Poliwag (Pokémon): Difference between revisions

← #059: Arcanine	Pokémon	#061: Poliwhirl →
This article is about the species. For a specific instance of this species, see Poliwag (disambiguation).

Poliwag ニョロモ Nyoromo #060 Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Type Water Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown
Abilities Water Absorb or Damp Cacophony Cacophony Swift Swim Hidden Ability Cacophony Hidden Ability Cacophony Cacophony
Gender ratio Unknown 50% male, 50% female	Catch rate 255 (43.9%)
Breeding Egg Group Water 1 Hatch time 21 cycles
Height 2'00" 0.6 m Poliwag 0'0" 0 m {{{form2}}} 0'0" 0 m {{{form3}}} 0'0" 0 m {{{form4}}}	Weight 27.3 lbs. 12.4 kg Poliwag 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form2}}} 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form3}}} 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form4}}}
Mega Stone [[|]] [[|]]
Base experience yield 77 Gen. I-IV Unknown IV 60 V+	Leveling rate Medium Slow
EV yield Total: 1 Poliwag 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 1 Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed
Shape	Footprint {{{form2}}}
Pokédex color   Blue	Base friendship 70
External Links On Smogon Pokédex: Generation I Generation II Generation III Generation IV Generation V Generation VI Generation VII Generation VIII Generation IX Artwork on Bulbagarden Archives

Poliwag (Japanese: ニョロモ Nyoromo) is a Water-type Pokémon.

It evolves into Poliwhirl starting at level 25, which evolves into Poliwrath when exposed to a Water Stone or into Politoed when traded holding a King's Rock.

Biology

Poliwag resembles a blue, spherical tadpole. It has large eyes and pink lips. There is a black and white swirl on its abdomen, which are actually its innards showing through its semitransparent skin. The swirl looks clearer after it eats, and the skin is very elastic so that it will not break if the Pokémon is bitten. The direction of the belly spiral differs by area, with the equator being thought to have an effect on this. It has newly developed legs that still are not used to walking, but no arms. Its long, mostly transparent tail makes it a powerful swimmer. Because of its ineptitude on land, Poliwag is more likely to be found swimming in small freshwater ponds and lakes. In the anime, Poliwag feeds on salveyo weed, which can only be found on clear lake bottoms.

In the anime

Major appearances

Misty's Poliwag

Misty had a Poliwag that eventually evolved into a Poliwhirl and then a Politoed.

Other

One of the Pokémon used at the Pokémon Trainer's School in Gonna Rule The School was a Poliwag. Max used it in a battle. It helped defeat Team Rocket later on.

A Poliwag also made an appearance in Like It Or Lup It!.

Minor appearances

Poliwag first appeared in Primeape Goes Bananas.

Poliwag also appeared in the banned episode EP035.

A Poliwag appeared in A Chansey Operation and The Breeding Center Secret.

Multiple Poliwag were among the Pokémon seen at Professor Oak's Laboratory in Showdown at the Po-ké Corral.

Poliwag also appeared in Pallet Party Panic, at a party among other Pokémon.

A Poliwag was among the Pokémon controlled by Cassidy and Butch in Pikachu Re-Volts.

A Poliwag appeared in Marina's fantasy in Bye Bye Psyduck.

A Poliwag under the ownership of an unnamed Trainer was treated by Nurse Joy in The Joy of Pokémon.

Multiple Poliwag also appeared in The Power of One and Pokémon Heroes.

Four Poliwag were among the Pokémon competing in the Fire and Rescue Grand Prix in The Fire-ing Squad!.

A Poliwag was one of the inhabitants of an oasis just for Pokémon in Got Miltank?.

A Poliwag was seen in Octillery The Outcast, under the ownership of an unknown Trainer.

A Poliwag made a brief appearance in Dueling Heroes.

A Poliwag was seen at a Pokémon Center in The Legend of Thunder!.

Lola has a Poliwag as seen in A Family That Battles Together Stays Together!. In that episode, Flint revealed that the reason he had fallen in love with Lola was the precision of her Poliwag's Hydro Pump against his Graveler, now a Golem.

A Poliwag appeared in The Saffron Con as a Pokémon owned by a Coordinator.

A Poliwag appeared in Curbing the Crimson Tide!, and another in Up Close and Personable!.

Multiple Poliwag were owned by a family of traveling circus performers in Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea.

A Poliwag also appeared in One Big Happiny Family! in Jessie's fantasy.

A Poliwag appeared in Bagged Then Tagged!.

Multiple Poliwag made a brief appearance in Coming Full-Festival Circle!.

A Poliwag made a very brief appearance in League Unleashed!.

A Poliwag appeared in BW142.

Pokédex entries

In the manga

Poliwag in Pokémon Adventures

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Main article: Poli

Main article: Polibo

Poliwag makes a cameo in Bulbasaur, Come Home! as one of the Pokémon that escapes from Professor Oak's Laboratory.

In Danger: High Voltorb, a flashback shows Red's Poliwhirl, Poli, as a Poliwag. It has since evolved into Poliwrath.

Gold has a Poliwag in Murkrow Row, one of the many Pokémon raised in the house he lived in. It was lost when Team Rocket stole Gold's backpack and its Poké Ball was lost when fell into the water. Gold eventually retrieved Poliwag at the Famous Fishing Zone from a wild Granbull that was stealing to draw attention so that it could get its jaw healed. It evolved into Poliwhirl in Ampharos Amore and then evolved straight into Politoed utilizing a trade with its held King's Rock.

In the Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All manga

Shū has a Poliwag in the Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All manga.

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga

Main article: Misty's Politoed

Misty is shown with a Poliwag in Clefairy Tale. It later evolved into a Poliwhirl.

In the Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire manga

Ruby has a Poliwag at his house as seen in Something Happened!! Let's Go After Pikachu!!.

In the TCG

Main article: Poliwag (TCG)

In the TFG

One Poliwag figure has been released.

• Groundbreakers: Poliwag

Game data

NPC appearances

• Pokémon Pinball: A Poliwag appears on the Blue Table, and earns the player points when it is hit.

Pokédex entries

Game locations

In side games

In events

Held items

Stats

Base stats

Pokéathlon stats

Type effectiveness

Learnset

By leveling up

By TM/HM

Generation V Other generations: I - II - III - IV - VI - VII - VIII - IX
TM		Move	Type	Cat.	Pwr.	Acc.	PP
	TM06	Toxic	Poison	Status	0000—	090}}90%	10
	TM07	Hail	Ice	Status	0000—	—}}—%	10
	TM10	Hidden Power	Normal	Special	0000—	100}}100%	15
	TM13	Ice Beam	Ice	Special	09595	100}}100%	10
	TM14	Blizzard	Ice	Special	120120	070}}70%	5
	TM17	Protect	Normal	Status	0000—	—}}—%	10
	TM18	Rain Dance	Water	Status	0000—	—}}—%	5
	TM21	Frustration	Normal	Physical	0000—	100}}100%	20
	TM27	Return	Normal	Physical	0000—	100}}100%	20
	TM28	Dig	Ground	Physical	08080	100}}100%	10
	TM29	Psychic	Psychic	Special	09090	100}}100%	10
	TM32	Double Team	Normal	Status	0000—	—}}—%	15
	TM42	Facade	Normal	Physical	07070	100}}100%	20
	TM44	Rest	Psychic	Status	0000—	—}}—%	10
	TM45	Attract	Normal	Status	0000—	100}}100%	15
	TM46	Thief	Dark	Physical	04040	100}}100%	10
	TM48	Round	Normal	Special	06060	100}}100%	15
	TM55	Scald	Water	Special	08080	100}}100%	15
	TM87	Swagger	Normal	Status	0000—	090}}90%	15
	TM90	Substitute	Normal	Status	0000—	—}}—%	10
	HM03	Surf	Water	Special	09595	100}}100%	15
	HM05	Waterfall	Water	Physical	08080	100}}100%	15
	HM06	Dive	Water	Physical	08080	100}}100%	10
Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Poliwag Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Poliwag Click on the generation numbers at the top to see TM moves from other generations

By breeding

Generation V Other generations: II - III - IV - VI - VII - VIII - IX
Father	Move	Type	Cat.	Pwr.	Acc.	PP
	BubbleBeam	Water	Special	65	100%	20
	Encore	Normal	Status	—	100%	5
	Endeavor	Normal	Physical	—	100%	5
	Endure	Normal	Status	—	—%	10
	Haze	Ice	Status	—	—%	30
	Ice Ball	Ice	Physical	30	90%	20
	Mind Reader	Normal	Status	—	—%	5
	Mist	Ice	Status	—	—%	30
	Mud Shot	Ground	Special	55	95%	15
	Refresh	Normal	Status	—	—%	20
	Splash	Normal	Status	—	—%	40
	Water Pulse	Water	Special	60	100%	20
	Water Sport	Water	Status	—	—%	15
Moves marked with an asterisk (*) must be chain bred onto Poliwag in Generation V Moves marked with a double dagger (‡) can only be bred from a Pokémon who learned the move in an earlier generation. Moves marked with a superscript game abbreviation can only be bred onto Poliwag in that game. Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Poliwag Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution of Poliwag Click on the generation numbers at the top to see Egg moves from other generations

By tutoring

Dream World moves

TCG-only moves

Side game data

Pokémon Pinball     Acquisition: Catch		Pokémon Pinball RS  N/A  Not available		Pokémon Trozei!    Rarity: Common
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team File:MDP RT 060.png Body size: 1 Recruit rate: 8.1% Friend Area: Tadpole Pond Phrases 51%-100% HP It's easier for me in the water! 26%-50% HP I only have half my HP left... 1%-25% HP No more, please... I'm nearly fainting... Help... Level up Yippee! I leveled up! I'm so happy! Partner phrases 51%-100% HP <name>, my HP is between 51% and 100%. 26%-50% HP <name>, my HP is between 26% and 50%. 1%-25% HP <name>, my HP is between 1% and 25%. Level up Yippee! I leveled up! I'm so happy!
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness, and Explorers of Sky Body size: 1 Recruit rate: 6.4% IQ group: F
Pokémon Ranger Group:  Water  Poké Assist: ( Water ) Field move: (Soak ×1) Loops: 4 Min. exp.: 20 Max. exp.: 30 Browser entry   If Poliwag spots a Ranger, it becomes startled and dives underwater.
Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia Group:  Normal  Poké Assist: None Field move: None Browser entry   This Pokémon does not have a browser entry.
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs Group: Poké Assist: Field move:  Normal  None Past ( Normal ) None Past (Electrify ×1) Browser entry   This Pokémon does not have a browser entry.
Pokémon Rumble Attack ● Defense ● Speed ●●● Attack Not Available Defense Speed			Pokémon Rumble Blast Attack ● Defense ● Speed ●●● Attack Not Available Defense Speed Attack Not Available Defense Speed Attack Not Available Defense Speed
PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure PokéPark Pad entry: This Pokémon has no PokéPark Pad entry.
PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond Strong: {{{Park2strong}}} Weak: {{{Park2weak}}} PokéPark Pad entry: This Pokémon has no PokéPark Pad entry.
Pokémon Conquest HP: Move: {{{ConquestMove}}} Attack: Ability 1: {{{ConquestAbility1}}} Defense: Ability 2: {{{ConquestAbility2}}} Speed: Ability 3: {{{ConquestAbility3}}} Does not evolve. Range: 0 Perfect Links: {{{ConquestLink}}}

Evolution

Unevolved Poliwag  Water	Level 25 →	First evolution Poliwhirl  Water	Water Stone →	Second evolution Poliwrath  Water  Fighting
			Trade holding King's Rock →	Second evolution Politoed  Water

Sprites

Gen	Game
I	Red	Blue	Yellow		Red (Ja)	Green	Back
II	Gold	Silver	Crystal				Back
III	Ruby	Sapphire	Emerald		FireRed	LeafGreen	Back
IV	Diamond	Pearl	Platinum		HeartGold	SoulSilver	Back
V	Black	White	Black 2	White 2			Back

For other sprites and images, please see Poliwag images on Bulbagarden Archives.

Trivia

• Poliwag is the favorite Pokémon of Satoshi Tajiri.
• In its FireRed Pokédex entry, it is stated Poliwag has black skin. The Ruby and Sapphire Pokédex entry for Poliwhirl states that Poliwhirl's skin is covered in oily fluid - if the same applies to Poliwag, it might be a case similar to the common bilberry: the berry itself is black but covered in a wax-like coating that makes it look blue.
• In The Official Pokémon Handbook, published by Scholastic, the back cover says "Did you know that the swirls on Poliwhirl's stomach changes direction when it evolves into Poliwag?" However, Poliwhirl evolves from, not into, Poliwag.
• Generation V changed Poliwag's base Experience yield from 77 to 60, making it the only Pokémon whose base Experience yield is the same as its National Dex number.
• Poliwag shares its species name with Poliwhirl, Poliwrath, and Tympole. They are all known as the Tadpole Pokémon.
• In the games, Poliwag and Ditto have the same cry.
• A prototype design of Poliwag was shown on Game Freak's official Japanese website.

Origin

Poliwag is based on a tadpole. The spiral pattern on its belly is supposed to represent how the organs of tadpoles are sometimes seen through their transparent skin.

Name origin

Poliwag is a corruption of polliwog (outdated term for tadpole). Wag may refer to its long tail, although it is worth noting that polliwog literally means "head-wiggle."

Nyoromo may be a combination of ニョロニョロ nyoronyoro (the sound of slithering) and 子供 kodomo (child).

In other languages

Language Title Meaning Japanese ニョロモ Nyoromo From ニョロニョロ nyoronyoro and 子供 kodomo French Ptitard From petit and têtard Spanish Poliwag Same as English name German Quapsel From Kaulquappe Italian Poliwag Same as English name Korean 발챙이 Balchaeng'i From 발 bal and 올챙이 olchaeng'i Mandarin Chinese 蚊香蝌蚪 Wénxiāngkēdǒu From 蚊香 and 蝌蚪 Cantonese Chinese 蚊香蝌蚪 Mānhēungfōdáu From 蚊香 and 蝌蚪

More languages

Related articles

• Misty's Poliwag

External links

Notes

← #059: Arcanine

Pokémon

#061: Poliwhirl →

This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon as a species.