http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/quagsire
[Overview]
<h4>UU</h4>
<p>Quagsire has a great defensive typing and an excellent support movepool, but what really sets Quagsire apart from the other standard UU bulky Water-types, such as Milotic and Slowbro, is its ability, Water Absorb. Having Water Absorb allows Quagsire to take on threats like Choice Band Azumarill and Swords Dance Feraligatr without the fear of eating boosted Water-type moves. Another advantage Quagsire boasts over its fellow Water-types is an immunity to Electric-type moves, making it a good counter to Choiced Magneton and Rotom locked into Thunderbolt. Quagsire also has access to Encore, giving it the advantage of being able to ruin any Pokemon that attempts to set up or use supporting moves; this makes up for Quagsire's lack of offensive power, and prevents it from becoming complete set up bait.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulky Water
move 1: Recover
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Waterfall
move 4: Toxic / Encore / Yawn
item: Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
[Set Comments]
<p>Quagsire makes an excellent defensive Pokemon due to its great typing and ability. Thanks to its Water / Ground typing, Quagsire has resistances to Fire-, Poison-, Rock-, and Steel-type moves, immunities to Electric- and Water-type moves (due to Water Absorb), and a lone 4x weakness to Grass-type moves. With Recover and its high HP and Defense stats, Quagsire is able to stall out opponents and take repeated hits without trouble. During this time, Quagsire can support its teammates and cripple opposing Pokemon with its great support options. Earthquake and Waterfall provide reliable STAB attacks and have good type coverage together, netting solid damage on most of the UU tier. Alternatively, Stone Edge may be used to hit Flying-types harder, though the only notable ones that Waterfall does not already hit for at least neutral damage are Mantine and Altaria.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EVs listed focus on Quagsire's higher defensive stat. 252 EVs in HP give Quagsire the highest possible overall bulk, while max Defense EVs are a must, allowing Quagsire to survive some of the most powerful physical assaults in the tier with little trouble. The remaining EVs are placed into Attack, giving Quagsire's attacks a small boost in power.</p>
<p>Quagsire encounters major problems when faced with Grass-type Pokemon, as they are able to exploit its 4x weakness with their STAB attacks and OHKO it while switching in with near impunity thanks to their resistances to both of Quagsire's STAB moves. Flying-types, such as Altaria, are great partners for Quagsire, as they resist Grass-type moves. Altaria also has the ability Natural Cure, allowing it to absorb status moves aimed at Quagsire and be cured upon switching out. Moltres is another option to pair with Quagsire, as it can switch into Grass attacks with ease and threaten to OHKO opposing Grass-types with its STAB Fire- and Flying-type moves. Moltres's 4x Stealth Rock weakness should be taken into account, however, as it cannot switch in nearly as freely without Rapid Spin support.</p>
[SET]
name: Curse
move 1: Curse
move 2: Recover
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Waterfall
item: Leftovers
ability: Water Absorb
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
[Set Comments]
<p>Quagsire has access to an overlooked stat-boosting move, Curse, which allows it to boost its average Attack and Defense stats. A base 65 Special Defense stat doesn't look too impressive at first glance, but with immunities to the commonly used Electric- and Water-type moves and only one weakness in Grass-type attacks, Quagsire can be tough to take down after a few boosts from Curse. After a couple of Curses, Quagsire becomes a fearsome tank, capable of tearing holes in any Pokemon that don't resist or aren't immune to its STAB Earthquake. Curse is a given on this set to boost Quagsire's Attack and Defense, Recover allows Quagsire to restore half of its HP in a single turn, and Earthquake and Waterfall provide Quagsire with powerful STAB moves that hit most threats in UU for at least neutral damage. Stone Edge can be used over Waterfall to hit Flying-types for super effective damage, but Waterfall provides better overall type coverage.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>The EVs on this set focus on Quagsire's Special Defense stat. 252 HP EVs give Quagsire a large amount of bulk and allow it to survive both physical and special moves with little trouble. Max Special Defense is a must to allow Quagsire to survive most neutral special attacks aimed at it. The remaining EVs are placed into Attack to give Quagsire a small boost in power.</p>
<p>Again, Grass-types are an obstacle for Quagsire, meaning Flying- and Fire-types, such as Altaria and Moltres, are needed to remove these threats before Quagsire can safely set up. Scyther is another good option to destroy Grass-types thanks to its STAB Bug- and Flying-type moves and resistance to Grass-type attacks. Weezing is a problem for this set as well, since Will-O-Wisp can cripple Quagsire and render all of its attacking options worthless. To ensure this doesn't happen, Houndoom is a great addition to your team, being able to switch in on Will-O-Wisp, net a Flash Fire boost, and instantly OHKO Weezing with Fire Blast.</p>
<p>Drapion makes an excellent partner for Quagsire, as it can absorb Toxic Spikes set up by the opponent while being able to set up its own; this helps Quagsire by crippling walls such as Slowbro and Tangrowth. Drapion's typing also makes it an ideal switch-in to most Grass-types, though it should beware of Venusaur's Earthquake. Funnily enough, Venusaur is another good option, as it can absorb Toxic Spikes on the switch-in, then proceed to cripple the opposing Pokemon with Sleep Powder.</p>
[Team Options]
<h4>UU</h4>
<p>Quagsire has major issues with Grass-types; support from Fire- and Flying-types is vital to ensure Quagsire's survival in battle. Quagsire especially has problems with Venusaur and Tangrowth, as, due to their high Defense stats, they take little damage from Ice Punch. Both of these threats are able to immobilize Quagsire with Sleep Powder or KO it with Power Whip. For this reason, Arcanine is a stellar teammate for Quagsire, taking minor damage from Power Whip and packing powerful super effective STAB Fire-type attacks. Altaria is another great partner for Quagsire, as it has a 4x resistance to Grass-type moves. It also has the ability to rid itself of status effects upon switching out. Altaria has access to a great support movepool as well, consisting of moves such as Heal Bell, which helps remove any status afflictions that Quagsire has, and Safeguard, which prevents the opponent from inflicting status in the first place. Scyther is an excellent addition to your team, able to switch into almost every Grass-type in UU and destroy them with Aerial Ace; meanwhile, Quagsire can switch into Electric- and Rock-type moves aimed at Scyther.</p>
<p>Quagsire appreciates support from Toxic Spikes to wear down walls it cannot damage, such as Slowbro and Milotic. Drapion is an excellent candidate for setting this up thanks to its great defensive stats, resistance to Grass-type moves, and ability to hit Grass-type Pokemon super effectively with Poison Jab or Cross Poison. On the other hand, Quagsire has difficulty switching in when Toxic Spikes are on the field, so a grounded Poison-type like Venusaur or Skuntank is a good teammate. As Quagsire causes a lot of switches with Encore and Yawn, Spikes and Stealth Rock are both useful; Qwilfish and Cloyster are good at setting up Spikes, while Uxie and Registeel are excellent options for setting up Stealth Rock.</p>
<p>Moltres has great defensive synergy with Quagsire. Quagsire is able to switch into Water-, Electric-, and Rock-type moves aimed at Moltres, while Moltres is able to switch into Grass-type moves directed at Quagsire. However, Moltres must be cautious switching in when Stealth Rock is on the field, so it's best to utilize a Rapid Spinner if you decide to use Moltres. Altaria also makes a good sweeper alongside Quagsire, as it can switch into Grass-moves and take advantage of Quagsire's Encore to obtain multiple Dragon Dance boosts.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<h4>UU</h4>
<p>Quagsire has a variety of alternative options available. Counter is an option to surprise powerful physical attackers that often fail to KO Quagsire in one shot. Body Slam is available if you wish to abuse its 30% paralysis rate, which could be helpful for crippling faster opponents. Finally, Quagsire is one of the few Pokemon with the move Haze; however, while it may be helpful for removing stat boosts, Quagsire is outclassed by Pokemon such as Weezing and Milotic in this respect. You may choose to use Surf on the Bulky Water set, as it hits Rhyperior and Donphan harder than Waterfall, although Quagsire would then need to use a Relaxed nature, allowing Slowbro to almost always outpace it.</p>
<p>If status moves are a major problem for your team, Quagsire may run a set of Curse, Waterfall, Rest, and Sleep Talk. This allows Quagsire to set up on and remain healthy against opponents that rely on status-inducing moves to wear down Quagsire, such as Weezing. Waterfall is the attacking move of choice, as it gives Quagsire a great STAB attack that nothing is immune to (outside of Pokemon with Water Absorb or Dry Skin and Shedinja).</p>
[Counters]
<h4>UU</h4>
<p>Grass-type Pokemon are great counters for Quagsire, as they are able to hit it for 4x super effective damage while also resisting Quagsire's STAB moves. Venusaur is the best counter to any Quagsire set; Sleep Powder and Power Whip both cripple Quagsire beyond repair. Tangrowth makes another great counter to all sets, as it takes little damage from Ice Punch while being able to KO Quagsire with Power Whip. Outside of Grass-types, bulky Water-types cause problems for Quagsire since it is unable to deal great amounts of damage to such foes with any of its moves. Blastoise and Milotic are great options, as they are able to switch in on any of Quagsire's moves and proceed to poison it with Toxic or hit it with Hidden Power Grass, with Milotic being the better of the two as it can Recover until Quagsire is unable to survive the damage from poison. All bulky Water-types that lack Rest need to watch out for Quagsire's own Toxic, however, as it could potentially cripple them for the remainder of the battle.</p>
<p>Weezing and Mismagius make great counters to Quagsire, as they can both switch into Earthquake without worry thanks to Levitate and proceed to burn it with Will-O-Wisp. When Quagsire's Attack stat is reduced from burn status, frail sweepers such as Alakazam and Absol can switch in and set up. Quagsire can be beaten by most Encore users; Jumpluff and Clefable are the most reliable in this regard. They can switch in and use Encore as Quagsire uses Curse or Recover, forcing Quagsire to switch out. This also gives a free turn for Jumpluff to set up Leech Seed or Clefable to set up Stealth Rock. Clefable also has the advantage of being able to switch in on Toxic, as its Magic Guard ability prevents damage from harmful status effects.</p>
<p>Pokemon with Trick can spell doom for Quagsire. Rotom is a great choice, sporting an immunity to Earthquake. This allows Rotom to switch to a Pokemon that doesn't mind the move Quagsire is using, then set up for free as Quagsire switches out. Clefable is another excellent option, as it is able to switch its Toxic or Flame Orb with Quagsire’s Leftovers and cripple Quagsire for the remainder of the match.</p>
