Wobbugget was banned because Wobbuffet was the broken aspect, and all this support (which it didn't really need if you just wanted to take out a specific threat) was just helping it perform even better. Wish passing, special walls, status absorbers weren't broken, shadow tag was the only thing broken. The obvious thing to ban was Wobbuffet, as banning it only hurt itself and shadow tag trapping (things that weren't wanted anyways) and had no collateral damage otherwise. The situation with BP is completely different, as Baton Pass itself isn't remotely broken, and it also has many legitimate uses. It is only a dedicated BP team in which it can be abused.
I think part of what you're saying
WebBowser, is that Espeon and/or Scolipede are the most important members of the baton pass team. Of course the move Baton Pass isn't broken by itself, like you say
rachet67, it's only when used on a dedicated BP team. But what is the broken part of it? Will removing one important member from the chain, such as espeon, solve the problem? Or is it better to limit the number of users, or doing some other complex ban, so that no specific pokemon is hindered? Also, if it was on the same pokemon, then espeon or Absol wouldn't be able to short pass, if anyone actually does that, js.
Tbh, the more this thread/debate goes on, the more I lean to just a simple ban of Espeon or Scolipede. Espeon has 2 roles at most in OU - bouncing hazards/status and a dual screens set that is mostly outclassed by Deo-S. I've played a few matches with a baton pass team lacking espeon, and it was more difficult. You can't evade taunt, roar/whirlwind(unless mime or ingrain) etc, you don't have your primary stored power sweeper. The problem with this I see is that people might resort to using M-Absol, who has a turn of vulnerability, but can still pass calm mind and bounce. This is what leads to the thinking of "Well, maybe banning Magic Bounce + Baton pass on the same team/pokemon would be better", which is complex. This means either: 1. Espeon could be on a BP team but would have to be only a reciever - or 2. Espeon can't be on a team that has another pokemon that knows baton pass. #2 avoids the "escaping pursuit" argument, but starts to get even more complex.
3rd Paragraph: Banning Scolipede: BP chains are still intact, but they have to use Ninjask, who is 4x weak to SR, less bulky than scoli, and cannot boost defense at the same time as speed. This subtracts the multidimensional aspect that Scolipede provides, but BP chains are still able to boost their speed reliably, with Zapdos or Gliscor. I've played a few games without Speed Boosters (haven't used just Ninjask yet)...and honestly it's not that hard to get one agility in, and then be able to outspeed most pokemon and continue your sweep. I don't think banning Scolipede would really work out in the long run. He makes it a little easier, but he's not totally necessary. Then we get to the same thing as above - is it "ban speed boost + baton pass on the same pokemon" or "ban speed boost in conjuction with other baton passers on the same team. The first means Scoli can never baton pass again, the second means, well, Scoli can still boost and pass, just not on a team with other baton passers. Really it's just getting more confusing and complex, at least for me.
4th Para: I don't really want to say anything about limiting the number of passers atm (of which 3 has been brought up by many), just because a lot has already been said about this. A lot of ppl support this, myself included, but there is severe backlash from ppl who want to keep the defensive chain passing style in tact. Limiting to three would mean, choose Espeon and Scoli, then either Smeargle/Vaporeon/Sylveon - and you get your defense, special, speed and magic bounce all in one. Then choose final receivers, or throw a support mon in there. I think of this style as a more offensive baton pass, where you can chain but in smaller amounts, where you might be forced to restart the chain several times, pass to a sweeper, and if he's impeded, start over again. IMO I think this would be good for BP as it would really shake it up a bit and break it out of the mold - it is still very powerful, as Espeon and Scoli are great partners by themselves. continued below -->
I've been trying to think of a real life analogy to the defensive baton pass style, and I'll share my two closest ideas/imaginations -
1. A baton pass chain is like a man who starts eating...and eating, and eating. He eats everything in sight and grows larger and larger (like snorlax), all the time becoming more powerful and harder to stop. The more he eats, the more he wants. When he's doing this, people are trying to chip away at him and stop him, but unless they can actually stop the man before he starts, it becomes increasingly difficult to stop him. In the end, he vomits on the people who were trying to stop him, and they die.
2. A group of scientist begin to collect knowledge. Each scientist specializes in a certain field, and with each discover they share it with each other and are able to better their research. After a certain time they have gained so much knowledge that they are close to the final discovery or whatever, and they share this knowledge with another scientist who turns out to be evil. This evil scientist uses their knowledge to construct the ultimate bomb and destroys the world.
Whelp that's all I got for now. Banning Espeon or magic bounce makes the team so much more vulnerable that this might be the way to go. I don't think banning Scoli or speed boost really does anything. And I think limiting the number of passers to 3 is complex, kind of ends the full "defensive baton pass style", which some are against, but creates a new style for people wanting to use baton pass, which could be more offensive, or could take a semi-defensive turn with one or two offensive powerhouse, while able to still use Scoli/Espeon as a core, still being able to short chain or quick pass, and while being somewhat less powerful, is still effective to where people could still use it. Idk, I'm getting tired -_- Oh and I forgot to talk about the proposal of Stored Power + Baton pass, but I tried that too, and with the correct coverage moves and a nasty plot booster you can still do pretty well, but tend to get walled by unaware mons, or generally bulky mons who resist your coverage. Idk if I've achieved anything or furthured the thread in any way here, and it's a pretty long post so tl;dr and stuff. I hope we get some kind of progress on this eventually, and I know we will ~ Peace