The Paldea region’s trio of fully-evolved starters is unique in that each member is based on some type of entertainer or performer. The Fire/Ghost-type Skeledirge is a singer, the Grass/Dark-type Meowscarada is a magician and the Water/Fighting-type Quaquaval has a weakness for non-stop dancing.
Between its Hidden Ability and signature move, Quaquaval has the potential to be a threatening opponent in battle. As a result, it’s important to understand the best way to shut it down whether you’re facing it in a competitive battle or just trying to conquer Nemona in the final fight of Victory Road. Here’s every weakness and counter for Quaquaval that you should know about in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Quaquaval is cheerful and energetic. No matter the situation, it shakes its body in dances that evoke far-off places.
It’s also very serious about polishing its skills. During critical moments, it shows a level of concentration that amazes onlookers.
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What are Quaquaval’s characteristics?
Quaquaval’s greatest strength is its base 120 Attack stat. The rest of its stats are fairly evenly distributed in the 75 to 85 range. Naturally, Quaquaval gains access to several solid physical moves to take advantage of its high Attack.
Its moveset includes strong same-type attack bonus moves like Liquidation, Wave Crash and Close Combat. Quaquaval also learns coverage move like Ice Spinner, Brave Bird, U-turn and (depending on its Tera Type) Tera Blast. With Swords Dance, it can swiftly raise its Attack to further bolster its offensive presence.
However, perhaps Quaquaval’s most unique asset is its signature move, Aqua Step. As a Water-type attack with a base power of 80, it is a decent STAB move in its own right. However, this move crucially raises Quaquaval’s Speed stat by one stage anytime it hits.
Aqua Step helps Quaquaval overcome the weakness that is its otherwise middling Speed stat. In addition, Quaquaval’s Hidden Ability is Moxie, which gives it a one-stage Attack boost anytime it knocks out an enemy Pokémon. As a result, Quaquaval has the potential to become a powerful sweeper in the Singles metagame by finishing off a weakened enemy with Aqua Step and gaining a Moxie boost.
As a Water/Fighting-type, Quaquaval has five weaknesses: Electric, Fairy, Flying, Grass and Psychic. Meanwhile, it resists Bug, Dark, Fire, Ice, Rock, Steel and Water. Thanks to its secondary typing, it can easily dispatch enemy Meowscarada with a STAB Close Combat, although Quaquaval will need some speed boosts under its belt to outspeed Meowscarada.
In practice, the biggest weakness Quaquaval has is the fact that it needs to set up to be as threatening as possible. If you can force Quaquaval into a battle early so that it doesn’t have the chance to pick off an already-weakened opponent, it will be significantly easier to knock out before it can cause too much trouble for your team.
You’ll do best against Quaquaval with Pokémon that are naturally faster than it and can KO it with super effective moves before it has the chance to raise its Attack or Speed. Examples of strong counters include Flutter Mane, Jolteon and Iron Leaves.
