Wartortle @ Eviolite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 136 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 116 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Ice Beam
- Substitute / Refresh / Rapid Spin
To all the non-NFE players out there, think of all the checks to Drapion and Overqwil. You're probably picturing fat ground types, Tinkaton, fat unaware mons, exceptionally bulky Poison types and really physically tanky water types. A similar dynamic exists in NFE. Common checks to Qwilfish include Tinkatuff, Gabite, Crocalor, Piloswine, Gurdurr, Bulky Waters (including opposing Wartortle) and Golbat, depending on the set. More uncommon checks include Phys Def Marshtomp, Palpitoad, Koffing, Hippopotas and Ferroseed.
A lot of these checks get blown back by shell smash Wartortle when played properly. Most stuff on this list are scared out by Wartortle and the few stuff that can take its hits (e.g. Golbat and Tinkatuff) are put in range by +2 Hydro Pump. Similarly, Qwilfish-H forces out bulky grasses (like Roselia and Servine) and Clefairy that can eat a hit from Wartortle. Plus, our pufferfish friend sets up Spikes/T-Spike to let the turtle sweep.
EVs came from zastra and I agree with their vision. Max Special Attack is a no-brainer since you want maximum damage output. Speed investment creeps Rhydon creepers (181 speed). Rest of the EVs are dumped into HP and Spec Def. You can always do something funky like live Magmar HP Grass, but I'm not willing to crack that code. Hydro for power, Surf for consistency, yadda yadda. Ice Beam hits grasses and most other water resists/immunes. Substitute facilitates set up on more passive stuff like non-haze Mareanie, Refresh means you can deal with para/toxic spammers and Rapid spin is for utility if you wanna go that route.
Core is weak to offensive pressure from pretty much any mon faster than max speed Qwilfish. Even something like Frogadier can Taunt Wartortle before it can set up, and plough through H-qwil with little chip. Pairing it with screens is a good option to help mitigate this drawback. Haze Mareanie can be a pain for this team as well, particularly when H-qwil gets burnt. Pairing it with future sight users is another good option.