Overqwil, the Pin Cluster Pokémon. Overqwil's poisonous spikes will reflexively react even while Overqwil sleeps, stabbing any moving thing that approaches. It's ferocious and has a short temper. The ends of its spikes are barbed, and they can't be easily removed once they've punctured something.

Overview

Another Hisuian variant once lost to time, Overqwil makes a fascinating and flexible addition to the roster in Scarlet and Violet. Between the all-around fantastic Intimidate and speed redefining Swift Swim, Overqwil can reliably play either defensive glue or all out sweeper, filling roles as needed. Defensively, 85 HP and 95 Defense combined with Intimidate is fantastic, allowing Overqwil to easily tank multiple physical attacks with ease while effectively making its team bulkier against physical attacks. Base 115 Attack is far from passive either, allowing even defensive Overqwil to threaten serious damage while offensive Overqwil sets are a game ending force. All of this is made possible by Overqwil’s typing, the fantastic Poison Dark typing, giving Overqwil wide coverage with its STABs alone while possessing only a single Ground weakness in turn that Overqwil reliably threatens with its Water coverage. Overqwil being a non-Water Swift Swim user is of particular interest, increasing the natural type diversity on such teams and giving them a natural answer to Grass types that would otherwise be a difficult matchup.

Overqwil’s flexibility has not led it to reach the same heights as its contemporaries. Overqwil’s good Defense contrasts its poor Base 65 Special Defense, which Intimidate does nothing to alleviate, giving Overqwil a noticeable achilles heel. Even without that that issue, Overqwil’s lack of recovery means it is going to be worn down sooner rather than later and its raw defenses do not compensate. Being a Ground weak physical wall is a significant detriment given the numerous physical Ground attackers that can burst down Overqwil quickly despite its fantastic Defense, especially Ground typed spinners like Donphan, and its paradox variants that all but invalidate defensive sets. The lack of Knock Off in Overqwil’s set is another pain point, depriving Overqwil of a massive amount of utility. Offensively, Overqwil is reliant on Rain to excel, its Base 85 Speed insufficient against numerous offensive Pokémon. Furthermore, Overqwil lacks the raw power of other Swift Swim users like Floatzel and Barraskewda who can stack boosts from Rain, STAB and Tera Water for devastating effect, which can lead to Overqwil being dropped entirely for countermeasures that aren’t reliant on the Rain to function. Overqwil’s blend of traits give it niches no other can fill, but its failings ensure its relative scarcity.
Positives
Poison Dark is an absurdly good typing, offering wide neutral coverage, and only a single exploitable weakness.
Two fantastic abilities in Swift Swim and Intimidate allow Overqwil to play dedicated cleaner and physical wall respectively.
Base 115 Attack alongside Swords Dance, STABs and Water coverage leaves few safe targets for Overqwil’s assault.

Negatives
Base 65 Special Defense is quite poor, giving Overqwil a massive weakpoint.
Lack of reliable recovery outside of Pain Split hurts Overqwil’s ability as a wall.
Overqwil’s base 85 Speed has it fall short of most offensive threats, leaving it reliant on Swift Swim to be effective offensively.

Movesets

Sword Spine Sweeper

-Swords Dance
-Gunk Shot
-Crunch
-Liquidation
Ability: Swift Swim
Item: Life Orb
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

Swift Swim Overqwil carves for itself a unique niche on Rain teams by dint of its typing alone. Being a Rain Sweeper that destroys common Grass types like Rillaboom, Meowscarada, Serperior, and Wellspring Ogerpon is invaluable, in addition to destroying Water resistant Fairies like Primarina and Azumarill. Overqwil’s Dark typing and good Defense give it many pivot opportunities against the many Dark and Ghost attackers running about like Annihilape, Dragapult, Kingambit and Basculegion, helping Overqwil to get in and setup Swords Dance before going for the sweep. Gunk Shot is Overqwil’s primary STAB and while the accuracy is maddening, its power can’t be denied, doing obscene damage even while unboosted, while one shotting anything that doesn’t resist or is named Dondozo or Alomomola after a single Swords Dance. Crunch is secondary STAB, invaluable for dealing with the Gunk Shot immune Steel types and opposing Poison types while offering wide coverage in general, with Fairies being a non factor thanks to Overqwil’s Poison STAB. Liquidation provides invaluable coverage, answering the Poison resistant Ground (and Rock) types that otherwise prove to be Overqwil’s bane while being Pseudo-STAB thanks to the Rain.

Tera Types:
While Overqwil is a sweeper, it gets so much value out of its base typing, being an offensive and defensive lynchpin for the teams it is on, that you rarely want to Terastalize it, especially over other Swift Swim abusers like Barraskewda. Terastalization should only be used in the late game, where the Pokémon Overqwil is expected to handle are removed or compromised so that one does not open up new holes in the team. As a weather sweeper, Overqwil does prefer offensive Terastalizations to make the most of the limited time where it is active. Tera Water is by far the most popular, given Water’s great defensive merits facilitating setup while boosting Liquidation up in line with other naturally Water typed Swift Swim sweepers, and is invaluable in helping Overqwil break defensive Ground types like Hippowdon, Ting-Lu, Great Tusk, etc. If running Aqua Jet, Tera Water is even more strongly recommended given the base power boost Tera Water provides Aqua Jet. Tera Poison is more niche, though it gives Overqwil a proper Fairy resistance, keeps the valuable Grass resistance and allows Overqwil to 2HKO Dondozo via Gunk Shot. Tera Dark pushes Crunch in line with Gunk Shot, being a far more reliable STAB with a great offensive type, though the sheer glut of popular Dark and Fighting types does put a damper on Tera Dark.

EVs and Items:
The standard offensive sweeper investment of Max Speed and Max Attack EVs are recommended. Overqwil needs to outspeed and OHKO as many targets as possible to do its job effectively. Adamant is recommended for damage as Overqwil outspeeds most targets after Swift Swim, and the power boost is determinative in dealing catastrophic damage. Though with Adamant you miss outspeeding Dragon Dance Jolly Roaring Moon, and Speed Booster Energy Iron Valiant as well as Jolly Swift Swim Basculegion. Jolly misses out on crucial one hit knockout thresholds against Alomomola, Garchomp, Hippowdon, Keldeo, Pecharunt, and Ting-Lu. Life Orb is strongly recommended as the item, giving Overqwil staggering power without sacrificing move variety. Choice Band also works well with Swift Swim Overqwil, giving it immediate breaking power. Air Balloon is a very niche option but turns opposing Ground types into one turn setup fodder which can be all Overqwil needs.

Partners:
As a Rain sweeper, rain setters are a given .While Pelipper doesn't fear Grass types the same most other Water types do, nonetheless it makes for a great partner for Overqwil and can even use the Ground attacks Overwill draws in to duck back in and reestablish Rain. As previously mentioned, Swift Swim Sweepers like Floatzel and Barraskewda adore Overqwil for stuffing opposing Grass types, especially Rillaboom, whose Grassy Glides that would spell the end of Floatzel and Barraskewda just bounce off Overqwil. Raging Bolt and Iron treads also love the Poison coverage Overqwil brings to bear against Fairy and Grass types respectively, though the shared Ground weakness is a pain point.

Other Options:
Aqua Jet allows Overqwil to clean up faster targets both in and out of Rain. Poison Jab is far more consistent than Gunk Shot, but the power drop is significant and turns Alomomola and Dondozo into hard walls. Spikes is great if Overqwil is not in a position to apply direct pressure, allowing it to soften up the opposing team for its teammates.

Naval Mine

-Toxic Spikes
-Spikes
-Barb Barrage
-Self Destruct
Ability: Intimidate
Item: Leftovers
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

This Overqwil set is a dedicated hazard set, meant to spread around Spikes and Toxic Spikes before booming out as an unorthodox pivot. Toxic Spikes and Spikes are easy to explain. Between Overqwil’s excellent base typing and Intimidate, it is excellent at forcing opponents out, which in turn generates opportunities to setup hazards. Barb Barrage is great once Toxic Spikes are up, acting as a physical Venoshock and leaving Overqwil less passive, as well as being able to cripple opponents if Overqwil is Taunted given its own significant Poison chance. Self Destruct is for when Overqwil is at the end of its rope, KOing itself and compromising, if not removing, the opposing Pokémon leaving one of Overqwil’s teammates to come in and begin to clean up. Ideally one would want to catch the opposing team’s Rapid Spin or Defog user on the way in or before they can act, luring in and removing your opponent’s answer to the hazards in one fell swoop.

Tera Types:
Overqwil receives quite a bit from its base typing to the point it excels independent of Terastalization, even more so with this set that enables sweepers who would love to take advantage of Terastalization. If one must Terastalize, Tera Ghost is recommended, able to nullify a faster Pokémon’s Rapid Spin and allowing Overqwil to Self-Destruct to remove them before they can undo Overqwil’s work, while easing prediction in the use of Self-Destruct. Tera Flying is worth considering otherwise, giving Overqwil immunity to most hazards and enabling repeated pivoting while also removing its Ground weakness, both of which allow it to setup more hazards and multiple time at that.

EVs and Items:
Max HP is a must for this set; you need Overqwil to stick around as long as possible so it can establish and re-establish hazards as need be. Max Speed is recommended for Overrqwil to get the jump on as many Pokémon as possible to ease its ability to both setup and deny hazard removal by exploding. With Max Speed, Overqwil outruns supportive Excadrill and Mandibuzz, as well as threats like Okidogi, Basculegion-F, and Metagross. Leftovers is recommended to give Overqwil longevity, though Overqwil can get away with Black Sludge since it will very rarely Terastalize. Rocky Helmet is also worth considering, allowing Overqwil to play offense while on defense and chip the physical attackers it Intimidates.

Partners:
Allies that can take advantage of the Pokémon that Overqwil draws in while setting up are greatly preferred. Azelf is a key example, its Levitate allowing it to switch into any Ground moves aimed at Overqwil, helps the hazard game with Stealth Rocks and as such loves Overqwil’s ability to remove Hazard removers by Exploding. Other examples include Thundurus who easily removes most Defoggers with Electric STAB and Ground types with Grass Knot, Armarouge, who handles opposing Poison and Steel types well.

Other Options:
Destiny Bond is an alternative to exploding, punishing opponents who are trying to deny you an extra layer of hazards or forcing them to allow you to using one last attack lest they lose a Pokémon. Toxic is worth considering to directly badly Poison Pokémon in a more controller manner compared to Toxic Spikes, which has the benefit of hitting Pokémon with Heavy Duty Boots or aren’t Grounded. Crunch is a more offensive option that leaves Overqwil less passive and provides valuable coverage into the likes of Slowbro, Gengar, and Basculegion. Pain Split is Overqwil’s only form of reliable recovery outside of Rest and does so while draining the opponent’s HP, but requires good prediction.

Doubles and VGC Options

As powerful as Swift Swim and Intimidate are in singles, they are even more so in doubles formats, with the greater strength of weather for the former and the sheer damage mitigation for the latter. Both abilities alone have guaranteed consideration for Pokémon that have them and with Overqwil, who possesses the fantastic Dark Poison typing it would seem a shoo-in for widespread doubles play. However, Overqwil’s performance thus far has been rather one note, and rather niche at that. As a Intimidate user, Overqwil is outclassed by Incineroar, who possesses many of the same traits, albeit with far better special bulk and a more robust support movepool along with Aqua Breed Tauros and Salamence, both of whom offer greater prospective offense than Intimidate Overqwil. Swift Swim Overqwil remains more distinct but even then faces stiff competition in the face of Archaludon, another heavily anti Grass Rain abuser, who unlike Overqwil isn’t impacted by Intimidate who possesses similar failings in poor base Special Defense and a Ground weakness that can make Overqwil redundant. Overqwil’s unique traits do not completely keep it out of contention and is a powerful option for those looking to take advantage of its strengths.

Rich Fugu

-Gunk Shot
-Throat Chop
-Protect
-Acid Spray
Ability: Swift Swim
Item: Life Orb
Tera Type: Poison
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

Based on Henry Rich’s Overqwil in his NAIC team, while as a dedicated support for Kyogre, this set remains powerful even without it. Gunk Shot plus Life Orb is absurdly powerful, being massively favored to 2HKO Incineroar after Intimidate, while overkilling most Grass and Fairy types, while being a type that such Pokémon rarely pack a defensive Terastalization for. Throat Chop is preferred as Dark STAB for its ability to shutdown Incineroar’s Parting Shots alone with Primarina, Farigiraf and Ursaluna Bloodmoon’s Hyper Voices. Protect is invaluable in doubles formats, allowing Overqwil to scout out for attacks and Terastalizations, stall for allied setup, stall out opposing field conditions, punish doubling up, the utility of Protect cannot be overstated. Acid Spray acts as a pseudo Helping Hand for special attackers like Kyogre, Pelipper and Achaludon, massively debuffing a target’s Special Defense for a surprise One Hit Knock Out from Overqwil’s partner.

EVs are standard for a Swift Swim attacker, with Max Speed and Attack to maximize offense and get the most out of Swift Swim. Max Speed is recommended to get the jump on fellow Swift Swim abuser Basculegion, but if that is not a concern one can drop Speed investment for some bulk. 100 Speed EVs allows Overqwil to outspeed Scarf Annihilape in the Rain along with Dragapult, which are the fastest examples irrespective of weather. Tera Poison is recommended for the sheer power it provides Gunk Shot, getting one hit Kos on anything that doesn’t resist it. Tera Flying is also worth consideration, removing Overqwil’s shared Ground weakness with Archaludon while maintaining its Grass resistance.

Preferred Partners:
This is a Swift Swim set so rain setters are a must. Whether it be Pelipper, Politoed or Kyogre, Overqwil loves the Rain for boosting its speed to the stratosphere while Rain setters love Overqwil's Poison STAB shellacking opposing Grass types. Achaludon is a popular Rain abuser and while sharing Overqwil's Ground weakness, it loves the support from Acid Spray. Gholdengo is another example that enjoys both Rain (albeit defensively) and Acid Spray. Basculegion is another Rain abuser that enjoys Overqwil answering Grass types, but is a great partner to Self-Destruct variants thanks to being able to no sell the attack and apply pressure the same turn while Last Respects gets powered up by Self Destruct.

Other Options:
Poison Jab is far more reliable than Gunk Shot, though the power drop is significant and can cause Overqwil to miss one hit knock outs otherwise. Liquidation is Water coverage, though when boosted by Rain becomes Psuedo-STAB. Combining with Tera Water produces incredible results. Aqua Jet is priority and thus deserves mention for its ability to clean up Focus Sash users along with those barely hanging on irrespective of field state. Self-Destruct combined with Tera Normal can quickly turn the tides of a game, though requires good prediction on when to boom. Icy Wind is a nasty piece of Speed control that Overqwil can use in the same vein as Regieleki’s Electroweb and Flutter Mane’s Icy Wind to drop an opponent’s speed lower than Overqwil’s partner to flip matchups on their head. Haze is an option to wipe away opposing Intimidates as well as ruin Commander Dondozo.

Countering Overqwil

Overqwil boasts near perfect coverage between its STABs and Water coverage and with access to Taunt, Toxic and Toxic Spikes, it is well equipped to subvert most walls, though it cannot fit every move it desires onto a single set.

Poison types are consistently some of the best roadblocks for Overqwil, being immune to Toxic, wiping away Toxic Spikes and resisting Gunk Shot. Toxapex is notable for resisting Water coverage, Hazing away Swords Dance boosts and able to grind Overqwil down with its own Water STAB. Okidogi is also a hard wall to Overqwil sets out of the Rain, resisting both STABs and either able to match Swords Dance with Calm Minds or just straight obliterate Overqwil with Choice Band Close Combat, though Rain/Tera Water boosted Water coverage can do considerable damage. Revavroom can’t switch-in due to Crunch, but can endure an unboosted attack, setup Shift Gear and OHKO with Stomping Tantrum.

Swift Swim Overqwil is dangerous given how difficult it is to outspeed and both its immediate and setup power. Dondozo is great for being able to endure everything but Tera Poison Gunk Shot, and even the rare sets running Toxic are foiled by Rest, while being able to escalate out of control with Curse. While Zamazenta is easily 2HKOd by a boosted Gunk Shot, it can otherwise match Iron Defense for Swords Dance and OHKO with Body Press. As with any Pokémon running Gunk Shot, the moves unreliability can mean Overqwil losing otherwise winning matchups while Poison Jab’s lack of power makes the listed Pokémon impossible to handle. Catching Swift Swim Overqwil out of the rain also makes it far more manageable, as it struggles to outspeed many threats that can OHKO it like Specs Dragapult, Enamorus, Banded Floatzel, Garchomp, Specs Inteleon, Specs Iron Crown, Landorus-Therian, Maushold, Sandy Shocks, Eruption Typhlosion, etc.

Defensive Overqwil often lack Water coverage and as such can find Ground types difficult foes. Great Tusk is a key example, resisting both STABs while threatening a quick knock out back with Ground STAB. Krookodile also resists both STABs and can summarily dispatch Overqwil with Earthquake. Hippowdon is plenty bulky to tank the attack, though its slow speed makes it Vulnerable to Toxic which can be ruinous. Ursaluna, while slower, is boosted by Toxic instead of hampered and can quickly destroy Defensive Overqwil as a result.

When attacking Overqwil, Special Attackers are recommended, dealing catastrophic damage that reliably one to two hit Knockouts Overqwil. Specs Hisuian Zoroark, Specs Inteleon, Sandy Shocks, Hisuian Goodra, etc. all reliably one to two hit KO Overqwil. Empoleon is notable, able to punish Intimidate and OHKO Overqwil with its own boosted Surf while being immune to Toxic, though requires good prediction to catch Overqwil as it switches in.

Anime Appearences

Overqwil has yet to make an appearance in the anime # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics