PU Poliwrath

[asa]

[OVERVIEW]

Thanks to its interesting assortment of attributes, Poliwrath has a unique place in PU and can provide teams with incredibly useful role compression. On top of naturally taking on Scrafty and Aggron due to its typing and bulk, Poliwrath also checks opposing Water-types like Wishiwashi thanks to Water Absorb, which distinguishes it from Quagsire. Poliwrath's movepool is also solid, containing good offensive and defensive tools that let it function as either a powerful wallbreaker or a sturdy phazer. Beyond this, Poliwrath can potentially run other sets that make different use of its good traits, such as Choice Scarf, which mitigates its mediocre Speed tier. Despite being proficient in various areas, however, Poliwrath is not a master in any one of them. Poliwrath's meager offensive stats mean its damage output can be lackluster at times, which tends to make its defensive set even more passive. Poliwrath checks a lot of the tier, but common Pokemon like Espeon, Ribombee, and Charizard similarly threaten it. Finally, Poliwrath faces serious competition in its roles from more prevalent Pokemon. In terms of other wallbreakers, Basculin is faster and has access to priority and Flip Turn, while Jellicent can be harder to answer immediately due to Water Spout. As for defensive pivots, Lanturn and Wishiwashi more comfortably deal with Charizard and generate momentum for teams, while Scrafty can compensate for its passivity by setting up on opposing walls.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Liquidation
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Darkest Lariat
move 4: Earthquake / Poison Jab
item: Choice Band
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Common Water-resistant foes like Ferroseed find switching into Poliwrath difficult thanks to its powerful Close Combat. Darkest Lariat threatens Ghost-types like Jellicent, which otherwise walls Poliwrath, and Cofagrigus, which despises that the move also ignores Defense boosts. Earthquake deals more damage to Lanturn than Close Combat and also OHKOs Poison Point Qwilfish after Stealth Rock. Poison Jab is another option that hits Fairy-types like Silvally-Fairy and Aromatisse harder than any other move Poliwrath viably runs. Fire-types such as Charizard and Centiskorch are good offensive checks to Grass- and Fairy-types and can support Poliwrath by wearing down its checks with either status or coverage and, in Charizard's case, removing entry hazards. In return, Poliwrath protects them against Water-type attacks and pressures switch-ins to them like Audino and Aggron. Galarian Articuno can similarly check Grass-types on top of bringing Poliwrath in safely with U-turn punishing its switch-ins with Future Sight. In return, Poliwrath pressures special walls like Gigalith and Audino and offensively checks Pokemon like Sneasel and Glastrier.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Circle Throw
move 2: Scald
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Circle Throw prevents setup sweepers like Scrafty and Quagsire from switching in on and exploiting Poliwrath. Rest lets Poliwrath remain healthy so that it can switch into threats like Absol with more ease throughout the game, and Sleep Talk limits its passivity while it's sleeping. 96 Speed EVs allow Poliwrath to outspeed Adamant Aggron and Speed tie with Sandaconda. Spikes and Toxic Spikes become especially difficult to play around due to how disruptive Poliwrath can be, with Ferroseed and Weezing being premier users of these moves, respectively. The former offers Poliwrath safety against opposing Water-types like Lanturn and Wishiwashi, the latter keeps Grass-types like Whimsicott at bay, and both can check Fairy-types like Ribombee. As for Stealth Rock users, Gigalith is a notable example, since it also provides sand to further wear foes down and takes on Pokemon such as Charizard and Vikavolt. These entry hazard setters appreciate Poliwrath absorbing Knock Off and punishing threats like Scrafty looking to exploit them. Galarian Articuno can be devastating alongside Poliwrath thanks to Circle Throw, which may force a critical member of the opposing team to take heavy damage from or be KOed by Future Sight. In return, Poliwrath annoys Pokemon such as Alolan Sandslash and Sneasel that can switch into or revenge kill Galarian Articuno. Ghost-types such as Trevenant and Silvally-Ghost are really good at exploiting Poliwrath, which makes having teammates like Tangela that can deal with them important. Tangela also commonly runs Knock Off, which makes spreading residual damage easier for Poliwrath.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[asa, 400292]]
- Quality checked by: [[Milah, 563643], [avarice, 346653]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Astra, 240732]]

 

[Milah]

hey you, am check here

overview

• instead of throwing in random mons poli beats, i'd talk about water absorb and how it extends the pool of mons it can answer that separates it from what quag can check (basc, vish, wishiwashi) since otherwise they overlap in what they beat. also, i'd prefer a scrafty mention to sneasel since the former is more appealing wrt viability data.
• idk why residual damage reliance is framed as a downside, since a selling point is having access to a move that can abuse that with the right conditions on defensive sets.
• one of poli's flaws is competition but not w/ oddities like sawk atm. it's more so being a water-type that cannot check zard with a defensive set unlike the other waters mentioned, causing teams to stack weaknesses that said set struggles with (tsar, edelgoss, jellicent) since giga's a popular teammate for resttalk. going by 1630 aug/sept ladder stats + tour usage, jellicent also has much more traction than poli due to said reasoning + specs competing w/ it offensively, beating staples like weezing/tangela/qwil a lot easier. scrafty mention is fine otherwise though.
• wishi isn't passive -- it's the one water-type in pu that's partially defined by its potency w/ scald.

set (choice band)

• eq > pjab imo. 2hkoing ngas weezing and ohko rolls on ppoint qwil and lanturn is nice due to them being more common than fairyvally rn + banded cc already 2hkoing whim. pjab 2nd slash is fine tho
• i'd like adamant slashed! ada tsar usage is rather desolate compared to jolly for many meta-relevant reasons, and hitting weez harder w/ water stab, having favorable ohko rolls vs +1 spdef scrafty, hitting boosted conda harder and always 2hkoing quag are great traits

set comments (choice band)

• this section doesn't thoroughly explain how cb poli operates. emphasize how poli leverages its dual stab to smash water resists, with cc being it's main breaking tool otherwise. i'd forgo mentioning waterfall as your description is just rehashing searchable data and as a breaker it's obv you want more power.
• jolly outspeeds jolly centiskorch (but like tsar, its other viable nature is more common)
• arti-g's an amazing partner here too. retains defensive synergy + u-turn vs giga/steel switchins, and then there's the fs + fighter dynamic to punish weezing/tangela/qwil/etc switchins

set (defensive)

• swap moves 1 and 2. circle throw is this set's most important and unique feature.
• bold nature slash. circle throw power loss isn't relevant, while 2hkoing rh/knocked phys def sandaconda is based and makes checking coil more consistent. increased scald damage vs weezing is great too.

set comments (defensive)

• talk about how circle throw prevents boosters like scrafty and quag from taking advantage of the team
• this set doesn't highlight how prone it is to being exploited by ghost-types (jelli, cofag, trev, ghostvally, etc.) or teammates to deal like drampa, alolan persian, tangela, and weezing to varying degrees. some of these pokemon can remove items, which is another big component to hazard stacking/shuffling

 

[asa]

hi, after writing up cb and implementing the majority of the above am check (please wait until analyses are out of wip to do am checks in the future, btw), this is finally ready for qc :)

 

[Hera]

am check, comments in bold

Crazy frog

[OVERVIEW]

Thanks to its interesting assortment of attributes, Poliwrath has a unique place in PU and can provide teams with incredibly useful role compression. On top of naturally taking on Scrafty and Aggron, which other Water-types like Quagsire can do (this point makes it sound like more than one Water-type can take on Scrafty and Aggron, which only Quagsire and Poliwrath can do. I would suggest changing the sentence to make it sound less like that), Poliwrath also checks opposing Water-types like Basculin, Arctovish (rip), and Wishiwashi thanks to Water Absorb. Poliwrath's movepool is also solid, containing good offensive and defensive tools that let it function as either a threatening wallbreaker or a sturdy phazer. Beyond this, Poliwrath can potentially run other sets like Choice Scarf that use its good traits differently (Choice Scarf is mentioned nowhere else in the analysis, it feels very odd to include it here). Despite being proficient in various areas, however, Poliwrath is not a master in any one of them. Poliwrath's meager offensive stats mean its damage output can be lackluster at times, which is especially true of its defensive set (I would suggest you expand on why having lacking damage output on a defensive set is a bad thing, like making it too passive). Poliwrath checks a lot of the tier, but common Pokemon like Charizard, Tsareena, and Ribombee similarly threaten it. Finally, Poliwrath faces serious competition in its roles from more prevalent Pokemon. In terms of other wallbreakers, Basculin is faster and has access to priority and Flip Turn, while Jellicent can be harder to answer immediately due to Water Spout. As for defensive pivots, Lanturn and Wishiwashi more comfortably deal with Charizard and generate momentum for teams, while Scrafty can compensate for its passivity by setting up on opposing walls (and Knock).

This overview doesn't really say why Poliwrath is so valued for defensive compression. You make a mention at Water Absorb and phasing, but I don't see much on its typing, mixed bulk stats, and decent Speed tier for a defensive mon, which is what makes Poliwrath truly stand out imo. If nothing else, I suggest a mention on its malleable stats outside of a vague "master-of-none" statement.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Liquidation
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Darkest Lariat
move 4: Earthquake / Poison Jab
item: Choice Band
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Common Water-resistant foes like Ferroseed find switching into Poliwrath difficult thanks to its powerful Close Combat. Darkest Lariat threatens Ghost-types like Jellicent, which otherwise walls Poliwrath, and Cofagrigus, which despises that the move also ignores Defense boosts. Earthquake deals more damage to Lanturn than Close Combat and also OHKOs Poison Point Qwilfish after Stealth Rock. Poison Jab is another option that hits Fairy-types like Silvally-Fairy and Aromatisse harder than any other move Poliwrath viably runs (I would mention that PJab is also its strongest option against non-Ferro Grasses, like Tangela and Appletun). A Jolly nature lets Poliwrath outrun Adamant Tsareena and Jolly Centiskorch. Alternatively, Poliwrath can opt for an Adamant nature to always 2HKO Quagsire and potentially OHKO +1 Scrafty with Close Combat. Fire-types such as Charizard and Centiskorch are good offensive checks to Grass- and Fairy-types and can support Poliwrath by wearing down its checks with either status or coverage and, in Charizard's case, removing entry hazards. In return, Poliwrath protects them against Water-type attacks and pressures switch-ins to them like Audino and Aggron. Galarian Articuno can similarly check Grass-types on top of bringing Poliwrath in safely with U-turn punishing its switch-ins with Future Sight. In return, Poliwrath pressures special walls like Gigalith and Audino and offensively checks Dark-types like Absol (Sneasel feels like a better example here considering it resists both STABs + Absol's Psycho Cut can KO after minimal chip).

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Circle Throw
move 2: Scald
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Circle Throw prevents setup sweepers like Scrafty and Quagsire from switching in on and exploiting Poliwrath. (I would mention Scald here just to make the analysis flow better) Rest lets Poliwrath remain healthy so that it can switch into threats like Absol and Arctovish with more ease throughout the game, and Sleep Talk limits its passivity while it's sleeping. 96 Speed EVs allow Poliwrath to outspeed Adamant Aggron and Speed tie with Sandaconda (apparently you're not allowed to cross-references spreads for analyses unless they're max/max, but you're a QC member so you probably know more than me). Entry hazard setters are incredibly useful partners, since they make Circle Throw harder to switch into and compensate for Poliwrath's passivity. Spikes and Toxic Spikes become especially difficult to play around due to how disruptive Poliwrath can be, with Ferroseed and Weezing being premier users of these moves, respectively (I feel like these last two sentences can be compressed into something less wordy). The former offers Poliwrath safety against opposing Water-types like Lanturn and Wishiwashi, the latter keeps Grass-types like Tsareena at bay, and both can check Fairy-types like Ribombee. As for Stealth Rock users, Gigalith is a notable example, since it also provides sand to further wear foes down and takes on Pokemon such as Charizard and Vikavolt. These entry hazard setters appreciate Poliwrath absorbing Knock Off and punishing threats like Scrafty looking to exploit them. Galarian Articuno can be devastating alongside Poliwrath thanks to Circle Throw, which may force a critical member of the opposing team to take heavy damage from or be KOed by Future Sight. In return, Poliwrath annoys Pokemon such as Alolan Sandslash and Sneasel that can switch into or revenge kill Galarian Articuno. Ghost-types such as Trevenant and Silvally-Ghost are really good at exploiting Poliwrath, which makes having teammates like Drampa (rip) and Tangela that can deal with them important. The latter also commonly runs Knock Off, which makes spreading residual damage easier for Poliwrath.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[asa, 400292]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

 

[avarice]

asa, post: 8978092, member: 400292

[OVERVIEW]

Thanks to its interesting assortment of attributes, Poliwrath has a unique place in PU and can provide teams with incredibly useful role compression. On top of naturally taking on Scrafty and Aggron, which other Water-types like Quagsire can do, Poliwrath also checks opposing Water-types like Basculin, Arctovish, and Wishiwashi thanks to Water Absorb. Poliwrath's movepool is also solid, containing good offensive and defensive tools that let it function as either a threatening can prob tone this down wallbreaker or a sturdy phazer. Beyond this, Poliwrath can potentially run other sets like Choice Scarf that use its good traits differently maybe smth like scarf can patch up it's meh speed tier?. Despite being proficient in various areas, however, Poliwrath is not a master in any one of them. Poliwrath's meager offensive stats mean its damage output can be lackluster at times, which is especially true of its defensive set. Poliwrath checks a lot of the tier, but common Pokemon like Charizard, Tsareena, and Ribombee similarly threaten it. Finally, Poliwrath faces serious competition in its roles from more prevalent Pokemon. In terms of other wallbreakers, Basculin is faster and has access to priority and Flip Turn, while Jellicent can be harder to answer immediately due to Water Spout. As for defensive pivots, Lanturn and Wishiwashi more comfortably deal with Charizard and generate momentum for teams, while Scrafty can compensate for its passivity by setting up on opposing walls.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Liquidation
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Darkest Lariat
move 4: Earthquake / Poison Jab
item: Choice Band
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Jolly / Adamant feel like shouldn't slash ada w/ how big outspeeding ada tsar is now but not super against it
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Common Water-resistant foes like Ferroseed find switching into Poliwrath difficult thanks to its powerful Close Combat. Darkest Lariat threatens Ghost-types like Jellicent, which otherwise walls Poliwrath, and Cofagrigus, which despises that the move also ignores Defense boosts. Earthquake deals more damage to Lanturn than Close Combat and also OHKOs Poison Point Qwilfish after Stealth Rock. Poison Jab is another option that hits Fairy-types like Silvally-Fairy and Aromatisse harder than any other move Poliwrath viably runs. A Jolly nature lets Poliwrath outrun Adamant Tsareena and Jolly Centiskorch. Alternatively, Poliwrath can opt for an Adamant nature to always 2HKO Quagsire and potentially OHKO +1 Scrafty with Close Combat. Fire-types such as Charizard and Centiskorch are good offensive checks to Grass- and Fairy-types and can support Poliwrath by wearing down its checks with either status or coverage and, in Charizard's case, removing entry hazards. In return, Poliwrath protects them against Water-type attacks and pressures switch-ins to them like Audino and Aggron. Galarian Articuno can similarly check Grass-types like? on top of bringing Poliwrath in safely with U-turn punishing its switch-ins with Future Sight. In return, Poliwrath pressures special walls like Gigalith and Audino and offensively checks Dark-types like Absol.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Circle Throw
move 2: Scald
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Circle Throw prevents setup sweepers like Scrafty and Quagsire from switching in on and exploiting Poliwrath. Rest lets Poliwrath remain healthy so that it can switch into threats like Absol and Arctovish with more ease throughout the game, and Sleep Talk limits its passivity while it's sleeping. 96 Speed EVs allow Poliwrath to outspeed Adamant Aggron and Speed tie with Sandaconda. Entry hazard setters are incredibly useful partners, since they make Circle Throw harder to switch into and compensate for Poliwrath's passivity. Spikes and Toxic Spikes become especially difficult to play around due to how disruptive Poliwrath can be, with Ferroseed and Weezing being premier users of these moves, respectively. The former offers Poliwrath safety against opposing Water-types like Lanturn and Wishiwashi, the latter keeps Grass-types like Tsareena at bay, and both can check Fairy-types like Ribombee. As for Stealth Rock users, Gigalith is a notable example, since it also provides sand to further wear foes down and takes on Pokemon such as Charizard and Vikavolt. These entry hazard setters appreciate Poliwrath absorbing Knock Off and punishing threats like Scrafty looking to exploit them. Galarian Articuno can be devastating alongside Poliwrath thanks to Circle Throw, which may force a critical member of the opposing team to take heavy damage from or be KOed by Future Sight. In return, Poliwrath annoys Pokemon such as Alolan Sandslash and Sneasel that can switch into or revenge kill Galarian Articuno. Ghost-types such as Trevenant and Silvally-Ghost are really good at exploiting Poliwrath, which makes having teammates like Drampa and Tangela that can deal with them important. The latter also commonly runs Knock Off, which makes spreading residual damage easier for Poliwrath.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[asa, 400292]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

this is already p lengthy for a mini and I don't think it will need another check so can just count Milah's previous as an official
2/2

 

[asa]

implemented both ava's check and parts of the am check directly above it

 

[Astra]

add remove (comments)

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Thanks to its interesting assortment of attributes, Poliwrath has a unique place in PU and can provide teams with incredibly useful role compression. On top of naturally taking on Scrafty and Aggron due to its typing and bulk, Poliwrath also checks opposing Water-types like Wishiwashi thanks to Water Absorb, which distinguishes it from Quagsire. Poliwrath's movepool is also solid, containing good offensive and defensive tools that let it function as either a powerful wallbreaker or a sturdy phazer. Beyond this, Poliwrath can potentially run other sets that make different use of its good traits, such as Choice Scarf, which mitigates its mediocre Speed tier. Despite being proficient in various areas, however, Poliwrath is not a master in any one of them. Poliwrath's meager offensive stats mean its damage output can be lackluster at times, which tends to make its defensive set even more passive. Poliwrath checks a lot of the tier, but common Pokemon like Charizard, Tsareena, and Ribombee similarly threaten it. Finally, Poliwrath faces serious competition in its roles from more prevalent Pokemon. In terms of other wallbreakers, Basculin is faster and has access to priority and Flip Turn, while Jellicent can be harder to answer immediately due to Water Spout. As for defensive pivots, Lanturn and Wishiwashi more comfortably deal with Charizard and generate momentum for teams, while Scrafty can compensate for its passivity by setting up on opposing walls.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Liquidation
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Darkest Lariat
move 4: Earthquake / Poison Jab
item: Choice Band
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Common Water-resistant foes like Ferroseed find switching into Poliwrath difficult thanks to its powerful Close Combat. Darkest Lariat threatens Ghost-types like Jellicent, which otherwise walls Poliwrath, and Cofagrigus, which despises that the move also ignores Defense boosts. Earthquake deals more damage to Lanturn than Close Combat and also OHKOes Poison Point Qwilfish after Stealth Rock. Poison Jab is another option that hits Fairy-types like Silvally-Fairy and Aromatisse harder than any other move Poliwrath viably runs. A Jolly nature lets Poliwrath outrun Adamant Tsareena and Jolly Centiskorch. Alternatively, Poliwrath can opt for an Adamant nature to always 2HKO Quagsire and potentially OHKO +1 Scrafty with Close Combat. Fire-types such as Charizard and Centiskorch are good offensive checks to Grass- and Fairy-types and can support Poliwrath by wearing down its checks with either status or coverage and, in Charizard's case, removing entry hazards. In return, Poliwrath protects them against Water-type attacks and pressures switch-ins to them like Audino and Aggron. Galarian Articuno can similarly check Grass-types on top of bringing Poliwrath in safely with U-turn punishing its switch-ins with Future Sight. In return, Poliwrath pressures special walls like Gigalith and Audino and offensively checks Dark-types like Sneasel.

[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Circle Throw
move 2: Scald
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Circle Throw prevents setup sweepers like Scrafty and Quagsire from switching in on and exploiting Poliwrath. Rest lets Poliwrath remain healthy so that it can switch into threats like Absol with more ease throughout the game, and Sleep Talk limits its passivity while it's sleeping. 96 Speed EVs allow Poliwrath to outspeed Adamant Aggron and Speed tie with Sandaconda. Spikes and Toxic Spikes become especially difficult to play around due to how disruptive Poliwrath can be, with Ferroseed and Weezing being premier users of these moves, respectively. The former offers Poliwrath safety against opposing Water-types like Lanturn and Wishiwashi, the latter keeps Grass-types like Tsareena at bay, and both can check Fairy-types like Ribombee. As for Stealth Rock users, Gigalith is a notable example, since it also provides sand to further wear foes down and takes on Pokemon such as Charizard and Vikavolt. These entry hazard setters appreciate Poliwrath absorbing Knock Off and punishing threats like Scrafty looking to exploit them. Galarian Articuno can be devastating alongside Poliwrath thanks to Circle Throw, which may force a critical member of the opposing team to take heavy damage from or be KOed by Future Sight. In return, Poliwrath annoys Pokemon such as Alolan Sandslash and Sneasel that can switch into or revenge kill Galarian Articuno. Ghost-types such as Trevenant and Silvally-Ghost are really good at exploiting Poliwrath, which makes having teammates like Tangela that can deal with them important. The latter also commonly runs Knock Off, which makes spreading residual damage easier for Poliwrath.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[asa, 400292]]
- Quality checked by: [[Milah, 563643], [avarice, 346653]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

1/1 good job on this