OK, this is my first formal guide, and as such, I'm not sure exactly how to go about it. So, I'll just do it my own way.
What is JaskWak?
JaskWak is an abbreviation of the two Pokemon names "Ninjask" and "Marowak". The history of this combination dates back to the days of GSC, to the infamous "JoltWak" duo.
The basic principle was based simply on a few facts. The first was that after 1 Swords Dance, Marowak could do serious damage to almost everything in the game, and OHKO many things. Marowak's downfall was his relatively low speed, HP, and defenses. He was no slouch when it came to taking attacks from the physical front, but Special attacks could really wear him down. None of this would be a problem if Marowak was fast, but such is not the case. He is among the slower Pokemon in the game, and as such can not threaten certain Pokemon with his high attack, because they will be able to hit him first. The simple solution to this is to boost his speed, but Marowak has no speed-boosting moves of his own. This is where Jolteon came in. Jolteon was among the faster Pokemon in the game, and this sinlge fastest Baton Passer. Jolteon would set up Marowak by pulling of an Agility, and if you were lucky, even a Substitute, then Baton Passing this to Marowak, who could then Swords Dance, and proceed to open up cans of whoop-ass all over your opponent's Pokemon. Nice.
This brings us to our modern JaskWak combo. Only Ninjask is an even faster Baton Passer than Jolteon, plus he doesn't even have to use Agility. With his Speed Boost Nature, he can just Sub twice, then BP to Marowak, without having to risk any serious damage. Plus, Ninjask has an even more threatening ability: Swords Dance. Now, Marowak doesn't have to pull off his own Swords Dance, as Ninjask can do it for him, provided you are lucky enough. When used well, Jaskwak can be among the most threatening combos in the game.
So How Should I use JaskWak?
Well, for this one, we have to take into account what counters JaskWak. There are quite a few Pokemon capable of stopping this menace cold, but I'll just name the ones you're likely to run into.
Skarmory: Even with 2 Swords Dances (+4 Atk), Marowak can not OHKO Skarmory. Skarm can switch in on either one of the dynamic duo, and just Whirlwind or Roar them away. It doesn't much help that there's nothing Ninjask can do to Skarm on the switch, seeing as Skarm resists both his STAB'd attacks. This is a huge threat to the combo.
Suicune: Much like Skarmory, Suicune can take hits from Marowak, although it won't be surviving a +4 Atk Earthquake by any means, it is rare you will be able to pull off 2 Swords Dances. Surf will probably OHKO both Ninjask and Marowak, and there's always Roar again. We need something for this.
Weezing: If used well, Weezing can also stop this combo cold. Apart from Haze, which tears the whole deal apart, he has a chance to surive an SD'd Double-Edge, so a Marowak isn't even safe against him. If Weezing catches Marowak off guard, he can also Will-o-Wisp him, which will totally disable his Attacking ability. Weezing's a threat.
Celebi: A minor threat, but it should be noted that Celebi can potentially survive Marowaks Double-Edge, and will hit back with a very damaging Psychic or Giga Drain.
Donphan: High defense, Roars.
Claydol: Pretty much the same as Celebi.
Those are the main counters, so aside from our dynamic duo, we'll have to have somethings to counter him. Here's my team:
Ninjask (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 232 HP / 32 Atk / 244 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Baton Pass
- Silver Wind
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
I like Silver Wind for Celebi, but HP Fly can be good to hit Breloom/Heracross. I have tons of HP so I can survive the occasional hit. Not like I attack much anyway.
Marowak (M) @ Thick Club
Trait: Rock Head
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Swords Dance
200 Speed to beat Neutral-nature Base 100's after 1 Speed Boost, and max speed + nature Base 130's after 2 speed boosts. Max Atk because that's what I'm doing most of the time, and spare EVs in HP.
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 84 HP / 56 Atk / 104 Def / 208 Spd / 56 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Taunt
This counters pretty much any water Pokemon, and can prevent Skarmory from Roaring or setting up Spikes. Makes an absolutely fantastic secondary sweeper, and loves the speed/atk boosts from Ninjask.
Metagross @ Leftovers
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 144 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 96 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Meteor Mash
- Rock Slide
Another fantastic secondary sweeper. With a Swords Dance from Ninjask, this thing will do some serious damage to anything.
Snorlax (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Immunity
EVs: 76 HP / 156 Atk / 136 Def / 140 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Takes status for me, and enjoys Swords Dance boost as well. I'm giving Noobster credit for this, as I wouldn't have thought of using it had he not suggested it. Awesome Special wall, though I think I'm going to invest more in SpDef.
Magneton @ Leftovers
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 124 Def / 132 Spd / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Substitute
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
Counters Skarmory, and the occasional Water Pokemon. Absolutely necessary, but the only Pokemon on my team that doesn't use SD. Oh well.
This is the basic team, and you may have noticed one key fault: It has nothing for Donphan. If you're having serious Donphan woes, Milotic can be used over Gyarados, though I seriously recommand agaisnt it. Donphan will eventually die with good prediction. Aside from that, you may want to try Blissey instead of Snorlax. I prefer Snorlax for the ability to hit hard, but Blissey can spread around some lovely Paralysis, and let Marowk sweep even sans Speed Boost. It's up to you, though those are the only changes I'd ever recommend.
So, what do you guys think?
What is JaskWak?
JaskWak is an abbreviation of the two Pokemon names "Ninjask" and "Marowak". The history of this combination dates back to the days of GSC, to the infamous "JoltWak" duo.
The basic principle was based simply on a few facts. The first was that after 1 Swords Dance, Marowak could do serious damage to almost everything in the game, and OHKO many things. Marowak's downfall was his relatively low speed, HP, and defenses. He was no slouch when it came to taking attacks from the physical front, but Special attacks could really wear him down. None of this would be a problem if Marowak was fast, but such is not the case. He is among the slower Pokemon in the game, and as such can not threaten certain Pokemon with his high attack, because they will be able to hit him first. The simple solution to this is to boost his speed, but Marowak has no speed-boosting moves of his own. This is where Jolteon came in. Jolteon was among the faster Pokemon in the game, and this sinlge fastest Baton Passer. Jolteon would set up Marowak by pulling of an Agility, and if you were lucky, even a Substitute, then Baton Passing this to Marowak, who could then Swords Dance, and proceed to open up cans of whoop-ass all over your opponent's Pokemon. Nice.
This brings us to our modern JaskWak combo. Only Ninjask is an even faster Baton Passer than Jolteon, plus he doesn't even have to use Agility. With his Speed Boost Nature, he can just Sub twice, then BP to Marowak, without having to risk any serious damage. Plus, Ninjask has an even more threatening ability: Swords Dance. Now, Marowak doesn't have to pull off his own Swords Dance, as Ninjask can do it for him, provided you are lucky enough. When used well, Jaskwak can be among the most threatening combos in the game.
So How Should I use JaskWak?
Well, for this one, we have to take into account what counters JaskWak. There are quite a few Pokemon capable of stopping this menace cold, but I'll just name the ones you're likely to run into.
Skarmory: Even with 2 Swords Dances (+4 Atk), Marowak can not OHKO Skarmory. Skarm can switch in on either one of the dynamic duo, and just Whirlwind or Roar them away. It doesn't much help that there's nothing Ninjask can do to Skarm on the switch, seeing as Skarm resists both his STAB'd attacks. This is a huge threat to the combo.
Suicune: Much like Skarmory, Suicune can take hits from Marowak, although it won't be surviving a +4 Atk Earthquake by any means, it is rare you will be able to pull off 2 Swords Dances. Surf will probably OHKO both Ninjask and Marowak, and there's always Roar again. We need something for this.
Weezing: If used well, Weezing can also stop this combo cold. Apart from Haze, which tears the whole deal apart, he has a chance to surive an SD'd Double-Edge, so a Marowak isn't even safe against him. If Weezing catches Marowak off guard, he can also Will-o-Wisp him, which will totally disable his Attacking ability. Weezing's a threat.
Celebi: A minor threat, but it should be noted that Celebi can potentially survive Marowaks Double-Edge, and will hit back with a very damaging Psychic or Giga Drain.
Donphan: High defense, Roars.
Claydol: Pretty much the same as Celebi.
Those are the main counters, so aside from our dynamic duo, we'll have to have somethings to counter him. Here's my team:
Ninjask (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 232 HP / 32 Atk / 244 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Baton Pass
- Silver Wind
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
I like Silver Wind for Celebi, but HP Fly can be good to hit Breloom/Heracross. I have tons of HP so I can survive the occasional hit. Not like I attack much anyway.
Marowak (M) @ Thick Club
Trait: Rock Head
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Swords Dance
200 Speed to beat Neutral-nature Base 100's after 1 Speed Boost, and max speed + nature Base 130's after 2 speed boosts. Max Atk because that's what I'm doing most of the time, and spare EVs in HP.
Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 84 HP / 56 Atk / 104 Def / 208 Spd / 56 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Taunt
This counters pretty much any water Pokemon, and can prevent Skarmory from Roaring or setting up Spikes. Makes an absolutely fantastic secondary sweeper, and loves the speed/atk boosts from Ninjask.
Metagross @ Leftovers
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 144 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 96 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Meteor Mash
- Rock Slide
Another fantastic secondary sweeper. With a Swords Dance from Ninjask, this thing will do some serious damage to anything.
Snorlax (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Immunity
EVs: 76 HP / 156 Atk / 136 Def / 140 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Takes status for me, and enjoys Swords Dance boost as well. I'm giving Noobster credit for this, as I wouldn't have thought of using it had he not suggested it. Awesome Special wall, though I think I'm going to invest more in SpDef.
Magneton @ Leftovers
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 124 Def / 132 Spd / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Substitute
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
Counters Skarmory, and the occasional Water Pokemon. Absolutely necessary, but the only Pokemon on my team that doesn't use SD. Oh well.
This is the basic team, and you may have noticed one key fault: It has nothing for Donphan. If you're having serious Donphan woes, Milotic can be used over Gyarados, though I seriously recommand agaisnt it. Donphan will eventually die with good prediction. Aside from that, you may want to try Blissey instead of Snorlax. I prefer Snorlax for the ability to hit hard, but Blissey can spread around some lovely Paralysis, and let Marowk sweep even sans Speed Boost. It's up to you, though those are the only changes I'd ever recommend.
So, what do you guys think?
