Games - Poliwag

	Games - Poliwag

Poliwag (ニョロモ Nyoromo in Japan, Quapsel in Germany and Ptitart in France) is a fictional character from the Pokémon franchise. It is a Water-type tadpole-like Pokémon and is #60 in the National Pokédex.

The name Poliwag is a portmanteau of pollywog and wag, which means to move a body part (in Poliwag's case, the tail) rapidly from side to side. The Japanese version of the name is probably onomatopoeic: "Nyoro nyoro" describes "wiggling" or "squirming" or "slithering", which is how a tadpole or a "Poliwag" would move.

Biology

Poliwag are very young in their life cycle, with newly-grown legs that are still tender and weak. Poliwag's tail, however, is quite strong, allowing it to swim at great speeds without fatigue. Hence, it prefers swimming through ponds and rivers than walking.

The belly of Poliwag is characterized by a large, hypnotic swirl-shape. The swirl is actually Poliwag's internal organs, visible through its soft, thin and translucent skin. The direction of this swirl differs from area to area. The equator is thought to have an effect on the direction of the swirl.

Poliwag's thin skin is very rubbery, and works as protection from danger. Even sharp objects will bounce right off.

In the video games

Poliwag is a generally widely spread Pokémon and is available in the Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal games.

Poliwag can be found in Red/Blue by fishing at Cerulean City, Vermilion City, Pallet Town, Viridian City or Routes 22.

Poliwag can be found in Yellow by fishing at Viridian City, Route 22 and Route 23.

Poliwag can be found in Gold/Silver by fishing or surfing at The Ruins of Alph, Blackthorn City, Ecruteak City, Ilex Forest, Mt. Silver, Violet City, Viridian City and in routes: 6, 22, 28, 30, 31, 35, 43, 44.

In the animé

As a wild Pokémon, Poliwag has appeared numerous times in the Pokémon animé, with each appearance being mostly- if not entirely- incidental. However, Poliwag has also appeared as part of a major character's team. While in the Orange Islands
in the Pokémon animé, in the episode "The Stun Spore Detour", Ash and Tracey got themselves paralysed by a Vileplume's Stun Spore. Using Ash's Pokédex, Misty discovered the cure was a plant called Salvea weed which grew nearby around the habitat of wild Poliwag.

Ironically, Jessie from Team Rocket had been similarly stunned by a Vileplume (though it is unclear just how badly affected she was- Ash and Tracey could barely talk, Jessie found the energy to not only yell at James and Meowth, but to remain her usual animated self). James recalled Salvea weed as a paralysis cure from his childhood, and Jessie sent him and Meowth to find some.

Initially the ones to find it, James and Meowth scared Poliwag off, leading it to bump into Misty who defended it. James and Meowth spent much of the rest of the episode attempting to steal Poliwag, so that it may lead them to the Salvea weed, even going as far to dress up as a mother and baby to try and fool Misty- unsuccessfully, as usual. In the end, Poliwag helped Misty find a large amount of Salvea weed. Despite them causing her trouble, Misty was nice enough to leave some of the weed for Team Rocket, as she knew they were only trying to help their friend. After finding the Salvea weed, Misty was about to return to Ash, Tracey and Pikachu but Poliwag decided to stay with its new friends instead of remaining on its own in the wild.

For a long while after this point, Poliwag was one of Misty's most prominent Pokémon. Though it did not appear in every episode like Togepi did throughout its time in the anime, and wasn't perhaps quite as popular with fans as the ever-loveable Psyduck, Poliwag remained a staunch ally for Misty and was often used to thwart Team Rocket, put out fires or just battle.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Poliwag ]

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