Pokémon Quagsire

[Broken Wing]

# 195 Quagsire
Type: ground/water
Base stats: 95/85/85/65/65/35
Abilities: Damp/ Water Absorb/ Unaware(HA)

All be it Quagsire has not changed much, the game around him sure has. With many new threats arising, Quagsire rises to the occasion to check threats such as Aegislash (sans special attacking sets), Talonflame, Scizor and more due its good typing and strong ability in unaware.

Noteable moves

Waterfall
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Rock Slide
Ice Punch
Bulldoze
Rock Tomb
Recover
Toxic
Ice Beam
Scald
Haze
Yawn
Curse
Stockpile
Amnesia
Encore

Quagsire has gained a few very good niches in this meta. With its good dual typing making it only weak to an uncommon attack type in grass, while resisting fire, steel and poison, three attack types that have gained popularity this generation, as well resistance to rock and a full immunity to electric. Quagsire is a very difficult Pokemon to take down physically with its good defensive stats. Quagsire also has two strong abilities in water absorb granting another immunity in water which could be nice, but more importantly unaware, ignoring any boost that opponents may try to get. Unaware allows Quagsire to take on many boosting pokemon and set up curse while recovering in their face. Foes such as Talonflame and Aegislash that have proven strong mons this gen are all setup opportunities for Quagsire. Quagsire also has a very good movepool to work with in stab water and ground such as earthquake and waterfall as well as rock coverage in rock slide and stone edge.

Unfortunately not all is on the up and up for Quagsire, two new potent grass types in Trevenant and Gourgeist have appeared on the scene as well other grass types such as Breloom seeing usage can all spill doom easily for Quagsire. Qugsires special bulk is also not much to write home about either, even through unaware special sweepers can mow through it even with special defense investment. Quagsire is also not very strong without boosting with curse and will always be slow making it taunt bait. Despite these downfalls Quagsire is still a strong choice this gen. Here are a few potential sets.

Curse

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Recover
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide/waterfall/ice punch
- Curse

This I feel will be Quagsire's strongest set as it turns deadly mons like SD Scizor and SD Talonflame into setup fodder for curses. Curse is a lot better this gen manly due to teams switching to bulkier sets and overall damage just being less this gen. I mostly used EQ+rock slide for general reliability as EdgeQuake is fairly strong coverage. Waterfall and Ice Punch can be used for different coverage hitting certain things harder and getting rid of threats faster such as dragonite.

Defensive

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Recover
- Earthquake
- Scald / Waterfall
- Toxic / Encore

This is a purely defensive take on Quagsire, being able to spread status heal and hit for decent damage with earthquake and get potential burns with scald. Waterfall hits harder in most cases so it should still be considered for dispatching of things more quickly as time is big a factor.

Overall I've been impressed with Quagsire from playing with the curse set being able to end games on its own and patching up holes in teams. It will still face stiff competition from other bulky waters like Rotom-W and Azumarill for a team slot but Quagsire has more shot then ever at being useful this gen.

 

[Knirp]

I just mentioned this in the Gyarados thread, but it's even more important here.
In gen 6 there will probably be a lot of ice types (and maybe even other mons) that can hit Quagsire for a quad weakness with ice thanks to Freeze-Dry. Seeing as it is a 70 BP special move quagsire could easily be OHKO'd by water/ice pokemon that couldnt hit it so hard before.

 

[fryfrey]

Infestation is one of Quagsire's truly effective weapons from experience so far. Switch into a physical attacker, boosted or not since Unaware nullifies stat boosts, and with a 252HP/252+Def Spread, Quag will seldom take more than half health. Infestation can trap the foe and then Yawn them to sleep, unable to switch out. The Infestation will whittle away at the foe while sleeping, and you can Recover off the damage you took prior, and do something else with the other moveslot available, like perhaps setting up a substitute, despite the move's nerf this gen.

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature
- Infestation
- Substitute
- Yawn
- Recover

Taunt and status (particularly damaging ones) can be evaded when under a substitute, but it's still a big danger to the set due to the fact that it will take a little while to safely sat up a substitute.

 

[Fafnir]

I just mentioned this in the Gyarados thread, but it's even more important here.
In gen 6 there will probably be a lot of ice types (and maybe even other mons) that can hit Quagsire for a quad weakness with ice thanks to Freeze-Dry. Seeing as it is a 70 BP special move quagsire could easily be OHKO'd by water/ice pokemon that couldnt hit it so hard before.

Right now, it's distribution is thankfully quite small, and the pokemon that will be using it should be pretty obvious to spot. What's more, most of them probably won't see much use in standard play (Mamoswine is an exception, but I seriously doubt we'll end up seeing that move on him). I wouldn't get too worried about it just yet.

 

[Plasma.EXE]

I've been using Quagsire since last gen and I think this gen is a lot nicer to him thanks to the weather nerf, crits doing less damage, special attacks being nerfed, and so on. He's capable of walling most Talonflame sets, but the choice band brave bird set (which does around 55% of his health), belly drum Azumarill, beats any sword dance variant of Aegislash/Scizor, Contrary Malamar, DDance Dragonite, etc. This is the set I use and I think it's pretty versatile in threatening a lot of switch ins that would otherwise wall/break through Quagsire's defenses.

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Speed)
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Stock Pile

One boost of stockpile gives him the ability to wall most non-boosted special attacks (standard Rotom-W Hydro pump for example) while improving his physical defense even further (one boost will be enough to stop Play Rough Mawile from being a 2 hit kill) and Scald is capable of crippling almost any switch in's that Quagsire has no business dealing with (Breloom that hasn't activated toxic orb yet, Venasaur, Gourgiest, etc), possibly giving him an opportunity to stockpile against non-grass users. He makes a really good end-game wall, just keep him far away from toxic and know that moves like Draco Meteor that sharply lower the users special attack will never lower it's special attacks.

 

[Strykeypoo]

A lot of sets posted seem to revolve around Quagsire setting up. I don't think that really plays to Quagsire's only real niche in OU, which is checking specific physical threats. What I've been using to some success:

Quagsire@Leftovers
Unaware
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed
-Earthquake
-Waterfall/Stone Edge/Ice Beam
-Yawn
-Recover

What this set does is check physical threats, particularly a combination of physical Aegislash, non-band Talonflame, Garchomp, Zygarde and Belly Drum Azumarill, depending on the move you run. The set is pretty self-explanatory, with EQ as a hard hitting STAB, Waterfall as a secondary STAB, SE for the Talonflame OHKO and Ice Beam for the ability to 2HKO non-yache Garchomp and Zygarde. Yawn's there to force things out that would switch in on Quagsire, such as Gengar.

Quagsire and specially defensive Ferrothorn make a surprisingly decent defensive core.

 

[Plasma.EXE]

Seems alright, I kind of prefer a yawn set on Slowbro than Quagsire since he's got regenerator/slack off and better natural bulk in general. But Unaware does have it's uses with a yawn set (plus that immunity to volt switch).

 

[Strykeypoo]

Seems alright, I kind of prefer a yawn set on Slowbro than Quagsire since he's got regenerator/slack off and better natural bulk in general. But Unaware does have it's uses with a yawn set (plus that immunity to volt switch).

Slowbro doesn't like taking a Crunch or even a +2 Shadow Sneak. Slowbro also doesn't have the ability to OHKO a Aegislash either. Not that significant, but Slowbro also takes Sandstorm damage.

 

[Pokemon Trainer: Shadow]

I was thinking about how Infestation could be used to trap Physical Attackers and slowly whittle their health down with Toxic/Earthquake.

Quagsire@Leftovers
Unaware
EV: 252 HP/4 Atk/ 252 Def
Impish
-Recover
-Earthquake
-Infestation
-Toxic

 

[TheBrownCow]

I've been using the exact Defensive spread/set in the OP's post and it has been doing me wonders. I personally think Quagsire has its place in OU. Unaware Quagsire catches people off so much, that it allows slow, but easy kills. Of course he's not perfect and his stats aren't great, but they're still good enough to be used successfully to an extent.

 

[Turbopasta]

I love Quagsire this gen. I've already come up with a pretty hilarious strategy.

Swagsire. Quagsire with swagger. use swagger once or twice on anything that is physical. You can do this because of unaware. If they kill you, switch into imposter ditto with a scarf. Ditto copies all of their boosts, and you can sometimes sweep their entire team this way.

 

[ZakSB]

Quagsire definitely makes a decent wall in this current meta, due to abundance of SD users. Not to mention it can completely wall Malamar.
However, due to its not so high base Def, it definitely gets crippled buy offensive mons that don't need setting up, like MKang and Huge Power mons

 

[Plasma.EXE]

Tbf, a lot of pokemon have trouble walling Mega Kangaskhan (even Gliscor because of power up punch + return outdamaging). Thats why I think defense boosts from curse or stockpile work very well with it's ability. If you get one stockpile in before Mega Kangaskhanswitches in, you kind of have a shot at fighting it. Unfortunately, he attacking twice means he's 2x more likely than any other pokemon to land a crit on you even if return becomes a 3HKO normally at def +1. You need to get a scald burn on it before that happens.

 

[TheDoctor1]

why not run 252 hp/ 252 spc def/ 4 def with a curse set? curse will boost your def so it becomes very strong on that side and max spc def so it doesn't have to switch out every time a spc attacker comes in.

 

[Turbopasta]

I've been running Quagsire quite a bit on wifi, and he's pretty great, but the set I'm running hard a really hard time getting around certain things.

My set: recover/toxic/earthquake/swagger

1. Surprise mixed attackers. Special attackers aren't such a big deal because I just ran goodra to switch into anything threatening, but mixed attackers can just come out of no where sometimes.
2. Greninja needs to be surgically executed. Some of them run grass knot, but if you mispredict, the switch-in is going to eat huge damage.
3. Poison heal Glicsgor and Breloom completely walls this set.
4. Some physical attackers are so strong that you just can't wall them. Anything that can 2HKO Quagsire is really bad for him since he can't toxic stall.
5. Skarmory and Tentacruel completely wall Quagsire.
6. Toxic isn't too bad if you have other pokes to switch out to, but it's still very annoying and sometimes costs the match.
7. Rest-talkers give him lots of problems too, he basically has to switch out vs these. On that note, anything with a reliable heal and a way of avoiding poison damage (steel type, substitute), is going to be a pain to deal with.

I'm going to rebreed one that has stockpile. I feel like if he just gets one or two stockpiles in, he'll become an unkillable wall unless they have grass or toxic.

 

[Fafnir]

Turbopasta, I run a similar build to yours, but I've found that Scald gets me a lot more mileage than EQ. It leaves you capable of dealing with more pokemon in general, and gives you the option to burn threats you wouldn't normally be able to toxic, such as poison and steel types. It also makes him more useful against taunters, since he won't be doing much direct damage no matter what anyway.

As much as he could benefit from stockpile, I hesitate running it myself, since I consider the rest of his moves too valuable to get rid of. Swagger looks like the odd man out, but it really does a lot to force switches, as well as acting as an extremely harsh punish for those that try to tempt fate.

 

[Liarliarpantsonfire]

I've found that Scald gets me a lot more mileage than EQ. It leaves you capable of dealing with more pokemon in general, and gives you the option to burn threats you wouldn't normally be able to toxic, such as poison and steel types.

You're saying that Scald is more useful than Earthquake against Poison and Steel types? :\

 

[ZakSB]

I think EQ/Scald/Recover are mandatory and the question is what to use for the 4th slot. I've tried Swagger, Encore, and Toxic but each one has some pros and cons

 

[AlexArthur]

What I believe he was trying to say was that he has found Scald more useful and lets you status pokemon you wouldn't be able to status with toxic.

Swagsire is quite gimmick unlike the Swagger + Foul Play sets various Pokemon can run Quasire doesn't take advantage of their attack boost, he isn't hampered by it either though. Encore is a decent option if your goal is to stop physical set-uppers you can switch in on a boost and hopefully lock it into boosting against an inexperienced player or just encore a weak move while you set up

Infestation
Curse
Recover
Encore

Could be interesting, might be better using Toxic in this case though.

 

[Fafnir]

You're saying that Scald is more useful than Earthquake against Poison and Steel types? :\

Considering his offenses are so low that he'll likely be unable to kill many pokemon, even with super-effective hits, I'd rather take the chance for a burn.

 

[Plasma.EXE]

why not run 252 hp/ 252 spc def/ 4 def with a curse set? curse will boost your def so it becomes very strong on that side and max spc def so it doesn't have to switch out every time a spc attacker comes in.

From my experience, his special bulk is pretty underwhelming even with investment and a +sp. def/-speed nature. Pokemon like Gourgiest can afford to do it because it already has very good physical defense bulk already without investment (Quagsire's is only ok, but not great which doesn't cut it uninvested). Quagsire needs all the physical defense he can get (he still get's practically 2 hit KO'ed by any choice band user like Garchomp with full defense/hp investment).

Quagsire won't be taking any boosted special hits very well even with investment and still does not appreciate will-o-wisp or toxic, making it hard for him to set up against common pokemon like Rotom-W who wall him like crazy and can burn him (unless toxic, though chesto-rest sets has nothing to worry about).

I think EQ/Scald/Recover are mandatory and the question is what to use for the 4th slot. I've tried Swagger, Encore, and Toxic but each one has some pros and cons

Toxic is probably the best option if you don't have many other pokemon with status moves. But I like running stock-pile on it because it helps it deal with some special threats after a boost and just about any choice band user (you can set up on any non-choice banded Talonflame and force it to switch out or stay in due to stealth rocks, easy +3 stockpile.) Encore is a good move, but even if you lock them into a move they don't want to be locked in, the most you'll be able to do is pray that you burn whatever they switch in with scald or recover off lost health because he's so slow.

 

[Dododoggy]

Cant a strong sp. atcker just 1HKO quag with right move? I really cant see quagsire in OU because of brelooms bullet-seed shenanigans and celebi,venasuar ect.

 

[Fafnir]

Yep. As much as I love the irresistible sensuality of the Swagsire, his statline just plain sucks, and his double weakness to grass really hurts him. Granted, there are worse things to be double weak to, but there's absolutely nothing Quagsire can do against the pokemon that will be carrying those moves, which makes it fairly easy to counter him. So long as your opponent has one of the above mentioned on their team, Quaggy can't do much of anything safely.

I can see him ending up in UU, but I'm afraid OU is just going to be beyond his grasp. That said, he'll be able to function decently in OU, but he'll need a lot of help to get the job done. There's no such thing as a self made swag!

 

[Tacoshack55]

I love Quagsire this gen. I've already come up with a pretty hilarious strategy.

Swagsire. Quagsire with swagger. use swagger once or twice on anything that is physical. You can do this because of unaware. If they kill you, switch into imposter ditto with a scarf. Ditto copies all of their boosts, and you can sometimes sweep their entire team this way.

I really want to try this now!

 

[rachet67]

Quagsire is strictly not a good a pokemon, and really should only be used when you are running a stall team, have a large weakness to setup sweepers, and have no other choice but to run it. Though it has a great ability in unaware, its stats are terrible, and is very hard to keep healthy throughout a match.

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Recover
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Toxic / Encore

This is really the only set it should be using, though maybe you can add yawn on the last move spot. Even this set can barely do its job of checking set up sweepers. It will probably be RU again this generation, definitely not UU.