Where To Get Poliwag
Poliwag can only be found by fishing, so you’re going to need to get yourself a Good Rod or a Super Rod before you go Poliwag hunting.
The Good Rod is found in Fuchsia City, in the house to the right of the Warden’s House The Super Rod is found in the house in the middle of Route 12
Once you have your fishing rod, there are a number of locations you can fish up a Poliwag.
If You Have The Good Rod:
If you have the Good Rod, you’re going to be finding lower level Poliwag. However you’ll also have a higher chance of finding Poliwag. If you use the Super Rod, you can still find Poliwag, but you’ll be more likely to fish up stronger Pokémon. The chart above has every location with Poliwag, but if you want my favorite spots, then head to:
Route 6 Safari Zone (Any Area) Viridian City
These locations are available early game, which you’re probably still in if you’re using the Good Rod. They are also super easy to get to and chock-full of Poliwag.
If You Have The Super Rod:
As you can see, there’s a lower chance of catching Poliwag and less locations available for doing so, when you use the Super Rod. I’d still recommend just fishing in Viridian City or on Route 6, because these locations are very easy to get to, even if the encounter rate doesn’t change between locations.
Where To Get Poliwhirl
If you want to evolve your Poliwag into Poliwhirl, then you can train it until it reaches level 25. If you want to catch Poliwhirl, the good news is that it can be found at many of the same locations that Poliwag is found. The bad news is that you can only catch Poliwhirl with a Super Rod.
Best Locations To Catch Poliwhirl (With Super Rod)
All of these locations are found very early on in the game. When I used the Super Rod in Viridian City, I found about 5 Poliwhirls in a row before running into a puny Poliwag, so that’s my favorite spot by far.
Where To Get Poliwrath
Poliwrath can only be obtained through evolution with the Water Stone. You cannot find Poliwrath in the wild. To get Poliwrath: There are no level requirements for using the Water Stone, so you can get a Poliwrath as soon as you have a Poliwhirl.