A Closer Look at the Poliwag Family
By sneasel4856
Because of the many Evolutionary possibilities, the Poliwag family
is
an interesting one to look at. There are two Poliwags, two
Poliwhirls,
and, two possible Stage 2 Evolutions--Poliwrath, with two versions,
and
Politoed, with one version. Which Poliwag and Poliwhirl you choose
to
play can also depend on the final Evolution. Let’s look, shall
we?
Poliwag--Base
Type: Water
Basic Pokémon
40 HP
W--Water Gun 10+
Does 10 damage plus 10 more damage for each W Energy attached
to
Poliwag but not used to pay for this attack’s Energy cost. Extra
W
Energy after the 2nd don’t count.
Weakness: Grass
Resistance: XXX
Retreat Cost: 1
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Poliwag--Neo Discovery
Type: Water
Basic Pokémon
40 HP
1--Rollout 10
W--Hypnosis The Defending Pokémon is now Asleep.
Weakness: Grass
Resistance: XXX
Retreat Cost: 1
First I’ll compare the two Poliwags.
-Type: Both are Water.
-HP: Both have 40 HP.
-Attacks: Both can deal a first turn 10 damage, but the Base
Poliwag
can add up to twenty onto that. The Neo Poliwag, on the other hand
can
disrupt by putting the opponent to sleep as soon as the first turn.
I’d
say the winner of this bout is the Neo Poliwag, but the Base Poliwag
is
better in mono-Water decks.
-Bottom stats: Both are the same.
Poliwhirl--Base
Type: Water
Stage 1 Evolution
60 HP
WW--Amnesia
Choose 1 of the Defending Pokémon’s attacks. That Pokémon
can’t use
that attack during your opponent’s next turn.
WW1--Doubleslap 30x
Flip 2 coins. This attack does 30 damage times the number of
heads.
Weakness: Grass
Resistance: XXX
Retreat Cost: 1
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Poliwhirl--Neo Discovery
Type: Water
Stage 1 Evolution
70 HP
1--Belly Drum
Put 3 damage counters on Poliwhirl. If this doesn’t Knock
Out
Poliwhirl, search your deck for up to 2 Basic Energy cards and
attach
them to Poliwhirl. Shuffle your deck afterward.
WW1--Water Gun 30+
Does 30 damage plus 10 more damage for each W Energy attached
to
Poliwhirl but not used to pay for this attack’s Energy cost.
You
can’t add more than 20 damage in this way.
Weakness: Grass
Resistance: XXX
Retreat Cost: 1
Next, I’ll compare the two Poliwhirls.
-Type: Both are Water.
-HP: Base Poliwhirl has 60 HP; Neo Poliwhirl has 70 HP
-Attacks: Neo Poliwhirl has better attacks though Belly drum
should be
saved for when Poliwhirl has no damage and you can Evolve
it on the
next turn.
-Bottom stats: Both are the same.
Use of Poliwrath and Politoed are primarily situational, but I’ll go
into the pluses and minuses of each as I see them. I’ll compare
all
three together because of similarities between the three.
Poliwrath--Base
Type: Water
Stage 2 Evolution
90 HP
WW1--Water Gun 30+
Does 30 damage plus 10 more damage for each W Energy attached
to
Poliwhirl but not used to pay for this attack’s Energy cost. Extra
W
Energy after the 2nd don’t count.
WW2--Whirlpool 40
If the Defending Pokémon has any Energy cards attached to it, choose
1
of them and discard it.
Weakness: Grass
Resistance: XXX
Retreat Cost: 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poliwrath--Neo Discovery
Type: Fighting
Stage 2 Evolution
90 HP
F1--Corkscrew Punch 30
FF2--Submission 70
Poliwrath does 20 damage to itself.
Weakness: Psychic
Resistance: XXX
Retreat Cost: 2
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Politoed--Neo Discovery
Type: Water
Stage 2 Evolution
100 HP
Pokémon Power: Frog Song
Whenever Politoed’s attack damages the Defending Pokémon (after
applying Weakness and Resistance) if there are more than
3 Poliwags,
Poliwhirls, Poliwraths, and/or Politoeds in play (including your
opponent’s) that attack does 40 more damage (no matter how many heads
you get). This power stops working while Politoed is Asleep,
Confused
or Paralyzed.
WW2--Doubleslap 40x
Flip 2 coins. This attack does 40 damage times the number of
heads.
Weakness: Grass
Resistance: XXX
Retreat Cost: 3
Finally, I’ll compare the two Poliwraths and Politoed.
-Type: Base Poliwrath and Politoed are Water; Neo Poliwrath
is
Fighting.
-HP: Both Poliwraths have 90 HP; Politoed has 100 HP.
-Attacks: Base Poliwrath’s attacks are most solid, though if
you can
get Politoed’s Frog Song power working, damage can be a
devastating
80, taking into account an average 40 damage from Doubleslap per
turn.
Neo Poliwrath can be strong, but wo words of advice with this
Pokémon:
Gold Berry.
-Bottom stats: Both Base Poliwrath and Politoed are the same,
while
Neo Poliwrath is weak to Psychic and can retreat for one less
Energy.
Evolution Suggestions:
Base Poliwag--->Neo Poliwhirl--->Base Poliwrath
Neo Poliwag--->Neo Poliwhirl--->Neo Poliwrath
Base Poliwag--->Neo Poliwhirl--->Politoed
This is part one of a four part series. Watch for:
Pt. 2: A Closer Look at the Kabuto Family
Pt. 3: A Closer Look at the Omanyte Family
Pt. 4: A Closer Look at Corsola, featuring a deck using hese
Pokémon.
Send comments to
sneasel4856@yahoo.com