Gen 1 Poliwrath (Mini) [QC 2/2] [GP 0/2]

[Amaranth]

[OVERVIEW]

Poliwrath's ugly typing and unremarkable stats give it a lot of trouble in RBY OU, but access to the rare Amnesia gives it a real niche as a wallbreaker. Unlike Amnesia users such as Slowbro and Snorlax, Poliwrath lacks the stats and typing to become unbreakable, but its Speed gives it a niche over them. Poliwrath outspeeds Exeggutor and can nail it with Blizzard after some chip damage, rather than having to fear Sleep Powder and Explosion like the other Amnesia users in the tier. It also possesses immediate threats against Chansey in the form of Hypnosis and Submission, which OHKOes with a critical hit.

However, while Poliwrath possesses these advantages over Slowbro, it suffers from all of Slowbro's flaws and more. It needs a lot of setup to break past Starmie and Chansey, which often threaten it with Thunderbolt, and it is vulnerable to Psychic, making Pokemon like Alakazam and Jynx much more problematic than they are for Slowbro. Like Slowbro, even after setting up, Poliwrath needs to watch for enemy Explosions that can stop the party before it even starts. Perhaps most importantly of all, Slowbro is able to heal itself throughout the game and provide utility thanks to superior defensive stats paired with Thunder Wave, while Poliwrath does not possess the bulk nor the movepool to be anything other than a one-time breaker.

Nevertheless, Poliwrath's Hydro Pumps deal incredible damage after only a few turns of Amnesia, which it can often find against paralyzed or sleeping foes, and it is capable of taking down multiple Pokemon in a single game if its primary checks, usually Starmie and Chansey, are either KOed by teammates or statused and weakened enough to be handled by Poliwrath itself. While inconsistent, Poliwrath is a Pokemon that can lead to good results if you build towards its strengths.

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Blizzard / Hypnosis
move 4: Hypnosis / Submission / Surf

[SET COMMENTS]

Poliwrath's viability in OU revolves around the combination of Amnesia and Hydro Pump. All would-be checks fall to it if they allow enough free turns: Starmie has great odds to be 2HKOed at +4, Alakazam is 2HKOed at +2 and OHKOed at +6, and even Chansey cannot survive two +6 Hydro Pumps. Other Pokemon that may attempt to finish off a weakened or crippled Poliwrath are also significantly easier to take down with Hydro Pump than with Surf: Snorlax is OHKOed by +6 Hydro Pump but always stomachs a +6 Surf, while +4 is enough to drop Tauros. While the prospects of Hydro Pump's accuracy and PP will understandably scare players off, the favorable ranges this move reaches are simply too important.

In the third slot, a tool against Exeggutor is highly recommended: Blizzard will hit for over half its HP after a single Amnesia, but if the team has no plans to put any other foes to sleep, then Hypnosis is also a valid way of threatening it, while also doubling as a way for Poliwrath to give itself free turns. For the last slot, many options are viable: Submission provides an immediate critical hit OHKO threat on Chansey, though the accuracy and recoil make it fairly inconsistent, while Surf's accuracy can be appreciated in specific scenarios where the extra damage from Hydro Pump is not required. Other options such as Body Slam, Counter, Psychic, and Rest can also have merits in very specific scenarios but are strongly discouraged, as they do not contribute to Poliwrath's primary purpose as a wallbreaker.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Amaranth, 265630]]
- Quality checked by: [[May, 236353], [shiloh, 211471]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Sabelette, 583793], [autumn, 384270]]

 

[Prof_J]

Is this still being worked on? In either case, I wanted to drop an opinion in as a fellow Battletoad enthusiast.
Submission shouldn't be considered droppable on the main set. A mixed sweeper with Amnesia, that has a physical STAB that threatens the best mons in the game is a great niche that nothing else fills. Even if you can't get a chance to set up, you take big chunks off of big meta threats. Submission gets a 2HKO on Chansey, 3HKO on Snorlax and Cloyster, and does 46.1% to Tauros at minimum. The move is not consistent, but neither is Hydro Pump. This whole mon in general isn't; you are taking quite a risk using Poliwrath anyway.
The main set should look like:

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Submission
move 4: Blizzard/Hypnosis/Surf

If you're going to use Poliwrath for Amnesia + 3 special attacks, you're just using a worse Golduck with more defense (for quick stat comparison: Duck is 80/82/78/80/85 and Wrath is 90/85/95/70/70). And Slowbro is still better than both of them. I feel that if you're going to commit to using something as out there as Poliwrath, you should use it for the attributes that make it unique. Granted, Hypnosis makes it unique too. However, if properly supported, you have a better sleeper that already put something out and your opponent is keeping it in back. If I couldn't use both I'd prioritize Submission over Hypnosis since in my experience, I never get to put another thing to sleep and getting in one big hit before he goes down is the best (or only) contribution Poliwrath can make in a match sometimes.
What this also means is that say, if you consider the above the "main set" and go with Surf as a fourth, he can't immediately threaten Eggy. But ideally other members of the team cover for that.

 

[Amaranth]

Is this still being worked on? In either case, I wanted to drop an opinion in as a fellow Battletoad enthusiast.
Submission shouldn't be considered droppable on the main set. A mixed sweeper with Amnesia, that has a physical STAB that threatens the best mons in the game is a great niche that nothing else fills. Even if you can't get a chance to set up, you take big chunks off of big meta threats. Submission gets a 2HKO on Chansey, 3HKO on Snorlax and Cloyster, and does 46.1% to Tauros at minimum. The move is not consistent, but neither is Hydro Pump. This whole mon in general isn't; you are taking quite a risk using Poliwrath anyway.
The main set should look like:

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Submission
move 4: Blizzard/Hypnosis/Surf

If you're going to use Poliwrath for Amnesia + 3 special attacks, you're just using a worse Golduck with more defense (for quick stat comparison: Duck is 80/82/78/80/85 and Wrath is 90/85/95/70/70). And Slowbro is still better than both of them. I feel that if you're going to commit to using something as out there as Poliwrath, you should use it for the attributes that make it unique. Granted, Hypnosis makes it unique too. However, if properly supported, you have a better sleeper that already put something out and your opponent is keeping it in back. If I couldn't use both I'd prioritize Submission over Hypnosis since in my experience, I never get to put another thing to sleep and getting in one big hit before he goes down is the best (or only) contribution Poliwrath can make in a match sometimes.
What this also means is that say, if you consider the above the "main set" and go with Surf as a fourth, he can't immediately threaten Eggy. But ideally other members of the team cover for that.

It's waiting for QCs yeah.

I strongly disagree with Submission being undroppable. Like, very very strongly. Submission has three use cases in theory, hitting all three of the normals. However you still lose to unparalyzed Chansey unless you predict and hit Sub on the switch-in (good luck with that), and you don't need Submission to beat paralyzed Chansey in very many scenarios (the mono IB Chanseys are obviously the easiest to beat, but even TBolt already only hits for 16-19% against +4, and SToss is very rare nowadays). Not to mention Chansey still has to fear Submission's presence even when it's not actually there, meaning the Poli v Chans 1v1 won't happen often at all and if it does it's usually after Poli has already gotten his boosts. Snorlax is hit in theory but both Reflect and Amnesia make the move useless, and against Tauros it's both useless if you have any boosts plus the recoil gets you in some nasty ranges that you're able to avoid otherwise (you barely live slam+slam+hb or slam crit+hb or straight hb crit, one submission and you don't anymore). There definitely are scenarios where Submission is good, but undroppable??? Come on now, this is situational as hell

As for "uniqueness": Poliwrath has plenty of attributes that make him unique, Hydro Pump is by far the most useful one. Hypnosis is insanely inconsistent and there is pretty much no way to consistently set up Poliwrath for a successful Hypnosis, and Submission's perks really aren't impressive in a large number of situations. These moves are not bad, but they are extremely inconsistent and not worth the drop off from the fairly reliable Amne+3atks set. If you're comparing waters that run Amne+3atks, Poliwrath is better than Golduck because of physical bulk (huge in fending off Tauroses) and it's "better" than Slowbro in that Slowbro doesn't get HPump, so its instantaneous damage output is much lower and its Surf misses out on loads of ranges.

I appreciate the contribution but I seriously disagree with just about everything you've just said

 

[Prof_J]

I strongly disagree with Submission being undroppable. Like, very very strongly. Submission has three use cases in theory, hitting all three of the normals. However you still lose to unparalyzed Chansey unless you predict and hit Sub on the switch-in (good luck with that), and you don't need Submission to beat paralyzed Chansey in very many scenarios (the mono IB Chanseys are obviously the easiest to beat, but even TBolt already only hits for 16-19% against +4, and SToss is very rare nowadays). Not to mention Chansey still has to fear Submission's presence even when it's not actually there, meaning the Poli v Chans 1v1 won't happen often at all and if it does it's usually after Poli has already gotten his boosts. Snorlax is hit in theory but both Reflect and Amnesia make the move useless, and against Tauros it's both useless if you have any boosts plus the recoil gets you in some nasty ranges that you're able to avoid otherwise (you barely live slam+slam+hb or slam crit+hb or straight hb crit, one submission and you don't anymore).

A few of the times I used Poliwrath I had to use Submission to beat Chansey, hence why I saw value out of it. Of course its much less useful in general if you have any boosts, I liked having the option to dent the normals decently when getting a boost isn't in the cards. That's a good point about Tauros that I didn't consider.

As for "uniqueness": Poliwrath has plenty of attributes that make him unique, Hydro Pump is by far the most useful one. Hypnosis is insanely inconsistent and there is pretty much no way to consistently set up Poliwrath for a successful Hypnosis, and Submission's perks really aren't impressive in a large number of situations. These moves are not bad, but they are extremely inconsistent and not worth the drop off from the fairly reliable Amne+3atks set. If you're comparing waters that run Amne+3atks, Poliwrath is better than Golduck because of physical bulk (huge in fending off Tauroses) and it's "better" than Slowbro in that Slowbro doesn't get HPump, so its instantaneous damage output is much lower and its Surf misses out on loads of ranges.

I was looking at things a different way. I'm not going to pretend I've used Golduck, I considered it but built around Wrath instead. Stats-wise Duck looks better equipped to be an Amnesia sweeper (also getting Hydro Pump). Where I screwed up was looking at damage output and less vulnerable typing, instead of thinking about surviving vs. Tauros.
I consider bro better overall going by viability and didn't specify that. But I'm sure everyone does and you made the point, Wrath is better for raw power.

I appreciate the contribution but I seriously disagree with just about everything you've just said

Fair enough. Some of those points are good info that should make it into the analysis.

 

[Plague von Karma]

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[OVERVIEW]

Poliwrath's ugly typing and unremarkable stats give it a lot of trouble in RBY OU, but access to the rare Amnesia gives it a real niche as a wallbreaker. (this is what GP would want, if it doesn't fit the description then find something else. "breaker" alone isn't really an established term) While it cannot use the defensive boost to become nigh-unkillableunbreakable, as like other users of the move such as Slowbro and Snorlax attempt to do, (less words, same point) its Speed gives it a real niche over them, as it most importantly allows Poliwrath to outspeed Exeggutor and nail it with Blizzard after some chip damage, rather than having to fear Sleep Powders and Explosions from it like the other Amnesia users in the tier. It also possesses much more immediate threats a much higher threat level (previous wording just wasn't very good, try this or something else) against Chansey in the form of Submission, which lands an OHKO on a critical hit, or even Hypnosis.

However, while Poliwrath does possess these advantages over Slowbro and Amnesia Snorlax, (you referred to Snorlax prior, so best to write it in here) it suffers from all of its their other flaws and more. It needs a lot of setup to break past Starmie and Chansey; it is not only vulnerable to Electric-type attacks, but also to Psychic-type ones, making Pokemon like Alakazam and Jynx much more problematic than they are for Slowbro; in any scenario in which it is about to run rampant, it needs to watch for enemy Explosions that can stop the party before it even starts; and perhaps most important of all, Slowbro is able to maintain itself throughout the game and provide utility thanks to superior defensive stats paired with Thunder Wave, while Poliwrath does not possess the bulk nor the movepool to be anything other than a one-time breaker. (Go over Snorlax here as well, or simply implement it into what you already have. Can just be something in passing imo, doesn't have to be anything crazy)

Nevertheless, its Poliwrath's Hydro Pumps grow to deal incredible damage in after only a few turns of Amnesia, which it can often find against paralyzed or asleep sleeping foes, and it is capable of taking down multiple Pokemon in a single game if properly supported. While inconsistent, Poliwrath is a Pokemon that can be worth building entire teams around due to its breaking potential when the conditions are right. (You never go over the conditions in this analysis, consider changing that as this on its own is just way too vague to be acceptable. I wouldn't be opposed to a 3rd set comments paragraph specifically dedicated to this content.)

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Blizzard / Hypnosis
move 4: Hypnosis / Submission / Surf

[SET COMMENTS]

Poliwrath's viability in OU revolves around the combination of Amnesia and Hydro Pump. All would-be checks fall to it if they allow enough free turns: Starmie has great odds to be 2HKOed at +4, Alakazam is 2HKOed at +2 and OHKOed at +6, and even Chansey cannot live survive two +6 Hydro Pumps. Additionally, various other Pokemon in the tier that may attempt to finish off a weakened or crippled Poliwrath are also significantly easier to take down with Hydro Pump than with Surf: Snorlax is OHKOed by +6 Hydro Pump but always lives stomachs a +6 Surf, +4 is enough to drop Tauros, and so on. the list continues for quite some time. While the prospects of Hydro Pump's accuracy and PP will understandably scare players off, the favorable ranges hit with this move are simply too important.

In the third slot, a tool against Exeggutor is highly recommended: Blizzard will deal hit for over half its health after a single Amnesia, but if the team has no plans to sleep anything else, then Hypnosis is also a valid way of threatening it, while also doubling as a way for Poliwrath to give itself free turns. For the last slot, many options are viable: Submission provides an immediate critical hit OHKO threat on Chansey, though the accuracy and recoil make it fairly inconsistent, while Surf's accuracy can be appreciated in specific scenarios where the extra damage from Hydro Pump is not required. Other options such as Body Slam, Counter, Psychic, and Rest can also have merits in very specific scenarios, but are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you're doing with them. (This is way too vague. This analysis is likely to be viewed by many "outsiders", so at least some explanation on how and why you use these OOs would be very helpful. Hell, Poliwrath strategy is so obscure that even half our QCers are unable to really work with this. I'm thinking from the angle of "this is the first time in years that Poliwrath has ever had strategy put to writing, so we should try to make it count")

Perhaps include a sentence or two about Pokemon that synergise with Poliwrath, that alone could be enough to let someone make a team right out of the box considering that fills 2 out of 3-4 spots. Stimulate their brain a little bit.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Amaranth, 265630]]
- Quality checked by: [[name, id], [name, id]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]

Feel free to hold a gun to my head on Discord if I said something stupid as always. Let me know if you implement it and I'll check again, this analysis seems to just need a bit more fleshing out. I'm not sure if I'm demanding too much.

 

[Amaranth]

Let's help this along a bit.
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[OVERVIEW]

Poliwrath's ugly typing and unremarkable stats give it a lot of trouble in RBY OU, but access to the rare Amnesia gives it a real niche as a wallbreaker. (this is what GP would want, if it doesn't fit the description then find something else. "breaker" alone isn't really an established term) While it cannot use the defensive boost to become nigh-unkillableunbreakable, as like other users of the move such as Slowbro and Snorlax attempt to do, (less words, same point) its Speed gives it a real niche over them, as it most importantly allows Poliwrath to outspeed Exeggutor and nail it with Blizzard after some chip damage, rather than having to fear Sleep Powders and Explosions from it like the other Amnesia users in the tier. It also possesses much more immediate threats a much higher threat level (previous wording just wasn't very good, try this or something else) against Chansey in the form of Submission, which lands an OHKO on a critical hit, or even Hypnosis.

However, while Poliwrath does possess these advantages over Slowbro and Amnesia Snorlax, (you referred to Snorlax prior, so best to write it in here) it suffers from all of its their other flaws and more. It needs a lot of setup to break past Starmie and Chansey; it is not only vulnerable to Electric-type attacks, but also to Psychic-type ones, making Pokemon like Alakazam and Jynx much more problematic than they are for Slowbro; in any scenario in which it is about to run rampant, it needs to watch for enemy Explosions that can stop the party before it even starts; and perhaps most important of all, Slowbro is able to maintain itself throughout the game and provide utility thanks to superior defensive stats paired with Thunder Wave, while Poliwrath does not possess the bulk nor the movepool to be anything other than a one-time breaker. (Go over Snorlax here as well, or simply implement it into what you already have. Can just be something in passing imo, doesn't have to be anything crazy)

Nevertheless, its Poliwrath's Hydro Pumps grow to deal incredible damage in after only a few turns of Amnesia, which it can often find against paralyzed or asleep sleeping foes, and it is capable of taking down multiple Pokemon in a single game if properly supported. While inconsistent, Poliwrath is a Pokemon that can be worth building entire teams around due to its breaking potential when the conditions are right. (You never go over the conditions in this analysis, consider changing that as this on its own is just way too vague to be acceptable. I wouldn't be opposed to a 3rd set comments paragraph specifically dedicated to this content.)

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Blizzard / Hypnosis
move 4: Hypnosis / Submission / Surf

[SET COMMENTS]

Poliwrath's viability in OU revolves around the combination of Amnesia and Hydro Pump. All would-be checks fall to it if they allow enough free turns: Starmie has great odds to be 2HKOed at +4, Alakazam is 2HKOed at +2 and OHKOed at +6, and even Chansey cannot live survive two +6 Hydro Pumps. Additionally, various other Pokemon in the tier that may attempt to finish off a weakened or crippled Poliwrath are also significantly easier to take down with Hydro Pump than with Surf: Snorlax is OHKOed by +6 Hydro Pump but always lives stomachs a +6 Surf, +4 is enough to drop Tauros, and so on. the list continues for quite some time. While the prospects of Hydro Pump's accuracy and PP will understandably scare players off, the favorable ranges hit with this move are simply too important.

In the third slot, a tool against Exeggutor is highly recommended: Blizzard will deal hit for over half its health after a single Amnesia, but if the team has no plans to sleep anything else, then Hypnosis is also a valid way of threatening it, while also doubling as a way for Poliwrath to give itself free turns. For the last slot, many options are viable: Submission provides an immediate critical hit OHKO threat on Chansey, though the accuracy and recoil make it fairly inconsistent, while Surf's accuracy can be appreciated in specific scenarios where the extra damage from Hydro Pump is not required. Other options such as Body Slam, Counter, Psychic, and Rest can also have merits in very specific scenarios, but are strongly discouraged unless you really know what you're doing with them. (This is way too vague. This analysis is likely to be viewed by many "outsiders", so at least some explanation on how and why you use these OOs would be very helpful. Hell, Poliwrath strategy is so obscure that even half our QCers are unable to really work with this. I'm thinking from the angle of "this is the first time in years that Poliwrath has ever had strategy put to writing, so we should try to make it count")

Perhaps include a sentence or two about Pokemon that synergise with Poliwrath, that alone could be enough to let someone make a team right out of the box considering that fills 2 out of 3-4 spots. Stimulate their brain a little bit.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Amaranth, 265630]]
- Quality checked by: [[name, id], [name, id]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]

Feel free to hold a gun to my head on Discord if I said something stupid as always. Let me know if you implement it and I'll check again, this analysis seems to just need a bit more fleshing out. I'm not sure if I'm demanding too much.

part of this was implemented, part of this was not after holding pvk at gunpoint as requested

 

[Spindash65]

Are we still working on this? And by we, I mean you guys?

 

[Amaranth]

Waiting on QC team to have time to look at this yea

 

[shiloh]

slash order seems a bit weird 2 me but unsure if i would change anything, polis just not a great mon. rest of it seems great qc 2/2

 

[Amaranth]

ok GP Team

 

[Sabelette]

Amcheck grind continues, as usual implementation is your choice barring a GP member stamping this:

Addition Removal Comment
(AC) (AH) Add Comma/Add Hyphen, (RC) (RH) Remove Comma/Remove Hyphen

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Poliwrath's ugly typing and unremarkable stats give it a lot of trouble in RBY OU, but access to the rare Amnesia gives it a real niche as a wallbreaker. While it cannot use the defensive boost to become nigh-unbreakable, like other users of the move Unlike Amnesia users such as Slowbro and Snorlax, Poliwrath lacks the stats and typing to become unbreakable, but (tried to improve brevity/flow) its Speed gives it a niche over them. (added period, splitting this since it's a lot of commas) , as it most importantly allows Poliwrath to outspeeds Exeggutor and can nail it with Blizzard after some chip damage, rather than having to fear Sleep Powder and Explosion from it like the other Amnesia users in the tier. It also possesses immediate threats against Chansey in the form of Hypnosis and (flow) Submission, which lands an OHKOes on with a critical hit, or even Hypnosis.

However, while Poliwrath does possesses these advantages over Slowbro, it suffers from all of its Slowbro's (I think the clarity is needed here) flaws and more. It needs a lot of setup to break past Starmie and Chansey;, who often threaten it with Thunderbolt, and it is not only vulnerable to Electric-type attacks, but also to Psychic-type ones Psychic (realistically these are the relevant moves, so changed for brevity), making Pokemon like Alakazam and Jynx much more problematic than they are for Slowbro;. (too many semicolons, just split this up IMO) in any scenario in which it is about to run rampant, it Even after setting up, Poliwrath needs to watch for enemy Explosions that can stop the party before it even starts, as it lacks Slowbro's physical bulk.; and perhaps Perhaps most importantly of all, Slowbro is able to maintain heal (I think "maintain is a little unclear) itself throughout the game and provide utility thanks to superior defensive stats paired with Thunder Wave, while Poliwrath does not possess the bulk nor the movepool to be anything other than a one-time breaker.

Nevertheless, Poliwrath's Hydro Pumps grow to deal incredible damage after only a few turns of Amnesia, which it can often find against paralyzed or sleeping foes, and it is capable of taking down multiple Pokemon in a single game if its primary checks, usually Starmie and Chansey, are swept through either by either KOed by teammates or weakened enough to be handled by Poliwrath itself after sufficient setup (your call on this one, just felt a little awkward to me due to suggesting Wrath beats its own checks so this is a suggested rewording). While inconsistent, Poliwrath is a Pokemon that can be worth building entire teams around due to its breaking potential when the conditions are right (is this perhaps a little bit of an overstatement for a D rank?).

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Blizzard / Hypnosis
move 4: Hypnosis / Submission / Surf

[SET COMMENTS]

Poliwrath's viability in OU revolves around the combination of Amnesia and Hydro Pump. All would-be checks fall to it if they allow enough free turns: Starmie has great odds to be 2HKOed at +4, Alakazam is 2HKOed at +2 and OHKOed at +6, and even Chansey cannot survive two +6 Hydro Pumps. Additionally, various other Other (redundancy especially with the later "also") Pokemon in the tier that may attempt to finish off a weakened or crippled Poliwrath are also significantly easier to take down with Hydro Pump than with Surf: Snorlax is OHKOd by +6 Hydro Pump but always stomachs a +6 Surf, while +4 is enough to drop Tauros, and so on (I think these examples are enough without basically an "etc" at the end). While the prospects of Hydro Pump's accuracy and PP will understandably scare players off, the favorable ranges hit with this move reaches are simply too important.

In the third slot, a tool against Exeggutor is highly recommended: Blizzard will hit for over half its health HP after a single Amnesia, but if the team has no plans to sleep anything else, then (another judgment call but I think explaining the nuances of not wanting to sleep something is beyond the scope of a mini for a D rank mon and would keep it short) Hypnosis is also a valid way of threatening it, while also doubling as a way for Poliwrath to give himself itself (GP standard is Pokemon are "it") free turns. For the last slot, many options are viable: Submission provides an immediate critical hit OHKO threat on Chansey, though the accuracy and recoil make it fairly inconsistent, while Surf's accuracy can be appreciated in specific scenarios where the extra damage from Hydro Pump is not required. Other options such as Body Slam, Counter, Psychic, and Rest can also have merits in very specific scenarios, but are strongly discouraged as they do not contribute to Poliwrath's primary purpose as a wallbreaker.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Amaranth, 265630]]
- Quality checked by: [[May, 236353], [shiloh, 211471]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]

 

[autumn]

1/1 GP Team done
credit both of us

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Poliwrath's ugly typing and unremarkable stats give it a lot of trouble in RBY OU, but access to the rare Amnesia gives it a real niche as a wallbreaker. While it cannot use the defensive boost to become nigh-unbreakable, like other users of the move Unlike Amnesia users such as Slowbro and Snorlax, Poliwrath lacks the stats and typing to become unbreakable, but (tried to improve brevity/flow) (feel free to implement but keep the part about the defensive boost because that's relevant content) its Speed gives it a niche over them. (added period, splitting this since it's a lot of commas) , as it most importantly allows Poliwrath to outspeeds Exeggutor and can nail it with Blizzard after some chip damage, rather than having to fear Sleep Powder and Explosion from it like the other Amnesia users in the tier. It also possesses immediate threats against Chansey in the form of Hypnosis and (flow) Submission, which lands an OHKOes on with a critical hit, or even Hypnosis.

However, while Poliwrath does possesses these advantages over Slowbro, it suffers from all of its Slowbro's (I think the clarity is needed here) flaws and more. It needs a lot of setup to break past Starmie and Chansey;, who which often threaten it with Thunderbolt, and it is not only vulnerable to Electric-type attacks, but also to Psychic-type ones Psychic (realistically these are the relevant moves, so changed for brevity) (this is kinda content change but if you think it's accurate keep it), making Pokemon like Alakazam and Jynx much more problematic than they are for Slowbro;. (too many semicolons, just split this up IMO) in any scenario in which it is about to run rampant, it Even after setting up, Poliwrath needs to watch for enemy Explosions that can stop the party before it even starts, as it lacks Slowbro's physical bulk.; and perhaps Perhaps most importantly of all, Slowbro is able to maintain heal (I think "maintain is a little unclear) itself throughout the game and provide utility thanks to superior defensive stats paired with Thunder Wave, while Poliwrath does not possess the bulk nor the movepool to be anything other than a one-time breaker.

Nevertheless, Poliwrath's Hydro Pumps grow to deal incredible damage after only a few turns of Amnesia, which it can often find against paralyzed or sleeping foes, and it is capable of taking down multiple Pokemon in a single game if its primary checks, usually Starmie and Chansey, are swept through either by either KOed by teammates or weakened enough to be handled by Poliwrath itself after sufficient setup (your call on this one, just felt a little awkward to me due to suggesting Wrath beats its own checks so this is a suggested rewording). While inconsistent, Poliwrath is a Pokemon that can be worth building entire teams around due to its breaking potential when the conditions are right (is this perhaps a little bit of an overstatement for a D rank?).

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Hydro Pump
move 3: Blizzard / Hypnosis
move 4: Hypnosis / Submission / Surf

[SET COMMENTS]

Poliwrath's viability in OU revolves around the combination of Amnesia and Hydro Pump. All would-be checks fall to it if they allow enough free turns: Starmie has great odds to be 2HKOed at +4, Alakazam is 2HKOed at +2 and OHKOed at +6, and even Chansey cannot survive two +6 Hydro Pumps. Additionally, various other Other (redundancy especially with the later "also") Pokemon in the tier that may attempt to finish off a weakened or crippled Poliwrath are also significantly easier to take down with Hydro Pump than with Surf: Snorlax is OHKOed by +6 Hydro Pump but always stomachs a +6 Surf, while +4 is enough to drop Tauros, and so on (I think these examples are enough without basically an "etc" at the end). While the prospects of Hydro Pump's accuracy and PP will understandably scare players off, the favorable ranges hit with this move reaches are simply too important.

In the third slot, a tool against Exeggutor is highly recommended: Blizzard will hit for over half its health HP after a single Amnesia, but if the team has no plans to sleep anything else, then (another judgment call but I think explaining the nuances of not wanting to sleep something is beyond the scope of a mini for a D rank mon and would keep it short) ( i think this is fine because you're writing an analysis on when to use what move, and with slashed moves you wanna make it clear why one is preferred over another. if the sleep thing is what makes hypnosis usable over blizzard, then explain it. if you keep, change to 'has no plans to put any other foes to sleep') Hypnosis is also a valid way of threatening it, while also doubling as a way for Poliwrath to give himself itself (GP standard is Pokemon are "it") free turns. For the last slot, many options are viable: Submission provides an immediate critical hit OHKO threat on Chansey, though the accuracy and recoil make it fairly inconsistent, while Surf's accuracy can be appreciated in specific scenarios where the extra damage from Hydro Pump is not required. Other options such as Body Slam, Counter, Psychic, and Rest can also have merits in very specific scenarios (RC) but are strongly discouraged, (AC) as they do not contribute to Poliwrath's primary purpose as a wallbreaker.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Amaranth, 265630]]
- Quality checked by: [[May, 236353], [shiloh, 211471]]
- Grammar checked by: [[name, id]]

 

[Amaranth]

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