Sorry about this, everyone!
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Baton Pass
move 2: Nasty Plot / Calm Mind / Substitute
move 3: Psychic / Giga Drain
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 192 SpD / 64 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While this might look like a dedicated Baton Pass set, in reality, it is a variation on the standard specially defensive Celebi. With its excellent defensive stats, reliable recovery, and Grass typing, Celebi takes on Water-types in rain as well as anything. Baton Pass is already a decent move on defensive Celebi even with nothing to pass, as it acts like U-turn while also allowing Celebi to escape Pursuit, so giving it a boosting move only requires a small investment—just one moveslot. Celebi is easily walled by a variety of Pokemon, as it lacks offensive investment and has STAB moves with poor neutral coverage. This set allows Celebi to do some real damage—by letting something else do it instead!</p>
<p>As for which boosting move to use, that depends largely on your team. Nasty Plot is probably the best option, as Special Attack boosts are most useful to Celebi and Choice Scarf Keldeo is by far the best receiver available. Calm Mind might allow Celebi to set up multiple boosts, or at least set up on powerful special attackers at lower risk. Substitute is useful to a wider variety of Pokemon, but will usually be broken as Celebi passes. It's a lower risk, lower reward option. Don't forget, of course, that you don't have to use your boosting move every time you bring Celebi in. The priority should generally be to maintain Celebi's health such that it can continue to wall special attackers. Lastly, you need to choose which STAB move to use. With the exception of Tyranitar, Psychic typically does more damage to Celebi's counters, but Giga Drain is still a good option, as it hits Tyranitar and Water-types harder and the recovery provided is handy.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>While of course you want as much investment in Special Defense as possible, some investment in Speed is sensible. In order to escape from Scizor and Tyranitar, Celebi needs to go first, after all. 32 Speed EVs put Celebi ahead of all Tyranitar, while 64 EVs allow Celebi to outrun all Scizor and Gothitelle. Especially with Calm Mind, even more Speed can be useful, as it allows Celebi to boost its Special Defense before taking a hit. As far as alternative moves go, Swords Dance is a decent option, which woud be run alongside Zen Headbutt or Seed Bomb. The physical STAB moves are certainly less effective than the special ones, however.</p>
<p>When picking your receivers, you should consider more than just which Pokemon would benefit the most from a boost to Special Attack or a Substitute. You need to consider which Pokemon are likely to switch into Celebi and which attacks they are likely to use. Most notably, Celebi attracts U-turn and Pursuit users, like Scizor and Tyranitar. Therefore, being able to take these moves comfortably is important. It's also worth noting that U-turn could leave your receiver facing a counter immediately—you want a receiver that is hard to counter, that can at least do some damage, even if it doesn't manage to sweep every time. The best receiver by far is Keldeo, particularly the Choice Scarf variant, thanks to its resistance to Dark and Bug, almost unmatched Speed, and phenomenal power. If rain should be up, virtually nothing short of a Water-immune Pokemon will stop it. Calm Mind receivers could perhaps even set up further; for example, an Agility Thundurus-T with boosts from both Calm Mind and Agility would be very potent. Receivers of Swords Dance can use priority moves for a potential sweep; Lucario, for instance, can do a lot of damage with +2 ExtremeSpeed, but often finds it tricky to set up a Swords Dance for itself (you should still give it Swords Dance though—receivers are best off self-sufficient). It's always worth packing a few decent recipients for flexibility. Remember, though, that this is a specially defensive Celebi first, so there are some great partners that are not necessarily the best receivers. Heatran, for instance, has typing that complements Celebi's perfectly from a defensive standpoint.</p>
<p>While it has been said that this variant is not designed for full Baton Pass teams, Celebi actually fits onto them rather well. Although Celebi's Psychic typing is far from ideal, compounding weaknesses with Espeon and Mr. Mime, the ability to take powerful Electric-type moves and boost Special Defense is very important, not to mention Celebi's stellar defensive capabilities. The main difference between this variant and the one listed is that Celebi should always run Calm Mind and Substitute, as on a dedicated Baton Pass team, protecting from critical hits is imperative. The last moveslot can be either Recover or Giga Drain, if you want an attack. Giga Drain is preferred to Psychic, as having no common Pokemon immune is a big deal, allowing Celebi to sweep more readily with a lot of boosts.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Baton Pass
move 2: Nasty Plot / Calm Mind / Substitute
move 3: Psychic / Giga Drain
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 192 SpD / 64 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While this might look like a dedicated Baton Pass set, in reality, it is a variation on the standard specially defensive Celebi. With its excellent defensive stats, reliable recovery, and Grass typing, Celebi takes on Water-types in rain as well as anything. Baton Pass is already a decent move on defensive Celebi even with nothing to pass, as it acts like U-turn while also allowing Celebi to escape Pursuit, so giving it a boosting move only requires a small investment—just one moveslot. Celebi is easily walled by a variety of Pokemon, as it lacks offensive investment and has STAB moves with poor neutral coverage. This set allows Celebi to do some real damage—by letting something else do it instead!</p>
<p>As for which boosting move to use, that depends largely on your team. Nasty Plot is probably the best option, as Special Attack boosts are most useful to Celebi and Choice Scarf Keldeo is by far the best receiver available. Calm Mind might allow Celebi to set up multiple boosts, or at least set up on powerful special attackers at lower risk. Substitute is useful to a wider variety of Pokemon, but will usually be broken as Celebi passes. It's a lower risk, lower reward option. Don't forget, of course, that you don't have to use your boosting move every time you bring Celebi in. The priority should generally be to maintain Celebi's health such that it can continue to wall special attackers. Lastly, you need to choose which STAB move to use. With the exception of Tyranitar, Psychic typically does more damage to Celebi's counters, but Giga Drain is still a good option, as it hits Tyranitar and Water-types harder and the recovery provided is handy.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>While of course you want as much investment in Special Defense as possible, some investment in Speed is sensible. In order to escape from Scizor and Tyranitar, Celebi needs to go first, after all. 32 Speed EVs put Celebi ahead of all Tyranitar, while 64 EVs allow Celebi to outrun all Scizor and Gothitelle. Especially with Calm Mind, even more Speed can be useful, as it allows Celebi to boost its Special Defense before taking a hit. As far as alternative moves go, Swords Dance is a decent option, which woud be run alongside Zen Headbutt or Seed Bomb. The physical STAB moves are certainly less effective than the special ones, however.</p>
<p>When picking your receivers, you should consider more than just which Pokemon would benefit the most from a boost to Special Attack or a Substitute. You need to consider which Pokemon are likely to switch into Celebi and which attacks they are likely to use. Most notably, Celebi attracts U-turn and Pursuit users, like Scizor and Tyranitar. Therefore, being able to take these moves comfortably is important. It's also worth noting that U-turn could leave your receiver facing a counter immediately—you want a receiver that is hard to counter, that can at least do some damage, even if it doesn't manage to sweep every time. The best receiver by far is Keldeo, particularly the Choice Scarf variant, thanks to its resistance to Dark and Bug, almost unmatched Speed, and phenomenal power. If rain should be up, virtually nothing short of a Water-immune Pokemon will stop it. Calm Mind receivers could perhaps even set up further; for example, an Agility Thundurus-T with boosts from both Calm Mind and Agility would be very potent. Receivers of Swords Dance can use priority moves for a potential sweep; Lucario, for instance, can do a lot of damage with +2 ExtremeSpeed, but often finds it tricky to set up a Swords Dance for itself (you should still give it Swords Dance though—receivers are best off self-sufficient). It's always worth packing a few decent recipients for flexibility. Remember, though, that this is a specially defensive Celebi first, so there are some great partners that are not necessarily the best receivers. Heatran, for instance, has typing that complements Celebi's perfectly from a defensive standpoint.</p>
<p>While it has been said that this variant is not designed for full Baton Pass teams, Celebi actually fits onto them rather well. Although Celebi's Psychic typing is far from ideal, compounding weaknesses with Espeon and Mr. Mime, the ability to take powerful Electric-type moves and boost Special Defense is very important, not to mention Celebi's stellar defensive capabilities. The main difference between this variant and the one listed is that Celebi should always run Calm Mind and Substitute, as on a dedicated Baton Pass team, protecting from critical hits is imperative. The last moveslot can be either Recover or Giga Drain, if you want an attack. Giga Drain is preferred to Psychic, as having no common Pokemon immune is a big deal, allowing Celebi to sweep more readily with a lot of boosts.</p>
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