Ninjask (B/W) - Smogon University

R/S
D/P
B/W
Strategy
Moves

Speed Boost: Speed increases at end of the turn.
Infiltrator: The wielder bypasses the foe's Light Screen, Reflect, Mist, and Safeguard.

Type	Tier
Bug / Flying	NU

Level 50 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
		Min-	Min	Max	Max+
HP	61	-	136	168	-
Atk	90	99	110	142	156
Def	45	58	65	97	106
SpA	50	63	70	102	112
SpD	50	63	70	102	112
Spe	160	162	180	212	233

Neverused
Rarelyused
Overused
VGC '12

Overview

Although Ninjask's stats and typing scream mediocrity, it has all the right tools to establish a niche that has made it noteworthy in every generation since its release. However, the coming of the fifth generation heralded Ninjask's fall from grace. Its former OU home has finally caught up with Ninjask, leaving it to wield its Speed passing abilities in NU. Ninjask's blazing Speed stat, rare Speed Boost ability, and access to Swords Dance and Baton Pass make Ninjask the ultimate sweeping assistant and a necessity in Baton Pass teams. After just a few turns of idling, Ninjask can easily turn the tide of battle, and give its team a decisive advantage.

Unfortunately, Ninjask has terrible defenses which force it to resort to Substitute and Protect to keep it alive. Ninjask's typing also grants it numerous weaknesses, including a dreaded 4x weakness to Stealth Rock. To make matters worse, NU has few usable Rapid Spin users, so Ninjask will struggle to switch in more than twice in a game. However, Ninjask is still a threat to prepare for; its unchecked presence can lead to a sweep in just a couple of turns.

Name	Item	Nature
Baton Pass	Leftovers	Impish

Moveset	EVs
~ Baton Pass ~ Substitute ~ Protect / Swords Dance ~ X-Scissor	248 HP / 224 Def / 36 Spe

Ninjask is known for one set only. With its Speed Boost ability and access to Baton Pass, Ninjask can accumulate Speed boosts by just using Protect and Substitute. Baton Pass is the lynchpin of this set, and enables Ninjask to offload its boosts to any one of the slow yet powerful sweepers that reside in NU. Substitute is another move that Ninjask can potentially Baton Pass; it is also useful to keep Ninjask safe while it accumulates Speed boosts. Ninjask can easily set up a Substitute on Pokemon such as Tangela, Jumpluff, and Choice-locked Sawk. However, Ninjask's terrible defenses leave its Substitutes easily broken by unresisted moves, and if Ninjask is caught without a Substitute, it won't last long. Protect hoards more boosts while also letting Ninjask obtain more Leftovers recovery; when used in conjunction with Substitute, Ninjask can be extremely hard to take down. If you feel like playing Ninjask in a more offensive manner, Swords Dance can be used instead. If a physical sweeper safely receives both Speed boosts and a Swords Dance boost, the opponent will be hard-pressed to keep their team intact. X-Scissor is the only attacking move used on the set; it prevents Ninjask from being useless when Taunted and also lets it do respectable damage to targets such as Musharna.

Team Options & Additional Comments >>>

248 HP EVs give Ninjask as much overall bulk as possible while also letting it switch into Stealth Rock twice without fainting. 36 Speed EVs let Ninjask outspeed Jolly Swellow, one of the fastest Pokemon in NU, even without Speed boosts. The remaining EVs are placed in Defense and an Impish nature is chosen to let Ninjask safely set up a Substitute on moves such as Choice-locked Sawk's Close Combat. However, 224 Special Defense EVs and a Careful nature can help Ninjask against weak special attackers such as Tangela. If bulk is of little concern, then the defensive EVs can be placed in Attack with an Adamant nature to enable Ninjask to hit harder if necessary; with a Swords Dance boost, 252+ Ninjask's X-Scissor can OHKO even the bulkiest of Musharna after Stealth Rock damage. Leftovers is the item of choice as Ninjask can use its precious healing to create more Substitutes or switch once more into Stealth Rock. However, Focus Sash is a viable item if Ninjask is being used as a lead or if you are confident you can keep Stealth Rock off the field. With a Focus Sash, Ninjask is almost guaranteed to pass off both Attack and Speed boosts to a waiting teammate.

Although most Pokemon appreciate Speed and Attack boosts, there are some Pokemon that can make use of them more efficiently than others. Marowak, Rampardos and Golurk are slow, yet insanely powerful Pokemon that can use the boosts Ninjask passes to become speedy wrecking balls. Gorebyss and Exeggutor cannot make good use of Attack boosts; however, they are capable of utilizing the extra Speed to demolish common checks and revenge killers. Rapid Spin support is extremely useful as it lets Ninjask switch in without the fear of Stealth Rock. Armaldo and Wartortle are the best candidates for this task, although the less popular Torkoal, Tentacool and Sandshrew can work depending on your team. As phazers are the most common responses to Ninjask, Octillery and Cradily make good recipients thanks to their Suction Cups ability which lets them laughs at attempts to phaze them.

If Ninjask is being used on a dedicated Baton Pass team, good teammates include Gorebyss, Drifblim, and Mawile who can all pass it Defense boosts. Mr. Mime and Musharna can easily boost their special stats with Calm Mind while Leafeon and Sawsbuck can take some pressure off Ninjask and pass Attack boosts in its stead.

Other Options

Ninjask's often forgotten base 90 Attack can be utilized more effectively with a Choice Band. A set consisting of U-turn, Aerial Ace, X-Scissor, and Night Slash can not only break through common walls such as Tangela and Musharna, but also efficiently scout the opponents response to Ninjask. Unfortunately, Ninjask cannot touch Steel-types outside of the poor Dig; Pokemon such as Probopass and Lairon can thus wall Ninjask to no end. Choice Band Ninjask also finds it difficult to switch in repeatedly as Stealth Rock will end it after just three switch ins. Roost can increase Ninjask's longevity and counteract the effects of Stealth Rock; however, Ninjask is extremely frail and finds little time to use the move effectively. Although Ninjask's HP stat isn't amazing, it can still use Final Gambit which can take out frailer Pokemon such as Marowak if Ninjask is at full health; however, it comes at the cost of Ninjask's life and Ninjask often has better things to do. Hone Claws can be passed instead of Swords Dance if your designated recipient is either Zweilous or a Pokemon reliant on low accuracy moves such as Stone Edge.

Checks and Counters

The biggest counter to Ninjask, as already implied, is Stealth Rock. Just by switching into the dastardly hazards, Ninjask will lose 50% of its health. The lack of viable Rapid Spin users in NU compounds this weakness and ensures that Ninjask will only have a few attempts to successfully set up a sweeper before it succumbs to its arch-enemy. Bulky Rock-types such as Golem are prime switch-ins to Ninjask as they can set up Stealth Rock or squash the bug with a 4x super effective Rock Blast that hits through Substitute and Focus Sash.

As Ninjask relies a lot on Baton Pass and Substitute, phazing is a perfect way of rendering it useless. Not only does phazing strip Ninjask of all its boosts, it also forces Ninjask to take more Stealth Rock damage the next time it switches in. Phazers such as Bastiodon and Altaria can blow Ninjask away while taking pittance from X-Scissor. Taunt and Encore are equally disruptive as the former forces Ninjask to attack with its pathetic X-Scissor while the latter can lock it into a setup move. However, the speedy Ninjask can easily Baton Pass away before those moves take effect, and only Prankster users such as Murkrow will be able to stop it before it flees.

As many teams cannot reliably prevent Ninjask from passing Speed boosts, the best way to deal with it is to just hit the recipient hard. Pokemon such as Choice Band Rapidash Choice Specs Charizard are useful in this regard. All in all, if you can keep Stealth Rock on the field and hit the recipient hard, Ninjask should not be too much of a problem.