Pokemon GO Poliwhirl raid guide: Weaknesses, best counters, and more

Pokemon GO's Poliwag Community Day is almost here. The event will take place on July 30, 2023, from 2:00 pm local time to 5:00 pm local time and will mark the end of all events for the month of July. There will also be many event-special bonuses active during the period. The celebration of the Poliwag evolutionary line will continue even after the three-hour period, as Poliwhirl will appear in four-star raids.

The bonus Poliwhirl Raid Battles will take place between 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm local time on July 30, 2023. During this time, the Pokemon will take over Gyms near you. Catching it from these raids will help you get ahead on your journey to getting a Poliwrath or Politoed that knows the event-exclusive moves.

Taking down Poliwhirl should be easy enough if you know the right counters to it. This guide will tell you how to successfully defeat and capture Poliwhirl during Pokemon GO's July Community Day.

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Poliwhirl weaknesses in Pokemon GO

Poliwhirl in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

To know what creatures perform best against Poliwhirl, it is important to analyze Poliwhirl's elemental typing first. It is a pure Water-type Pocket Monster. This means it has only two weaknesses, Grass and Electric. Poliwhirl also resists Fire, Ice, Steel, and Water-type Attacks.

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Best counters for Poliwhirl in Pokemon GO

Kartana, Xurkitree and Zekrom (Image via Sportskeeda)

Poliwhirl will have Bubble or Mudshot as its Fast Attack. For Charged Attack, Poliwhirl can have Bubble Beam, Mud Bomb, and Water Pulse. Since neither of these moves are particularly threatening, you should be able to counter the critter easily with strong attackers and offensive Pokemon who resist Poliwhirl's attack.

Since Poliwhirl uses mostly Water-type attacks, a Grass or Electric-type Pocket Monster should give you sufficient advantage. However, you have to be careful of potential Ground-type attacks from Poliwhirl's side as well.

Considering these factors, the following Pokemon with these moves are the best counters for Poliwhirl:

• Kartana - Razor Leaf + Leaf Blade
• Xurkitree - Thunder Shock + Discharge/Power Whip
• Zekrom - Charge Beam + Fusion Bolt
• Thundurus (Therian) - Thunder Shock + Thunderbolt
• Deoxys (Attack) - Charge Beam + Thunderbolt
• Zarude - Vine Whip + Power Whip

With these Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, you have a strong chance of defeating Poliwhirl on your own. If you don't have Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon GO, you can still defeat Poliwhirl. However, you must team up with one or two raiders to ensure you don't waste Raid Passes.

The best non-legendary counters to Poliwhirl and their moves are:

• Electivire: Thunder Shock + Wild Charge
• Roserade: Razor Leaf + Solar Beam/Grass Knot
• Rillaboom: Razor Leaf + Grass Knot
• Magnezone: Spark + Wild Charge
• Tsareena: Magical Leaf + Grass Knot
• Luxray: Spark + Wild Charge

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More information about Poliwhirl Raid in Pokemon GO

The Poliwhirl raid will start once the main Community Day event is over at 5:00 pm local time and last till 10:00 pm on the day. You can only participate in these raids in-person using Raid Passes or Premium Battle Passes. Remote Raid Pass access will not be available for the Poliwhirl Raid in Pokemon GO.

Lastly, as a reward for defeating the raid, you will get more Poliwag spawns around the gym. These will have a higher chance of being shiny, just like the ones that appear during the three hours of the Community Day event.