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Poliwag and its evolutions are all Water-type Pokemon that made their debut in the first and second generation ofPokemon. 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 withPokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet, trainers may want to know how they can obtain them for the Kitakami Pokedex.
The Teal Mask is the first part ofPokemon 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/Violettrainers will also need to start the Treasure Hunt before they can access the Teal Mask’s exclusive content - including the Poliwag-line.
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How to Get Poliwag
Poliwag can be found by theriver south of Reveler’s Road, which iseast of Mossui Town. Poliwag prefers to swim in the waters or walk along the bank, so it’s recommended thatScarlet/Violetplayers unlock Koraidon/Miraidon’s Swim Ability. Depending on where players are at in their playthrough, the Poliwag’s level will differ. If trainers aregoing straight to Kitakami from the post-game, the Poliwag will be aroundlevel 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 toGrass-typeandElectric-typemoves. 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 useif the Poliwag is in waterat the time of the encounter.
How to Get Poliwhirl (How to Evolve Poliwag)
Once it reacheslevel 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 intoPoliwrathorPolitoed.
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How to Get Poliwrath
Poliwhirl will evolve into theWater/Fighting-type Poliwrathwhen exposed to aWater Stone. When Poliwhirl evolves into Poliwrath, it will learn the moveDynamic Punch. This is a Fighting-type move that deals100 damage, but it only has5PPand an accuracy of50%. 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 nearbodies of water. If players havethree Gym Badges, they can buy a Water Stone for 3000 in the General section ofDelibird Presents.
Players don’thaveto 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 Poliwrathrequires 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 candeal super-effective damage to Normal, Steel, Rock,andIce-type Pokemon. On the downside, this means it has a weakness toFlying, Psychic,andFairy-typemoves in addition to Electric and Grass-types.
Stat-wise, Poliwrath is actuallyslowerthan Poliwhirl and Poliwag. Here’s what its stat spread looks like compared to Poliwhirl:
65
90
95
50
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 aKing’s Rockand have Nintendo Online Membership. To get Politoed, players need toGive a King’s Rock to Poliwhirl, and thenfind someone to Tradethe 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 aLink Trade. This will generate aLink Codethat 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 havefour Gym Badges.Another way to get a King’s Rockis 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.
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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 viaPokemon 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 cansend it toPokemon HOME. To do this, they’ll need to link/log in to theirHOMEaccount throughGO. Here’s what to do:
As long as players haveGO 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 intoPokemon HOMEon the Nintendo Switch. Retrieve the Pokemon sent fromGOby selecting thePokemon GOicon, and move it to the Basic Box. From there, access eitherScarletorViolet, and move Politoed from Basic Box to a PC Box.
A Politoed retrieved fromPokemon GOcannot be nicknamed, as its Trainer ID will be different from theScarlet/VioletTrainer ID. It also means that its Friendship level will always reset if it’s traded back toScarlet/Violet.
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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:
75
100
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 Weaknessesare 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.
