Pokémon · Sun & Moon
Poliwhirl
Unbroken Bonds · #38 · Uncommon · 2019
Listings
No active listings
From
—
Market reference
$0.30
TCGPlayer
Current listings on The Game Traders
No active listings for this card right now.
Card facts
Quick reference for collectors and graders.
- Set position
- 38 / 234
- Release year
- 2019
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- HP
- 90
- Subtype
- Stage 1
- Evolves from
- Poliwag
- Evolves to
- Poliwrath, Politoed
- Retreat cost
- 2 energy
- Illustrator
- Yukiko Baba
- Pokédex #
- 61
- Series
- Sun & Moon
Card analysis
Computed from this card's stats and text — not a reposted price.
- Primary role
- Status Conditions
- Damage efficiency
- 40 damage
- 20 per Energy
- Prize liability
- 1 Prize given up
- Single-prize attacker — favourable prize trades
- Setup
- Stage 1
- One evolution step from a Basic
Also does
Strategy & play
How Poliwhirl plays — derived from its stats and the rules of the game, not an opinion.
- Inflicts Paralysis — the Defending Pokémon can’t attack or retreat for a turn. A reliable one-turn lock; chain it to stall the opponent out.
- Its main attack (Knuckle Punch) needs 2 Energy — a turn-2 swing on manual attachment.
- Needs Water Energy to attack — your line must supply that color.
- Water type, weak to Grass ×2 — a Grass attacker doing ≥45 effectively one-shots it.
- A single-prize attacker — prize-trade-positive against ex / V decks that give up two at a time.
- A Stage 1 — one step up from Poliwag; doesn’t help your opening hand, but quick to set up.
How to beat Poliwhirl
- Exploit its Grass weakness — ≥45 damage one-shots it.
- Gust it before the evolution is set up.
- On the receiving end of a condition? Retreat, switch, or evolve to wipe it — conditions only stick to the Active.
More by Yukiko Baba
This card was illustrated by Yukiko Baba.
Building around Poliwhirl?
Drop it into the deck builder for a live consistency score, synergy suggestions, and Standard legality checks.
About this card
"Although it has become capable of living on land, it spends its time in the water, where its prey, fish Pokémon, are plentiful."
WBubble — 20
Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent's Active Pokémon is now Paralyzed.
CCKnuckle Punch — 40
Weakness:G×2
Retreat cost:CC
Tournament legality
Current legal status across competitive formats.
Recent tournament results
View calendar →Tournaments from the past 30 days where Poliwhirl was legal.
Pricing reference
Latest snapshot from the upstream catalog. Actual marketplace prices fluctuate by condition, edition, and grade — use this as a reference, not a quote.
TCGPlayer (USD)
Updated 2026/07/17| Variant | Low | Mid | High | Market | Direct Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | $0.10 | $0.35 | $19.98 | $0.30 | — |
| Reverse Holofoil | $0.49 | $0.95 | $19.98 | $0.98 | — |
Cardmarket (EUR)
Updated 2026/03/11| Variant | Price |
|---|---|
| 1-day average | €0.40 |
| 7-day average | €0.19 |
| 30-day average | €0.18 |
| Low | €0.02 |
| Trend price | €0.20 |
| Low (excellent+) | €0.02 |
| Reverse holo low | €0.35 |
| reverseHoloAvg1 | €0.90 |
| Reverse holo 7-day | €0.93 |
| reverseHoloSell | €1.05 |
| averageSellPrice | €0.16 |
| Reverse holo 30-day | €0.85 |
| Reverse holo trend | €1.02 |
Frequently asked
How can I tell if my Poliwhirl is real?
Poliwhirl is not on our list of commonly-counterfeited cards, but counterfeits exist across every set. Check the back-light test (real cards have a black inner layer that blocks light; counterfeits glow through), the rosette dot pattern on the back under magnification, font weight and kerning on the card name, and the holofoil pattern if applicable. For high-value copies we recommend submitting to a professional grader (PSA, BGS, CGC) for tamper-evident authentication.
What is Poliwhirl worth?
As of the latest data, the current market reference price for Poliwhirl is $0.30; there are no active listings on The Game Traders right now. Actual value depends on condition, grading, edition and printing variant — graded high-condition copies (PSA 9–10) trade at a substantial premium over raw copies.
What set is Poliwhirl from?
Poliwhirl is from the Pokémon set "Unbroken Bonds" in the Sun & Moon series, released in 2019.
What rarity is Poliwhirl?
Poliwhirl is a Uncommon card in the Unbroken Bonds set.
Other Poliwhirl printings
Same Pokémon card across other sets and rarities.
