Gen 1 Poliwrath (UU) [QC 2/2] [GP 2/2]

Volk

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Bet you weren't expecting this to show up today. As always, this is a first draft, so anticipate mistakes and sudden changes. This one was a real slog to write, as Poliwrath has weird or complicated interactions with like every Pokemon in the tier. This version is also a complete overhaul of the original, bearing almost no resemblance to it (though I'm still giving Sevi 7 the second writer credit). I didn't even really want this analysis, but at least its up now, so... I hope you enjoy it at least. I can now get back to Victreebel for OU.

[OVERVIEW]

Poliwrath has very steep competition as one of many significant Water-type Pokemon in RBY UU. It does not have the speed of Tentacruel, the bulk of Vaporeon, the typing of Omastar, or the powerful STAB Ice-type moves of Dewgong. What Poliwrath does have, though, is one of the most diverse and interesting movepools of any Pokemon in the tier. For starters, it's the only legal fully evolved Water-type Pokemon with a sleep-inducing move, that being Hypnosis. While Hypnosis has underwhelming accuracy, it is a unique tool that threatens slower foes such as Hypno and deters quicker foes such as Tentacruel from switching in. Offensively, Poliwrath has options such as Body Slam, Earthquake, Submission, and Psychic on top of the staples Surf and Blizzard. While it can’t run all of these moves, Poliwrath can be tricky to play around and require scouting. To make it even more dynamic, Poliwrath also has Amnesia as a niche option that improves its offensive prowess and longevity. On top of all these options, Poliwrath can still serve as a traditional bulky Water-type Pokemon, being a soft check to Articuno and physical attackers like Dugtrio.

Despite its impressive advantages, Poliwrath is just short of truly being a staple in RBY UU. The most obvious weakness is its typing; while having a powered-up Submission and resisting Rock Slide are good traits, being weak to Psychic and Flying far outweighs the positives. Hypno and Kadabra are incredibly common and enormously threatening, giving Poliwrath a major disadvantage not faced by other slow Water-type Pokemon. While Dodrio is less common, it too can easily knock out Poliwrath. Aside from this, Poliwrath has truly mediocre stats, lacking even one base stat with three digits. Physically, Poliwrath shines a little bit, as it has marginally more bulk than Vaporeon and Dewgong and hits as hard as Articuno. However, it is still outdone defensively by Omastar and offensively by most dedicated physical attackers. Specially, Poliwrath is very exploitable, being less bulky than even Dewgong by a fairly large margin. Its offensive options are similarly underwhelming; notably, Poliwrath’s Blizzard will always fail to OHKO Dragonite without a critical hit, meaning it can't reliably prevent AgiliWrap like other Water-type Pokemon. Poliwrath is a niche option with several unfortunate shortcomings, fitting best on teams that need a bulky Water-type Pokemon and a sleeper in one Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Bulky Sleeper
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Blizzard
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Body Slam / Submission / Hydro Pump / Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Hypnosis is Poliwrath’s biggest selling point over conventional Water-type Pokemon. The move can be used in a number of ways to get an advantage, especially early-game. If Poliwrath can get in against the slower Hypno, it's usually free to induce sleep. This can be accomplished by switching in as Hypno wakes up from Rest, or by using a Pokemon like Kadabra or Electabuzz to bait it in. Poliwrath also happens to be faster than Vaporeon and Omastar while Speed tying with Dewgong, meaning it can easily threaten them with Hypnosis as well. Unlike Hypno, these Pokemon struggle to punish Poliwrath if it misses. While it is typically used early-game, Hypnosis is a decent tool throughout the entire match, as it gives Poliwrath an option to stymie dangerous sweepers like Dugtrio, Aerodactyl, and Articuno. Blizzard hits many key targets in the metagame for respectable damage. Blizzard 2HKOes Dugtrio, Dragonite, and Aerodactyl and 3HKOes Tangela and Venusaur. The damage on Dragonite is especially important, as Poliwrath has limited tools to stop AgiliWrap, especially if it has already hit something with Hypnosis. Poliwrath will typically make use of a physical move, as its decent Attack allows it to deal solid damage to Water-type Pokemon, especially Tentacruel and Omastar. Earthquake is a common choice because it can 2HKO Tentacruel over half the time. Tentacruel is fairly hesitant to engage with Poliwrath, as Earthquake can deal immense damage on the switch or if Wrap misses. Earthquake is also notable for 2HKOing Haunter, Electabuzz, and Raichu and almost certainly 3HKOing Omastar.

Poliwrath’s final moveslot is usually dedicated to additional coverage or Rest. Body Slam is much weaker than Earthquake, but the chance for paralysis is very helpful for stymieing partial-trappers like Dragonite and offensive checks like Gyarados, Kadabra, and Electric-type Pokemon. Submission is another strong option that applies a lot of pressure to Normal-type Pokemon while also giving Poliwrath more options for Rock- and Ice-type Pokemon. Submission always 2HKOes Persian and can 2HKO Kangaskhan, Clefable, and Dewgong. Despite these advantages, Submission is not an overly common choice due to its low accuracy and dreadful recoil, which limit a Pokemon that is already not very bulky. Hydro Pump is Poliwrath’s strongest move against neutral targets like Hypno. The move is guaranteed to OHKO Dugtrio and Golem. Additionally, Hydro Pump 4HKOes Hypno and is Poliwrath's best option for hitting Kangaskhan and Persian after Submission. Lastly, Rest helps extend Poliwrath’s usefulness throughout the game. The move is most useful when Poliwrath is expected to take a more defensive role, such as checking Dugtrio or Articuno. However, Poliwrath’s numerous weaknesses leave it very vulnerable while it is asleep.

Poliwrath is best suited for teams that appreciate the offensive advantages of sleep and the defensive advantages of a bulky Water-type Pokemon. Because of its somewhat quick Hypnosis, Pokemon that can bait in Hypno, Tangela, and bulky Water-type Pokemon tend to be good partners. These include Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Kangaskhan. Wrappers like Tentacruel and Dragonite are also helpful for pivoting so Poliwrath can get in more safely. Poliwrath's ability to soft check Articuno and physical attackers like Dugtrio and Kangaskhan means it works quite well with Flying-, Ground-, and Electric-type Pokemon. Flying-type Pokemon are additionally good partners thanks to Poliwrath's resistance to Rock. This means Poliwrath can get in rather safely against Dugtrio if it needs to. Due to its Psychic weakness, Poliwrath typically requires the support of multiple Psychic-type Pokemon, making both Hypno and Kadabra standard partners. Pokemon like Tangela, Dragonite, Dugtrio, and Golem are also good for patching up weak spots that Poliwrath might bring to a team. Agility sweepers like Articuno, Dodrio, and Dragonite appreciate Hypnosis incapacitating a key Pokemon or providing them with an opportunity to set up.

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard / Hypnosis / Earthquake
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
After Hypnosis, Amnesia is the next most interesting option available to Poliwrath. Successfully setting up with Amnesia is fairly difficult in RBY UU, primarily due to the abundant use of Wrap. While Poliwrath doesn’t suffer a ton of damage from Wrap, it is not uncommon for a Pokemon such as Tentacruel to switch in as Poliwrath first uses Amnesia, use Wrap to chip it, and pivot out to something that can pick Poliwrath off. This issue is worsened by the fact that Amnesia does nothing for Poliwrath’s weakness to Drill Peck, meaning Dodrio can always knock out Poliwrath once its health drops below 50%. Additionally, Poliwrath competes with the already uncommon Golduck in this role, which has superior typing and Speed for an easier time when setting up. However, Amnesia still demands a lot of respect to deal with, meaning that it can drive very predictable switches that can be exploited. For example, if the opponent relies on Tentacruel to pressure Amnesia Poliwrath, mixing in Hypnosis or Earthquake can harshly punish the switch-in.

If the opponent lacks strong options to finish off a weakened Poliwrath, like Kadabra or Dodrio, Amnesia becomes a lot more practical. Even if Wrap is still on the table, Poliwrath’s above-average physical bulk enables it to stomach a few hits as it waits for misses, during which it can boost, attack, or heal with Rest. If Wrap isn’t present, Poliwrath really only fears critical and being frozen, meaning it can set up in front of a surprisingly large number of Pokemon, most notably Articuno and bulky Water-type Pokemon. Surf is generally the special move of choice due to STAB and its high PP. At +4 Special, Surf will 2HKO every neutral target in the tier. At +6, Surf can 3HKO even the mighty Vaporeon, meaning nothing can Rest stall Poliwrath. Blizzard is often used alongside Surf for perfect coverage against everything but Water-type Pokemon. It also allows Poliwrath to threaten Dragonite, Venusaur, and Tangela without boosting. Earthquake and Hypnosis can alternatively be used to punish common switch-ins to Amnesia Poliwrath, most notably Tentacruel. Hypnosis can also potentially net Poliwrath a free turn to set up, which can be crucial for extra damage or bulk.

Amnesia Poliwrath requires a lot of support to function properly, as a number of things can go wrong. Dodrio and Venusaur are entirely unfazed by Poliwrath’s boosting and can reliably KO it once it drops below 50%, so Pokemon that can handle them are quite helpful; these include Rock-, Ice-, and Flying-type Pokemon. Pokemon like Dugtrio, Kadabra, and Kangaskhan can pressure common Poliwrath switch-ins like Tentacruel, Electabuzz, Hypno, and Kadabra, which can often come in for free when the opponent expects Poliwrath to use Amnesia. This makes Pokemon like Dugtrio, Kanagaskhan, and Kadabra notable partners. If Poliwrath is not running Hypnosis, sleepers like Haunter, Venusaur, and Tangela are good choices, as they help it find free turns to set up or quickly dispatch a key threat. Paralysis spreaders make it hard for physical attackers like Persian and Kangaskhan to punish Poliwrath while it is asleep from Rest.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Poliwrath has a genuinely massive movepool consisting of many interesting niche options. Psychic is somewhat useful on either set, as only Hypno and Kadabra resist it. It also happens to be Poliwrath’s strongest option against opposing Poliwrath and the rare Venomoth. However, Poliwrath’s relatively low Special stat makes the move underwhelming, even if it hits the target for super effective damage; Tentacruel is only 4HKOed. Surf can be used on the bulky sleeper set but suffers from the same problems as Psychic. The move fails to OHKO Dugtrio and is outclassed by Earthquake when hitting neutral targets like Hypno and Kadabra. It is mainly useful for hitting Persian and Kangaskhan, but Hydro Pump and Submission are typically stronger though less reliable options. Hyper Beam is a strong option for finishing off neutral targets, especially those with a low Defense stat. It is Poliwrath’s strongest move against Hypno, Kadabra, Articuno, Gyarados, and Vaporeon. Seismic Toss gives Poliwrath a consistent option for damage against every Pokemon, scoring a 4HKO or better against every major threat, aside from Vaporeon and Kangaskhan. It is seldom the strongest option for any Pokemon, but it reliably hits anything that could switch in. Because Blizzard fails to OHKO Dragonite and Hypnosis is inconsistent, Toxic is occasionally used to prevent Dragonite from setting up AgiliWrap. It also helps pressure other partial-trappers, most notably Pinsir. Counter is an interesting option for Persian, Kangaskhan, Vaporeon, and Omastar,which are quite likely to use a Normal-type move when facing Poliwrath, but it's difficult to fit into conventional sets.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Hypno and Kadabra**: Hypno and Kadabra can easily 2HKO Poliwrath with Psychic. Aside from Hypnosis and Amnesia-boosted attacks, Poliwrath can only 4HKO or attempt to freeze Hypno. While Kadabra is much easier to KO, it outspeeds Poliwrath, which makes Poliwrath largely unable to threaten it. Kadabra’s high critical hit rate is also frightening for Poliwrath, as a critical hit Psychic will always OHKO, even after Amnesia boosts.

**Gyarados**: Unboosted Poliwrath lacks any tools to meaningfully threaten Gyarados outside of Hypnosis. Gyarados, meanwhile, outspeeds Poliwrath and will 2HKO it with Thunderbolt about one third of the time. Gyarados can even come in for free if it can correctly predict Earthquake. Additionally, Gyarados's impressive Attack allows it to pressure Poliwrath even after Amnesia.

**Venusaur**: Venusaur outspeeds Poliwrath and can deal massive damage with Razor Leaf. Thanks to the move’s near-guaranteed critical hit, it will virtually always 2HKO Poliwrath even if it has used Amnesia. Additionally, Venusaur has a faster and more accurate sleep move than Poliwrath, giving it ample ability to pressure Poliwrath even at full health. Poliwrath can threaten Venusaur with a 3HKO from Blizzard, however.

**Thunderbolt Users**: Poliwrath’s mediocre Special and Water typing leave it highly susceptible to Thunderbolt users. Electabuzz, Raichu, and Electrode are guaranteed to 2HKO Poliwrath and have high critical hit rates. Weaker and less common Thunderbolt users like Gyarados, Dragonite, Persian, Clefable, and Raticate also can deal pretty hefty damage to Poliwrath.

**Dodrio**: Dodrio’s powerful Drill Peck is extremely likely to 2HKO Poliwrath. While Dodrio does fear Blizzard, it can potentially come in on Earthquake or Body Slam and still take out Poliwrath before Blizzard can KO it. Additionally, Dodrio can punish Rest very harshly, potentially setting up with Agility on top of getting the KO.

**Partial-trapping Moves**: Because Poliwrath has many exploitable weaknesses and is relatively slow, it is not overly difficult to whittle down with Wrap or Bind and pivot to a strong attacker that can finish it off. While Poliwrath has the potential to 2HKO all notable partial-trappers, Tentacruel, Dragonite, and Pinsir are still frequently used to handle Poliwrath. Additionally, if Dragonite hasn't sustained any damage, it is guaranteed to survive Blizzard, meaning it can set up with Agility unless Poliwrath happens to carry Toxic or land Hypnosis.

**Bulky Water-type Pokemon**: Bulky Water-type Pokemon, most notably Vaporeon, take little damage from all of Poliwrath’s moves. Dewgong functions similarly, but is quite weak to Submission. Bulky Water-type Pokemon can’t do too much in return outside of paralysis from Body Slam, however. Interestingly, Poliwrath is actually a solid check to itself once Sleep Clause is in effect, as no move aside from Psychic can 3HKO it.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Volk, 530877], [Sevi 7, 505149]]
- Quality checked by: [[pacattacc, 520967], [Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [CryoGyro, 331519]]
 
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Awright mate, let's get this started. Implement and I'll have a look again before giving a QC.
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(RA) = Remove Apostrophe


You seem to misspell Tentacruel and a few others multiple times throughout this, I suggest checking in case I missed a few.

[OVERVIEW]

Poliwrath has very steep competition as one of many significant Water-type Pokemon in RBY UU. Poliwrath does not have the speed of Tentacruel, the bulk of Vaporeon, the typing of Omastar, or the powerful STAB of Dewgong. What Poliwrath does have is the most diverse and interesting movepool of any Water-type Pokemon in the tier. For starters, Poliwrath holds the distinction of being the only legal Water-type Pokemon with a sleep-inducing move, that being Hypnosis. While Hypnosis has underwhelming accuracy, it is a unique tool that allows Poliwrath to threaten slower foes such as Hypno and deter quicker foes such as Tentacruel from switching in. Offensively, Poliwrath has options such as Body Slam, Earthquake, Submission, and Psychic on top of the staples Water-type Pokemon, Surf and Blizzard. While it can’t run all of these moves, Poliwrath can be tricky to play around, as its wide pool of moves often requires a fair deal of scouting before it can be responsibly dealt with. Finally, Poliwrath maintains Amnesia as a niche option it can employ to improve its offensive prowess and longevity.

You fail to mention that Poliwrath has the best physical defensiveness of all the Water-types, which makes it one of the more consistent Dugtrio checks. I personally value this quite highly when placing it on a team, as it also resists Rock Slide. Dugtrio has to play quite safely when Poliwrath is shown to exist. You vaguely seem to reference this in the negatives section, but I still believe it should be references in positives in some form.

Despite its impressive advantages, Poliwrath is just short of truly being a staple in RBY UU. The most obvious weakness is its typing; while having a powered up Submission and resisting Rock Slide are good traits, being weak to Psychic and Flying far outweighs the positives of being a Fighting-type. Hypno and Kadabra are both incredibly common and enormously threatening, which is a major disadvantage not faced by other slow Water-type Pokemon. While it is less common, being easily picked off by Dodrio’s Drill Peck isn’t a desirable trait either. Aside from this, Poliwrath has truly mediocre stats, lacking even one base stat with three digits. Physically, Poliwrath shines a little bit, as it has marginally more bulk than Vaporeon and Dewgong and hits as hard as Articuno. However, it is still outdone defensively by Omastar and offensively by most dedicated physical attackers. On the Special side, Poliwrath is very exploitable, being less bulky than even Dewgong by a fairly large margin. Its (RA) offensive options are similarly underwhelming; notably, Poliwrath’s Blizzard will always fail to KO Dragonite, potentially allowing it to set up AgiliWrap. Poliwrath is a niche option with several unfortunate shortcomings, fitting best on teams that need a bulky Water-type Pokemon and a sleeper but only have room for one Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Bulky Sleeper
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Blizzard
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Body Slam / Submission / Hydro Pump / Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Hypnosis is Poliwrath’s biggest selling point over conventional Water-type Pokemon. The move can be used in a number of ways to get an advantage, especially in the early game. Poliwrath is just above Hypno in terms of Speed, meaning it can usually earn a free sleep if it can get in against it. (Not sure if GP would like this wording but it seems ok to me) This can be accomplished by switching in as Hypno wakes up from Rest, or by using a Pokemon like Kadabra or Electabuzz that is are good at baiting in Hypno. Poliwrath also happens to be faster than Vaporeon and Omastar while tying Dewgong, meaning it can easily threaten them with Hypnosis as well. Unlike Hypno, these Pokemon are much less able to punish Poliwrath in the event of a miss as well, as it resists their viable STAB moves. While it is typically used in the early game, Hypnosis is a decent tool for the entire match, as it gives Poliwrath an option to stymie dangerous sweepers like Dugtrio, Aerodactyl, and Articuno. Despite not being boosted by STAB, Blizzard is a very common move on Poliwrath, as it hits many key targets in the meta for respectable damage. Blizzard 2HKOes Dugtrio, Dragonite, and Aerodactyl and 3HKOes Tangela and Venusaur. The damage on Dragonite is especially important as Poliwrath has limited tools to stop AgiliWrap, especially if it has already hit something with Hypnosis. Poliwrath will typically make use of a physical move, as its decent Attack allows it to deal solid damage to opposing Water-type Pokemon, especially Tentacruel and Omastar. Earthquake is a common choice because it can 2HKO Tentacruel over half the time. Unlike other Water-type Pokemon, Tentacruel is often hesitant to engage with Poliwrath, as Earthquake can deal immense damage on the switch or if Wrap misses. Earthquake is also notable for 2HKOing Haunter, Electabuzz, and Raichu and almost certainly 3HKOing Omastar.

Poliwrath’s final move slot is usually dedicated to additional coverage or Rest. Body Slam is much weaker than Earthquake, but it sees use due to the chance of paralysis. Paralysis is very helpful at mitigating Wrappers like Dragonite and offensive checks like Gyarados, Kadabra, and Electric-type Pokemon that can otherwise take advantage of Poliwrath’s mediocre typing. Submission is another strong option that allows Poliwrath to apply a lot of pressure to Normal-type Pokemon, while also giving Poliwrath more options for Rock- and Ice-type Pokemon. Submission always 2HKOes Persian and can 2HKO Kangaskhan, Clefable, and Dewgong. Despite these advantages, Submission is not an overly common choice due to its low accuracy and dreadful recoil, which limit a Pokemon that is already not very bulky. Hydro Pump is Poliwrath’s strongest move and provides it with a strong option against neutral targets. The move is guaranteed to OHKO Dugtrio and Golem while also being a somewhat reliable tool for 4HKOing Hypno. The move is also very strong against Normal-type Pokemon, hitting for more damage than any move aside from Submission. Lastly, Rest helps extend Poliwrath’s usefulness throughout the entire game. The move is most useful when Poliwrath is expected to take a more defensive role, such as checking Dugtrio or Articuno. However, Poliwrath’s numerous weaknesses leave it very vulnerable while it is asleep, making it fairly difficult to wake it up without generic methods like using opposing Wrap-like moves to burn sleep turns.

Poliwrath is best suited for teams that appreciate the offensive advantages of sleep and the defensive advantages of a bulky Water-type Pokemon. Because of its somewhat quick Hypnosis, Pokemon that can bait in Hypno, Tangela, and opposing bulky Water-type Pokemon tend to be good partners. As such, Pokemon like Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Kangaskhan can be good partners. Wrappers like Tentacruel and Dragonite are also helpful for pivoting so Poliwrath can get in more safely when trying to threaten something with Hypnosis. Poliwrath can act as a soft check to Articuno and physical attackers like Dugtrio and Kangaskhan, making it a decent option on teams that may struggle against these Pokemon. Poliwrath thus works quite well with Flying-, Ground-, and Electric-type Pokemon. Due to its weaknesses, Poliwrath typically requires the support of multiple Psychic-type Pokemon, making both Hypno and Kadabra standard partners. Pokemon like Tangela, Dragonite, Dugtrio, and Golem are also good for patching up weak spots that Poliwrath might bring to a team.

Maybe note that this set works decently with Articuno, as they have defensive synergy while Poliwrath enables the funny sweep. Mid-game Poliwrath tends to sleep super important Pokemon and it's normally enough for Articuno to commit a bank robbery.

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard / Hypnosis / Earthquake
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
After Hypnosis, Amnesia is the next most interesting option available to Poliwrath. Successfully setting up with Amnesia is fairly difficult in RBY UU, primarily due to the abundance of Wrap, allowing Pokemon to pivot into counters that dissuade set-up. (You go over it right after but I think a short reference like this can help with framing) While Poliwrath doesn’t suffer a ton of damage from Wrap, it is not uncommon for a Pokemon such as Tentacruel to switch in as Poliwrath first uses Amnesia, use Wrap to chip Poliwrath, and finally pivot out to something that can pick Poliwrath off. This issue is worsened by the fact that Amnesia does nothing for Poliwrath’s weakness to Flying, meaning Dodrio can always knock out Poliwrath once its health drops below 50%. Additionally, Poliwrath competes with the already uncommon Golduck in this role, whose superior typing and Speed grant it an easier time when setting up. Of course, this does not mean that Amnesia is not functional on Poliwrath. The move demands a lot of respect to deal with, meaning that it can drive very predictable switches that can be exploited. For example, if the opponent relies on Tentacruel to apply pressure to Amnesia Poliwrath, mixing in a Hypnosis or Earthquake can harshly punish the switch-in.

If the opponent lacks strong options to finish off a weakened Poliwrath, like Kadabra or Dodrio, Amnesia becomes a lot more practical. Even if Wrap is still on the table, Poliwrath’s above-average physical bulk enables it to stomach a few hits as it waits for misses, during which it can boost, attack, or heal off damage with Rest. If Wrap isn’t available, Poliwrath really only fears critical hits or an unlucky freeze, (the slow set-up generally leaves it vulnerable to variance like this, and you mention freeze cheese-applicable mons right after) meaning it can set up in front of a surprisingly large number of Pokemon, most notably Articuno and bulky Water-type Pokemon. Surf is generally preferred as the Special move of choice due to STAB and its large sum of PP. At +4 Special, Surf will 2HKO every single non-resistant target in the tier. At +6, Surf can 3HKO even the mighty Vaporeon, meaning no Pokemon in the tier can Rest stall Poliwrath. Blizzard is often used alongside Surf as it gives Poliwrath perfect coverage against everything aside from opposing Water-type Pokemon. It also allows Poliwrath to threaten Dragonite, Venusaur, and Tangela without boosting first. Earthquake and Hypnosis can be alternatively used to punish common switch-ins to Amnesia Poliwrath, most notably Tentacruel. Hypnosis can also potentially net Poliwrath a free turn to set up an Amnesia, which can be crucial for extra damage or bulk.

Amnesia Poliwrath requires a lot of support to function properly, as a number of things can go wrong. Dodrio and Venusaur are entirely unphased by Poliwrath’s boosting and can reliably KO it once it drops below 50%, so Pokemon that can handle them are quite helpful; these include Rock-, Ice-, and Flying-type Pokemon such as Articuno, Dewgong, or the rare Golem. (Tried to put in examples for each but it seems kinda sus, maybe play around with this a bit) Having tools that can pressure common Poliwrath switch-ins like Tentacruel, Hypno, Kadabra, and Electric-type Pokemon are also good partners, as they can often come in for free at points when the opponent expects Poliwrath to use Amnesia. This makes Pokemon like Dugtrio, Kanagaskhan, and Kadabra notable partners. If Poliwrath is not running Hypnosis, sleepers like Haunter, Venusaur, and Tangela are all good choices as they can help Poliwrath find free turns to set up on or quickly dispatch a key threat that could otherwise prevent or stop an Amnesia sweep. Pokemon that can spread paralysis are also good partners, as paralysis hinders the ability of physical attackers like Persian and Kangaskhan to punish Poliwrath while it is asleep after using Rest.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Poliwrath has a genuinely massive movepool consisting of many interesting niche options. Psychic is somewhat useful as a coverage move or choice on the Amnesia set, as it is resisted by only Hypno and Kadabra. It also happens to be Poliwrath’s strongest option against opposing Poliwrath. However, Poliwrath’s relatively low Special stat makes the move underwhelming, even if it hits the target for super effective damage; Tentacruel is only 4HKOed. Surf can be used as coverage on the Bulky Sleeper set, but suffers from the same problems as Psychic. The move fails to OHKO Dugtrio and is outclassed by Earthquake when hitting neutral targets like Hypno and Kadabra. It is mainly useful for hitting Persian and Kangaskhan, but Hydro Pump and Submission are typically stronger options, albeit less reliable ones. Hyper Beam is another strong option for finishing off neutral targets, especially those with a low Defense stat. It is Poliwrath’s strongest move against Hypno, Kadabra, Articuno, Gyarados, and Vaporeon. Seismic Toss gives Poliwrath a consistent option for damage against every Pokemon, scoring a 4HKO or better against everything in the tier, aside from Vaporeon and Kangaskhan. It is seldom the strongest option for any Pokemon, but it reliably hits anything that could switch in. Because Blizzard fails to OHKO Dragonite and Hypnosis is inconsistent, Toxic is occasionally used to prevent Dragonite from setting up AgiliWrap. It also helps pressure other Wrappers, most notably Pinsir. Finally, Counter is an interesting option in cases where Poliwrath is facing Persian, Kangaskhan, Vaporeon, and Omastar, as all are quite likely to use a Normal-type move when facing Poliwrath, but it's difficult to fit into conventional sets.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Hypno and Kadabra**: Both Hypno and Kadabra can easily 2HKO Poliwrath with a super effective STAB. Aside from Hypnosis and Amnesia-boosted attacks, Poliwrath has no way of doing anything better than 4HKOing Hypno. While Kadabra is much easier to KO than Hypno, it outspeeds Poliwrath, which makes Poliwrath largely unable to threaten it. Kadabra’s high critical hit rate is also frightening for Poliwrath, as a critical hit Psychic will always OHKO, even after Amnesia boosts.

**Gyarados**: Poliwrath lacks any tools to meaningfully threaten Gyarados, being unable to score better than a 4HKO without boosting. Gyarados, meanwhile, outspeeds Poliwrath and will 2HKO Poliwrath with Thunderbolt about one third of the time. Gyarados can even potentially come in for free if it can correctly predict an incoming Earthquake. Additionally, Gyarados's impressive Attack stat gives it the ability to pressure Poliwrath even if it has used Amnesia.

**Venusaur**: Venusaur outspeeds Poliwrath and can deal massive damage with Razor Leaf. Thanks to the move’s near-guaranteed critical hit, Razor Leaf will always 2HKO Poliwrath, even if it has used Amnesia. Poliwrath can threaten Venusaur with a 3HKO from Blizzard, however. (Maybe pad this a little by bringing up faster and more consistent sleep, which has hurt mid-game sleep prospects in my experience.)

**Thunderbolt Users**: Poliwrath’s mediocre Special and Water typing leave it highly susceptible to Thunderbolt users. Electabuzz, Raichu, and Electrode are all guaranteed to 2HKO Poliwrath, and, thanks to their high base Speeds, they are fairly likely to OHKO Poliwrath with a critical hit. Weaker and less common Thunderbolt users like Gyarados, Dragonite, Persian, Clefable, and Raticate also can deal pretty hefty damage to Poliwrath.

**Dodrio**: Dodrio’s powerful STAB Drill Peck is extremely likely to 2HKO Poliwrath. While Dodrio does fear Blizzard, it can potentially come in on Earthquake or Body Slam and still take out Poliwrath before Blizzard can KO it. (It's also the best punish to a Resting Poliwrath for this reason while having potential to set up Agility for a sweep, consider specifically mentioning it)

**Partial-trapping Moves**: Because Poliwrath has many exploitable weaknesses and is relatively slow, it is not overly difficult to whittle down its HP with Wrap or Bind and pivot out to a strong attacker and that can finish it off. While Poliwrath has the potential to 2HKO all notable Wrappers, Tentacruel, Dragonite, and Pinsir are still frequently used to handle Poliwrath. Dragonite is also perfectly capable of using Poliwrath as setup fodder for AgiliWrap in a tough spot, as Blizzard cannot OHKO it from full HP.

**Bulky Water-type Pokemon**: Bulky Water-type Pokemon, most notably Vaporeon, take relatively (seems redundant?) little damage from all of Poliwrath’s moves. They can’t do too much in return outside of getting a landing paralysis from Body Slam, however. Interestingly, Poliwrath is actually a hard check to itself, as no move aside from Psychic can 3HKO it.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Volk, 530877], [Sevi 7, 505149]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
 
Poliwrath.png

Here we goooooo!

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What Poliwrath does have is the most diverse and interesting movepool of any Water-type Pokemon in the tier.

We can possibly change this to "What Poliwrath does have is one of the most diverse and interesting movepools of any Pokemon in the tier." Your call though, as i'm unsure whether this is beneficial or harmful to the feel its trying to convey.

Offensively, Poliwrath has options such as Body Slam, Earthquake, Submission, and Psychic on top of the staples Water-type Pokemon, Surf and Blizzard.

"on top of the staples Water-type Pokemon, Surf.." doesn't make sense. Perhaps you meant to say "on top of the Water-type Pokemon staples, Surf and Blizzard."?

inally, Poliwrath maintains Amnesia as a niche option it can employ to improve its offensive prowess and longevity.

Issue with this sentence is that you're not selling the mon by describing a option it rarely uses in the Overview, this feels more tailored for somewhere in Amnesia's Set Comments (or just plain cut it).

notably, Poliwrath’s Blizzard will always fail to KO Dragonite, meaning it can't rely on the move to prevent AgiliWrap like other Water-type Pokemon.

Poliwrath Blizzard vs. Dragonair on a critical hit: 336-396 (103.3 - 121.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
"always" is not technically true.

Poliwrath is best suited for teams that appreciate the offensive advantages of sleep and the defensive advantages of a bulky Water-type Pokemon.

I'd cut this or integrate parts of it into the last sentence of Overview, its just unnecessary repetition.

Agility sweepers like Articuno, Dodrio, and Dragonite are all work well with Poliwrath

cut the "are" in between Dragonite and all.

overage move or choice on the Amnesia set

not sure what "or choice" actually means here.

It also happens to be Poliwrath’s strongest option against opposing Poliwrath.

As well as against opposing Tentacruel and the rare Venomoth!

Toxic is occasionally used to prevent Dragonite from setting up AgiliWrap. It also helps pressure other Wrappers, most notably Pinsir.

Maybe could include Bind Tangela? Or hell, the rare Moltres/Charizard if we wanna get really spicy.

Both Hypno and Kadabra can easily 2HKO Poliwrath with a super effective STAB

The "with a super effective STAB" part can be replaced by "with their STAB Psychics" to sound better imo.

Poliwrath lacks any tools to meaningfully threaten Gyarados

It does threaten Hypnosis tbf.

Dewgong functionals similarly, but is quite weak to Submission if Poliwrath has it. Bulky Wwater-type Pokemon can’t do too much in return outside of landing paralysis from Body Slam, however.

"functionals" should be "functions", and "Wwater-type" shold be "Water-type"

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That's all I have for now, implement this and I'll give another look. Will possibly QC thereafter.
 
Add/Fix Remove Comment
(AC)/(RC): Add/Remove Comma


[OVERVIEW]

Poliwrath has very steep competition as one of many significant Water-type Pokemon in RBY UU. Poliwrath It does not have the Speed of Tentacruel, the bulk of Vaporeon, the typing of Omastar, or the powerful STAB (attacks? hydro pump? submission? other thing? fill in the blank as you wish) of Dewgong. What Poliwrath does have, though, is one of the most diverse and interesting movepools of any Pokemon in the tier. For starters, Poliwrath holds the distinction of being it's the only legal fully-evolved Water-type Pokemon with a sleep-inducing move, that being Hypnosis. While Hypnosis has underwhelming accuracy, it is a unique tool that allows Poliwrath to threaten threatens slower foes such as Hypno and deters quicker foes such as Tentacruel from switching in. Offensively, Poliwrath has options such as Body Slam, Earthquake, Submission, and Psychic on top of the staples employed by virtually every Water-type Pokemon: Surf and Blizzard. While it can’t run all of these moves, the scouting this movepool requires makes (this is the sort of thing i wouldnt be surprised if i missed a nuance. tinker away, not needing another comma clause would be ideal, but if you need it we can talk) Poliwrath can be tricky to play around, as its wide pool of moves often requires a fair deal of scouting before it can be responsibly dealt with. To make it even more dynamic, Poliwrath also has access to Amnesia as a niche option that improves its offensive prowess and longevity. On top of all these benefits, benefits from all these options, (feel free to tinker but, bc you've only talked about movepool as a benefit, id prefer some sort of change) Poliwrath can still serve as a traditional bulky Water-type Pokemon, being a soft check to Articuno and physical attackers like Dugtrio.

Despite its impressive advantages, Poliwrath is just short of truly being a staple in RBY UU. The most obvious weakness is its typing; while having a powered-up (added hyphen) Submission and resisting Rock Slide are good traits, being weak to Psychic and Flying far outweighs the positives of being a Fighting-type. Hypno and Kadabra are both incredibly common and enormously threatening, which is giving Poliwrath a major disadvantage not faced by other slow Water-type Pokemon. While it Dodrio's Drill Peck is less common, being easily picked off by Dodrio’s Drill Peck it isn’t a desirable trait either. Aside from this, Poliwrath has truly mediocre stats, lacking even one base stat with three digits. Physically, Poliwrath shines a little bit, as it has marginally more bulk than Vaporeon and Dewgong and hits as hard as Articuno. However, it is still outdone defensively by Omastar and offensively by most dedicated physical attackers. On the Special side, Specially, Poliwrath is very exploitable, being less bulky than even Dewgong by a fairly large margin. Its special (optional) offensive options are similarly underwhelming; notably, Poliwrath’s Blizzard will always fail to KO Dragonite without a critical hit, meaning it can't rely on the move to prevent AgiliWrap like other Water-type Pokemon. Poliwrath is a niche option with several unfortunate shortcomings, fitting best on teams that need a bulky Water-type Pokemon and a sleeper but only have room for one Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Bulky Sleeper
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Blizzard
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Body Slam / Submission / Hydro Pump / Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Hypnosis is Poliwrath’s biggest selling point over conventional Water-type Pokemon. The move can be used in a number of ways to get an advantage, especially in the early game. early-game. Poliwrath is just above Hypno in terms of Speed, faster than Hypno, meaning it can usually earn a free sleep if it can get in against it. This can be accomplished by switching It can switch in as Hypno wakes up from Rest, or by using Rest or use a Pokemon like Kadabra or Electabuzz that is good at baiting in Hypno. Poliwrath also happens to be faster than Vaporeon and Omastar while Speed tying Dewgong, meaning it can easily threaten them with Hypnosis as well. Unlike Hypno, these Pokemon are much less able to punish Poliwrath in the event of a miss as well, (alternative: "struggle to punish Poliwrath in the event of a miss as well") as it resists Surf and Blizzard and takes less (takes less than what? other waters? you could also say eg "middling damage" instead of specifying) from Body Slam. While it is typically used in the early game, early-game, Hypnosis is a decent tool throughout the entire match, as it gives Poliwrath an option to stymie dangerous sweepers like Dugtrio, Aerodactyl, and Articuno. Despite not being boosted by STAB, Blizzard is a very common move on Poliwrath, as it hits many key targets in the metagame for respectable damage. Blizzard 2HKOes Dugtrio, Dragonite, and Aerodactyl and 3HKOes Tangela and Venusaur. The damage on Dragonite is especially important, (AC) as Poliwrath has limited tools to stop AgiliWrap, especially if it has already hit something with Hypnosis. Poliwrath will typically make use of a physical move, as its decent Attack allows it to deal solid damage to opposing Water-type Pokemon, especially Tentacruel and Omastar. Earthquake is a common choice because it can 2HKO Tentacruel over half the time. Unlike (do you mean "Unlike with other Water-type Pokemon?" you may not; just want to make sure either way) other Water-type Pokemon, Tentacruel is often hesitant to engage with Poliwrath, as Earthquake can deal immense damage on the switch or if Wrap misses. Earthquake is also notable for 2HKOing Haunter, Electabuzz, and Raichu and almost certainly 3HKOing Omastar.

Poliwrath’s final move slot moveslot is usually dedicated to additional coverage or Rest. Body Slam is much weaker than Earthquake, but it sees use due to the chance of paralysis. Paralysis Body Slam paralysis is very helpful at mitigating hampering wrappers like Dragonite and offensive checks like Gyarados, Kadabra, and Electric-type Pokemon, (AC) that which can otherwise take advantage of Poliwrath’s mediocre typing. Submission is another strong option that allows Poliwrath to apply applies a lot of pressure to Normal-type Pokemon (RC) while also giving Poliwrath more options for Rock- and Ice-type Pokemon. Submission always 2HKOes Persian and can 2HKO Kangaskhan, Clefable, and Dewgong. Despite these advantages, Submission is not an overly common choice due to its low accuracy and dreadful recoil, which limit a Pokemon that is already not very bulky. Hydro Pump is Poliwrath’s strongest move and provides it with a strong option against neutral targets. The move is guaranteed to OHKO Dugtrio and Golem while also being a somewhat reliable tool for 4HKOing Hypno. The move is also very strong against Normal-type Pokemon, hitting for more damage somewhat reliably 4HKOing Hypno and hitting Normal-type Pokemon harder than any move aside from Submission. Lastly, Rest helps extend Poliwrath’s usefulness throughout the entire game. The move is most useful when Poliwrath is expected to take a more defensive role, such as checking Dugtrio or Articuno. However, Poliwrath’s numerous weaknesses leave it very vulnerable while it is asleep, making it fairly difficult to wake it up.

Poliwrath is best suited for teams that appreciate the offensive advantages of sleep and the defensive advantages of a bulky Water-type Pokemon. Because of its somewhat quick Hypnosis, Pokemon that can bait in Hypno, Tangela, and opposing bulky Water-type Pokemon tend to be good partners. As such, Pokemon like These include Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Kangaskhan can be good partners. Wrappers like Tentacruel and Dragonite are also helpful for pivoting so Poliwrath can get in more safely when trying to threaten something with Hypnosis. Poliwrath can act as a soft check to Articuno and physical attackers like Dugtrio and Kangaskhan, making it a decent option on teams that may struggle against these Pokemon. Poliwrath thus soft checking Articuno and physical attackers like Dugtrio and Kangaskhan means it works quite well with Flying-, Ground-, and Electric-type Pokemon. Flying-type Pokemon are additionally good partners thanks to Poliwrath's resistance to Rock. This means Poliwrath can get in rather safely against Dugtrio if it needs to. Due to its weakness, (do you mean to include drill peck weakness as well? if not, you can do "Due to its Psychic weakness,") Poliwrath typically requires the support of multiple Psychic-type Pokemon, making both Hypno and Kadabra standard partners. Pokemon like Tangela, Dragonite, Dugtrio, and Golem are also good for patching up weak spots that Poliwrath might bring to a team. Finally, Agility sweepers like Articuno, Dodrio, and Dragonite all work well with Poliwrath, as Hypnosis can eliminate appreciate Hypnosis incapacitating a key Pokemon or provide providing them with an opportunity to set up.

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard / Hypnosis / Earthquake
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
After Hypnosis, Amnesia is the next most interesting option available to Poliwrath. Successfully setting up with Amnesia is fairly difficult in RBY UU, primarily due to the abundance abundant use of Wrap. While Poliwrath doesn’t suffer a ton of damage from Wrap, it is not uncommon for a Pokemon such as Tentacruel to switch in as Poliwrath first uses Amnesia, use Wrap to chip Poliwrath, it, and finally pivot out to something that can pick Poliwrath it off. This issue is worsened by the fact that Amnesia does Amnesia doing nothing for Poliwrath’s weakness to Flying, Drill Peck, meaning Dodrio can always knock out Poliwrath once its health drops below 50%. Additionally, Poliwrath competes with the already uncommon Golduck in this role, whose which has superior typing and Speed grant it for an easier time when setting up. Of course, this does not mean that Amnesia is not functional on Poliwrath. The move However, Amnesia still (tinkering possible) demands a lot of respect to deal with, meaning that it can drive very predictable switches that can be exploited. For example, if the opponent relies on Tentacruel to apply pressure to Amnesia Poliwrath, mixing in a Hypnosis or Earthquake can harshly punish the switch-in.

If the opponent lacks strong options to finish off a weakened Poliwrath, like Kadabra or Dodrio, Amnesia becomes a lot more practical. Even if Wrap is still on the table, Poliwrath’s above-average physical bulk enables it to stomach a few hits as it waits for misses, during which it can boost, attack, or heal off damage with Rest. If Wrap isn’t available, Poliwrath really only fears critical hits or an unlucky freeze, meaning it can set up in front of a surprisingly large number of Pokemon, most notably Articuno and bulky Water-type Pokemon. Surf is generally preferred as the Special the special move of choice due to STAB and its large sum of PP. At +4 Special, Surf will 2HKO every single non-resistant target in the tier. At +6, Surf can 3HKO even the mighty Vaporeon, meaning no Pokemon in the tier can Rest stall Poliwrath. Blizzard is often used alongside Surf as it gives Poliwrath for perfect coverage against everything aside from besides opposing Water-type Pokemon. It also allows Poliwrath to threaten Dragonite, Venusaur, and Tangela without boosting first. Earthquake and Hypnosis can be alternatively be used to punish common switch-ins to Amnesia Poliwrath, most notably Tentacruel. Hypnosis can also potentially net Poliwrath a free turn to set up an Amnesia, which can be crucial for extra damage or bulk.

Amnesia Poliwrath requires a lot of support to function properly, as a number of things can go wrong. Dodrio and Venusaur are entirely unfazed by Poliwrath’s boosting and can reliably KO it once it drops below 50%, so Pokemon that can handle them are quite helpful; these include Rock-, Ice-, and Flying-type Pokemon. Having tools that Pokemon like Dugtrio, Kangaskhan, and Kadabra can pressure common Poliwrath switch-ins like Tentacruel, Hypno, Kadabra, and Electric-type Pokemon are also good partners, as they Pokemon, all of which can often come in for free at points when the opponent expects Poliwrath to use Amnesia. This makes Pokemon like Dugtrio, Kanagaskhan, and Kadabra notable partners. If Poliwrath is not running Hypnosis, sleepers like Haunter, Venusaur, and Tangela are all good choices, (AC) as they can help Poliwrath help it find free turns to set up on (is this "on" intended? you can keep it if so; just want to make sure) or quickly dispatch a key threat that could otherwise prevent or stop (if you want to keep and differentiate these two ideas more, you can) an Amnesia sweep. Pokemon that can spread paralysis are also good partners, as paralysis hinders the ability of physical attackers like Persian and Kangaskhan to punish Poliwrath while it is asleep after using from Rest.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Poliwrath has a genuinely massive movepool consisting of many interesting niche options. Psychic is somewhat useful as a coverage move on either set, as it is resisted by only Hypno and Kadabra resist it. It also happens to be Poliwrath’s strongest option against opposing Poliwrath and the rare Venomoth. However, Poliwrath’s relatively low Special stat makes the move underwhelming, even if it hits the target for super effective damage; Tentacruel is only 4HKOed. Surf can be used as coverage on the Bulky Sleeper set (RC) but suffers from the same problems as Psychic. The move fails to OHKO Dugtrio and is outclassed by Earthquake when hitting neutral targets like Hypno and Kadabra. It is mainly useful for hitting Persian and Kangaskhan, but Hydro Pump and Submission are typically stronger options, albeit less reliable ones. Hyper Beam is another strong option for finishing off neutral targets, especially those with a low Defense stat. It is Poliwrath’s strongest move against Hypno, Kadabra, Articuno, Gyarados, and Vaporeon. Seismic Toss gives Poliwrath a consistent option for damage against every Pokemon, scoring a 4HKO or better against everything in the tier, aside from Vaporeon and Kangaskhan. It is seldom the strongest option for any Pokemon, but it reliably hits anything that could switch in. Because Blizzard fails to OHKO Dragonite and Hypnosis is inconsistent, Toxic is occasionally used to prevent Dragonite from setting up AgiliWrap. It also helps pressure other wrappers, most notably Pinsir. Finally, Counter is an interesting option in cases where Poliwrath is facing for Persian, Kangaskhan, Vaporeon, and Omastar, as all are quite likely to use a Normal-type move when facing Poliwrath, but it's difficult to fit into conventional sets.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Hypno and Kadabra**: Both Hypno and Kadabra can easily 2HKO Poliwrath with a STAB Psychic. Aside from Hypnosis and Amnesia-boosted attacks, Poliwrath has no way of doing anything better than 4HKOing Hypno. can do nothing to Hypno besides 4HKO or freeze. (is freeze worth mentioning? if not, you could do like "can realistically do nothing..." etc.) While Kadabra is much easier to KO than Hypno, it outspeeds Poliwrath, which makes Poliwrath largely unable to threaten it. Kadabra’s high critical hit rate is also frightening for Poliwrath, as a critical hit Psychic will always OHKO, even after Amnesia boosts.

**Gyarados**: Poliwrath lacks any tools to meaningfully threaten Gyarados outside of Hypnosis, being unable to score better than a 4HKO without boosting. Gyarados, meanwhile, outspeeds Poliwrath and will 2HKO Poliwrath it with Thunderbolt about one-third (added hyphen) of the time. Gyarados can even potentially come in for free if it can correctly predict an incoming Earthquake. Additionally, Gyarados's impressive Attack stat gives it the ability to pressure Poliwrath even if it has used lets it pressure Poliwrath even after Amnesia.

**Venusaur**: Venusaur outspeeds Poliwrath and can deal massive damage with Razor Leaf. Thanks to the move’s near-guaranteed critical hit, Razor Leaf it will nearly (or other word) always 2HKO Poliwrath, even if it has used Amnesia. Additionally, Venusaur has a faster and more accurate sleep move than Poliwrath, giving it ample ability to pressure it even if Poliwrath is Poliwrath even at full health. Poliwrath can threaten Venusaur with a 3HKO from Blizzard, however.

**Thunderbolt Users**: Poliwrath’s mediocre Special and Water typing leave it highly susceptible to Thunderbolt users. Electabuzz, Raichu, and Electrode are all guaranteed to 2HKO Poliwrath (RC) and, thanks to their high base Speeds, they are fairly likely to OHKO Poliwrath it with a critical hit. Weaker and less common Thunderbolt users like Gyarados, Dragonite, Persian, Clefabe, Clefable, and Raticate also can deal pretty hefty damage to Poliwrath.

**Dodrio**: Dodrio’s powerful STAB Drill Peck is extremely likely to 2HKO Poliwrath. While Dodrio does fear Blizzard, it can potentially come in on Earthquake or Body Slam and still take out Poliwrath before Blizzard can KO it. Additionally, Dodrio can punish Rest very harshly, potentially setting up with Agility (RC) (I imagine this doesn't break things? lmk if it does though) in addition to getting the KO.

**Partial-trapping Moves**: Because Poliwrath has many exploitable weaknesses and is relatively slow, it is not overly difficult to whittle down its HP with Wrap or Bind and pivot out to a strong attacker and that can finish it off. While Poliwrath has the potential to 2HKO all notable wrappers, Tentacruel, Dragonite, and Pinsir are still frequently used to handle Poliwrath. Additionally, if Dragonite hasn't sustained any damage, it is guaranteed to survive Blizzard, meaning it can set up with Agility unless Poliwrath happens to carry Toxic or can connect Hypnosis.

**Bulky Water-type Pokemon**: Bulky Water-type Pokemon, most notably Vaporeon, take little damage from all of Poliwrath’s moves. Dewgong functions similarly, but it is quite weak to Submission if Poliwrath has it. Bulky Water-type Pokemon can’t do too much in return outside of landing paralysis from Body Slam, however. Interestingly, Poliwrath is actually a hard check ("solid check", "counter", "hard counter", or one of the previous with an addendum like "bar Hypnosis") to itself, as no move aside from Psychic can 3HKO it.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Volk, 530877], [Sevi 7, 505149]]
- Quality checked by: [[pacattacc, 520967], [Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [, ]]

will make new stamp post when it's ready
 
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Pretty much implemented everything, no notable qualms. Some key points though:

Unlike Hypno, these Pokemon are much less able to punish Poliwrath in the event of a miss as well, (alternative: "struggle to punish Poliwrath in the event of a miss as well") as it resists Surf and Blizzard and takes less (takes less than what? other waters? you could also say eg "middling damage" instead of specifying) from Body Slam.
Poliwrath takes less from Body Slam than it does from Surf or Blizzard. I mention this because it is kind of surprising that Vaporeon does more to Poliwrath with Blizzard than Body Slam. I added the word "even" to try to clarify this.

Hydro Pump is Poliwrath’s strongest move and provides it with a strong option against neutral targets. The move is guaranteed to OHKO Dugtrio and Golem while also being a somewhat reliable tool for 4HKOing Hypno. The move is also very strong against Normal-type Pokemon, hitting for more damage somewhat reliably 4HKOing Hypno and hitting Normal-type Pokemon harder than any move aside from Submission.
I completely redid this part because I thought this correction was too wordy and hard to follow. I broke it up into multiple sentences if you'd like to read it over. (Let's see if I can keep short sentences through a second GP...)

Thank you and on to GP 2! Cheers!
 
blue = add
red = delete
green = comments

Bet you weren't expecting this to show up today. As always, this is a first draft, so anticipate mistakes and sudden changes. This one was a real slog to write, as Poliwrath has weird or complicated interactions with like every Pokemon in the tier. This version is also a complete overhaul of the original, bearing almost no resemblance to it (though I'm still giving Sevi 7 the second writer credit). I didn't even really want this analysis, but at least its up now, so... I hope you enjoy it at least. I can now get back to Victreebel for OU.

[OVERVIEW]

Poliwrath has very steep competition as one of many significant Water-type Pokemon in RBY UU. It does not have the speed of Tentacruel, the bulk of Vaporeon, the typing of Omastar, or the powerful STAB Ice moves of Dewgong. What Poliwrath does have, though, is one of the most diverse and interesting movepools of any Pokemon in the tier. For starters, it's the only legal fully-evolved Water-type Pokemon with a sleep-inducing move, that being Hypnosis. While Hypnosis has underwhelming accuracy, it is a unique tool that threatens slower foes such as Hypno and deters quicker foes such as Tentacruel from switching in. Offensively, Poliwrath has options such as Body Slam, Earthquake, Submission, and Psychic on top of the staples employed by virtually every Water-type Pokemon: Surf and Blizzard. While it can’t run all of these moves, Poliwrath can be tricky to play around and scouting is often required to dealt with it. To make it even more dynamic, Poliwrath also has Amnesia as a niche option that improves its offensive prowess and longevity. On top of all these options, Poliwrath can still serve as a traditional bulky Water-type Pokemon, being a soft check to Articuno and physical attackers like Dugtrio.

Despite its impressive advantages, Poliwrath is just short of truly being a staple in RBY UU. The most obvious weakness is its typing; while having a powered-up Submission and resisting Rock Slide are good traits, being weak to Psychic and Flying far outweighs the positives of being a Fighting-type. Hypno and Kadabra are both incredibly common and enormously threatening giving Poliwrath a major disadvantage not faced by other slow Water-type Pokemon. While Dodrio is less common, it too can easily pick off Poliwrath with STAB Drill Peck. Aside from this, Poliwrath has truly mediocre stats, lacking even one base stat with three digits. Physically, Poliwrath shines a little bit, as it has marginally more bulk than Vaporeon and Dewgong and hits as hard as Articuno. However, it is still outdone defensively by Omastar and offensively by most dedicated physical attackers. Specially, Poliwrath is very exploitable, being less bulky than even Dewgong by a fairly large margin. Its offensive options are similarly underwhelming; notably, Poliwrath’s Blizzard will always fail to OHKO Dragonite without a critical hit, meaning it can't rely on the move to prevent AgiliWrap like other Water-type Pokemon. Poliwrath is a niche option with several unfortunate shortcomings, fitting best on teams that need a bulky Water-type Pokemon and a sleeper but only have room for one Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Bulky Sleeper
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Blizzard
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Body Slam / Submission / Hydro Pump / Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Hypnosis is Poliwrath’s biggest selling point over conventional Water-type Pokemon. The move can be used in a number of ways to get an advantage, especially early-game. Poliwrath is just faster than Hypno, meaning it can usually earn a free sleep if it can get in against it. This can be accomplished by switching in as Hypno wakes up from Rest, or by using a Pokemon like Kadabra or Electabuzz that is are good at baiting in Hypno. Poliwrath also happens to be faster than Vaporeon and Omastar while Speed tying Dewgong, meaning it can easily threaten them with Hypnosis as well. Unlike Hypno, these Pokemon struggle to punish Poliwrath in the event of a miss, as it resists Surf and Blizzard and takes even less from Body Slam. While it is typically used early-game, Hypnosis is a decent tool throughout the entire match, as it gives Poliwrath an option to stymie dangerous sweepers like Dugtrio, Aerodactyl, and Articuno. Despite not being boosted by STAB, Blizzard is a very common move on Poliwrath, as it hits many key targets in the metagame for respectable damage. Blizzard 2HKOes Dugtrio, Dragonite, and Aerodactyl and 3HKOes Tangela and Venusaur. The damage on Dragonite is especially important, as Poliwrath has limited tools to stop AgiliWrap, especially if it has already hit something with Hypnosis. Poliwrath will typically make use of a physical move, as its decent Attack allows it to deal solid damage to opposing Water-type Pokemon, especially Tentacruel and Omastar. Earthquake is a common choice because it can 2HKO Tentacruel over half the time. Unlike with other Water-type Pokemon, Tentacruel is often hesitant to engage with Poliwrath, as Earthquake can deal immense damage on the switch or if Wrap misses. Earthquake is also notable for 2HKOing Haunter, Electabuzz, and Raichu and almost certainly 3HKOing Omastar.

Poliwrath’s final moveslot is usually dedicated to additional coverage or Rest. Body Slam is much weaker than Earthquake, but the chance for paralysis is very helpful for stymieing partial-trappers like Dragonite and offensive checks like Gyarados, Kadabra, and Electric-type Pokemon, which can otherwise take advantage of Poliwrath’s mediocre typing. Submission is another strong option that applies a lot of pressure to Normal-type Pokemon while also giving Poliwrath more options for Rock- and Ice-type Pokemon. Submission always 2HKOes Persian and can 2HKO Kangaskhan, Clefable, and Dewgong. Despite these advantages, Submission is not an overly common choice due to its low accuracy and dreadful recoil, which limits a Pokemon that is already not very bulky. Hydro Pump is Poliwrath’s strongest move and provides it with a strong option against neutral targets. The move is guaranteed to OHKO Dugtrio and Golem. Additionally, Hydro Pump 4HKOes Hypno and is Poliwrath's best option for hitting Kangaskhan and Persian after Submission. Lastly, Rest helps extend Poliwrath’s usefulness throughout the entire game. The move is most useful when Poliwrath is expected to take a more defensive role, such as checking Dugtrio or Articuno. However, Poliwrath’s numerous weaknesses leave it very vulnerable while it is asleep, making it fairly difficult to wake it up.

Poliwrath is best suited for teams that appreciate the offensive advantages of sleep and the defensive advantages of a bulky Water-type Pokemon. Because of its somewhat quick Hypnosis, Pokemon that can bait in Hypno, Tangela, and opposing bulky Water-type Pokemon tend to be good partners. These include Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Kangaskhan. Wrappers like Tentacruel and Dragonite are also helpful for pivoting so Poliwrath can get in more safely when trying to threaten something with Hypnosis. Poliwrath's ability to soft check Articuno and physical attackers like Dugtrio and Kangaskhan means it works quite well with Flying-, Ground-, and Electric-type Pokemon. Flying-type Pokemon are additionally good partners thanks to Poliwrath's resistance to Rock. This means Poliwrath can get in rather safely against Dugtrio if it needs to. Due to its Psychic weakness, Poliwrath typically requires the support of multiple Psychic-type Pokemon, making both Hypno and Kadabra standard partners. Pokemon like Tangela, Dragonite, Dugtrio, and Golem are also good for patching up weak spots that Poliwrath might bring to a team. Finally, Agility sweepers like Articuno, Dodrio, and Dragonite all appreciate Hypnosis incapacitating a key Pokemon or providing them with an opportunity to set up.

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard / Hypnosis / Earthquake
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
After Hypnosis, Amnesia is the next most interesting option available to Poliwrath. Successfully setting up with Amnesia is fairly difficult in RBY UU, primarily due to the abundant use of Wrap. While Poliwrath doesn’t suffer a ton of damage from Wrap, it is not uncommon for a Pokemon such as Tentacruel to switch in as Poliwrath first uses Amnesia, use Wrap to chip it, and finally pivot out to something that can pick Poliwrath off. This issue is worsened by the Amnesia doing nothing for Poliwrath’s weakness to Drill Peck, meaning Dodrio can always knock out(could change this to KO if you wanted to) Poliwrath once its health drops below 50%. Additionally, Poliwrath competes with the already uncommon Golduck in this role, which has superior typing and Speed that grant it an easier time when setting up. However, Amnesia still demands a lot of respect to deal with, meaning that it can drive very predictable switches that can be exploited. For example, if the opponent relies on Tentacruel to apply pressure to Amnesia Poliwrath, mixing in a Hypnosis or Earthquake can harshly punish the switch-in.

If the opponent lacks strong options to finish off a weakened Poliwrath, like Kadabra or Dodrio, Amnesia becomes a lot more practical. Even if Wrap is still on the table, Poliwrath’s above-average physical bulk enables it to stomach a few hits as it waits for misses, during which it can boost, attack, or heal off damage with Rest. If Wrap isn’t available, Poliwrath really only fears critical hits or an unlucky freeze, meaning it can set up in front of a surprisingly large number of Pokemon, most notably Articuno and bulky Water-type Pokemon. Surf is generally the special move of choice due to STAB and its large sum of PP. At +4 Special, Surf will 2HKO every single non-resistant target in the tier. At +6, Surf can 3HKO even the mighty Vaporeon, meaning no Pokemon in the tier can Rest stall Poliwrath. Blizzard is often used alongside Surf for perfect coverage against everything besides opposing Water-type Pokemon. It also allows Poliwrath to threaten Dragonite, Venusaur, and Tangela without boosting first. Earthquake and Hypnosis can alternatively be used to punish common switch-ins to Amnesia Poliwrath, most notably Tentacruel. Hypnosis can also potentially net Poliwrath a free turn to set up an Amnesia, which can be crucial for extra damage or bulk.

Amnesia Poliwrath requires a lot of support to function properly, as a number of things can go wrong. Dodrio and Venusaur are entirely unfazed by Poliwrath’s boosting and can reliably KO it once it drops below 50%, so Pokemon that can handle them are quite helpful; these include Rock-, Ice-, and Flying-type Pokemon. Pokemon like Dugtrio, Kadabra, and Kangaskhan can pressure common Poliwrath switch-ins like Tentacruel, Electabuzz, Hypno, and Kadabra, all of which can often come in for free when the opponent expects Poliwrath to use Amnesia. This makes Pokemon like Dugtrio, Kanagaskhan, and Kadabra notable partners. If Poliwrath is not running Hypnosis, sleepers like Haunter, Venusaur, and Tangela are all good choices, as they help it find free turns to set up or quickly dispatch a key threat that could otherwise prevent an Amnesia sweep. Pokemon that can spread paralysis are also good partners, as paralysis hinders the ability of physical attackers like Persian and Kangaskhan to punish Poliwrath while it is asleep from Rest.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Poliwrath has a genuinely massive movepool consisting of many interesting niche options. Psychic is somewhat useful as a coverage move on either set, as only Hypno and Kadabra resist it. It also happens to be Poliwrath’s strongest option against opposing Poliwrath and the rare Venomoth. However, Poliwrath’s relatively low Special stat makes the move underwhelming, even if it hits the target for super effective damage; Tentacruel is only 4HKOed. Surf can be used on the Bulky Sleeper set but suffers from the same problems as Psychic. The move fails to OHKO Dugtrio and is outclassed by Earthquake when hitting neutral targets like Hypno and Kadabra. It is mainly useful for hitting Persian and Kangaskhan, but Hydro Pump and Submission are typically stronger options, albeit less reliable ones. Hyper Beam is another strong option for finishing off neutral targets, especially those with a low Defense stat. It is Poliwrath’s strongest move against Hypno, Kadabra, Articuno, Gyarados, and Vaporeon. Seismic Toss gives Poliwrath a consistent option for damage against every Pokemon, scoring a 4HKO or better against everything in the tier, aside from Vaporeon and Kangaskhan. It is seldom the strongest option for any Pokemon, but it reliably hits anything that could switch in. Because Blizzard fails to OHKO Dragonite and Hypnosis is inconsistent, Toxic is occasionally used to prevent Dragonite from setting up AgiliWrap. It also helps pressure other partial-trappers, most notably Pinsir. Finally, Counter is an interesting option for Persian, Kangaskhan, Vaporeon, and Omastar, as all are quite likely to use a Normal-type move when facing Poliwrath, but it's difficult to fit into conventional sets.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Hypno and Kadabra**: Both Hypno and Kadabra can easily 2HKO Poliwrath with a STAB Psychic. Aside from Hypnosis and Amnesia-boosted attacks, Poliwrath can only 4HKO or attempt to freeze Hypno. While Kadabra is much easier to KO than Hypno, it outspeeds Poliwrath, which makes Poliwrath largely unable to threaten it. Kadabra’s high critical hit rate is also frightening for Poliwrath, as a critical hit Psychic will always OHKO, even after Amnesia boosts.

**Gyarados**: Poliwrath lacks any tools to meaningfully threaten Gyarados outside of Hypnosis, being unable to score better than a 4HKO without boosting. Gyarados, meanwhile, outspeeds Poliwrath and will 2HKO it with Thunderbolt about one third of the time. Gyarados can even come in for free if it can correctly predict an incoming Earthquake. Additionally, Gyarados's impressive Attack allows it to pressure Poliwrath even after Amnesia.

**Venusaur**: Venusaur outspeeds Poliwrath and can deal massive damage with Razor Leaf. Thanks to the move’s near-guaranteed critical hit, it will virtually always 2HKO Poliwrath even if it has used Amnesia. Additionally, Venusaur has a faster and more accurate sleep move than Poliwrath, giving it ample ability to pressure Poliwrath even at full health. Poliwrath can threaten Venusaur with a 3HKO from Blizzard, however.

**Thunderbolt Users**: Poliwrath’s mediocre Special and Water typing leave it highly susceptible to Thunderbolt users. Electabuzz, Raichu, and Electrode are all guaranteed to 2HKO Poliwrath, and,(remove comma) thanks to their high base Speeds, they are fairly likely to OHKO it with a critical hit. Weaker and less common Thunderbolt users like Gyarados, Dragonite, Persian, Clefable, and Raticate also can deal pretty hefty damage to Poliwrath.

**Dodrio**: Dodrio’s powerful STAB Drill Peck is extremely likely to 2HKO Poliwrath. While Dodrio does fear Blizzard, it can potentially come in on Earthquake or Body Slam and still take out Poliwrath before Blizzard can KO it. Additionally, Dodrio can punish Rest very harshly, potentially setting up with Agility on top of getting the KO.

**Partial-trapping Moves**: Because Poliwrath has many exploitable weaknesses and is relatively slow, it is not overly difficult to whittle down its HP with Wrap or Bind and pivot out to a strong attacker that can finish it off. While Poliwrath has the potential to 2HKO all notable partial-trappers, Tentacruel, Dragonite, and Pinsir are still frequently used to handle Poliwrath. Additionally, if Dragonite hasn't sustained any damage, it is guaranteed to survive Blizzard, meaning it can set up with Agility unless Poliwrath happens to carry Toxic or can connect Hypnosis.

**Bulky Water-type Pokemon**: Bulky Water-type Pokemon, most notably Vaporeon, take little damage from all of Poliwrath’s moves. Dewgong functions similarly, but is quite weak to Submission if Poliwrath has it. Bulky Water-type Pokemon can’t do too much in return outside of landing paralysis from Body Slam, however. Interestingly, Poliwrath is actually a solid check to itself once Sleep Clause is in effect, as no move aside from Psychic can 3HKO it.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Volk, 530877], [Sevi 7, 505149]]
- Quality checked by: [[pacattacc, 520967], [Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [, ]]
good job! :blobthumbsup:
 
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GP 2/2
[OVERVIEW]

Poliwrath has very steep competition as one of many significant Water-type Pokemon in RBY UU. It does not have the speed of Tentacruel, the bulk of Vaporeon, the typing of Omastar, or the powerful STAB Ice-type moves of Dewgong. What Poliwrath does have, though, is one of the most diverse and interesting movepools of any Pokemon in the tier. For starters, it's the only legal fully evolved Water-type Pokemon with a sleep-inducing move, that being Hypnosis. While Hypnosis has underwhelming accuracy, it is a unique tool that threatens slower foes such as Hypno and deters quicker foes such as Tentacruel from switching in. Offensively, Poliwrath has options such as Body Slam, Earthquake, Submission, and Psychic on top of the staples employed by virtually every Water-type Pokemon: Surf and Blizzard. While it can’t run all of these moves, Poliwrath can be tricky to play around and require scouting is often required to dealt with it. To make it even more dynamic, Poliwrath also has Amnesia as a niche option that improves its offensive prowess and longevity. On top of all these options, Poliwrath can still serve as a traditional bulky Water-type Pokemon, being a soft check to Articuno and physical attackers like Dugtrio.

Despite its impressive advantages, Poliwrath is just short of truly being a staple in RBY UU. The most obvious weakness is its typing; while having a powered-up Submission and resisting Rock Slide are good traits, being weak to Psychic and Flying far outweighs the positives of being a Fighting-type. Hypno and Kadabra are both incredibly common and enormously threatening, (comma) giving Poliwrath a major disadvantage not faced by other slow Water-type Pokemon. While Dodrio is less common, it too can easily pick off Poliwrath with STAB Drill Peck off. Aside from this, Poliwrath has truly mediocre stats, lacking even one base stat with three digits. Physically, Poliwrath shines a little bit, as it has marginally more bulk than Vaporeon and Dewgong and hits as hard as Articuno. However, it is still outdone defensively by Omastar and offensively by most dedicated physical attackers. Specially, Poliwrath is very exploitable, being less bulky than even Dewgong by a fairly large margin. Its offensive options are similarly underwhelming; notably, Poliwrath’s Blizzard will always fail to OHKO Dragonite without a critical hit, meaning it can't rely on the move to reliably prevent AgiliWrap like other Water-type Pokemon. Poliwrath is a niche option with several unfortunate shortcomings, fitting best on teams that need a bulky Water-type Pokemon and a sleeper but only have room for in one Pokemon.

[SET]
name: Bulky Sleeper
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Blizzard
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Body Slam / Submission / Hydro Pump / Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Hypnosis is Poliwrath’s biggest selling point over conventional Water-type Pokemon. The move can be used in a number of ways to get an advantage, especially early-game. Poliwrath is just faster than Hypno, meaning it can usually earn a free sleep if it can get in against it. If Poliwrath can get in against the slower Hypno, it's usually free to induce sleep. This can be accomplished by switching in as Hypno wakes up from Rest, or by using a Pokemon like Kadabra or Electabuzz that is good at baiting in Hypno to bait it in. Poliwrath also happens to be faster than Vaporeon and Omastar while Speed tying with Dewgong, meaning it can easily threaten them with Hypnosis as well. Unlike Hypno, these Pokemon struggle to punish Poliwrath in the event of a miss, as it resists Surf and Blizzard and takes even less from Body Slam. with attacks for missing. While it is typically used early-game, Hypnosis is a decent tool throughout the entire match, as it gives Poliwrath an option to stymie dangerous sweepers like Dugtrio, Aerodactyl, and Articuno. Despite not being boosted by STAB, Blizzard is a very common move on Poliwrath, as it Blizzard hits many key targets in the metagame for respectable damage. Blizzard 2HKOes Dugtrio, Dragonite, and Aerodactyl and 3HKOes Tangela and Venusaur. The damage on Dragonite is especially important, as Poliwrath has limited tools to stop AgiliWrap, especially if it has already hit something with Hypnosis. Poliwrath will typically make use of a physical move, as its decent Attack allows it to deal solid damage to opposing Water-type Pokemon, especially Tentacruel and Omastar. Earthquake is a common choice because it can 2HKO Tentacruel over half the time. Unlike with other Water-type Pokemon, Tentacruel is often hesitant to engage with Poliwrath, as Earthquake can deal immense damage on the switch or if Wrap misses. Earthquake is also notable for 2HKOing Haunter, Electabuzz, and Raichu and almost certainly 3HKOing Omastar.

Poliwrath’s final moveslot is usually dedicated to additional coverage or Rest. Body Slam is much weaker than Earthquake, but the chance for paralysis is very helpful for stymieing partial-trappers like Dragonite and offensive checks like Gyarados, Kadabra, and Electric-type Pokemon, which can otherwise take advantage of Poliwrath’s mediocre typing. Submission is another strong option that applies a lot of pressure to Normal-type Pokemon while also giving Poliwrath more options for Rock- and Ice-type Pokemon. Submission always 2HKOes Persian and can 2HKO Kangaskhan, Clefable, and Dewgong. Despite these advantages, Submission is not an overly common choice due to its low accuracy and dreadful recoil, which limit a Pokemon that is already not very bulky. Hydro Pump is Poliwrath’s strongest move and provides it with a strong option against neutral targets. The move is guaranteed to OHKO Dugtrio and Golem. Additionally, Hydro Pump 4HKOes Hypno and is Poliwrath's best option for hitting Kangaskhan and Persian after Submission. Lastly, Rest helps extend Poliwrath’s usefulness throughout the entire game. The move is most useful when Poliwrath is expected to take a more defensive role, such as checking Dugtrio or Articuno. However, Poliwrath’s numerous weaknesses leave it very vulnerable and difficult to wake while it is asleep, making it fairly difficult to wake it up.

Poliwrath is best suited for teams that appreciate the offensive advantages of sleep and the defensive advantages of a bulky Water-type Pokemon. Because of its somewhat quick Hypnosis, Pokemon that can bait in Hypno, Tangela, and opposing bulky Water-type Pokemon bulky Water-types tend to be good partners. These include Kadabra, Electabuzz, Raichu, and Kangaskhan. Wrappers like Tentacruel and Dragonite are also helpful for pivoting so Poliwrath can get in more safely when trying to threaten something with Hypnosis. Poliwrath's ability to soft check Articuno and physical attackers like Dugtrio and Kangaskhan means it works quite well with Flying-, Ground-, and Electric-type Pokemon. Flying-type Pokemon are additionally good partners thanks to Poliwrath's resistance to Rock. This means Poliwrath can get in rather safely against Dugtrio if it needs to. Due to its Psychic weakness, Poliwrath typically requires the support of multiple Psychic-type Pokemon, making both Hypno and Kadabra standard partners. Pokemon like Tangela, Dragonite, Dugtrio, and Golem are also good for patching up weak spots that Poliwrath might bring to a team. Finally, Agility sweepers like Articuno, Dodrio, and Dragonite all appreciate Hypnosis incapacitating a key Pokemon or providing them with an opportunity to set up.

[SET]
name: Amnesia
move 1: Amnesia
move 2: Surf
move 3: Blizzard / Hypnosis / Earthquake
move 4: Rest

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
After Hypnosis, Amnesia is the next most interesting option available to Poliwrath. Successfully setting up with Amnesia is fairly difficult in RBY UU, primarily due to the abundant use of Wrap. While Poliwrath doesn’t suffer a ton of damage from Wrap, it is not uncommon for a Pokemon such as Tentacruel to switch in as Poliwrath first uses Amnesia, (didn't we establish it's afraid of the other set?) use Wrap to chip it, and finally pivot out to something that can pick Poliwrath off. This issue is worsened by the fact that Amnesia does nothing for Poliwrath’s weakness to Drill Peck, meaning Dodrio can always knock out Poliwrath once its health drops below 50%. Additionally, Poliwrath competes with the already uncommon Golduck in this role, which has superior typing and Speed that grant it for an easier time when setting up. However, Amnesia still demands a lot of respect to deal with, meaning that it can drive very predictable switches that can be exploited. For example, if the opponent relies on Tentacruel to apply pressure to Amnesia Poliwrath, mixing in a Hypnosis or Earthquake can harshly punish the switch-in.

If the opponent lacks strong options to finish off a weakened Poliwrath, like Kadabra or Dodrio, Amnesia becomes a lot more practical. Even if Wrap is still on the table, Poliwrath’s above-average physical bulk enables it to stomach a few hits as it waits for misses, during which it can boost, attack, or heal off damage with Rest. If Wrap isn’t available present, Poliwrath really only fears critical hits or an unlucky freeze and freezes, meaning it can set up in front of a surprisingly large number of Pokemon, most notably Articuno and bulky Water-type Pokemon. Surf is generally the special move of choice due to STAB and its large sum of high PP. At +4 Special, Surf will 2HKO every single non-resistant target in the tier neutral Pokemon. At +6, Surf can 3HKO even the mighty Vaporeon, meaning no Pokemon in the tier nothing can Rest stall Poliwrath. Blizzard is often used alongside Surf for perfect coverage against everything besides opposing Water-type Pokemon but Water-types. It also allows Poliwrath to threaten Dragonite, Venusaur, and Tangela without boosting first. Earthquake and Hypnosis can alternatively be used to punish common switch-ins to Amnesia Poliwrath, most notably Tentacruel. Hypnosis can also potentially net Poliwrath a free turn to set up an Amnesia, which can be crucial for extra damage or bulk.

Amnesia Poliwrath requires a lot of support to function properly, as a number of things can go wrong. Dodrio and Venusaur are entirely unfazed by Poliwrath’s boosting and can reliably KO it once it drops below 50%, so Pokemon that can handle them are quite helpful; these include Rock-, Ice-, and Flying-type Pokemon. Pokemon like Dugtrio, Kadabra, and Kangaskhan can pressure common Poliwrath switch-ins like Tentacruel, Electabuzz, Hypno, and Kadabra, all of which can often come in for free when the opponent expects Poliwrath to use Amnesia. This makes Pokemon like Dugtrio, Kanagaskhan, and Kadabra notable partners. If Poliwrath is not running Hypnosis, sleepers like Haunter, Venusaur, and Tangela are all good choices, as they help it find free turns to set up or quickly dispatch a key threat that could otherwise prevent an Amnesia sweep. Pokemon that can spread paralysis are also good partners, as paralysis hinders the ability of Paralysis spreaders make it harder for physical attackers like Persian and Kangaskhan to punish Poliwrath while it is asleep from Rest.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Poliwrath has a genuinely massive movepool consisting of many interesting niche options. Psychic is somewhat useful as a coverage move on either set, as only Hypno and Kadabra resist it. It also happens to be Poliwrath’s strongest option against opposing Poliwrath and the rare Venomoth. However, Poliwrath’s relatively low Special stat makes the move underwhelming, even if it hits the target for super effective damage; Tentacruel is only 4HKOed. Surf can be used on the bulky sleeper set but suffers from the same problems as Psychic. The move fails to OHKO Dugtrio and is outclassed by Earthquake when hitting neutral targets like Hypno and Kadabra. It is mainly useful for hitting Persian and Kangaskhan, but Hydro Pump and Submission are typically stronger though less reliable options, albeit less reliable ones. Hyper Beam is another a strong option for finishing off neutral targets, especially those with a low Defense stat. It is Poliwrath’s strongest move against Hypno, Kadabra, Articuno, Gyarados, and Vaporeon. Seismic Toss gives Poliwrath a consistent option for damage against every Pokemon, scoring a 4HKO or better against everything in the tier, aside from Vaporeon and Kangaskhan. It is seldom the strongest option for any Pokemon, but it reliably hits anything that could switch in. Because Blizzard fails to OHKO Dragonite and Hypnosis is inconsistent, Toxic is occasionally used to prevent Dragonite from setting up AgiliWrap. It also helps pressure other partial trappers, most notably Pinsir. Finally, Counter is an interesting option for Persian, Kangaskhan, Vaporeon, and Omastar, as all which are quite likely to use a Normal-type move when facing Poliwrath, but it's difficult to fit into conventional sets.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Hypno and Kadabra**: Both Hypno and Kadabra can easily 2HKO Poliwrath with a STAB Psychic. Aside from Hypnosis and Amnesia-boosted attacks, Poliwrath can only 4HKO or attempt to freeze Hypno. While Kadabra is much easier to KO than Hypno, it outspeeds Poliwrath, which makes Poliwrath largely unable to threaten it. Kadabra’s high critical hit rate is also frightening for Amnesia Poliwrath, as a critical hit Psychic will always OHKO, even after Amnesia boosts.

**Gyarados**: Unboosted Poliwrath lacks any tools to meaningfully threaten Gyarados outside of Hypnosis, being unable to score better than a 4HKO without boosting. Gyarados, meanwhile, outspeeds Poliwrath and will 2HKO it with Thunderbolt about one third of the time. Gyarados can even come in for free if it can correctly predict an incoming Earthquake. Additionally, Gyarados's impressive Attack allows it to pressure Poliwrath even after Amnesia.

**Venusaur**: Venusaur outspeeds Poliwrath and can deal massive damage with Razor Leaf. Thanks to the move’s near-guaranteed critical hit, it will virtually always 2HKO Poliwrath even if it has used regardless of Amnesia. Additionally, Venusaur has a faster and more accurate sleep move than Poliwrath, giving it ample ability to pressure Poliwrath even at full health. Poliwrath can threaten Venusaur with a 3HKO from Blizzard, however.

**Thunderbolt Users**: Poliwrath’s mediocre Special and Water typing leave it highly susceptible to Thunderbolt users. Electabuzz, Raichu, and Electrode are all guaranteed to 2HKO Poliwrath, (comma) and, thanks to their high base Speeds, they are fairly likely to OHKO it with a critical hit and have high critical hit rates. Weaker and less common Thunderbolt users like Gyarados, Dragonite, Persian, Clefable, and Raticate also can deal pretty hefty damage to Poliwrath.

**Dodrio**: Dodrio’s powerful STAB Drill Peck is extremely likely to 2HKO Poliwrath. While Dodrio does fear Blizzard, it can potentially come in on Earthquake or Body Slam and still take out Poliwrath before Blizzard can KO it. Additionally, Dodrio can punish Rest very harshly, potentially setting up with Agility on top of getting the KO.

**Partial Trapping Moves**: Because Poliwrath has many exploitable weaknesses and is relatively slow, it is not overly difficult to whittle down its HP with Wrap or Bind and pivot out to a strong attacker that can finish it off. While Poliwrath has the potential to 2HKO all notable partial trappers, Tentacruel, Dragonite, and Pinsir are still frequently used to handle Poliwrath. Additionally, if Dragonite hasn't sustained any damage, it is guaranteed to survive Blizzard, meaning it can set up with Agility unless Poliwrath happens to carry Toxic or can connect land Hypnosis.

**Bulky Water-type Pokemon**: Bulky Water-type Pokemon, most notably Vaporeon, take little damage from all of Poliwrath’s moves. Dewgong functions similarly, but is quite weak to Submission if Poliwrath has it. Bulky Water-type Pokemon can’t do too much in return outside of landing paralysis from Body Slam, however. Interestingly, Poliwrath is actually a solid check to itself once Sleep Clause is in effect, as no move aside from Psychic can 3HKO it.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Volk, 530877], [Sevi 7, 505149]]
- Quality checked by: [[pacattacc, 520967], [Plague von Karma, 236353]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429], [, ]]
 
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This is uploaded, amazing work Volk!

Just one minor thing, the curled apostrophes used in this tend to break the markdown in analyses due to being used for certain processes;
< Incorrect
' < Correct
Luckily these are a quick find/replace fix on my end, but be sure to check what you're using!
 
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