Quaxly Evolution Guide: Stats, Moves, Type, and Location

The new generation of Pokemon, introduced by Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, brings with it a bevy of new monsters for players to try out. Gamers quickly found several of their favorites, with the duck-like Quaxly being an early standout. It looks cute, has some useful abilities, and its evolutionary progression is surprisingly powerful. If you’re interested in adding this Pokemon to your team, our Quaxly evolution guide will go over all the details you need to know, including how to evolve it, its stats, and more.

How Do You Get Quaxly in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

This water-type Pokemon is one of the easiest to get in Pokemon Scarlet or Violet. Once players make a character to go explore the lands of Paldea, they’re given a choice of three different starters: One of them is Quaxly, meaning players can choose to have it be their first Pokemon. As is often the case with starter Pokemon, Quaxly is a well-rounded pocket monster that can be a helpful member of your team for a long time, and as it levels up its usefulness only increases.

However, the starter Quaxly isn’t right for everyone. Those who pick Quaxly at the game’s outset may eventually want to find other Pokemon with a more ideal stat distribution. Others may want to experiment with a different starter but eventually get the duck-like Quaxly in their roster as they start to make important team choices. In these cases, players will have to find Quaxly a different way.

Unfortunately, Quaxly can’t be found in the wild. You can’t count on a random encounter to get one, and no trainer or store will sell or gift you a Quaxly. So, the best way to get a Quaxly is to trade with some friends who already have one. If that’s not an option, you may have to start over as a new character and pick the Pokémon as your starter.

Once you have a Quaxly, though, getting better and more powerful versions of the Pokemon is much easier thanks to Scarlet and Violet‘s new breeding system. You can easily produce another Quaxly to try and get one with better stats or breed a shiny version.

Regardless of how he joins the player’s roster, Quaxly brings some important passive abilities. The first, Torrent, increases all water damage when Quaxly hits low health — an important boost that can save players during some tough early fights. The second passive is a hidden ability called Moxie, which levels up Quaxly’s attack power whenever it knocks out another Pokemon. That alone is a great reason to use Quaxly early on and make sure it gets the “fainting” blow.

What About Getting Quaxly in Pokémon Go?

As with many Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet, Quaxly is also available in Pokemon Go. However, getting it works differently. First, make sure your version of Pokemon Go is updated: Quaxly only arrived on the mobile game in the fall of 2023, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re running the latest version of the app.

Second, Quaxly’s addition is universal, which means you can find it out and about just like any other common Pokemon. However, certain events may boost the likelihood of finding one, so keep an eye on timed events and their benefits. You should also pay attention to all your available Field and Special Research tasks since Quaxly can drop as a reward for completing those missions.

Finally, Pokemon Go rewards you with eggs for completing five-kilometer walkabouts — which equates to roughly 3.2 miles. Quaxly can also drop as an egg reward. Between all the various ways that players can acquire Quaxly, there’s every likelihood it won’t take long to unlock them in Pokemon Go

How Do You Evolve Quaxly Into Quaxwell?

Starter Pokémon are generally easy to evolve, and Quaxly is no exception. Its first evolution turns the little duck into Quaxwell, a flamboyant adolescent who means business. Quaxwell remains a full water-type Pokemon but gets a very useful stat boost relatively quickly, so it’s a good idea to work on its evolution.

Fortunately, the quickest way to evolve Quaxly into Quaxwell is to simply play the game and battle with the Pokemon in your roster. Once your Quaxly hits level 16, it will naturally evolve in Quaxwell. You don’t need any special items or events to make it happen.

Evolving Quaxly in Pokemon Go works a little differently, though. To evolve your Quaxly, you’re going to need 25 Quaxly candies. Candy has unique qualities in Pokemon Go. It’s distinct for each Pokemon, and you can get it by doing things like repeatedly capturing Quaxly. The evolution to Quaxwell in Pokemon Go will likely take longer than in Scarlet and Violet as a result.

How Do You Evolve Quaxwell into Quaquaval?

Quaquaval is Quaxly’s final form, which once again gives a nice boost to its stats and turns the Pokemon into a dangerous dancer. Quaquaval also gets some extra advantages, like the ability to learn Aqua Step, a hard-hitting attack that can also increase its speed, making it a powerhouse when played correctly.

Most importantly, the final evolution of Quaxly also changes it into a dual type, becoming both a water and a fighting-type Pokemon at this final stage. This provides some extra advantages against certain types of enemies but does introduce a few new weaknesses.

Once again, evolving is easy. Just get Quaxwell to level 36 and it will naturally evolve in Quaquaval. You don’t need to take any additional actions to make it happen. However, if you’re playing Pokemon Go, the rules are a little different. You’ll have to amass 100 Quaxly candy items (125 in total) to help the duck reach its final form.

Can You Breed a Quaxly in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Yes! This is an excellent option if you really like Quaxly and want to get a powerful or shiny version before you start working to evolve it. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet re-introduce breeding, but in a new way that players will have to master to get the best results. Here, you’ll need to hold a picnic for Pokémon in the same egg group. Look up Pawmi’s egg group and you’ll see it’s Flying and Water 1, which means Pawmi can breed with any other Flying/Water 1 Pokemon (or a Ditto).

Make sure your Quaxly (or equivalent evolved form) is female before you begin. That can be tough because most are male, but using a Ditto can solve this problem. Start a Picnic with the two Pokemon and let the rest play out. Certain foods you can eat at the Picnic, like a peanut butter sandwich, will help the Pokemon produce eggs faster.

With your eggs in tow, start walking. After a certain number of steps, the eggs will hatch. A warm Pokemon with an ability like Flame Body will speed this process up. There are other tricks you can use to improve your breeding results, like winning the Individual Value Checker in the game to take a closer look at stats. Items like Destiny Knot let you influence certain stats, while an Everystone can help guarantee parents will pass Natures along. Also, the more powerful the mother Quaxly, the more likely the offspring will prove powerful, too. It all takes some practice, but that’s part of the fun.

Is Quaxly a Good Pick in Scarlet and Violet?

Opinions are divided on Quaxly’s utility in the early game. Choosing a water-type Pokemon as a starter carries some risk. In Scarlet and Violet, as with many Pokemon games, you face some tough grass opponents early on. Water-type Pokemon will certainly struggle more with that. Quaxly’s early stats don’t pack a lot of speed as well, so it’s possible to be quickly overcome as a less-experienced player.

However, that can quickly change after leveling up Quaxly. Quaxly’s high attack power will eventually start to shine, which becomes even more apparent after learning the Wing Attack ability. Together, these two bonuses can make up for its water-based shortcomings early on. By the time Quaxly evolves it proves itself to be a great choice for a starter.

Keep in mind, though, that Quaxly will eventually become a water/fighting dual type. Dual types can get a little confusing because of the overlapping strengths and weaknesses, which yield many different results. Quaxly ends up with high effectiveness against fire, water, ice, bug, dark, steel, and rock opponents, with the caveat that it’s weaker against electric, grass, flying, psychic, and fairy types.

What are Quaxly’s Stats Like? What Nature is Best for Quaxly?

Quaxly starts with well-rounded stats that emphasize attack power to help deal damage with normal attacks. Its defenses and speed are a bit low as a result, but nothing too drastic. By the time you evolve the Pokemon into Quaquaval, the dancing fiend has a big boost to attack power with most other stats settling in the 80s at the start. Special defense is generally its lowest stat.

Of course, Pokemon are also influenced by their Natures (and other breeding techniques), which often sacrifice one stat for the sake of another. Work toward getting a Quaxly with an Adamant Nature, which increases its already valuable attack and lowers its much-less-useful special attack stat. Other players may want to look for Jolly, which helps offset low speed with a speed boost at the cost of special attack.

How Do I Use Quaxly in Battle?

Quaxly becomes an interesting pick as it evolves. During the beginning, level up to get Flying Strike so Quaxly becomes more dangerous to a wider range of foes. Once you start to evolve, look for ways to use Quaxly’s situational attacks during a battle. Acrobatics is a great pick if you know your opponent isn’t holding an item. Also, Liquidation lowers the defense of tough-shelled enemies for your team. Try to get in fainting blows to benefit from Moxie. You can also hit with Feather Dance if an enemy is getting too dangerous. Think a move or two ahead, and you’ll be able to use Quaxly like a pro by the time you get to Quaxwell.

What Technical Machine Moves Should I Teach Quaxly?

Quaxly can learn a lot of flying, water, and normal abilities via Technical Machines. You can use these to round out your Quaxly depending on how you want to play. Air Slash has potential because of its Stab bonus but it is a special attack. Knockoff can complement some of Quaquaval’s other abilities, while Reversal can help the Pokemon during tougher battles.

Is Quaxly Available in Both Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Yes. Because Quaxly is one of the starter Pokemon that players can choose when beginning, it’s available in either version of the game. Some Pokemon are exclusive to only one version, but you don’t have to worry about Quaxly. Just keep in mind that if you didn’t pick Quaxly as your starter Pokemon, you will want to trade with a friend ASAP to get it and start breeding it sooner rather than later, taking advantage of its powerful evolutions.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Pokemon animated series screenshot.