Physical
Balanced
CTier
85Speed · Above Avg

Stats & Training

Attack and Speed carry most of Qwilfish's stat budget. Sp. Atk's the obvious dump stat. Tough to catch and yields 1 Attack EV. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
Above
HP65
C
Attack95
B
Defense75
C
Sp. Atk55
D
Sp. Def55
D
Speed85
C
Total430
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging45 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height0.5 m
1'08"Tiny
Weight3.9 kg
8.6 lbsFeather
Base XP88
Low Yield
Abilities
Poison Point
Has a 30% chance of poisoning attacking Pokémon on contact.
Swift Swim
Doubles Speed during rain.
IntimidateHATop Pick
Lowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle.
EV Yield
HPAtk+1DefSpASpDSpe
Attack training source
Pokedex Entries

Qwilfish sucks in water, inflating itself. This Pokémon uses the pressure of the water it swallowed to shoot toxic quills all at once from all over its body. It finds swimming somewhat challenging.

Qwilfish Weakness

Qwilfish's Water/Poison typing leaves it vulnerable to Electric, Ground, and Psychic. With 8 resistances, the defensive profile is strong. Qwilfish leans offensive (base 95 Atk) rather than trying to tank its weaknesses.

Qwilfish Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Electric, Ground, Psychic
0.5x (Resist)Fire, Water, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Bug, Steel, Fairy
Type ChartGood
3Weak
8Resist
0Immune
Score+2
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
ElectricGroundPsychic
½xResist
FireWaterIceFightingPoisonBugSteelFairy
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
None
STAB (5)
FireGroundRockGrassFairy
How to Beat Qwilfish in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire (Best Counters)

In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Excadrill can KO Qwilfish with Earthquake (130-153%). Garchomp threatens a KO with Earthquake (127-149%). Zapdos's Thunderbolt also KOs at 116-136%.

Excadrill
Excadrill
GroundSteel
S
Recommended Build
AbilityMold Breaker
ItemLeftovers
NatureJolly
Moves
  • EarthquakeSTAB
  • Rapid Spin
  • Iron Head
  • Stealth Rock
Damage vs Qwilfish
Earthquake 2x
130-153%KO
Rapid Spin
22-26%
View Excadrill builds →

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Evolution

Qwilfish doesn't evolve by leveling. You'll need an evolution item to push it forward to Overqwil. The evolved forms gain up to 80 total stats over Qwilfish. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

No Evolution
Qwilfish
#211QwilfishDoes not evolve

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Qwilfish easily with 23 breeding partners from the Water2 egg group. Pass egg moves like Acid Spray, Aqua Jet, Astonish and 7 more to offspring.

Egg Groups
Water2
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
10moves
Breed With (best first)
gyaradosoctillerymalamarmagikarpremoraidinkaywailordrelicanthalomomolawailmerlanturnsharpedo
12 of 23·

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Qwilfish Best Moveset

Expert Belt and Intimidate form the backbone. Qwilfish invests max HP and Attack EVs to play its physical attacker role properly, and Adamant nature pushes Attack higher. Waterfall handles the heavy lifting on offense. The remaining moves rounds it out.

Best Build

Experimental
Ability
Intimidate
Item
Expert Belt
Best Nature for Qwilfish
Adamant+ATK

Qwilfish best EVs are Attack and HP

EVs

Doubles Physical Tank Moveset

  • Poison JabSTAB
  • ProtectFAST +4
  • Aqua JetSTAB
  • WaterfallSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Scizor
ScizorExcellent

Moves

STAB runs through Hydro Pump and Sludge Wave for the basics, but Qwilfish's real strength is the 10-type coverage spread. Bug and Normal hit common defensive types, and the movepool keeps going.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Destiny Bond
C——5Ghost
Lv 1
Fell Stinger
D5010025Bug
Lv 1
Hydro Pump
C110805Water
Lv 1
Poison Sting
—1510035Poison
Lv 1
Spikes
C——20Ground
Lv 1
Tackle
D5010035Normal
Lv 1
Water Gun
—4010025Water
Lv 9
Harden
———30Normal
Lv 9
Minimize
———10Normal
Lv 13
Bubble
—4010030Water
Lv 17
Rollout
D309020Rock
Lv 21
Toxic Spikes
C——20Poison
Lv 25
Spit Up
——10010Normal
Lv 25
Stockpile
C——20Normal
Lv 29
Revenge-4
—6010010Fighting
Lv 33
Brine
D6510010Water
Lv 37
Pin Missile
D259520Bug
Lv 41
Take Down
—908520Normal
Lv 45
Aqua Tail
A909010Water
Lv 49
Poison Jab
S8010020Poison
Lv 53
Destiny Bond
C——5Ghost
Lv 57
Hydro Pump
C110805Water
Lv 60
Fell Stinger
D5010025Bug

TM Moves

TM
TM45
Attract
D—10015Normal
TM14
Blizzard
D110705Ice
TM100
Confide
———20Normal
HM07
Dive
C8010010Water
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM64
Explosion
B2501005Normal
TM42
Facade
C7010020Normal
TM21
Frustration
D—10020Normal
TM74
Gyro Ball
D—1005Steel
TM07
Hail
D——10Ice
TM10
Hidden Power
—6010015Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
D9010010Ice
TM66
Payback
—5010010Dark
TM84
Poison Jab
S8010020Poison
TM17
Protect+4
S——10Normal
TM18
Rain Dance
C——5Water
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM27
Return
D—10020Normal
TM48
Round
D6010015Normal
TM55
Scald
C8010015Water
TM94
Secret Power
—7010020Normal
TM30
Shadow Ball
D8010015Ghost
TM88
Sleep Talk
C——10Normal
TM36
Sludge Bomb
C9010010Poison
TM34
Sludge Wave
C9510010Poison
TM90
Substitute
C——10Normal
HM03
Surf
C9010015Water
TM87
Swagger
——9015Normal
TM12
Taunt
C—10020Dark
TM73
Thunder Wave
S—10020Electric
TM06
Toxic
C—9010Poison
TM09
Venoshock
D6510010Poison
HM05
Waterfall
S8010015Water

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Acid Spray
—4010020Poison
Egg
Aqua Jet+1
S4010020Water
Egg
Astonish
—3010015Ghost
Egg
Brine
D6510010Water
Egg
Bubble Beam
—6510020Water
Egg
Flail
——10015Normal
Egg
Haze
C——30Ice
Egg
Signal Beam
D7510015Bug
Egg
Supersonic
——5520Normal
Egg
Water Pulse
D6010020Water

Tutor Moves

Tut
Tutor
Aqua Tail
A909010Water
Tutor
Bounce
C85855Flying
Tutor
Icy Wind
D559515Ice
Tutor
Pain Split
C——20Normal
Tutor
Shock Wave
—60—20Electric
Tutor
Signal Beam
D7510015Bug
Tutor
Snore
—5010015Normal
Tutor
Water Pulse
D6010020Water

Transfer Moves

Gen
Gen 4
Captivate
——10020Normal
Gen 3
Defense Curl
———40Normal
Gen 3
Double-Edge
C12010015Normal
Gen 4
Endure+4
D——10Normal
Gen 4
Headbutt
C7010015Normal
Gen 3
Mimic
———10Normal
Gen 4
Natural Gift
D—10015Normal
Gen 4
Swift
—60—20Normal
Gen 3
Swords Dance
C——20Normal
Gen 4
Whirlpool
—358515Water

How to Get Qwilfish in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire

Qwilfish can't be caught in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. Bring it over from Gold, Crystal, or Sword instead. The encounter info below covers the source games.

Qwilfish is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Available in:

XSuper rod · Route 8

Then trade to Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire.

Also found in:

GoldCrystalFireRedDiamondPlatinumHeartGold

Qwilfish Guide

  • Qwilfish is meant to evolve into Overqwil. At 430 BST, the stats aren't there for competitive play yet. Pre-evolution Pokemon rarely hold up against fully evolved threats.

  • In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, watch for Raikou (Electric), Golem (Ground), and Alakazam (Psychic) when using Qwilfish. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB.

  • Intimidate is what you want on Qwilfish. Every competitive set worth running is built with that ability in mind. The alternatives (Poison Point, Swift Swim) work on paper but Intimidate is what makes Qwilfish worth using.

  • In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Qwilfish's hidden ability is Intimidate. Lowers opponents' Attack one stage upon entering battle. Better than the standard options for competitive play.

  • Base 85 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Qwilfish is a physical attacker with base 95 Attack.

Game Availability

Since debuting in Gold & Silver, Qwilfish has appeared in 20 titles over 9 generations. Along the way, it received a Hisuian form in Generation 8, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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