Politoed is a Water-type Pokémon that’s available to catch in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet thanks to The Teal Mask DLC. Originally introduced in Gen II, you may be interested in having it back on your team. This guide will show you how to get Politoed in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.
How to Get Politoed in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
The only way to get Politoed is by evolving Poliwhirl into its next form. This is done by giving your Poliwhirl a King’s Rock and then trading it to and back from another player via Union Circle of the PokéPortal. This process will evolve Poliwhirl into Politoed.
The catch is that you need a Nintendo Online Membership to trade Pokémon in the first place. You can’t get Politoed via a stone evolution. There is a way to get Politoed without trading with another player which we’ll talk about in this guide. However you’ll need Pokémon GO to do this.
Of course to get Politoed, you’ll need a Poliwhirl first. To do that, you’ll first have to Poliwag first. Read on as we’ll show you how to get both.
How to Get Poliwag in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
You can obtain a Poliwag by encountering it south of Reveler’s Road, east of Mossui Town, on the river in Kitakami. It usually prefers to swim in the water but can be found walking around the river bank. Once you get into a battle with it, catch it with a pokéball like any other Pokémon.
The level at which you’ll encounter Poliwag will differ depending on where you are in the game. If you’ve already completed the base Pokémon Scarlet/Violet, then this is a Level 60 Poliwag, which you’ll have to wear down until its health reaches red, so you’ll have better odds of catching it with a Pokéball. Be careful not to deplete its health fully.
You’ll have better odds fighting a Poliwag with grass-type or electric-type Pokémon since it’s a water-type. Despite how fast it is, the Poliwag is easy to knock out in one hit, so we advise avoiding using its weaknesses against it.
How to Get Poliwhirl in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
You’ll have to evolve Poliwag to get a Poliwhirl by leveling it up. Once it reaches Level 25, it will evolve into a Poliwhirl. If you captured a Poliwag above that level, just level it up one more time by battling or giving it Rare Candy to evolve it.
While Poliwag can evolve into a Poliwhirl, you can also evolve it into a Poliwrath. By giving it a Water Stone, you can get Poliwrath instead of Poliwhirl. However, you need Poliwhirl if you want a Politoed, so don’t use the Water Stone to evolve this Pokémon.
How to Get Politoed Without Trading in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
You can get Politoed by using Pokémon GO if you don’t have a Nintendo Online Membership or have anyone to trade with. In Pokémon GO, capture a Poliwhirl and give it King’s Rock and then 100 Poliwag Candy, which evolves it into a Politoed. You can then send it to Pokémon HOME and transfer it to your Pokémon Scarlet and Violet saved file.
You’ll first have to link you HOME to GO which you can do by following these steps:
- Press the Poké Ball icon in the main screen
- Go to Settings
- Go to Connected Device and Settings
- Go to Pokémon HOME
- Tap on Send Pokémon and then Continue
Ensure that your Pokémon GO’s Politoed is starred or set as your Buddy Pokémon. So long as you have GO Transport Energy, you can send it over. After sending Politoed to your Pokémon HOME, access it on your Nintendo Switch and move Politoed by selecting the Pokémon GO icon and moving it to Basic Box. After launching Pokémon Violet/Scarlet, move the Basic Box to a PC Box.