Moveset e set competitivi di Poliwag

Moves Poliwag needs to have Belly Drum as a move, otherwise it is useless. Belly Drum allows Poliwag to boost its Attack to +6. Waterfall is Poliwag's main attacking move because after a Belly Drum, very few Pokemon can take a non resisted +6 Waterfall. Hypnosis is useful for creating an opportunity to get off Belly Drum, as Poliwag outspeeds the majority of the metagame. Encore can be used on Fake Out users or Water-type moves that Poliwag is immune to, creating another opportunity to set up. Return or Thief can be used as the last move. Return hits hard and provides good coverage alongside Waterfall, but the likes of Frillish and Ferroseed can easily stop it. Thief allows Poliwag to steal the opposing Pokemon's items after Poliwag loses its Berry Juice when using Belly Drum and also allows Poliwag to hit Frillish. Set Details This set is simple to use. Poliwag puts opposing Pokemon to sleep with Hypnosis, then uses Belly Drum to reach a massive Attack stat. Then, it sweeps with Waterfall and either Thief or Return. Water Absorb provides Poliwag with an immunity to Water-type attacks, giving it a few chances to switch in. Berry Juice allows Poliwag to restore HP after using Belly Drum. Team Options Poliwag loves Sticky Web support, as it allows Poliwag to outspeed its common checks, such as Elekid and Choice Scarf Chinchou. Stealth Rock support is helpful for combating Magnemite and other Sturdy + Berry Juice users who can survive a hit. As for Pokemon that support Poliwag, Magnemite can help take out Poliwag's counters such as Ferroseed and Frillish.

Under the right circumstances, BellyWag can potentially sweep through whole teams. Though this set is very risky, if you manage to pull it off, the reward will be tremendous. After a single Belly Drum, Poliwag gets +6 Attack, and coupled with his blistering 19 Speed, you have a real scary tadpole on your hands. The given moveset is only resisted by Ferroseed and Frillish, which should both be dealt with before attempting to set up. Waterfall is the main STAB move and has a 20% chance of causing a flinch, which is a nice bonus. Return is the best option for the second attack because it lets Poliwag hit the entire metagame neutrally except for Ferroseed and Frillish. Hypnosis is the best option for the last slot to let Poliwag sleep anything slower than him, allowing him to get a free Belly Drum up. Oran Berry is the best option for an item because it heals Poliwag when he reaches 50% of its health. This works especially well with Belly Drum because as he uses it, he loses 50% of his health, which activates Oran Berry. A Jolly nature is preferred because Poliwag needs all the Speed he can get if he wants to maximize his sweeping capabilities. The given EV spread is used to maximize Poliwag's Speed, as well as his Attack. The other EVs are used to give Poliwag another point in his Defense and Special Defense. Any Pokemon with priority will beat this set into the ground. As Poliwag is so frail, he won't be able to take any attacks before he can use Belly Drum. Ferroseed easily beats this set because it resists both the main attacks and can KO back with Bullet Seed. BellyWag really likes Stealth Rock support, as it can break Focus Sashes, so Poliwag can KO things without worrying about them. Rain Dance can be helpful because it activates Poliwag's Swift Swim, and gives Waterfall a nice power boost. Pretty much any Choice Scarf user that carries an Electric- or Grass-type attack can counter Poliwag; an example of this is Choice Scarf Chinchou, which outruns Poliwag and OHKOes with Thunderbolt. As Poliwag needs as much of his health as possible when he switches in, spinners such as Baltoy and Sandshrew are good teammates. Sandshrew can set up Stealth Rock to support Poliwag's sweep as well. Aside from laying Stealth Rock, Baltoy can also set up dual screens, which make it much easier for Poliwag to take a hit. Wynaut is a good teammate for BellyWag because it can trap priority users, most notably Timburr and Croagunk, and KO them with Counter or Mirror Coat. Dig is also a decent move to use on this set to hit Frillish and Ferroseed neutrally. Remember, Poliwag only gets one shot at this sweep, so make sure you pick a good time to use him.

This is arguably Poliwag's most useful set. Poliwag has fantastic Speed and can easily outspeed most of the unboosted metagame. Though Poliwag might seem to be outclassed by other Water-types such as Staryu and Chinchou, he has something that the other's do not: Hypnosis. Hypnosis is extremely useful, as it can sleep slower threats that could potentially sweep your team. Hydro Pump is Poliwag's main STAB move and can dish out a lot of damage to anything that doesn't resist it. Surf can be used over Hydro Pump if you prefer reliability to power, but in most cases, Poliwag really needs all the power he can get. Ice Beam is used to beat Grass-types and Dragon-types which resist Hydro Pump. Hidden Power Grass is there for Water-type threats such as Chinchou which resist both Hydro Pump and Ice Beam. Life Orb is the preferred item because Poliwag needs the extra damage output, but Eviolite can be used for some added bulk. The given EV spread maximizes Poliwag's Speed and Special Attack while giving him one point of bulk on Defense and Special Defense. If you opt to use Rain Dance in the last slot over Hypnosis, then change the ability to Swift Swim. Rain Dance is a viable option because it hugely boosts Poliwag's Water-type attacks, and also gives him a Speed stat of 36. Another option is using Choice Specs, which will give Poliwag a bigger boost in Special Attack than Life Orb does, but Poliwag doesn't get to switch moves and will be easier to predict. Ferroseed easily counters this set by resisting all of Poliwag's attacks barring Ice Beam and KOing him back with Bullet Seed. Hidden Power Fire is a decent alternative to Hidden Power Grass to KO Snover and Ferroseed, but doesn't see much use outside of that. Magnemite is a great partner for Poliwag because it can trap and beat Ferroseed with Hidden Power Fire.

Though this set is highly risky, Poliwag can become a devastating sweeper given the right support and circumstances. Belly Drum quadruples Poliwag's Attack stat. Encore or Hypnosis are also vital so Poliwag can safely use Belly Drum. Hypnosis is arguably the better option, despite its shaky accuracy. However, Encore can be used to lock Poliwag's opponent into a Water-type attack or a setup move, giving Poliwag a free Belly Drum no matter what they do. Waterfall is a good STAB attack for Poliwag, since it has decent power and a 20% chance of flinching the opponent. In the final slot, Return is the best option, as it grants Poliwag perfect neutral coverage in Little Cup when used in tandem with Waterfall. An Oran Berry is absolutely necessary so Poliwag will be at full health after using Belly Drum. A Jolly nature and 196 Speed EVs are essential because Poliwag needs all the Speed it can get. Attack is also maximized, and the remaining EVs give Poliwag an extra point in both its defenses. Poliwag does not need to invest in HP because it already has 20 (a number divisible by 4) without any investment. Since Poliwag lacks any form of priority, Pokemon with priority can beat this set before Poliwag can set up. Because this set can only be used once per battle, it is imperative to remove priority users like Croagunk and Dratini. Bronzor is a great partner for this purpose, as it can OHKO Croagunk with Psychic and dent Dratini with Hidden Power Ice. Bronzor can also set up Stealth Rock, which effectively removes the Focus Sashes on any Pokemon trying to revenge kill Poliwag; it is a great user of dual screens, which makes Poliwag harder to revenge kill. Rain Dance supporters are also helpful partners, since they can end harmful weather effects and potentially give Poliwag's Waterfall a significant boost. In this case, Voltorb is the premier choice as a supporter, as it can set up Rain Dance and then Explode, allowing Poliwag to get a clean switch in. Gligar is another great choice as a partner, as it is immune to Electric-type attacks. In addition, it can Baton Pass Poliwag an Agility, meaning that Poliwag does not have to invest in Speed. Munchlax can take out special Choice Scarf sweepers with Return or trap them with Pursuit, since Poliwag doesn't have great defenses and can be revenge killed quite easily. Rapid Spinners like Pineco are also good teammates, since it is vital for Poliwag to be at full health when it switches in.

At first glance, this set seems like an inferior Staryu or Chinchou, but that is certainly not the case. Poliwag has access to Hypnosis, something most Water-types wish they could have, and is the fastest user of it in Little Cup (tied with Meowth). This allows Poliwag to have its own niche in the metagame, allowing it to stand out amongst the myriad other Water-types in LC. Hydro Pump is a great STAB for Poliwag to have, though its Special Attack is a bit lacking. Hidden Power Electric and Ice Beam pair well together, forming "BoltBeam" coverage. Unlike most special sweepers, this set is not directly countered by Munchlax. Even if Hypnosis misses as Munchlax switches in, Poliwag will get another chance to put the menacing blob to sleep. Life Orb is vital to the success of this set, as Poliwag needs to hit as hard as possible. The EVs maximize Poliwag's Special Attack and Speed, and the remaining EVs give Poliwag an extra point in both of its defenses. 200 Special Attack EVs are needed to make up for the IV loss when running Hidden Power Electric. Its HP IV is reduced to 3 so Poliwag only loses 1 HP from Life Orb recoil when it attacks. Though this set is Poliwag's best chance at success in the current metagame, it still has a lot of flaws. To begin with, Poliwag only hits 13 Special Attack, so a bunch of Pokemon will be able to switch in and take an attack or two with ease. In addition, it can be revenge killed by many Choice Scarf sweepers, especially if Poliwag has already put another Pokemon to sleep. Hidden Power Grass is an interesting option on this set, as it still hits most Water-types just as hard as Hidden Power Electric, and gets bonus coverage on Chinchou and Wooper, two surefire counters to this set. However, Poliwag would lose to Mantyke if it doesn't have HP Electric. Choice Scarf Snover resists Poliwag's STAB attack, and can easily OHKO Poliwag with a STAB super effective Energy Ball. For that reason, Munchlax is a great teammate for Poliwag. Its high Special Defense will allow it to switch into Snover with impunity and trap it with Pursuit, or simply go for the jugular with Fire Punch. Munchlax can also handle Chinchou, a Pokemon that counters most Poliwag quite easily. Since this set will also lose to Choice Scarf Mankey and its Vital Spirit, Duskull is a great partner for this set. It can come in on any of Mankey's attacks and threaten it with a Will-O-Wisp.

Because of Poliwag's blistering Speed and access to Encore and Hypnosis, it can also function as an efficient anti-lead. If facing a Fake Out user such as Meowth or Aipom, the best idea would be to take the attack, then lock it into the move the next turn with Encore. If facing a Stealth Rock lead like Bronzor, putting it to sleep via Hypnosis on the first turn is the better option. However, Poliwag should just attack if the opposing Pokemon is weak to Waterfall, such as Phanpy and Hippopotas. The Choice Scarf allows Poliwag to beat all Pokemon up to Choice Scarf 19 Speed Pokemon. In addition, this Poliwag set can also function as a defensive pivot mid-game. It can come in on Carvanha's Substitute or any of its Water-type attacks thanks to Water Absorb and Encore it, while it cannot do anything back to Poliwag. It can also come in on Staryu's or Mantyke's Hydro Pump and force them to switch out after Encore. The EVs maximize its Attack and Speed, with the remainder going to HP. Since Poliwag will likely be Encoring the opponent's Water-type attacks, it is imperative that a teammate can also take Water-type attacks well. Water Absorb Mantyke is a good candidate, and although it shares an Electric-type weakness with Poliwag, it can take out the opposing Water-type with Hidden Power Electric or set up on it with Agility. Other setup sweepers are also good options as teammates, since they will appreciate Encored Fake Outs, Substitutes, and Protects. Swords Dance or Rock Polish Gligar is a good teammate, since it is immune to Electric, neutral to Grass, and can increase its stats to crazy heights after just a single boost.