I'll open the can.
Or it could show that BP is completely not over powered as much as people believed and the meta can adapt to easily handle it. I mean in a format where far more people are running BP than ever before it's still failing. Maybe the meta just needs to be let adapt. I mean if it's truly so overpowered it should probably be dominating no?
This notion is so entirely flawed in every aspect. To begin with, you completely seem to miss the point Jukain is making in the post that you quoted. What he is saying is that the suspect ladder is hardly representative of the actual meta because people are resorting to all-out countering Baton Pass simply because they know that it should technically be everywhere. This does not mean that BP is not as overpowered as people are making it out to be. Not sure how much you have at least looked at what people are running to counter BP but, if you have not seen much, Jukain sums it up pretty nicely when he says random shit bp counters. The specificity there essentially serves to further prove how ridiculous BP is rather than how overpowered it supposedly isn't. The counters are exactly as he said, random bp counters. People are running multiple obscure Pokemon specifically to counter BP and little if anything else. In the actual meta, how many teams do you see that run 4-6 BP counters, even by sheer coincidence if nothing else? Given what counters BP and where those Pokemon are on the usage stats, I'm pretty sure that it is more than fair to say that you rarely run into anyone of notable ranking that is fully/overly prepared for BP teams. Hence, Jukain's post that the suspect ladder is not representative of the actual meta is entirely accurate and supports the idea that some action needs to be taken against BP given the ridiculous things people are clearly resorting to to counter BP.
The idea of letting the meta adapt is so factitious that I am curious to know where exactly one gets such an idea. How many times has the meta "adapted" to something potentially broken? No wait, let me rephrase the question. How many times has the meta "adapted" to something potentially broken in a manner other than having everyone either use the broken subject or a counter for it specifically? As far as I can think back, never. Genesect is a prime example. Everyone either ran it or its counter. That means literally everyone. Project that "adaptation" to this situation and what do you end up with? Everyone either runs Baton Pass or counters Baton Pass. So what's the big deal, that's the meta adapting to a new threat? For starters, lets differentiate between the example of Genesect and this current situation with Baton Pass. Genesect could be efficiently and effectively countered by designating one Pokemon on your team specifically for it. Can the same be done with Baton Pass? If so, please do enlighten me, because I apparently am out of the loop. As far as I know, you cannot counter an entire BP team (Scolipede/Smeargle/Espeon/Sylveon/Vaporeon/Zapdos or Mr. Mime) with one or even two Pokemon. You need to designate much more of your team to counter a Baton Pass team. Oh wait, it seems that I forgot the list of less than 10 Pokemon that can, if played correctly, single-handedly stop Baton Pass. There, our problem is solved, right? But then how is that any different from the example of Genesect that I gave? You either run at least half of your team to counter Baton Pass or you run one of the few Pokemon from the list I mentioned earlier. Add on the fact that that list isn't exactly overflowing with splashable Pokemon and you'll see that it isn't much different. Whether you run many Pokemon to counter Baton Pass or one comparatively obscure Pokemon, you still are going out of your way to counter Baton Pass.
You did bring up elsewhere the question about why Baton Pass cannot be prepared for like any other type of team, such as stall or hyper offense. The reason is this. You can prepare for playstyles, such as stall and hyper offense, by having a Pokemon or two specifically put in for those teams while also being regularly useful against other playstyles and just in general. The same cannot be said for Baton Pass counters. How often will things like Red Card Skarmory or Heart Swap, to use some of your examples, be useful outside of Baton Pass teams? You could argue that Red Card can still be used to phaze, but is that even a good thing with Skarmory? Skarmory tends to be brought out on physical attackers and uses the turn they switch out to either setup, Defog, Roost, etc. If that Pokemon is switched out right when Skarmory is brought in, what have you accomplished? In all likelihood, you just put yourself in a disadvantageous position simply because this Pokemon was designed to counter Baton Pass. Sure, you can phaze other setup sweepers, but how many of those are so problematic that you would resort to something that would, more often than not, leave you at a disadvantage? I doubt Heart Swap needs much explanation, especially given its users, the common one being the epitome of gimmick, along with the fact that it is practically nonexistant because of its sheer uselessness outside of Baton Pass teams.
Although the idea of the meta adapting to deal with this threat seems good on paper, it is nothing more than that. As previous experiences clearly demonstrate, adapting means either running the broken Pokemon/strategy or running counters specifically for it. However, unlike previous examples, the counters for Baton Pass are far less useful outside of Baton Pass matchups. Things like Heatran that were brought along for Genesect were immensely useful outside of Genesect but our current situation is not similar in this regards. By preparing yourself to efficiently counter Baton Pass, you lose out on your ability to be routinely successful against other playstyles. Thus, the idea of adaptation is inaccurately represented and certainly not healthy.
Someone please explain to me why we aren't trying to end it and are just nerfing it? I am legitimately confused about why a flat ban is not one of the options.
Also, collateral damage is a product of ALL bans, and we've never cared before. So why are we caring now about a playstyle that everyone hates anyway.
Seriously, I have no idea what's going on in people's minds right now.
Do you know how efficient 3 Baton Pass users are versus a full BP team? Not very efficient, to keep it short.
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