Quagsire (analysis)

For example, CB Braviary can easily 2HKO Quagsire with Brave Bird if you switch Quagsire into it.

Click to expand...

Limewire said:

Quagsire

[Overview]

<p>Ever since its introduction in the second generation, Quagsire has been battling with other bulky Water-type Pokemon for the spotlight. Luckily, though, RU is the right place for Quagsire to be, since there are very few competing bulky Water-type Pokemon 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 Pokemon, and it isn't unheard of to see Pokemon carry Hidden Power Grass to deal with it. Quagsire can also fold under repeated barrages from powerful physical sweepers, since its base 95 HP and 85 Defense, while being 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 easily becomes an irreplaceable Pokemon on your team.</p>


[SET]
name: Physical Wall
move 1: Scald
move 2: Recover
move 3: Toxic / Stockpile
move 4: Earthquake
item: Leftovers
nature: Relaxed
ability: Unaware
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>Quagsire functions a bit differently from most other bulky Water-type Pokemon-[delete hyphen] instead of being a general wall, this set excels at stopping boosting physical sweepers, such as Entei, Feraligatr, Kabutops, Sychter, and more, due to its Unaware ability. Quagsire can also use Scald's high burn rate to add insult to into injury. Even without a burn, Quagsire can still be tough to take down due to its stellar base 95 HP, base Defense, and access to Recover. Meanwhile, Quagsire can use Toxic on the foe as it desperately tries in vain to take down the mudfish, or further boost its Defense and Special Defense stat. Toxic is recommended over Stockpile, however, because it enables Quagsire to deal with bulky walls, such as Uxie, Cofagrigus, or opposing bulky Water-type Pokemon. Earthquake is Quagsire's most reliable direct damage move, and is useful for dispatching weakened foes.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>Quagsire will cause many boosting sweepers to switch out in fear of Toxic, so you should take advantage of this by scattering entry hazards all over your foe's side of the field. Eviolite Ferroseed is born for this job: not only does it have amazing defensive synergy with Quagsire, boasting a 4x resistance to Grass-type attacks and Quagsire resisting its Fire-type weakness, it does a fine job at laying down Spikes and Stealth Rock. You should be wary of using other Pokemon who can set up these moves, such as Sandslash, Omastar, Kabutops, since many of them share a common weakness with Quagsire. Crustle and Qwilfish are an exception- while these two Pokemon do not have any notable defensive synergy with Quagsire, they do not have any common weaknesses. In addition, Quagsire appreciates having a teammate to take on special attacks aimed on it. While you do not necessarily need a dedicated special wall on your team, having Pokemon such as Mandibuzz, Uxie, Cofagrigus or defensive Rotom-C helps a lot.</p>

<p>One of Quagsire's greatest enemies are Grass-type Pokemon, primarily Ferroseed, Tangrowth, Sceptile, Victreebel, Rotom-C, Lilligant, and Sawsbuck. These Pokemon resist both of Quagsire's STAB moves 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 or Entei have good enough defenses to shrug off most of their attacks and retaliate with powerful STAB Fire-type attacks. Any Rotom-C that carries Hidden Power Fire is also a good teammate.</p>

[SET]
name: Curse
move 1: Curse
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Waterfall / Stone Edge
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
ability: Unaware
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[Set Comments]

<p>Quagsire's low Speed and good Attack and Defense stats makes it a great Pokemon to use Curse. 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 either Waterfall or Stone Edge. Waterfall deals more damage than Stone Edge and is much more accurate. However, Stone Edge has excellent coverage with Earthquake, and Quagsire can usually afford a miss. The last move, Recover, is crucial in order to keep Quagsire alive as long as possible.

[Additional Comments]

<p>Since Curse boosts Quagsire's Defense stat, its HP and Special Defense stats are maxed out instead. 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 seems may like a good idea. However, it will need a heavy invest in its Attack stat to break through walls, and besides, Quagsire should only used against offensive Pokemon since many defensive Pokemon will try to cripple it with a status move or phaze it out. In order to deal with these walls, it is recommended to have powerful, hard-hitting sweepers and wallbreakers on your team. One good teammate to use is Choice Specs Moltres, who can literally burn 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, who can also set up Spikes to help Quagsire sweep. Using Rapid Spinners such as Claydol, Kabutops, and Hitmonlee is another option. However, most of these Pokemon will also come into contact with Toxic Spikes, so keep this in mind. Besides Toxic Spikes and walls, Quagsire also hates Grass-type Pokemon. Like the Physically Defensive set, these menaces can be dealt with by having powerful Fire-type Pokemon on your team.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Quagsire can run an effective Specially Defensive set to wall many special sweepers without a Grass-type move. The 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 some 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 those moves useless. Encore used to be a good move to run, but it got nerfed[comma] and now only lasts for three turns instead of five. Quagsire can run Safeguard to shield itself from status effects, but it will have trouble finding a free moveslot. All other moves not listed on the sets follow suit. Finally, Quagsire can run Water Absorb over Unaware to deal with rain teams, but that means that it will lose to other sweepers instead.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Quagsire hates Grass-type Pokemon with a capital “H”. Not only do those Pokemon resist both of its STAB moves, they can also easily OHKO or 2HKO it with [delete a] powerful Grass-type attacks, although Sawsbuck, Swords Dance Sceptile, Tangrowth, and other physical Grass-type sweepers will have to be wary of Scald. 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 surprise Quagsire and net an easy OHKO.</p>

<p>Besides Grass-type Pokemon and attacks, Quagsire does not fare well against many walls, who often Taunt Quagsire or inflict Toxic on it before it has a chance to do anything. These defensive Pokemon are especially dangerous for the Curse set because they can phaze Quagsire out easily. Special attackers are another pain for it to handle, since it cannot take on too many special attacks with its base 65 Special Defense. There are also some physical sweepers that even Quagsire should avoid. Choice Band Hitmonlee with a Jolly nature, for example, can deal anywhere from 61% -72% with Hi Jump Kick, 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 down Quagsire.</p>

Click to expand...

Quagsire hates Grass-type Pokemon with a capital “H".

Click to expand...