes+SR will really benefit as with any phazer.
 
Physical MixWrath @ Leftovers/Life Orb
192 Atk / 64 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Naive/Hasty
Ability: Swift Swim
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide/Ice Punch
- Boiling Water/Hydro Pump/Surf
- Brick Break/Ankle Sweep

Special MixWrath @ Leftovers/Life Orb
64 Atk / 192 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Naive/Hasty
Ability: Swift Swim
- Brick Break/Ankle Sweep
- Boiling Water/Hydro Pump/Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Ground/Grass (can't run Fire since it conflicts with Rain)

Cheery Poliwrath @ Leftovers/Life Orb
192 Atk / 64 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Naive/Hasty
Ability: Swift Swim
- Cheer Up
- Ice Punch/Rock Slide/Earthquake (coverage move slot)
- Brick Break
- Surf/Boiling Water/Hydro Pump

Will make descriptions later. I just threw these together, so please correct me if anything is wrong.
 
SlyShady said:
kerudio is different. it doesn't have swift swim or belly drum. they play COMPLETELY differently.
Click to expand...

Okok, my point is that Poliwrath is outclassed by other rain sweepers so it should mainly be serving a defensive role this generation. That's why I compared the two since with the exact same typing they have the exact same resistances. Statwise, 91/90/90 is comparable to 90/95/90. But Kerudio has more boosting options and a deeper offensive movepool.

Nobody's stopping you from using Swift Swim Poliwrath over Kabutops, Kingdra, Ludicolo or Armaldo. Nobody's stopping you from using mixed Poliwrath over Kerudio, Blaziken or Sazandora. I just feel that Poliwrath is going to be outclassed outside of a defensive role - as a bulky water with decent offences and a useful phazing move.
 
I dont know why everyone always focuses on the offensive sets of something first, especially when Poliwrath has such excellent defensive capabilities, and phazing is a new trick for it.

BU Phazer Poliwrath @ Leftovers
252 HP / 8 Def / 56 SpD / 192 Spe
Nature: Impish
Ability: Water Absorb
~ Substitute
~ Bulk Up
~ Waterfall
~ Overhead Throw

The basic idea is to set up a Substitute and then slowly begin a stat-up sweep, using Overhead Throw to rid yourself of any opposing Phazers or stat-up opponents. The speed is set to outrun the 4th Gen Taunt Skarmory. Most notably, behind a Substitute Poliwrath is immune to phazing from opposing Dragon Tail/Overhead Throw opponents, and if it is faster it can Bulk Up before their attack, preserving its Substitute more easily. Waterfall rounds out the set, offering fairly good coverage and STAB. The biggest issue with this set is that Water Absorb Burunkeru walls it entirely, so use it with a strong Pursuit Pokemon. Forunately, Burunkeru's only offensive option to get past Substitute is Shadow Ball or Energy Ball, which makes it easy for Scizor and Weavile to come in (Tyranitar is not recommended because Sandstorm nullifies Leftovers).
 
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