|
-
Damp
- Prevents the use of Selfdestruct or Explosion. Prevents Aftermath from doing damage.
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Water Absorb
- Heals 25% HP when hit by a Water-type attack.
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Unaware
- Ignores stat boosts and debuffs on other Pokemon other than Speed.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
95
|
- |
331 |
394 |
- |
| Atk |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| Def |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| SpA |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| SpD |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| Spe |
35
|
95 |
106 |
169 |
185 |
Overview
Ever since its introduction in GSC, Quagsire has had to contend with other bulky Water-type Pokemon for the spotlight. Fortunately, RU is the right place for Quagsire to be, since there are very few of its fellow bulky Water-types in the tier. This leaves it with little competition, allowing it to strike fear and terror in the hearts of boosting sweepers with its Unaware ability. Quagsire can also become a sweeper itself by using Curse in conjunction with its fine base 85 Attack stat. However, Quagsire can fall very quickly to both special attacks and Grass-type attacks. Quagsire can also fold under repeated barrages from powerful physical sweepers, since its base 95 HP and base 85 Defense, while good, do not grant Quagsire invulnerability to physical attacks. Thus, it is very important to keep a realistic sense of what Quagsire can and cannot wall. If you do, then Quagsire can easily become an irreplaceable Pokemon on your team.
Quagsire functions a bit differently from most other bulky Water-type Pokemon: instead of being a general wall, this set excels at stopping boosting physical sweepers including Entei, Feraligatr, Kabutops, and Scyther due to its Unaware ability. Quagsire can also use Scald's high burn rate to add insult along with injury. Even without burning the opponent, Quagsire can still be tough to take down due to its good bulk and access to Recover. Meanwhile, Quagsire can Toxic the foe as it desperately tries in vain to take down the salamander, or further boost its Defense and Special Defense with Stockpile. The former is recommended, however, because it enables Quagsire to deal with bulky walls such as Uxie, Slowking, and opposing bulky Water-type Pokemon. Earthquake is Quagsire's most reliable method of directly dealing damage, and is useful for dispatching weakened foes.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Quagsire will cause many boosting sweepers to switch out in fear of Toxic, so you should take advantage of this by laying entry hazards all over your foe's side of the field. Eviolite Ferroseed is born for this job: it has amazing defensive synergy with Quagsire, boasting a 4x resistance to Grass-type attacks while Quagsire resists Fire-type attacks aimed at Ferroseed, and also does a fine job at laying down Spikes and Stealth Rock. However, you should be careful of using other Pokemon who can set up these entry hazards, such as Sandslash, Omastar, and Kabutops, since many of them share a common weakness with Quagsire. Crustle and Qwilfish are exceptions: while these two Pokemon do not have notable defensive synergy with Quagsire, they at least do not share common weaknesses. In addition, Quagsire appreciates having a teammate to sponge special attacks aimed at it. While you do not necessarily need a dedicated special wall on your team, having Pokemon such as Mandibuzz, Uxie, or defensive Rotom-C would help a lot.
Quagsire's greatest enemies are Grass-type Pokemon, primarily Tangrowth, Sceptile, Victreebel, Lilligant, Sawsbuck, Rotom-C, and Ferroseed. With the exception of Ferroseed, these Pokemon either resist or are immune Earthquake and can easily OHKO Quagsire with a Grass-type attack. Ferroseed and Victreebel are especially dangerous since they are immune to Toxic; therefore, it is recommended to have a teammate who can deal with them. Fire-types such as Moltres and Entei have good enough defenses to shrug off most of their attacks and can retaliate with powerful STAB Fire-type attacks. Rotom-C with Hidden Power Fire is also a good teammate.
Quagsire's low Speed and good Attack and Defense stats makes Curse a great choice for it. Since many players view Quagsire as a primarily defensive Pokemon, this set can easily catch them off guard. In addition, Quagsire's Unaware ability allows it to easily set up on Pokemon that cannot severely damage it. After using Curse a few times, not only will Quagsire be almost invulnerable to physical attacks, it can also dish out severe damage with Earthquake. Pokemon who are immune to or resist Earthquake can be taken care of by either Waterfall or Stone Edge. Waterfall deals more damage than Stone Edge and is much more accurate; however, Stone Edge has better coverage with Earthquake, and Quagsire can usually afford a miss. The last move, Recover, is crucial to keep Quagsire alive as long as possible.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Since Curse boosts Quagsire's Defense stat, its HP and Special Defense stats are maximized. This allows Quagsire to tank both physical and special attacks, although it still is a good idea to knock out any special sweepers on the foe's team before sending Quagsire out. Investing some EVs in Quagsire's Attack stat may seem like a good idea. However, it will need lots of investment to break through walls; besides, Quagsire should only used against offensive Pokemon since defensive Pokemon will likely cripple it with a status move or phaze it out. In order to deal with these walls, hard-hitting sweepers and wallbreakers are recommended as teammates. Choice Specs Moltres is a good pick; it can literally blast its way through the foe's team and has good defensive synergy with Quagsire. Another thing to watch out for is Toxic Spikes, which can really ruin Quagsire's day. One way to remove Toxic Spikes is by using a grounded Poison-type Pokemon such as Qwilfish, which can also set up Spikes to help Quagsire sweep. Rapid Spin support from Sandslash, Kabutops, or Hitmonlee is another option. However, bear in mind that most of these Pokemon will also be poisoned by Toxic Spikes. Lastly, Quagsire loathes Grass-type Pokemon. Like the physically defensive set, these menaces can be dealt with by powerful Fire-type Pokemon on your team.
Other Options
Quagsire can run an effective specially defensive set to wall special sweepers without a Grass-type attack; such a set should use an EV spread of 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD with a Sassy nature. Do note, though, that Quagsire's pitiful base 65 Special Defense means that it will have more trouble taking on special attacks. Quagsire does not have too many alternate options: it has access to moves such as Surf and Ice Beam, but its poor Special Attack stat makes these options inferior. Encore can be used, but since it got nerfed and now lasts for three turns instead of five, it is usually not worth a moveslot. Quagsire can run Safeguard to shield itself and its allies from status, but it will have trouble fitting it into its moveslot. In fact, this applies to all other moves not mentioned in the sets. Finally, Quagsire can run the ability Water Absorb to deal with rain teams, but Unaware is its most unique niche.
Checks and Counters
Quagsire hates Grass-type Pokemon with a capital "H". Not only do these Pokemon resist both of its STAB moves, they can also easily OHKO or 2HKO it with powerful Grass-type STAB attacks, although Sawsbuck, Swords Dance Sceptile, Tangrowth, and other physical Grass-type sweepers will have to be wary of Scald's burn chance. Ferroseed can't do much to Quagsire outside of Leech Seed, but it is immune to Toxic and can easily set up an entry hazard or two on it. Lilligant, Victreebel, and a few other Grass-types can use Sleep Powder on Quagsire (or the switch-in) and proceed to set up. There are also several Pokemon, such as Entei, Manectric, or Moltres, that commonly carry Hidden Power Grass to net an easy OHKO on Quagsire.
Besides Grass-type Pokemon and attacks, Quagsire fares poorly against walls, which can Taunt or Toxic it before it has a chance to do anything. These defensive Pokemon are especially threatening to the Curse set because they can force out Quagsire easily. Special attackers are also problematic since Quagsire cannot take too many special attacks with its base 65 Special Defense. There are also some physical sweepers that even Quagsire should avoid. Jolly Choice Band Hitmonlee, for example, can deal up to 72% with Hi Jump Kick, netting an easy 2HKO. Even if Quagsire boosts its Defense stat via Stockpile or Curse, it still needs to be careful since many offensive Pokemon can Taunt it, which effectively shuts it down.
