Ah Butterfly Dance. Easily one of the most hyped moves introduced at the dawn of generation 5. Countless pages were dedicated to detailing how far each user was going to move up the tiers. One horrific name change later and a year and a half of metagame practice and the reality is that Quiver Dance is not the saviour of the lowly Bug types we all have a soft spot for.
All bar two users of Quiver Dance reside in NU, and guess what? All of them share the same typing of Bug/Flying that GameFreak so often saddled Bug types with before they decided that they don’t inherently have to suck.
The purpose of this thread is to distinguish which QD’er does what best, what niche they can exploit and what advantages they hold over their buggy brethren.
Butterfree, the original Bug/Flying type that set the mold for those that followed. Said mold being a shitty typing and below par stats. Like many older gen Pokes, Butterfree has improved incrementally with every passing generation, with Gen 3 gifting it an excellent ability in CompoundEyes (which allows it to abuse a near perfect acc. Sleep Powder) and Gen 5 giving it another fun tool to use in Tinted Lens.
Among the Quiver Dancers, Butterfree is a balance of Speed and Power, having the second highest base Speed and second highest SpA. This, along with Sleep Powder, allows it to set up relatively easily and cause some damage after just one or two QD’s.
Why should you use it over others?: Sleep Powder Sleep Powder Sleep Powder. Seriously. If you aren’t using CompoundEyes Sleep Powder, Butterfree is outclassed by other QD’ers who can hit harder right off the bat. Granted it struggles more with type coverage if it isn’t running Tinted Lens but thankfully Steel types in NU are few and far between.
Beautifly
60/70/50/90/50/65
Beautifly is one of those gen 3 ‘mons that at first glance appears to be a reharsh of some of our beloved gen 1 favourites (along with Corphish/Crawdaunt, Feebas/Milotic, Plusle/Minun and the Gardevoir line, among others). Sadly little has come Beautifly’s way to allow it step out of butterfree’s shadow, or other QD’ers for that matter. A mostly inferior movepool, poor abilities and less than stellar Speed mean Beautifly has to work harder to distinguish itself.
All is not lost however. Beautifly does have access to an interesting ability in Rivalry. In WiFi battles this has little practical use but on simulators such as PO where every Poke is given a default gender that very few change, Beautifly can abuse a 25% boost to all its moves on a regular basis. This along with the fact that it boasts the second highest base SpA among all QD’ers means that Beautifly a second may deserve a second look.
Why should you use it over others?: It’s a bit hard to justify Beautifly over the likes of say Butterfree or Mothim, but if you fancy trying to abuse Rivalry and... really like Beautifly, you should give it a go.
Dustox
60/50/70/50/90/65
If things looked dire for Beautifly, things for Dustox look...even more dire? Which is a shame, since Dustox has a very cool design and breaks away from the others by having a somewhat more useful typing in Poison/Bug. Its stats are poor by any comparison and what’s worse is their distribution, meaning Dustox struggles to do anything better than another Poke.
However, much like Beautifly, there is a (dull, lacklustre) silver lining. As an offensive Quiver Dancer Dustox should not be considered. However, as a boosting bulky special tank I’ve actually witnessed a few Dustoxs perform admirably. It doesn’t take 50% damage from switching into Stealth Rock and can absorb T-Spikes, which are quite possibly the most utilised entry hazards in NU. It’s sad that it doesn’t get anything better to abuse CompoundEyes with but at least Toxic won’t miss at the most inopportune times.
Why should you use it over others?: Again, hard to justify since Quiver Dance is such an inherently offensive move. Use it for the reasons mentioned above and the fact that it isn’t as dependant on Rapid Spinners as the others. Also, cool points. Dustox is just cool.
Masquerain
70/60/62/80/82/60
If Butterfree was the Pokemon that set the mold, Masquerain could be considered the pokemon to break it. It is part of only a two stage evolution line as opposed to the usual caterpillar->chrysalis-> Butterfly/Moth line and perhaps most crucially, evolves from Surskit, which remains today the only Pokemon to have the Water/Bug typing. This means that as a Quiver Dancer, Masquerain has several notable advantages over its comrades.
One move that jumps out of Masquerain’s semi- impressive movepool is Hydro Pump. The ability to hit Steels for neutral damage with such a high BP move without relying on Tinted Lens (Which coincidentally, Masquerain does not get) is very impressive and immediately sets the bar high for other QD’ers. Not to mention the fact that NU’s only two Steel types are actually weak to Water. Couple this with a very useful ability in Intimidate, 4X resistance to Fighting and the presence of a certain Choice loving martial arts practitioner (SAWK), and Masquerain is easily one of the best choices for a Quiver Dance abuser in any tier.
Why should you use it over others?: HYDRO PUMP. Switch into Sawk, QD up as many times as you can and fire off Bug Buzz’s and Hydro Pumps ‘til you die. Thanks to Masquerains unique attributes this isn't hard to do.
Mothim
70/94/50/94/50/66
I actually like Mothim. It has a nice design and as we’re about to find out, isn’t anywhere near as useless as it seems.
If you’re looking for a QD’er based on all out offense, Mothim is your guy. Boasting the highest SpA among our QD’ers (and great by any other standard) Mothim can actually become an offensive presence after only one Quiver Dance. Like many of the others, It has access to Tinted Lens meaning that it gets perfect coverage with its STAB’s and can utilise its fourth moveslot for a coverage move depending on what your team requires, and is perhaps the best user of U-Turn thanks to its equally great Atk, meaning it can scout before setting up.
Why should you use it over others?: It can actually hit hard after only one boost. It’s speed is something of a letdown but thanks to its already great SpA it can afford to forgo a boosting nature and instead run a Timid nature.
So there you have it. What does everyone think of our bevy of bugs? What should they be paired with? (Rapid Spinners, good tandems etc).
All our QD’ers have very similar movesets but is there anything that sets one apart from another? (Not the obvious or already covered like Masquerain)
What about Quiver passing? Who can utilise it the best? Who’s a good recipient? (Samurott comes to mind immediately)
Fun Fact: All but one of the 8 fully evolved Bug types introduced in gen 5 is in a higher tier than NU. GF truly did learn this gen that Bug types don’t have to suck just because they’re Bug types.
All bar two users of Quiver Dance reside in NU, and guess what? All of them share the same typing of Bug/Flying that GameFreak so often saddled Bug types with before they decided that they don’t inherently have to suck.
The purpose of this thread is to distinguish which QD’er does what best, what niche they can exploit and what advantages they hold over their buggy brethren.
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Butterfree
60/45/50/80/80/70
60/45/50/80/80/70
Butterfree, the original Bug/Flying type that set the mold for those that followed. Said mold being a shitty typing and below par stats. Like many older gen Pokes, Butterfree has improved incrementally with every passing generation, with Gen 3 gifting it an excellent ability in CompoundEyes (which allows it to abuse a near perfect acc. Sleep Powder) and Gen 5 giving it another fun tool to use in Tinted Lens.
Among the Quiver Dancers, Butterfree is a balance of Speed and Power, having the second highest base Speed and second highest SpA. This, along with Sleep Powder, allows it to set up relatively easily and cause some damage after just one or two QD’s.
Why should you use it over others?: Sleep Powder Sleep Powder Sleep Powder. Seriously. If you aren’t using CompoundEyes Sleep Powder, Butterfree is outclassed by other QD’ers who can hit harder right off the bat. Granted it struggles more with type coverage if it isn’t running Tinted Lens but thankfully Steel types in NU are few and far between.
60/70/50/90/50/65
Beautifly is one of those gen 3 ‘mons that at first glance appears to be a reharsh of some of our beloved gen 1 favourites (along with Corphish/Crawdaunt, Feebas/Milotic, Plusle/Minun and the Gardevoir line, among others). Sadly little has come Beautifly’s way to allow it step out of butterfree’s shadow, or other QD’ers for that matter. A mostly inferior movepool, poor abilities and less than stellar Speed mean Beautifly has to work harder to distinguish itself.
All is not lost however. Beautifly does have access to an interesting ability in Rivalry. In WiFi battles this has little practical use but on simulators such as PO where every Poke is given a default gender that very few change, Beautifly can abuse a 25% boost to all its moves on a regular basis. This along with the fact that it boasts the second highest base SpA among all QD’ers means that Beautifly a second may deserve a second look.
Why should you use it over others?: It’s a bit hard to justify Beautifly over the likes of say Butterfree or Mothim, but if you fancy trying to abuse Rivalry and... really like Beautifly, you should give it a go.
60/50/70/50/90/65
If things looked dire for Beautifly, things for Dustox look...even more dire? Which is a shame, since Dustox has a very cool design and breaks away from the others by having a somewhat more useful typing in Poison/Bug. Its stats are poor by any comparison and what’s worse is their distribution, meaning Dustox struggles to do anything better than another Poke.
However, much like Beautifly, there is a (dull, lacklustre) silver lining. As an offensive Quiver Dancer Dustox should not be considered. However, as a boosting bulky special tank I’ve actually witnessed a few Dustoxs perform admirably. It doesn’t take 50% damage from switching into Stealth Rock and can absorb T-Spikes, which are quite possibly the most utilised entry hazards in NU. It’s sad that it doesn’t get anything better to abuse CompoundEyes with but at least Toxic won’t miss at the most inopportune times.
Why should you use it over others?: Again, hard to justify since Quiver Dance is such an inherently offensive move. Use it for the reasons mentioned above and the fact that it isn’t as dependant on Rapid Spinners as the others. Also, cool points. Dustox is just cool.
70/60/62/80/82/60
If Butterfree was the Pokemon that set the mold, Masquerain could be considered the pokemon to break it. It is part of only a two stage evolution line as opposed to the usual caterpillar->chrysalis-> Butterfly/Moth line and perhaps most crucially, evolves from Surskit, which remains today the only Pokemon to have the Water/Bug typing. This means that as a Quiver Dancer, Masquerain has several notable advantages over its comrades.
One move that jumps out of Masquerain’s semi- impressive movepool is Hydro Pump. The ability to hit Steels for neutral damage with such a high BP move without relying on Tinted Lens (Which coincidentally, Masquerain does not get) is very impressive and immediately sets the bar high for other QD’ers. Not to mention the fact that NU’s only two Steel types are actually weak to Water. Couple this with a very useful ability in Intimidate, 4X resistance to Fighting and the presence of a certain Choice loving martial arts practitioner (SAWK), and Masquerain is easily one of the best choices for a Quiver Dance abuser in any tier.
Why should you use it over others?: HYDRO PUMP. Switch into Sawk, QD up as many times as you can and fire off Bug Buzz’s and Hydro Pumps ‘til you die. Thanks to Masquerains unique attributes this isn't hard to do.
70/94/50/94/50/66
I actually like Mothim. It has a nice design and as we’re about to find out, isn’t anywhere near as useless as it seems.
If you’re looking for a QD’er based on all out offense, Mothim is your guy. Boasting the highest SpA among our QD’ers (and great by any other standard) Mothim can actually become an offensive presence after only one Quiver Dance. Like many of the others, It has access to Tinted Lens meaning that it gets perfect coverage with its STAB’s and can utilise its fourth moveslot for a coverage move depending on what your team requires, and is perhaps the best user of U-Turn thanks to its equally great Atk, meaning it can scout before setting up.
Why should you use it over others?: It can actually hit hard after only one boost. It’s speed is something of a letdown but thanks to its already great SpA it can afford to forgo a boosting nature and instead run a Timid nature.
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So there you have it. What does everyone think of our bevy of bugs? What should they be paired with? (Rapid Spinners, good tandems etc).
All our QD’ers have very similar movesets but is there anything that sets one apart from another? (Not the obvious or already covered like Masquerain)
What about Quiver passing? Who can utilise it the best? Who’s a good recipient? (Samurott comes to mind immediately)
Fun Fact: All but one of the 8 fully evolved Bug types introduced in gen 5 is in a higher tier than NU. GF truly did learn this gen that Bug types don’t have to suck just because they’re Bug types.
