[Overview]
<p>Say "Hello" to Ninjask, an oddball of sorts. What used to be the resident Baton Passer in OU is now in the NU tier, where it can perform best. Ninjask is the fastest Pokemon in the entire NU tier, boasting an insane base 160 Speed. Its main selling point, however, is its ability, Speed Boost, which gives it +1 Speed at the end of every turn. However, it isn't all fun and games for Ninjask. Even in NU it faces Taunt and Encore, especially from the two Prankster users in the tier. With a base 90 Attack, Ninjask can try to keep an offensive presence, but it utterly fails with its poor movepool. Baton Passing also means Ninjask needs some bulk, but it doesn't have any. With 61 / 45 / 50 Defenses, it will be severely injured, if not OHKOed, by most priority.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Baton Pass
move 2: Swords Dance/Protect
move 3: Substitute
move 4: X-Scissor
item: Leftovers
nature: Jolly
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Ninjask's best and only set. The purpose of this set is to obtain 6 Speed boosts and Baton Pass out. Substitute is necessary to help stall and protect the recipient as well as protecting you from status. X-Scissor stops you from being Taunt bait and takes down Cottonee, which would otherwise Taunt you and start SubSeeding your team. Ninjask is best used as a lead, but if you must switch in, try to come in on a locked in Ground-, Grass-, or Fighting-type attack, which gives you free turns to set up. Swords Dance is what guarantees a sweep for your recipient, but Protect can easily be used in its place so you can net 6 speed boosts more easily. It also protects you from Fake Out and faster Taunters.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The curse of the Bug/Flying typing strikes Ninjask especially hard; its crippling Stealth Rock weakness means that Ninjask really appreciates Rapid Spin support. However, all the viable spinners in NU are weak to Stealth Rock themselves. It is also possible to run a Wish Passer like Alolomola instead of a spinner. Wish is a less reliable option, but it allows Ninjask to come in again and again to pass Speed boosts to several teammates. The EVs listed give Ninjask 325 HP for 3 Stealth Rock switch-ins and maximize its Defense, while the nature gives it enough Speed to outpace Swellow. You can choose to run 160 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature to outspeed Electrode, but Ninjask can outspeed it after a single Speed boost anyway.</p>
<p>As for your recipient, you want to pick a Pokemon that is a slow but powerful attacker and can take a hit or two receiving the boosts. Such examples are Emboar, Armaldo, Marowak, Torterra, Braviary, Relicanth, and Pinsir, all of which can easily tear through half the NU metagame with +6 Speed and can survive priority attacks.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Ninjask is a one-trick-pony. It has some options outside of the Baton Pass set, but none are really viable. A Choice Band set seems possible, since everyone is expecting a Baton Pass set. However, with Ninjask's offensive movepool, such a set will be deadweight, having to use attacks such as Aerial Ace and Dig. Another choice is a more offensively inclined BP set. In NU, however, such a set would be deadweight with all the Steel-types. Roost is another viable option, as with it you can come in more than once to Baton Pass. The problem with Roost is that you likely will not be surviving long enough to use Roost. You can also choose to pass Hone Claws boosts instead of Swords Dance boosts, but it sets up a lot slower than Swords Dance.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Faster Taunt and Encore users really ruin Ninjask's day. Electrode outspeeds if Ninjask is not running max speed, but Ninjask can get a Speed boost with Protect to outspeed Electrode. Murkrow gets a special mention for having Prankster, which it can use to Taunt Ninjask before it can do anything. Multi-hit moves break Ninjask's Substitutes; examples of this are Golem and Gigalith's Rock Blast. User of Roar, such as Flareon, also ruin its Baton Passing ability. As mentioned before, Stealth Rock will take off half of Ninjask's health, and with all good NU spinners being weak to SR themselves, once it's up, Ninjask only has one shot at Baton Passing. Remember, Ninjask's main selling point is its speed. Find a way to get past that, and you've countered Ninjask.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Worthless is an understatement when it comes to Ninjask's Dream World Ability, Infiltrator. Ninjask passes Speed boosts. It does nothing else.</p>
<p>Say "Hello" to Ninjask, an oddball of sorts. What used to be the resident Baton Passer in OU is now in the NU tier, where it can perform best. Ninjask is the fastest Pokemon in the entire NU tier, boasting an insane base 160 Speed. Its main selling point, however, is its ability, Speed Boost, which gives it +1 Speed at the end of every turn. However, it isn't all fun and games for Ninjask. Even in NU it faces Taunt and Encore, especially from the two Prankster users in the tier. With a base 90 Attack, Ninjask can try to keep an offensive presence, but it utterly fails with its poor movepool. Baton Passing also means Ninjask needs some bulk, but it doesn't have any. With 61 / 45 / 50 Defenses, it will be severely injured, if not OHKOed, by most priority.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Baton Pass
move 2: Swords Dance/Protect
move 3: Substitute
move 4: X-Scissor
item: Leftovers
nature: Jolly
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Ninjask's best and only set. The purpose of this set is to obtain 6 Speed boosts and Baton Pass out. Substitute is necessary to help stall and protect the recipient as well as protecting you from status. X-Scissor stops you from being Taunt bait and takes down Cottonee, which would otherwise Taunt you and start SubSeeding your team. Ninjask is best used as a lead, but if you must switch in, try to come in on a locked in Ground-, Grass-, or Fighting-type attack, which gives you free turns to set up. Swords Dance is what guarantees a sweep for your recipient, but Protect can easily be used in its place so you can net 6 speed boosts more easily. It also protects you from Fake Out and faster Taunters.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The curse of the Bug/Flying typing strikes Ninjask especially hard; its crippling Stealth Rock weakness means that Ninjask really appreciates Rapid Spin support. However, all the viable spinners in NU are weak to Stealth Rock themselves. It is also possible to run a Wish Passer like Alolomola instead of a spinner. Wish is a less reliable option, but it allows Ninjask to come in again and again to pass Speed boosts to several teammates. The EVs listed give Ninjask 325 HP for 3 Stealth Rock switch-ins and maximize its Defense, while the nature gives it enough Speed to outpace Swellow. You can choose to run 160 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature to outspeed Electrode, but Ninjask can outspeed it after a single Speed boost anyway.</p>
<p>As for your recipient, you want to pick a Pokemon that is a slow but powerful attacker and can take a hit or two receiving the boosts. Such examples are Emboar, Armaldo, Marowak, Torterra, Braviary, Relicanth, and Pinsir, all of which can easily tear through half the NU metagame with +6 Speed and can survive priority attacks.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Ninjask is a one-trick-pony. It has some options outside of the Baton Pass set, but none are really viable. A Choice Band set seems possible, since everyone is expecting a Baton Pass set. However, with Ninjask's offensive movepool, such a set will be deadweight, having to use attacks such as Aerial Ace and Dig. Another choice is a more offensively inclined BP set. In NU, however, such a set would be deadweight with all the Steel-types. Roost is another viable option, as with it you can come in more than once to Baton Pass. The problem with Roost is that you likely will not be surviving long enough to use Roost. You can also choose to pass Hone Claws boosts instead of Swords Dance boosts, but it sets up a lot slower than Swords Dance.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Faster Taunt and Encore users really ruin Ninjask's day. Electrode outspeeds if Ninjask is not running max speed, but Ninjask can get a Speed boost with Protect to outspeed Electrode. Murkrow gets a special mention for having Prankster, which it can use to Taunt Ninjask before it can do anything. Multi-hit moves break Ninjask's Substitutes; examples of this are Golem and Gigalith's Rock Blast. User of Roar, such as Flareon, also ruin its Baton Passing ability. As mentioned before, Stealth Rock will take off half of Ninjask's health, and with all good NU spinners being weak to SR themselves, once it's up, Ninjask only has one shot at Baton Passing. Remember, Ninjask's main selling point is its speed. Find a way to get past that, and you've countered Ninjask.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Worthless is an understatement when it comes to Ninjask's Dream World Ability, Infiltrator. Ninjask passes Speed boosts. It does nothing else.</p>