How to Get and Evolve Hisuian Qwilfish (Is Overqwil Good?)

Water/Poison-type Qwilfish first appeared in the waters of the Johto region in Pokemon Gold/Silver. At the time of its debut, this Balloon Pokemon was incapable of evolving. It wasn’t until Gen 8 in Pokemon Legends: Arceus where Qwilfish was given a regional variant and an evolution.

Hisuian Qwilfish discards its Water-typing for Dark, becoming a dual-type Dark/Poison Pokemon. Unlike regular/Johtonian Qwiflish, Hisuian Qwilfish evolves into Overqwil via a unique evolution method. Now that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is compatible with Pokemon HOME, trainers can now have a Hisuian Qwilfish and Overqwil in their party.

Updated on December 22, 2023 by Renri Seong: Before the release of part 2 of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet‘s expansion pass, Hisuian Qwilfish and its evolution Overqwil were only obtainable through transfer or trade. With the Indigo Disk DLC, you can visit Terarium, which is swarming with familiar Pokemon from past generations. Those that look to the colder biomes of Terarium may find the Dark/Poison-type Hisuian Qwilfish. In Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Hisuian Qwilfish could evolve into Overqwil, something that the original/Johto Qwilfish is incapable of doing. The following guide has been updated to include information about the Indigo Disk and how you can get and evolve Hisuian Qwilfish without trade or transfer.

Where to Find Hisuian Qwilfish in Indigo Disk

If you purchased the expansion pass for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, you will gain access to the Indigo Disk after you have completed the following:

• “Path of Legends”
• “Victory Road”
• “Starfall Street”
• Kitakami/Teal Mask Story

You can go to Terarium/Blueberry Academy before completing “The Way Home,” the last story quest in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet‘s base game. However, you’ll be prevented from advancing Indigo Disk’s story after your first class in Terarium at the Coastal Biome. Once you complete “The Way Home,” the rest of Indigo Disk’s story will be unlocked.

Once you’re in Terarium, you’ll want to head towards the Polar Biome. You can find Hisuian Qwilfish swimming around in the water. Since it can be a bit difficult sneaking up on Pokemon while swimming, you may have better luck just battling the Hisuian Qwilfish head-on. The Hisuian Qwilfish levels will be around mid-50s to mid-60s.

How to Get Hisuian Qwilfish without Indigo Disk DLC

While the Water/Poison-type Qwilfish can be found in the oceans of Paldea, Hisuian Qwilfish isn’t as lucky. Players will need to transfer Hisuian Qwilfish from either Legends: Arceus or Pokemon GO to obtain it in Scarlet/Violet. Transferring is done through Pokemon HOME, a free app with subscription features for mobile devices and Switch.

To get Hisuian Qwilfish, players will need to have access to the Cobalt Coastlands in Legends: Arceus. They will also need to have unlocked the Ride Basculegion.

Hisuian Qwilfish spawns in the following sub-areas:

• Tranquility Cove
• Islespy Shore
• Lunker’s Lair

Since it can be difficult to catch Pokemon in the water, players may want to try and get a back strike from a distance using Feather/Wing/Jet Balls. Items such as Mud Balls or Sticky Globs can be used to stun the Qwilfish if they turn aggressive. Otherwise, trainers can catch them the old-fashioned way: Battling it with one of their Pokemon.

Getting Hisuian Qwilfish in Pokemon GO

If trainers are catching Hisuian Qwilfish in Pokemon GO, they can get it from a wild encounter. 7km Eggs, which are earned from opening Gifts from friends, also have a chance of hatching into a Hisuian Qwilfish. They’re in the Uncommon Tier, meaning they’ll have to contend with other Pokemon in the hatch pool, making this a somewhat unreliable method of getting it. Thus, players are better off catching Hisuian Qwilfish in the wild. It tends to appear more in grim areas or during certain in-game events.

How to Evolve Hisuian Qwilfish (How to Get Overqwil)

Before transferring Hisuian Qwilfish, trainers will want to evolve it. Hisuian Qwilfish evolves into Overqwil by using the move Barb Barrage 20x in the Strong Style. This is a Poison-type physical move that Hisuian Qwilfish learns at level 15 in Legends: Arceus or level 28 in Scarlet/Violet.

Because Strong/Agile-style moves do not exist in Scarlet/Violet, you can either evolve Hisuian Qwilfish in Legends: Arceus. However, the less-tedious method is to evolve Hisuian Qwilfish in Scarlet/Violet by leveling it up while it knows the move Barb Barrage.

If you want to catch Overqwil, you can find it in 6-star Tera Raids. The 6-star Raids unlock once you’ve completed the Academy Ace Tournament, and have cleared some of the 5-star Tera Raids around Paldea and Kitakami. You’ll eventually receive a call from Jacq about black Tera Raid crystals.

How to Transfer Overqwil from Legends: Arceus and Pokemon GO

Here’s how to transfer from Legends: Arceus to Scarlet/Violet:

1. Place the newly-evolved Overqwil into a Pasture, then Save and Exit.
2. Open Pokemon HOME and select Legends: Arceus.
3. Move the Overqwil from the Pasture to the Basic Box. Save and Exit.
4. Open Scarlet/Violet in HOME, then transfer the Overqwil from the Basic Box to a PC Box. Save and Exit.
5. Exit out of HOME, then open Scarlet/Violet. Overqwil should be in whichever PC Box it was placed in.

To transfer Overqwil from Pokemon GO:

1. Go to the Settings, which can be accessed from the top-right corner of the screen after tapping the Poke Ball icon.
2. Select Connected Devices and Settings, then Pokemon HOME.
3. Choose Send Pokemon, Continue, then find Overqwil and select it. Hit Next.
4. Choose Transport to send it to Pokemon HOME.
5. On the Switch, open HOME and select the Pokemon GO icon to move it to a Basic Box.
6. Open Scarlet/Violet in HOME to complete the transfer from Basic Box to a PC Box.

Is Overqwil Good?

Dark/Poison is already a unique type combination, but those looking for a speedy special attacker won’t find that in Overqwil. It’s primarily a physical attacker with moderate Speed. Here’s what trainers are looking at:

One advantage Overqwil has in Scarlet/Violet compared to Legends: Arceus is its Abilities. When transferred, Overqwil can have Poison Point or Swift Swim. If players choose to use an Ability Patch on it, they can get Overqwil’s Hidden Ability: Intimidate.

While Special Defense and Special Attack are Overqwil’s worst stats, players don’t want it to suffer a bane in Special Defense. Instead, they’ll want a Nature that has a bane in Special Attack. This is due to Overqwil’s moveset and arguably stronger moves being primarily physical attacks. Trainers can also use TMs to give it some more coverage.

• Overqwil also works as a good Pokemon to set up Spikes, which is a Ground-type move that damages opposing Pokemon that are switched into battle. Spikes is affected by the Ability Magic Bounce, which sends back status moves instead of getting hit by them.
• Another move to consider is Overqwil and Hisuian Qwilfish’s signature move: Barb Barrage. This is a physical, Poison-type move that has a 50% chance of poisoning the target. If the target Pokemon is already poisoned, then Barb Barrage inflicts 2x the damage.
  • Poison Jab, which can be learned via TM083, is a good substitute or if trainers want their Overqwil to have two Poison-type moves.
• Crunch is good for Overqwil’s Dark-typing, and it has a chance of making the target flinch.
• Although it’s not a Water-type Pokemon, Overqwil can make use of Liquidation. This is a physical damaging move with a power of 85. It has a chance of lowering the target’s Defense when it hits. Liquidation gives Overqwil coverage against most Ground-type Pokemon, which are its only type weakness.