Tad's Poliwrath is a very strong Pokémon that wears a golden belt for being the most powerful Pokémon is Tad's local village. Despite the type disadvantage, Poliwrath beat Ash's Pikachu and then went on to defeat Ash's Charizard by using Ice Beam.
Ash managed to nurse Charizard back to full health after the Ice Beam and Charizard began to obey Ash in battle. In a rematch, Ash and Charizard defeated Tad and his Poliwrath.