Pokemon GO Poliwrath PvP and PvE guide: Best moveset, counters, and more

The recent conclusion of August's Community Day event in Pokemon GO has left a lot of trainers with the two distinct final forms for the spotlight creature, Poliwag. While most players have come to prefer Politoed, some may want to give the more easily accessible final evolution, Poliwrath, a fair chance in the battling scene.

However, not many players know much about Poliwrath, considering that Politoed is seen as the better form. As such, these trainers may have to do their fair share of research to see how they can make use of Poliwrath, one of the Pokemon franchise's original Water-type Pokemon.

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Is Poliwrath good in Pokemon GO PvP?

Poliwrath as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Ever since the Community Day event, Poliwrath has been faring well in the game's competitive scene. Thanks to it now having access to Counter, one of the best fast attacks in the game, Poliwrath has gained a loyal following of trainers, with many even claiming that it is currently better than Politoed.

Of course, with its claim to fame being its new access to Counter, you will want to make sure they have one with this attack. For those who missed out on getting one for free from the event, there is still hope. You can teach your Poliwrath Counter through the use of an Elite Fast TM. These items can be found most commonly in the Battle League.

In addition to Counter, Poliwrath works best with Scald and Ice Punch for its two Charged Attacks. This particular combination not only grants Poliwrath a bevy of strong attacks but also some decent coverage, with Ice Punch letting it deal with Grass and Flying-types that would normally give it a hard time in Pokemon GO.

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Is Poliwrath good in Pokemon GO PvE?

Poliwrath's Pokedex picture from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Poliwrath is not necessarily a bad choice to use for Pokemon GO's raids and NPC battles. However, in these types of situations, using Poliwrath is simply suboptimal. In formats without restrictions, such as PvE content, there is nothing that forbids you from stacking your teams with all Legendaries. As such, it would always be a better idea to just use a Water-type Legendary like Kyogre instead.

If you do not have access to such Water-types, Poliwrath can suffice, but it may struggle in 5-star or Mega raids. This is due to the creature's relatively low stat pool compared to other creatures. Other more mid-tier Water-types typically have Mega Evolutions to compensate for this, but Poliwrath has no such option.

If you are still adamant about using Poliwrath for Raid Battles, a moveset of Dynamic Punch and Counter is preferred as it provides a solid blend of both attack for glass-cannon bosses and defense for tankier bosses.

Overall, Poliwrath is one of Pokemon GO's many sleeper picks in both PvP and PvE. The creature is another common case of Niantic breathing new life and relevancy into an old monster with just a slight touch-up to their moveset through the monthly Community Day events.