So I don't know how good I'm going to be about this whole analysis lark, but By Christ I'm going to give it a shot! This analysis is subjective to my own opinions on the current state of the meta, feel free to criticise those assumptions but don't sway too far from the topic of Baton Pass (which if you're not down with the cool lingo is referred to as BP for short). As always you can dedicate a whole team to this strategy, or you can dump one utility BPer in your team and hope to slyly get the boost.
Baton Pass - For those of you who don't know it's a move that lets you pass on stat changes and certain volatile conditions to other pokemon, such as:
New Baton Pass Goodies:
Weakness Policy - Gives a +2 attack and special attack move when you are hit with a SE move; I cannot stress how good this is for Baton Pass teams. If you have this on a fairly bulky mon and use a speed boosting move (Agility, Rock Polish, Shift Gear, DD, etc.) in one turn you can be looking at +2 speed, +2 attack and +2 special attack - next turn hopefully you can hopefully outspeed the competition to Baton Pass to your sweeper.
Weakness Policy is great in that as long as you can survive the initial hit you can pass on quite significant boosts to something else. Even if your opponent is aware you may be using Baton Pass Weakness Policy, they then have to essentially use less effective moves to eliminate you producing a Catch-22 situation. With the prevalence of Knock Off, U-Turn and ghost type attacks in this generation, psychic type Weakness Policy BPers make great additions to a Baton Pass team.
Priority Reliance - Priority is all over the current meta (Talonflame, multiple megas, Azumarill, Aegislash, etc.), I don't think people are going to dispute that point overly much. I was originally going to list this as a neutral point, however I think overall it is a positive point for Baton Pass teams: if you pass both bulk and speed to a recipient who can raise their own attack you can tank a priority hit and then hopefully KO in return. Priority reliance seems to have produced a lesser usage of scarfs too, meaning that at the +2 speed mark even uninvested speed pokemon reasonable base speed pokemon can be powerful.
Critical Hit Nerf - Critical hits now only do x1.5 damage instead of x2.0, but still negate your defense boosts. This means that both pokemon trying to boost and your recipients aren't KO'd by stray crits as often as in the past.
Fairy Type - Really a more minor point here, but fairies are dragon immune. That means no Dragon Tail if you BP to a fairy, and one less phazing option to worry about.
Megas - Both as Baton Passers (Mawile, Medicham, Scizor and Absol) and recipients, megas have a lot to offer. Mega-Absol is notable in that it can't be Tricked or Taunted and can Reflect any hazard with Magic Bounce, making it an ideal passer and recipient.
Defog - Again more of a general point, but it's easier to bring your sweeper in without hazards now.
Electric Pokemon Can't Be Paralysed - Yeah that's pretty much the whole point right there.
New Baton Pass Crappies:
Sticky Web - When Sticky Web is in effect, every time you Baton Pass you gain -1 speed. For me, speed is the most important thing to pass to recipients so this always hits hard.
Prankster Prevalence - Pranksters are most definitely a thing this gen, so you definitely need a contingency for priority Taunt and status.
Grass Immunity to Grass Status Moves - This effects Smeargle primarily, but there's also some subtlety I'll get into later involving Magic Coat.
Old Baton Pass Crappies:
Taunt - You need to make sure you outspeed that which is trying to Taunt you.
Phaze - Dragon Tail, Whirlwind, Roar and Topsy-Turvy (I guess I should have put that under new, but it's so niche with only Malamar using it); these are phazing strategies you need to be aware of that can either reverse or eliminate stat boosts.
Haze and Clear Smog - It will eliminate your stat boosts, fortunately I've only noticed Haze in Cofagrigus so far commonly in OU and Clear Smog on Amoonguss; see either of these pokemon and get very paranoid.
Trick and Switcheroo - Can prevent your Baton Passing, if you're not careful.
Pokemon That Stat Boost Alongside Your Own - A common anti-BP strategy; while you're farting about trying to find the recipient they're getting a +3 speed +3 attack mega on the prowl (or something similar, you know the drill).
Status - Burn ruins your physical pokemon and paralysis ruins everything pretty much - with the Prankster Prevalence I mentioned earlier these issues have only gotten more compounded.
Old Baton Pass Goodies:
Magic Coat - Most players can see Magic Bounce mons a mile away, but with Magic Coat (a BW2 tutor move) that is not the case. Can reflect Prankster moves (especially Taunt) as well as hazards like Sticky Web, status moves and non-damaging phazing. The only thing you need to be wary of is grass status moves as they won't affect grass pokemon and they can stall your PP out.
Having Pokemon With Godly Boosted Stats - That, if I'm not mistaken, is the Baton Passer's dream.
Combatting the Crappies:
Sticky Web - Get quickly to a Defog BPer that can speed boost (Mew, Scizor) or something that can nip Galvantula (or Smeargle) in the bud - for example Ambipom (LO Fake Out and U-Turn). Most players don't use Galvantula very sensibly (they always try to get Sticky Web out and treat the mon as expendable) so you can exploit this to your advantage. You can also use fast Taunt users too, but then Sticky Web may still surface later in the game if you can't KO it.
Prankster Prevalence - Magic Coat usually does the trick with its +4 priority, and has pretty good distribution due to BW2 move tutors.
Grass Immunity to Grass Moves - Spore is what you're mainly worried about here, so as long as you can outspeed the Spore user and pass to a Grass, Sap Sipper, Magic Guard or Lum Berry using recipient you can deal with the opposition.
Taunt - Magic Coat or a faster Taunt user, you can also use Mental Herb.
Phazing - Fairies block Dragon Tail as mentioned (no one cares about Circle Throw!) and Magic Coat can again be used to block non-damaging phaze moves. Ingrain or the Suction Cups ability can also be used to prevent phazing as long as it's not Topsy-Turvy.
Haze and Clear Smog - Really not very common (mainly Cofagrigus and Amoonguss respectively). If you have a nice speed boost and the opponent hasn't brought these mons out early try to take them out, otherwise try to deal with them sooner rather than later with an unboosted sweeper.
Trick and Switcheroo - These are pretty problematic. Lopunny allows you to ignore items with Klutz, whereas a Mew with Transform and a +252 Speed Nature can then become the equivalent of a Choice Scarf Ditto. If you have a speed boost and can outspeed the scarf user, you can still BP on the next turn anyway.
Pokemon That Stat Boost Alongside Your Own - Clear Smog (the enemy's weapon) can help you here, Drifblim being a notable and competent BPer and Clear Smog User. Either that or opt for the Mexican Stand-Off and see which of you or the opponent win the stat-boosting arms race.
Status - Lum berries in your recipients, Magic Coat on your passers. Magic Guard on your recipients also does the trick.
New or Improved Sexy Baton Pass Users:
Scolipede - Yeah Scolipede got Speed Boost, making Protect/SD/BP sets very nice. Personally, I'd only ever run it with Mental Herb to prevent Prankster Taunting on your BP turn (if they have a Prankster and it's out first turn for Heaven's sake don't use SD).
Lopunny - Can now learn Cosmic Power, and is the only pokemon immune to choice locking due to Klutz. Has a plethora of support moves and not horrendous defenses, plus Magic Coat.
Mega Absol - Though lacking in boosting moves itself outside of SD, with Magic Bounce Mega Absol can't be Taunted, Tricked, Phazed by Roar or Whirlwind or easily statused (only by moves that carry status as a secondary affect). Mega Absol stands out in that once it is close to dying, it can easily Baton Pass the boosts it was using to something else.
Defog BP users - Scizor (mega or no), Mew and Drifblim plus more can both remove hazards and pass on the stat boosting goodness (Mew and Drifblim can also learn Magic Coat - wink wink nudge nudge).
Psychic pokemon anon - Often can learn Magic Coat because of the BW2 tutor, and can receive Weakness Policy boosts from rampant U-Turn, Knock Off and ghost move usage.
BP Support:
Really the only extra support I recommend is Dual Screens to get far more boosts in than you normally should be able to (opponents often have a feel for much damage their moves do under normal conditions but not under screens - this provides free turns). Deoxys-D is a great user for its bulk and combination of Taunt, Screens and Hazard/Taunt/Recovery. It should be noted that screens can also be defogged away, which is something you need to watch out for.
Healing Wish, or regular Wish, may also be a consideration - and as mentioned before Ambipom may be a useful tool for cautious players (can kill Focus Sash Galvantula's with Fake Out and U-Turn, can hit Cofagrigus with Technician Pursuit for a turn and then catch him in the switch out when you're mummied, can also BP).
The Recipients:
I'm not going to preach too much here, as selecting the recipients of your BP team is one of the joys of making a BP team. However what you should consider:
How Does The Recipient's Ability Set It Apart - Does it have Mold Breaker or Terravolt to break Sturdy and eliminate Thick Fat (Mega Venusaur) and Levitate? Would its ability grant free turns at speed - Serene Grace Air Slash Togekiss? Does its ability prevent status - Magic Guard? Could it ignore stat boosts in the opponent - Unaware?
What Is Your Recipient After - Tailor the boosts your team gives to your sweeper's stat deficiencies.
Can Your Sweeper Function On Its Own - Can your sweeper have some chance of fulfilling its role without the baton pass shenanigans?
Is Your Sweeper Inherently Resilient To Status or Phazing - Ground and Electric typing typically wards off paralysis, Fire makes you un-burnable, Steel and Poison typing prevents toxic, Fairy typing prevents Dragon Tail, Grass typing prevents spore and other grass status moves. Pokemon like Mega Venusaur can use Ingrain to create recovery and prevent phazing, whilst at the same time being resilient to status.
What Items Are You Going To Use - Lum Berries buy you that one time free pass, particularly useful against Prankster users. Also, who cares if they're Knocked Off?
What Coverage Do You Have? What Are Your Moves' Accuracies - Are They Dependable? Can You Be Walled - Do You Need To Produce More Stat Boosts On The Recipient? Do You Need or Want Recovery? Are You Hazard Weak? Can You Deal With A Sub? - These are all questions you need to have part way answered in making a BP team.
In Conclusion:
I hope this has at least been useful to someone. What role if any do you see BP playing in the current meta? Is it still relevant as a strategy? Have I made any glaring omission to the current BP meta (I will update if I've missed out any stinkers)?
Discuss, and tell me below if my wording or grammar is spotty is places (it's late now) and I will correct it. Enjoy.
Baton Pass - For those of you who don't know it's a move that lets you pass on stat changes and certain volatile conditions to other pokemon, such as:
- Aqua Ring
- Confusion status
- Curse status (when used by a Ghost on the Baton Passer)
- Embargo
- Focus Energy / other altered critical hit rates
- Gastro Acid
- Ingrain
- Leech Seed
- Lock-On
- Magnet Rise
- Mind Reader
- Perish Song's count
- Power Trick
- Substitute (keeps HP of original user)
New Baton Pass Goodies:
Weakness Policy - Gives a +2 attack and special attack move when you are hit with a SE move; I cannot stress how good this is for Baton Pass teams. If you have this on a fairly bulky mon and use a speed boosting move (Agility, Rock Polish, Shift Gear, DD, etc.) in one turn you can be looking at +2 speed, +2 attack and +2 special attack - next turn hopefully you can hopefully outspeed the competition to Baton Pass to your sweeper.
Weakness Policy is great in that as long as you can survive the initial hit you can pass on quite significant boosts to something else. Even if your opponent is aware you may be using Baton Pass Weakness Policy, they then have to essentially use less effective moves to eliminate you producing a Catch-22 situation. With the prevalence of Knock Off, U-Turn and ghost type attacks in this generation, psychic type Weakness Policy BPers make great additions to a Baton Pass team.
Priority Reliance - Priority is all over the current meta (Talonflame, multiple megas, Azumarill, Aegislash, etc.), I don't think people are going to dispute that point overly much. I was originally going to list this as a neutral point, however I think overall it is a positive point for Baton Pass teams: if you pass both bulk and speed to a recipient who can raise their own attack you can tank a priority hit and then hopefully KO in return. Priority reliance seems to have produced a lesser usage of scarfs too, meaning that at the +2 speed mark even uninvested speed pokemon reasonable base speed pokemon can be powerful.
Critical Hit Nerf - Critical hits now only do x1.5 damage instead of x2.0, but still negate your defense boosts. This means that both pokemon trying to boost and your recipients aren't KO'd by stray crits as often as in the past.
Fairy Type - Really a more minor point here, but fairies are dragon immune. That means no Dragon Tail if you BP to a fairy, and one less phazing option to worry about.
Megas - Both as Baton Passers (Mawile, Medicham, Scizor and Absol) and recipients, megas have a lot to offer. Mega-Absol is notable in that it can't be Tricked or Taunted and can Reflect any hazard with Magic Bounce, making it an ideal passer and recipient.
Defog - Again more of a general point, but it's easier to bring your sweeper in without hazards now.
Electric Pokemon Can't Be Paralysed - Yeah that's pretty much the whole point right there.
New Baton Pass Crappies:
Sticky Web - When Sticky Web is in effect, every time you Baton Pass you gain -1 speed. For me, speed is the most important thing to pass to recipients so this always hits hard.
Prankster Prevalence - Pranksters are most definitely a thing this gen, so you definitely need a contingency for priority Taunt and status.
Grass Immunity to Grass Status Moves - This effects Smeargle primarily, but there's also some subtlety I'll get into later involving Magic Coat.
Old Baton Pass Crappies:
Taunt - You need to make sure you outspeed that which is trying to Taunt you.
Phaze - Dragon Tail, Whirlwind, Roar and Topsy-Turvy (I guess I should have put that under new, but it's so niche with only Malamar using it); these are phazing strategies you need to be aware of that can either reverse or eliminate stat boosts.
Haze and Clear Smog - It will eliminate your stat boosts, fortunately I've only noticed Haze in Cofagrigus so far commonly in OU and Clear Smog on Amoonguss; see either of these pokemon and get very paranoid.
Trick and Switcheroo - Can prevent your Baton Passing, if you're not careful.
Pokemon That Stat Boost Alongside Your Own - A common anti-BP strategy; while you're farting about trying to find the recipient they're getting a +3 speed +3 attack mega on the prowl (or something similar, you know the drill).
Status - Burn ruins your physical pokemon and paralysis ruins everything pretty much - with the Prankster Prevalence I mentioned earlier these issues have only gotten more compounded.
Old Baton Pass Goodies:
Magic Coat - Most players can see Magic Bounce mons a mile away, but with Magic Coat (a BW2 tutor move) that is not the case. Can reflect Prankster moves (especially Taunt) as well as hazards like Sticky Web, status moves and non-damaging phazing. The only thing you need to be wary of is grass status moves as they won't affect grass pokemon and they can stall your PP out.
Having Pokemon With Godly Boosted Stats - That, if I'm not mistaken, is the Baton Passer's dream.
Combatting the Crappies:
Sticky Web - Get quickly to a Defog BPer that can speed boost (Mew, Scizor) or something that can nip Galvantula (or Smeargle) in the bud - for example Ambipom (LO Fake Out and U-Turn). Most players don't use Galvantula very sensibly (they always try to get Sticky Web out and treat the mon as expendable) so you can exploit this to your advantage. You can also use fast Taunt users too, but then Sticky Web may still surface later in the game if you can't KO it.
Prankster Prevalence - Magic Coat usually does the trick with its +4 priority, and has pretty good distribution due to BW2 move tutors.
Grass Immunity to Grass Moves - Spore is what you're mainly worried about here, so as long as you can outspeed the Spore user and pass to a Grass, Sap Sipper, Magic Guard or Lum Berry using recipient you can deal with the opposition.
Taunt - Magic Coat or a faster Taunt user, you can also use Mental Herb.
Phazing - Fairies block Dragon Tail as mentioned (no one cares about Circle Throw!) and Magic Coat can again be used to block non-damaging phaze moves. Ingrain or the Suction Cups ability can also be used to prevent phazing as long as it's not Topsy-Turvy.
Haze and Clear Smog - Really not very common (mainly Cofagrigus and Amoonguss respectively). If you have a nice speed boost and the opponent hasn't brought these mons out early try to take them out, otherwise try to deal with them sooner rather than later with an unboosted sweeper.
Trick and Switcheroo - These are pretty problematic. Lopunny allows you to ignore items with Klutz, whereas a Mew with Transform and a +252 Speed Nature can then become the equivalent of a Choice Scarf Ditto. If you have a speed boost and can outspeed the scarf user, you can still BP on the next turn anyway.
Pokemon That Stat Boost Alongside Your Own - Clear Smog (the enemy's weapon) can help you here, Drifblim being a notable and competent BPer and Clear Smog User. Either that or opt for the Mexican Stand-Off and see which of you or the opponent win the stat-boosting arms race.
Status - Lum berries in your recipients, Magic Coat on your passers. Magic Guard on your recipients also does the trick.
New or Improved Sexy Baton Pass Users:
Scolipede - Yeah Scolipede got Speed Boost, making Protect/SD/BP sets very nice. Personally, I'd only ever run it with Mental Herb to prevent Prankster Taunting on your BP turn (if they have a Prankster and it's out first turn for Heaven's sake don't use SD).
Lopunny - Can now learn Cosmic Power, and is the only pokemon immune to choice locking due to Klutz. Has a plethora of support moves and not horrendous defenses, plus Magic Coat.
Mega Absol - Though lacking in boosting moves itself outside of SD, with Magic Bounce Mega Absol can't be Taunted, Tricked, Phazed by Roar or Whirlwind or easily statused (only by moves that carry status as a secondary affect). Mega Absol stands out in that once it is close to dying, it can easily Baton Pass the boosts it was using to something else.
Defog BP users - Scizor (mega or no), Mew and Drifblim plus more can both remove hazards and pass on the stat boosting goodness (Mew and Drifblim can also learn Magic Coat - wink wink nudge nudge).
Psychic pokemon anon - Often can learn Magic Coat because of the BW2 tutor, and can receive Weakness Policy boosts from rampant U-Turn, Knock Off and ghost move usage.
BP Support:
Really the only extra support I recommend is Dual Screens to get far more boosts in than you normally should be able to (opponents often have a feel for much damage their moves do under normal conditions but not under screens - this provides free turns). Deoxys-D is a great user for its bulk and combination of Taunt, Screens and Hazard/Taunt/Recovery. It should be noted that screens can also be defogged away, which is something you need to watch out for.
Healing Wish, or regular Wish, may also be a consideration - and as mentioned before Ambipom may be a useful tool for cautious players (can kill Focus Sash Galvantula's with Fake Out and U-Turn, can hit Cofagrigus with Technician Pursuit for a turn and then catch him in the switch out when you're mummied, can also BP).
The Recipients:
I'm not going to preach too much here, as selecting the recipients of your BP team is one of the joys of making a BP team. However what you should consider:
How Does The Recipient's Ability Set It Apart - Does it have Mold Breaker or Terravolt to break Sturdy and eliminate Thick Fat (Mega Venusaur) and Levitate? Would its ability grant free turns at speed - Serene Grace Air Slash Togekiss? Does its ability prevent status - Magic Guard? Could it ignore stat boosts in the opponent - Unaware?
What Is Your Recipient After - Tailor the boosts your team gives to your sweeper's stat deficiencies.
Can Your Sweeper Function On Its Own - Can your sweeper have some chance of fulfilling its role without the baton pass shenanigans?
Is Your Sweeper Inherently Resilient To Status or Phazing - Ground and Electric typing typically wards off paralysis, Fire makes you un-burnable, Steel and Poison typing prevents toxic, Fairy typing prevents Dragon Tail, Grass typing prevents spore and other grass status moves. Pokemon like Mega Venusaur can use Ingrain to create recovery and prevent phazing, whilst at the same time being resilient to status.
What Items Are You Going To Use - Lum Berries buy you that one time free pass, particularly useful against Prankster users. Also, who cares if they're Knocked Off?
What Coverage Do You Have? What Are Your Moves' Accuracies - Are They Dependable? Can You Be Walled - Do You Need To Produce More Stat Boosts On The Recipient? Do You Need or Want Recovery? Are You Hazard Weak? Can You Deal With A Sub? - These are all questions you need to have part way answered in making a BP team.
In Conclusion:
I hope this has at least been useful to someone. What role if any do you see BP playing in the current meta? Is it still relevant as a strategy? Have I made any glaring omission to the current BP meta (I will update if I've missed out any stinkers)?
Discuss, and tell me below if my wording or grammar is spotty is places (it's late now) and I will correct it. Enjoy.
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