Poliwrath vs Politoed: Which is better in Pokemon GO?

When Pokemon GO players are ready to evolve a Poliwhirl, they have two options available to them: either use 100 candies to obtain a Poliwrath or use 100 candies and a King's Rock to get a Politoed. While both Pocket Monsters have their strengths and weaknesses, which choice is better for battling in PvE and PvP? Most metrics point to Poliwrath being superior to its frog-like counterpart.

Although their base stats are somewhat comparable, Poliwrath has a second elemental type that allows it to deal Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) damage with both Water- and Fighting-type moves while having access to quality Ice and Ground-type attacks just like Politoed does.

Additionally, as a Water/Fighting-type critter, Poliwrath is better equipped to account for Pokemon GO Battle League foes.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the opinions of the writer

Also Check:- Pokemon Go Evolution Calculator

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Breaking down why Poliwrath is better than Politoed in Pokemon GO

Poliwrath bests Politoed in multiple Pokemon GO metrics (Image via The Pokemon Company)

When it comes to demonstrating Poliwrath's superiority over Politoed in Pokemon GO, it's best to examine their raw stats first. This includes their base stats, maximum CP, elemental types, and learnable moves, all of which can be found below:

Poliwrath

• Type: Water/Fighting
• Max CP: 2,923
• Base Attack: 182
• Base Defense: 184
• Base Stamina: 207
• Learnable Fast Moves: Bubble, Rock Smash, Mud Shot, Counter
• Learnable Charged Moves: Hydro Pump, Ice Punch, Dynamic Punch, Power-Up Punch, Scald, Icy Wind, Submission

Politoed

• Type: Water
• Max CP: 2,769
• Base Attack: 174
• Base Defense: 179
• Base Stamina: 207
• Learnable Fast Moves: Mud Shot, Bubble
• Learnable Charged Moves: Hydro Pump, Blizzard, Surf, Weather Ball (Water), Scald, Earthquake, Ice Beam

While both Pocket Monsters benefit from solid stats and access to moves of various elemental types in Pokemon GO, Poliwrath's stats are superior. It can activate STAB with both Water and Fighting-type attacks since it's a Water/Fighting-type critter.

Meanwhile, only Politoed's Water-type moves will benefit from the damage boost that STAB provides, slightly reducing its comparative firepower.

Politoed works best as a Water-type attacker in Pokemon GO (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Additionally, Poliwrath's improved base Defense stat means that if its IVs are equal with Politoed, it is more durable against enemy attacks. Granted, Poliwrath has more elemental weaknesses (Electric, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Psychic) compared to Politoed (Electric, Grass). However, a seasoned trainer will account for these vulnerabilities and only place Poliwrath in neutral or favorable battle situations.

Poliwrath and Politoed both have access to a varied collection of Fast and Charged Moves, ensuring that they can counter various enemy types based on their movesets. However, Poliwrath has access to Fighting-type attacks alongside its Ground, Water, and Ice-type arsenal. Meanwhile, Politoed can't use Fighting-type moves thus far, giving it inferior type coverage in combat.

When comparing the pure attacker movesets between the two, Poliwrath once again shows its improved capabilities. With Counter + Dynamic Punch, Poliwrath can deal 12.94 damage per second (DPS) and 396.82 total damage output (TDO, measured as how much damage a Pokemon can deal before fainting). Meanwhile, Politoed's Bubble + Weather Ball moveset deals 11.92 DPS and 356.20 TDO.

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All in all, while Politoed is certainly no slouch in battles (especially PvP where it can put its move selection to good use), Poliwrath simply has more to offer regardless of what form of battle trainers are participating in.

Plus, Poliwrath requires no King's Rock for evolution, making it the cheaper and more efficient evolution of Poliwhirl by nearly every metric.

Also Check:- Pokemon Type Calculator