Qwilfish @ Focus Sash
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Waterfall
- Taunt
- Explosion
While most Qwilfish aim to stick around for as long as possible, checking certain Pokemon throughout the match and setting Spikes over time, this Qwilfish takes a different approach, aiming to get as many layers of hazards up as possible early game while stopping other hazard setters such as Smeargle, Crustle, Omastar, Ferroseed, and opposing Qwilfish from setting their own hazards. Despite usually being used as a defensive Pokemon, Qwilfish has a very nice base 95 Attack stat to work with, so its Waterfall packs a nice punch, possibly allowing it to take out another Pokemon with it before it goes down. A relatively fast Taunt combined with Qwilfish's bulk helps Qwilfish prevent other hazard setters such as the ones previously mentioned from setting up their hazards, crippling Qwilfish with a status move, or possibility attempting to boost, giving the user a significant advantage early on. It puts a temporary stop to various other Pokemon too, stopping them from using their status, support, or recovery moves and often forcing them to switch out, giving Qwilfish a free opportunity to set up another layer of Spikes. When Qwilfish is no longer needed and/or is about to die, Explosion lets it go out with a bang, possibly scoring a free KO in the process. Explosion serves another purpose too: it stops slower opponents from pulling off a Rapid Spin against Qwilfish and remove all the hazards it set while simultaneously giving the Qwilfish user a free switch in, forcing the spinner out the next turn and keeping hazards on the field.