(OU) Briyella's Chain Reaction

OMG KILL IT QUICK! (Ninjask) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
Adamant Nature
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Aerial Ace
- Baton Pass


- Ninjask is the usual lead for this team, mainly because the free Speed Boosts help the rest of the team function beautifully, especially allowing a fast Baton Pass to another Pokemon when it is necessary. Focus Sash is the preferred item to assure that the chain is not broken by any one attack, as Ninjask is very frail, and Focus Sash also ensures that a Swords Dance can be set up before Baton Passing out. Protect allows scouting as well as a free turn of Speed Boost, which is very useful. Aerial Ace allows Ninjask to become a full stop to Breloom, and it also is a OHKO on Celebi after one Swords Dance. If the foe leads with Stealth Rock while Ninjask is out, it can get up two Swords Dances and then Aerial Ace becomes a OHKO on Machamp, Scrafty, Conkeldurr, Terrakion, Gengar, Jellicent, Lucario, and anything else in OU or below with average physical bulk or with a weakness to Flying. Additionally, Ninjask has the option of Baton Passing out to Espeon if the opponent appears to be trying to lead with Stealth Rock or other hazards, so that Magic Bounce will bounce them back to the foe's side of the field, while keeping Ninjask's health full and its Sash intact.



FML (Smeargle) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk (to decrease Foul Play's damage output)

- Ingrain
- Rapid Spin
- Spore
- Baton Pass


- Smeargle is the ideal lead when the Team Preview reveals the opponent to be running a Trick Room team. Use Spore to prevent Trick Room from being used, as well as other status or disrupting moves. Ingrain is an absolute godsend on a Baton Pass team, as it makes the entire team immune to Roar, Whirlwind, the forced switching effect of Circle Throw and Dragon Tail, and even the item Red Card. Additionally, Ingrain acts as an extra Leftovers recovery for all team members since it is transferred with Baton Pass, which further aids in the longevity of the entire team. Rapid Spin is for hazards that Espeon's Magic Bounce didn't block, as sometimes it's better to let the enemy lay hazards while giving the team free turns to set up more stats... Rapid Spin also removes Leech Seed, which becomes part of the Baton Pass chain and saps every one on the team -- huge annoyance. Focus Sash is used on Smeargle to keep the chain from being broken by any one attack. After Smeargle has done its job, it can Baton Pass away to the appropriate team member for the situation, passing Ingrain with it and leaving a foe sleeping.



Waffles (Scizor) @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
Careful Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 6 Spe

- Substitute
- Bullet Punch
- Iron Defense
- Baton Pass


- Scizor is the ideal lead when the Team Preview reveals the opponent to be running a Sand team, or if they have Cloyster and you predict them to lead with it so they can bring it in without hazards nullifying their Sash, or if they have priority users who will try to lead so they can ruin Ninjask (It may be ideal to lead with Ninjask anyway in the case of Sand, to use Protect and get a free Speed Boost before passing to Scizor or Gliscor). If they lead with Tyranitar, set up a Sub to scout for a Fire attack. If Tyranitar doesn't have one, proceed to set up with Iron Defense as it will be fearing your STAB moves as well as Superpower. Basically, Scizor is the primary physical wall of the team who is primarily responsible for boosting Defense for the chain as a whole, as well as setting up Substitutes to protect from critical hits and allow more setup. Scizor's Careful nature and 252 SpD EVs also allow it to take special hits very well if it has to, and it resists several types of attacks and only has one weakness. Additionally, if the case arises, Scizor fears nothing from Ferrothorn one on one as it takes pitiful damage from its attacks and can set up Subs to block Thunder Wave and Leech Seed. Though uncommon, you can bring in Scizor to take a Clear Smog so that your boosts are not nullified. Baton Pass to Scizor against something that can't do much to it, set up, and Baton Pass out to whoever is the best choice at the time. Scizor also has the traditional Technician Bullet Punch to get in a strong priority STAB attack when necessary.



Santa Claws (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Jolly Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe

- Taunt
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Baton Pass


- Gliscor is very important on this team. It handles all Sand teams singlehandedly after getting boosts from Ninjask and/or Scizor and/or Gorebyss. After defensive boosts, Ingrain, and Toxic Orb are in effect, this thing basically becomes immortal, shrugging damage off and getting substantial free healing at the end of every turn. Taunt is to make the opponent cry, because there is no way you will be taken down directly, unless you take a random critical hit from Ice Beam or something. After Attack boosts, it also becomes an offensive powerhouse with STAB Earthquake, and with Ice Fang nailing everything that Earthquake doesn't. Gliscor is the physical behemoth that anchors the team and it effortlessly shuts down enemy support Pokemon and cleans up just about anything after gaining boosts.



Whoops (Gorebyss) @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
Timid Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk (to decrease confusion damage and Foul Play's damage output)

- Amnesia
- Iron Defense
- Surf
- Baton Pass


- Nope. No Shell Smash. But Gorebyss serves many unique purposes. First of all, it is guaranteed to drive opposing Rain teams up a waterfall with Swift Swim, as Rain only facilitates Gorebyss' boosting process. It is ideal to lead with Gorebyss when the Team Preview reveals that the opponent is running a Rain team. Lead with Gorebyss as they lead with Politoed, set up Amnesias, and you have won the match. Toxic is not a problem and neither is HP Grass. Additionally, this is what spells out revenge if Scizor and Gliscor are hit with a surprise Special Tyranitar running Flamethrower/Fire Blast and Ice Beam early in a match. Use your discretion to choose the appropriate boosting move and after 2 successful boosts in the right stat, Gorebyss doesn't care about Ninetales' Solarbeam, or Thundurus-Therian's Thunderbolt, or Ferrothorn's Power Whip... not even Kyurem-Black's Fusion Bolt. Just Baton Pass out to whatever is appropriate at the time and pass the defensive boosts to them in the process. If Ninjask passes Speed to Gorebyss while bringing Gorebyss into a resisted attack when the Pokemon your opponent has out can't hit it super-effectively, they are almost guaranteed to lose hope after they realize what is happening. Gorebyss is the all-purpose defense mechanism of this Baton Pass chain and benefits the entire team tremendously.



U MAD BRO? (Espeon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
Bold Nature
EVs: 216 HP / 144 Def / 150 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk (to decrease Foul Play's damage output)

- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Hidden Power Fire
- Baton Pass


- And here is the nail in the coffin. Espeon is the Pokemon you Baton Pass to when you feel hazards or status moves coming, and is often the most valuable player on the team. It is the main special offense as well as the safeguard that keeps the Baton Pass chain from being disrupted. Magic Bounce makes the opponent think twice about trying to screw up the team, because it not only blocks disrupting moves, it also casts them back at the user! Talk about punishment! This thing makes Prankster Pokemon cry, and can set up Calm Minds in their faces. Stored Power is the monstrosity of this entire team... that takes all the accumulated boosts from the entire chain and compounds them into one jaw-dropping STAB move, OHKOing even Eviolite Chansey after several boosts in every stat. Hidden Power Fire is to roast Ferrothorn in case it thinks it can use Gyro Ball instead of hazards/Thunder Wave to try and give Espeon problems early in a match. Espeon deals swift, inevitable death late game... and this team would be worth a lot less without it.




Summary

The best part about this team is that all six Pokemon act as a unit, like one monster with six different health bars it can switch to whenever it needs to. You can Baton Pass all your boosts every time you change Pokemon, so if you're in trouble, use Baton Pass! If you get statused, use Baton Pass! The status will stay on that one health bar and you still have many others to start fresh and still maintain your stat boosts!

The main problem this team has is Haze, and to a lesser degree, Perish Song. However, it's easy to point out who the carriers of these moves are, and with the right usage and prediction, those Pokemon can be Taunted or killed before they become a problem. In the case of detecting a Haze user or Perish Song user, the first priority will become removing them before any real chain setup begins, and if I have to make any sacrifices to make that happen, I'll sack the Pokemon on my team that I need the least to win against their team, which I can contemplate thanks to Team Preview. I originally assumed that the Unaware ability would screw this team up, but Unaware only nullifies boosts when the attacks are exchanged between you and the Unaware carrier. That means Unaware does NOT nullify the stacked boosts of Stored Power because Unaware does not affect moves. It's been tested more than once under different conditions to validate this. ^_^

I haven't had a lot of other threats. I tried to cover as many bases as I could to make this team as potent as possible. If anyone can shed more light on this, you can feel free to give a reply. The main thing I wanted to outplay when I made this for OU was Politoed/Ferrothorn. This team has very few problems with them.

Well guys, this is my first RMT and I was very excited to try this out! Any and all input will be greatly appreciated and I hope that you find my method interesting or at least thought-provoking in some way.

Here is an exportable:

Dr Ciel said:

Hi there!​

Hey Goddess, this is a really cool team, with great use of Baton Pass, a real underrated strategy in the current metagame, and I also like your use of Gliscor, who is rarely even seen on Baton Pass teams in my experience with these kind of teams. Anyways, there are some huge flaws in this team, and my rate will iron out these flaws, but also help this team reach it's full potential. With all that out of the way, let's get to my rate, shall we? First and most importantly, your team is weak to Pokemon that carry Perish Song. Pokemon that carry Perish Song, such as Politoed and even Celebi sometimes can come in at any point in the chain and simply Perish Song, and your chain is screwed from there on in. To help remedy this situation, I believe that a Mr. Mime would be an excellent replacement over your current Gliscor. Mr Mime would be an excellent addition to your team due to the fact that it not only shuts down Perish Song completely, but it also keeps your Baton Pass chain going, providing some Calm Mind boosts. Now that I have covered your biggest weakness, I'd like to make some nitpicks. First of all, on Ninjask, I believe that a Mental Herb over your current choice of Focus Sash. Mental Herb is an excellent item that helps Ninjask get rid of the effects of Taunt, Disable, as well as Encore. My next suggestion would to be to change Hidden Power on Espeon to Hidden Power Bug. With Hidden Power Bug, Espeon is able to hit Tyranitar & Hydreigon for supereffective damage, 2 Pokemon that are immune to Stored Power and resist Hidden Power Fire. That's all I have to say for now, I hope my advice helped. Have fun and good luck with your team!​

Mr. Mime

Mr. Mime @ Leftovers
Trait: Soundproof
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
- Magic Coat
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Baton Pass​

TL;DR

• Gliscor

  

  ----------------------> Mr. Mime

  

• Ninjask

  

  : Focus Sash -> Mental Herb​

• Espeon

  

  : Hidden Power Fire -> Hidden Power Bug​

~Dr Ciel~​

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Wow, it didn't take you long to provide input at all! :)

Thank you so much. The Mr. Mime sounds like a good idea, but the main thing I'm afraid of is doubling up on Espeon's weaknesses, and that additionally they are both rather frail defensively. And Scizor, Gorebyss, and Gliscor form a perfect core where they cover each other's weaknesses and shrug off the hits like nothing... Also I'll feel weird without Taunt, as Magic Bounce does not block Haze.

The thing about Mental Herb... I think Espeon blocks everything that Mental Herb will only prevent once, and I'd hate to run Mental Herb on Ninjask just to get OHKOed by everything. :(

And Hidden Power Bug would make me lose 1 on 1 to Lead Ferrothorn if I switch Espeon in to block hazards and it starts using Gyro Ball for a 2HKO. I cannot afford for my Magic Bouncer to be threatened by a hazard layer... That's kinda crazy imo lol and I probably won't let Espeon stay in vs T-tar or Hydreigon... Gliscor can handle them easily after boosts... Just mentally weighing out things...

That being said, there's no way every single thing can be covered on a team. ^_^ I'll definitely try out the Mr. Mime, but it will be so hard on me to take out Gliscor for it... Mr. Mime does get Taunt I think, so maybe I can make it work! I really appreciate your suggestions and input Dr Ciel!

You are placing 2 high an emphasis on synergy, when without Mr Mime, Perish Song from Politoed (which is common) utterly ruins you. If you don't run it, you lose to 41% of all Politoed taken from the usage stats as its the 3rd most common move).

I don't like the use of focus sash on this team, as it puts a fairly large amount of pressure on your team from something like CB Tyranitar, which can threaten with Stone Edge fairly easily. I also dislike how easily your team is threatened by opposing (speed) set up users like Dragonite, which can try and set up alongside and then hit you hard before you get a solid chance to set up your defensive boosts. Personally, I would look at investing in a Vaporeon over Gorebyss, and a Mr Mime somewhere. Mr Mime shuts down Perish Song, and Vaporeon can set up defensive boosts via Acid Amour, while Mr Mime takes care of special attacks with Calm Mind. Vaporeon also phases out pokemon such as Dragonite with Roar, preventing your opponent setting up alongside you. Technicaly you have Espeon for Calm Mind, but there will be times you will not want to risk switching it in, (usually you try and get a sub up first to bring it in) and Mr Mime can help with that.

Small Fixes

Run Substitute on Ninjask, since you can stall between Substitute and protect, while possibly getting a free sub to your next reciever, decreasing the chance of a critical hit destroying you chain.

Run HP Fighting on Espeon, does more to Tyrantiar, and still hits Ferrothorn, and can OHKO and all that shit after enough boosts.

Id also consider a Mawile or something somewhere as Intimidate cushions blows easier, has Taunt to stop Roar, and can still set up Iron Defence. Also gives you a good rock resist to stop that after mentioned CB Tar.

That's kinda crazy imo lol and I probably won't let Espeon stay in vs T-tar or Hydreigon...

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When you are going for your late game Espeon sweep, you NEED to be able to hit these mons, otherwise they risk attacking and going for the critical hit. Baton Pass teams attempt to minimise critical hits as much as possible (hence substitute), so the quicker you can beat Tyranitar and Hydreigon, the less chance they have to go for a critical hit on a Dark STAB. Gliscor is a bad attacking recipient anyway, and with it, you lose to Perish Song sooooooooooo yea.

ginganinja said:

You are placing 2 high an emphasis on synergy, when without Mr Mime, Perish Song from Politoed (which is common) utterly ruins you. If you don't run it, you lose to 41% of all Politoed taken from the usage stats as its the 3rd most common move).

I don't like the use of focus sash on this team, as it puts a fairly large amount of pressure on your team from something like CB Tyranitar, which can threaten with Stone Edge fairly easily. I also dislike how easily your team is threatened by opposing (speed) set up users like Dragonite, which can try and set up alongside and then hit you hard before you get a solid chance to set up your defensive boosts. Personally, I would look at investing in a Vaporeon over Gorebyss, and a Mr Mime somewhere. Mr Mime shuts down Perish Song, and Vaporeon can set up defensive boosts via Acid Amour, while Mr Mime takes care of special attacks with Calm Mind. Vaporeon also phases out pokemon such as Dragonite with Roar, preventing your opponent setting up alongside you. Technicaly you have Espeon for Calm Mind, but there will be times you will not want to risk switching it in, (usually you try and get a sub up first to bring it in) and Mr Mime can help with that.

Small Fixes

Run Substitute on Ninjask, since you can stall between Substitute and protect, while possibly getting a free sub to your next reciever, decreasing the chance of a critical hit destroying you chain.

Run HP Fighting on Espeon, does more to Tyrantiar, and still hits Ferrothorn, and can OHKO and all that shit after enough boosts.

Id also consider a Mawile or something somewhere as Intimidate cushions blows easier, has Taunt to stop Roar, and can still set up Iron Defence. Also gives you a good rock resist to stop that after mentioned CB Tar.



When you are going for your late game Espeon sweep, you NEED to be able to hit these mons, otherwise they risk attacking and going for the critical hit. Baton Pass teams attempt to minimise critical hits as much as possible (hence substitute), so the quicker you can beat Tyranitar and Hydreigon, the less chance they have to go for a critical hit on a Dark STAB. Gliscor is a bad attacking recipient anyway, and with it, you lose to Perish Song sooooooooooo yea.

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Thank you for your input, ginganinga! :)

Hmm, let's see. Yes, the emphasis on Perish Song weakness is very strong in these replies. I'm going to try replacing Gliscor for Mr. Mime as Dr Ciel also suggested (for Soundproof), and I'm going to try replacing Gorebyss for Vaporeon for Roar. The thing that bothers me about doing that is that I will have a wide open Electric weakness and Vaporeon can't use Amnesia to soften the blows from powerful T-bolts from Jolteon, Thundurus-T, and such, whereas Gorebyss is able to boost both defensive stats depending on the situation and not have to switch and let the opponent get a free powerful hit (which they will get without an Electric resist). I know Special Defense boosts will help sponge that but what if it happens early in a match vs Ninjask? Then I think I'm screwed :( STAB T-bolts really hurt without anything to resist them and are pretty much a scary 2HKO early in a match without the right boosts.

Run Substitute on Ninjask, since you can stall between Substitute and protect, while possibly getting a free sub to your next reciever, decreasing the chance of a critical hit destroying you chain.

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I agree that Sub on Ninjask will help it get more boosts and a potential Sub to pass to a teammate, but it falls 100% to priority attacks and the lack of Sash makes it even worse. At least with Sash I can Protect and get one Speed Boost before taking a priority attack, ensuring survival, and passing the speed away to aid a teammate and bring them in without suffering damage on the switch-in. And I never lead with Ninjask if I see common priority users or Tyranitar in Team Preview. I will try it though. :)

Run HP Fighting on Espeon, does more to Tyrantiar, and still hits Ferrothorn, and can OHKO and all that shit after enough boosts.

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This makes a lot of sense in terms of coverage against Dark threats and also Steels like Ferrothorn. However, I'm afraid that Lead Ferro will still beat Espeon 1 on 1 with Gyro Ball if I have to switch Lead Ninjask out to bring in Espeon to bounce hazards or T-wave, and if I switch Espeon out in front of Ferro to save it then I am targeted by hazards and T-wave. :'( I used to run HP Fighting but I changed it to HP Fire to fix this huge problem and added Gliscor to take on the things that Espeon couldn't take out, particularly Tyranitar, which is only problematic if it has Ice Beam, and Gorebyss could handle it if it did. I'll try it out with the new changes though. :)

Id also consider a Mawile or something somewhere as Intimidate cushions blows easier, has Taunt to stop Roar, and can still set up Iron Defence. Also gives you a good rock resist to stop that after mentioned CB Tar.

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Are you suggesting I replace Scizor (one weakness and solid stats, as well as priority Technician STAB Bullet Punch) with Mawile (multiple weaknesses and poor stats) for a defense booster? I don't understand this at all. :( I know the stats will increase as boosts are added but I need to be able to survive early game to be able to set up at all. I'm not sure if Mawile can sit there and take Earthquakes and Close Combats with Intimidate, but I will try it out. :)

Gliscor is a bad attacking recipient anyway, and with it, you lose to Perish Song sooooooooooo yea.

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I don't know what makes Gliscor a bad attacking recipient. :(

OVERALL: I see how using Mr. Mime for blocking Perish Song is very important, but Haze is even more problematic, if not worse. If Soundproof blocks Perish Song, what do I do about Haze? Nobody gave an answer to Haze and it's a glaring problem, as Magic Bounce doesn't block it. If anyone's answer to "How do I prevent Haze" is Taunt, then logically, Perish Song can be prevented the same way. :D At least that's what I gather.

Thank you for your input and advice ginganinga, it has been very thought provoking. :) I will be trying out all the recommended replacements in Pokemon Showdown later today. Many of these suggestions I have already tried and I listed reasoning as to why I went toward what I have now instead. Please keep in mind I am fairly new to this site, so I apologize in advance if I said anything in error! Thanks! ^_^

I do think you need mr.mime in there somewhere, because perish song is a common move on politoed/celebi. Haze is a very rare move, I wouldn't be worrying about that if I were you.

If you take out gliscor, you won't really be any more weak to electric because all the common things with electric moves have HP ice or a water move to go with it.

For ninjask, if you worry about priority, give him the ev spread of: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Sp. With this spread you can survive a choice band scizor bullet punch and life orb mamo/weavile ice shard. Then you can run mental herb to protect from taunt/encore.

Goddess Briyella said:

If anyone's answer to "How do I prevent Haze" is Taunt, then logically, Perish Song can be prevented the same way. :D At least that's what I gather.

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I think the main issue here is that to block Haze (which is extremely rare anyway) you have to have your Taunt user currently active. Perish Song on the other hand can be blocked by Baton passing to a Mr.Mime, something every member of the team can do.

I recommend following Dr Ciel's advice regarding Mr.Mime while also switching Espeon's Calm Mind to Signal Beam. Now that Mr.Mime has Calm Mind Espeon can free up the move slot and gain a little extra, and much needed, coverage. Signal Beam would provide the benefits previously listed by Dr Ciel's recommendation of Hidden Power Bug while still allowing you to have an easier time dealing with Ferrothorn early game with Hidden Power Fire.

In order of worst problems to lesser problems:

- Perish song freewins the game
- Encore/taunt leads (especially unsuspecting ones) can kill you, use White Herb on Ninjask instead of Focus Sash (for what do you need it anyway?)
- Lack of substitute, crits (or status on gorebyss/espeon, esp. through secondary effects) may be a problem
- Heat wave HP ice Zapdos, especially in sun
- Heatran or Volcarona with sun can kill you
- Cloyster can be a problem if Scizor isn't healthy

You need Mr. Mime (as a bonus he doesn't get hurt by Bug Buzz) with a 252/252 hp/sp.def spread. Gorebyss should be 252 def not 252 sp.def.