Is Qwilfish Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Route 32 fishing encounter. Water/Poison with AbilitySwift Swim in rain or AbilityPoison Point for contact poison. No evolution and limited coverage. Competes for the Water slot against Gyarados, Lapras, and Starmie. Doesn't win that fight.
Qwilfish resists most of Falkner's coverage and hits back hard.
Qwilfish resists most of Bugsy's coverage and hits back hard.
Qwilfish trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Chuck's typing presses Qwilfish's defenses.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Jasmine's team.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Qwilfish trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Qwilfish trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Qwilfish trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Qwilfish trades roughly evenly with Janine's team.
Qwilfish trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Qwilfish trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Qwilfish has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Qwilfish on Route 32 (Good Rod fishing, Lv 20, rare).
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Whitney
- HM03WaterSurfPower 143Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a Kimono Girl in the Ecruteak Dance Theater
- LV 33WaterBrinePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Pryce
- HM07WaterWaterfallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Item ball on Ice Path 1F
- After Jasmine
- TM36PoisonSludge BombPower 135Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 43
- LV 45WaterAqua TailPower 135Accuracy 90%PP 10
- LV 49PoisonPoison JabPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 57WaterHydro PumpPower 180Accuracy 80%PP 5
HeartGold & SoulSilver Qwilfish Locations
Qwilfish bites on the Super Rod at a few water spots and the Good Rod on its home route, all rare. The reliable catch is its swarm, when one Johto route fills with common Qwilfish you can simply walk into.
Wild Qwilfish may be holding when caught:
Poison Barb (5% chance) An item to be held by a Pokemon. It is a small, poisonous barb that ups the power of Poison-type moves.3 locations to catch Qwilfish
Encountered via fishing with a Rod
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Badge 8Best Locations to Catch Qwilfish in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Catching Qwilfish here means fishing. All 7 encounters require Old Rod, Good Rod, and Super Rod at Lv. 10-40, and there aren't any overworld spawns in this game.
How to Get Shiny Qwilfish in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Qwilfish puffs up along Route 12 and Route 13, though a shiny hatches faster from Masuda breeding. Compare Shiny Qwilfish odds across every game
Shiny Qwilfish Evolution
Does Not EvolveHeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Qwilfish Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Curious how fast a hunt could go? Work out your HeartGold & SoulSilver shiny odds for Qwilfish.
Qwilfish Weakness
Qwilfish's Water/Poison typing leaves it vulnerable to Electric, Ground, and Psychic. With 7 resistances, the defensive profile is strong. Qwilfish leans offensive (base 95 Atk) rather than trying to tank its weaknesses.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Electric, Ground, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Water, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Bug, Steel |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Qwilfish Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Qwilfish
 Marowak Ground | C | |
 Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Qwilfish View Gardevoir builds →Psychic 2x141-166%KO Thunderbolt 2x99-117%KO | ||
 Magnezone ElectricSteel | A | |
 Quagsire WaterGround | C | |
Obtain MethodCliff Edge Gate Surfing | ||
 Ampharos Electric | C | |
 Jolteon Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Qwilfish View Jolteon builds →Thunderbolt 2x134-157%KO Dig 2x40-48% | ||
 Sandslash Ground | B | |
 Luxray Electric | C | |
 Electrode Electric | B | |
Obtain MethodTeam Rocket Hq Interact Encounter | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Qwilfish View Slowbro builds →Zen Headbutt 2x67-80% Dig 2x45-53% | ||
 Plusle Electric | B | |
 Bronzong SteelPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Qwilfish View Bronzong builds →Extrasensory 2x88-104%KO Charge Beam 2x39-46% | ||
 Minun Electric | C | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
Qwilfish Evolutions
No evolution chain to worry about here. Qwilfish is a standalone Pokemon with a decent partner pool for breeding through one egg group. Its eggs take an average time to hatch. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Qwilfish easily with 19 breeding partners from the Water 2 egg group. Pass egg moves like Aqua Jet, Astonish, Bubble Beam and 5 more to offspring.
HGSS Qwilfish Best Moveset
Water/Poison at 95 Attack and 85 Speed with AbilitySwift Swim doubling Speed in rain. The moveset sets MoveSpikes and MoveToxic Spikes while threatening physical Water and Poison damage. 85 Defense adds physical bulk. Hazard setter that also hits.
Best Build
Qwilfish best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Waterfall
- Explosion
- Poison Jab
- Swords Dance
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
You'll want to breed for Aqua Jet and Astonish on Qwilfish. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Hydro Pump and Aqua Tail, they expand what Qwilfish can actually threaten in practice.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 22 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
To fire its poison spikes, it must inflate its body by drinking over 2.6 gallons of water all at once.
The small spikes covering its body developed from scales. They inject a toxin that causes fainting.
Qwilfish HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
Yes. Wild Qwilfish in HeartGold & SoulSilver can hold Poison Barb (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Poison Barb.
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, go for it. Qwilfish rates A-Tier, and its Water/Poison typing handles most of what the story throws at you.
Qwilfish has a Hisuian form that swaps the typing and reshuffles the stats. Introduced in Gen 8. Worth checking if the original version doesn't fit your team.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Qwilfish as a balanced. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling, Waterfall is the primary attack.
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, run Adamant on Qwilfish. +Attack is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the balanced role.
Game Availability
Since debuting in Gold & Silver, Qwilfish has appeared in 19 titles over 8 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
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLAHisuian
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
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