Now you shall face my Wrath!
[Overview]
<p>While often overlooked due to its fellow amphibian—Politoed—acquiring Drizzle as a Dream World ability, Poliwrath is valid Pokemon in VGC in its own right. Sporting two water related abilities in Swift Swim and Water Absorb, it can function well on a rain team. Poliwrath's unique Water / Fighting typing and respectable movepool allow it to perform both offensive and support roles on a team. While its stats may be considered a bit too balanced at times, its exclusive access to having both Belly Drum and Swift Swim should not be underestimated. If you're looking for a risky strategy or a solid support Pokemon, give Poliwrath a try.</p>
[SET]
name: Belly Drum
move 1: Waterfall
move 2: Brick Break / Earthquake
move 3: Belly Drum
move 4: Protect
item: Sitrus Berry
nature: Adamant
ability: Swift Swim
evs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Poliwrath is neither particularly fast nor hard hitting, but these problems can be alleviated after a bit of setup. By using Belly Drum, Poliwrath skyrockets to a whopping 600 Attack, and with Swift Swim it will outrun just about anything while it is raining. Waterfall is Poliwrath's primary STAB move, dealing extra damage with the rain up. Brick Break acts as a seconday STAB move, providing decent coverage when used in tandem with Waterfall. Earthquake can be used instead of Brick Break, offering Poliwrath a way to hit multiple targets after powering up. Earthquake allows Poliwrath to take down Amoonguss and Jellicent after a Belly Drum, but it will lose its ability to KO Ludicolo and Abomasnow. Lastly, Protect allows Poliwrath to stop incoming attacks that will likely be directed at it.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>84 Speed EVs provide Poliwrath with 101 Speed, allowing it to outrun positive natured base 130 Speed Pokemon in the rain. 168 HP EVs keeps Poliwrath's HP as an even number, allowing its Sitrus Berry to activate immediately upon the usage of Belly Drum. The remainder of the EVs go into maximizing Poliwrath's Attack, while the leftover few EVs go into its remaining defenses. Belly Drum is a risky strategy, and might require a bit of team effort to pull off successfully. If you feel that it is too risky, Belly Drum can be replaced with Earthquake, and its Sitrus Berry swapped out for a Life Orb, Water Gem or Fighting Gem, transforming Poliwrath into a simple rain sweeper.</p>
<p>Even at +6 Attack, Poliwrath will not OHKO everything in sight; Pokemon such as Latios and Metagross have a chance to survive, while Latias and Cresselia can survive Poliwrath's attack with some room to spare. However, the story changes if it is raining, as all of the mentioned Pokemon will be crushed under the weight of a +6 Waterfall in the rain.</p>
<p>Poliwrath will often require either rain or Tailwind support in order to do some real sweeping; without one of them, it simply isn't fast enough. Thundurus and Politoed are good Pokemon to accompany Poliwrath, as they can get the rain up fairly easily in the battle. Since Belly Drum cuts a bit into Poliwrath's survival, it is likely that it will need some extra support to bring itself up to +6. Follow Me or Rage Powder users, such as Togekiss and Amoonguss, respectively, can make it a lot easier to execute Belly Drum successfully. Likewise, Pokemon with Fake Out, such as Hitmontop or Ludicolo, can stop threats to Poliwrath as it sets itself up.</p>
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Waterfall
move 2: Brick Break
move 3: Icy Wind
move 4: Helping Hand / Protect
item: Sitrus Berry
nature: Careful
ability: Water Absorb
evs: 252 HP / 180 Atk / 76 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This Poliwrath is designed to play a supporting role on a team. Waterfall and Brick Break allow Poliwrath to show a bit of offensive presence, utilizing its unique Water / Fighting typing to its advantage. Icy Wind slows the opposing team down, allowing slower Pokemon to gain an upper hand in the battle. Helping Hand allows Poliwrath to strengthen its ally's attacks, which is especially useful if its ally runs Surf. Protect may be used instead of Helping Hand, allowing Poliwrath to defend itself from attacks if needed.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Poliwrath's EVs allow it to survive a Dragon Gem-boosted Draco Meteor from a Timid Latios. The remainder of the EVs are then placed into Attack to add more power to its moves. Holding a Sitrus Berry further improves upon Poliwrath's survivability, but a type-resist berry, such as a Wacan or Coba Berry, can act as acceptable substitutes.</p>
<p>Due to having Water Absorb, a partner that runs Surf, such as Ludicolo or Politoed, can be effective, as Poliwrath can heal itself from the attack while it deals significant damage against its foes, especially after a Helping Hand boost. Other Pokemon with powerful spread moves, such as Abomasnow or Chandelure, can also work well, as Poliwrath can either power up their attacks with Helping Hand or slow down the opponents with Icy Wind, allowing its partner to outrun the opponents.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Poliwrath's third ability, Damp, can be used to prevent the opponent from using Explosion. However, with the nerf to Explosion in BW, it isn't nearly as potent as it was in past years. Poliwrath can run Ice Punch, allowing to it fare better against Dragon-type Pokemon, but keep in mind that Ice Punch in combination with Swift Swim is currently illegal. Low Sweep can be used as an alternative to Brick Break; while it is weaker than Brick Break, Low Sweep's secondary effect is more useful. Payback can allow Poliwrath to strike hard against Latios and Cresselia, both of whom normally take Poliwrath's attacks with ease. Circle Throw can be used to phase out Trick Room users. Rain Dance can be used, allowing Poliwrath to manually set up the rain for the team. Hypnosis can catch the opponent off guard, sending an opponent off to bed, but with only 60% accuracy it is a risky move to use. Lastly, Encore can be used by Poliwrath as a way to disrupt the opponent, locking them into their previously used move.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>As long as Poliwrath hasn't set up, or lacks rain on the battlefield, it isn't too difficult to deal with. Electric-type Pokemon, Zapdos and Rotom-W in particular, don't take too much from Poliwrath's attacks and can zap it with Thunderbolt. Other Swift Swim users, such as Ludicolo and Kingdra, will always outrun Poliwrath and can hit it hard with Giga Drain or Draco Meteor respectively. Dragon-type Pokemon such as Latios, Salamence, and Latias resist all of Poliwrath's main offensive moves, allowing them to reliably take on the tadpole, as long as it hasn't used Belly Drum. Lastly, Jellicent is immune to both of Poliwrath's STAB moves, and cannot be harmed if Poliwrath does not run Earthquake. Don't get overconfident, though; resisting Poliwrath's main attacks doesn't stop Poliwrath from supporting its ally with either Helping Hand or Icy Wind.</p>
