STATUS: Written
APPROVALS:
QC 2/2 [Iconic] [Bloo]
GP 3/3 [Calm Pokemaster] [Fatecrashers] [Chew Toshio]
Ninjask
[Overview]
<p>In the past, Ninjask was known for one thing and one thing only: Baton Passing. In the fifth generation, Ninjask does exactly the same thing. Its massive 160 base Speed almost always allows it to get a Substitute up before its opponent can attack it, and with Swords Dance in its arsenal it can easily pass both Attack and Speed boosts to another Pokemon, priming it for a sweep. However, the new generation also heralded the biggest threat to Ninjask thus far—the dreaded ability known as Prankster. Wielders of this ability, such as Whimsicott and Thundurus, can switch in on Ninjask before it can Baton Pass and stop the little cicada dead in its tracks with a priority Taunt. Don't underestimate Ninjask's abilities though. It still outspeeds all of OU after one Speed Boost, and Prankster users can be Baton Passed out of with correct prediction. All in all, if you're building a Baton Pass team, it's a great idea to give Ninjask a shot.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Substitute
move 4: X-Scissor / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Ninjask's infamous Baton Pass set makes its return for the third time, completely and utterly unchanged. The way this set works is by creating multiple Substitutes, stalling for time while Ninjask accumulates Speed boosts. Its Speed Boost ability and massive base 160 Speed allows it to perform this feat with ease, and when the time is right, Ninjask can Baton Pass to a teammate before the opponent can make a move. This set can easily transform slow, heavy hitters into insanely fast wrecking balls.</p>
<p>Swords Dance is the move that makes this set work, boosting Attack to secure the offensive power the pass receiver will need to break through the enemy team. secure the offensive power the pass receiver will need to break through the enemy team. The biggest decision for the set is choosing between X-Scissor and Protect. X-Scissor prevents Ninjask from being completely shut down by Taunt, and can deal heavy damage to certain key Pokemon such as Whimsicott and Deoxys-S. However, one cannot ignore Protect's awesome benefits to this set-- scouting for priority attacks and Taunt, securing more Leftovers recovery to make more Substitutes, and stalling for more turns (and thus, more precious boosts to Speed).</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The item choice on this set is fairly straightforward, allowing Ninjask to produce five Substitutes in conjunction with 176 HP EVs as opposed to four. As for the rest of its EV spread, maximum Attack EVs let Ninjask hit as hard as possible with X-Scissor, especially after a few Swords Dances. The remaining 80 EVs are placed in Speed. The EVs and nature are set to allow Ninjask to outspeed 130 base Speed foes. As an aside, the 252 Attack EVs should be moved to Defense when not using X-Scissor. This will allow Ninjask to better weather blows from powerful priority moves like Dragonite and Deoxys-S's ExtremeSpeed and Scizor's Bullet Punch.</p>
<p>Ninjask doesn't need a lot of support on its own, as its role is mainly to support its team. It does appreciate a consistent Rapid Spin user such as Tentacruel to alleviate its crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, but that's about it. A more important teammate for Ninjask is the receiver of the Baton Pass. Bulky, powerful Pokemon that could use a boost to their Speed stat fit the bill well. Metagross is a noteworthy pass target, owner of a 135 base Attack, as well as resistances to Ninjask's Ice- and Rock-type weaknesses.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Ninjask doesn't have a lot of other options to consider. The most noteworthy alteration one could make to the standard set would be to replace Leftovers with Mental Herb. In BW, Mental Herb blocks both Taunt and Encore for a turn, making it impossible for Prankster users to stop Ninjask's Baton Pass. With Mental Herb and Protect, even in a lead match up against a Prankster user, Ninjask is guaranteed to at least make one pass of +1 Speed to a teammate. If the Prankster user has to switch into Ninjask, it will get to pass 2 Speed boosts (with Protect), and likely an intact Substitute as well! While the loss of Leftovers seriously diminishes Ninjask's long-term abilities, its 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, general frailty and heavy reliance on Substitute often mean its strategy will only be a "one-shot wonder" in many games anyway. Mental Herb can help ensure that "one-shot" goes off well. It can run Aerial Ace as its attacking move over X-Scissor to hit opposing Fighting-types such as Conkledurr hard. Bug Bite is another option to consider, as it renders any berry held by its opponent useless. However, both of these moves are inferior to the sheer power of X-Scissor.</p>
<p>Ninjask can also run a simple Life Orb or Choice Band attacking set. However, these sets are poor options because of Ninjask's mediocre base 90 Attack and shallow movepool. In addition, it is forced to run Dig in order to hit the extremely common Steel-type Pokemon in the metagame.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>There aren't many ways to attack Ninjask before it can set up a Substitute or use Baton Pass, rendering most common attackers useless against the ninja cicada. However, any attack that successfully hits Ninjask has a high probability of heavily damaging or outright KOing it due to its frail defenses. Priority attacks ignore Ninjask's enormous Speed, making common users of priority such as Scizor and Azumarill good checks to Ninjask.</p>
<p>Another good way of stopping Ninjask from doing its job is the move Taunt, which prevents it from using Baton Pass, Substitute, and Swords Dance, basically rendering Ninjask useless. As Ninjask can always Baton Pass out at the first sign of a Taunt, Prankster users such as Thundurus are the most effective. Whimsicott also has access to a priority Taunt, but will take heavy damage from X-Scissor. It should be noted that even without Taunt, Whimsicott's priority Encore will absolutely shut down a Ninjask that had previously used Swords Dance or Substitute. On the other hand, Mental Herb can go a long way in alleviating issues with Taunt and Encore, so one should be weary of relying on these moves should Ninjask lack Leftovers recovery.</p>
<p>An even greater issue for Ninjask is phazing. Phazing has always been the biggest problem for any Baton Pass strategy, and this is unchanged in the fifth generation. Phaze will blow away Ninjask's boosts whether it passes or not, and can't be stopped by Substitute. Unlike with Taunt and Encore, there's no magic item Ninjask can throw on to alleviate its problems with Whirlwind and Roar. The most common phaze users in OU are Skarmory, Gyarados and Hippowdon. It would be wise for any Ninjask user to bring teammates that can deal with these Pokemon.</p>
<p>As a final measure of desperation, one could always throw out an extremely powerful offensive Pokemon against Ninjask. The most vulnerable point in Ninjask's strategy is the turn it passes to the Baton Pass target. As long as you can prevent Ninjask from getting up a Substitute intact somewhere, you should get a free shot to attack the Baton Pass target directly as it is switched in. With Team Preview on your side, you also will likely know in advance what the likely pass targets will be. If you can get a powerful offensive Pokemon in front of Ninjask that OHKOes or otherwise cripples/defeats Ninjask's potential pass targets, you will likely come out advantageous against Ninjask's team.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Ninjask gets the ability Infiltrator from the Dream World; this makes all of Ninjask's attacks ignore Reflect and Light Screen. This ability is completely useless when compared to Speed Boost, as it takes away Ninjask's only niche in the metagame.</p>
APPROVALS:
QC 2/2 [Iconic] [Bloo]
GP 3/3 [Calm Pokemaster] [Fatecrashers] [Chew Toshio]
Ninjask
[Overview]
<p>In the past, Ninjask was known for one thing and one thing only: Baton Passing. In the fifth generation, Ninjask does exactly the same thing. Its massive 160 base Speed almost always allows it to get a Substitute up before its opponent can attack it, and with Swords Dance in its arsenal it can easily pass both Attack and Speed boosts to another Pokemon, priming it for a sweep. However, the new generation also heralded the biggest threat to Ninjask thus far—the dreaded ability known as Prankster. Wielders of this ability, such as Whimsicott and Thundurus, can switch in on Ninjask before it can Baton Pass and stop the little cicada dead in its tracks with a priority Taunt. Don't underestimate Ninjask's abilities though. It still outspeeds all of OU after one Speed Boost, and Prankster users can be Baton Passed out of with correct prediction. All in all, if you're building a Baton Pass team, it's a great idea to give Ninjask a shot.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Substitute
move 4: X-Scissor / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Speed Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Ninjask's infamous Baton Pass set makes its return for the third time, completely and utterly unchanged. The way this set works is by creating multiple Substitutes, stalling for time while Ninjask accumulates Speed boosts. Its Speed Boost ability and massive base 160 Speed allows it to perform this feat with ease, and when the time is right, Ninjask can Baton Pass to a teammate before the opponent can make a move. This set can easily transform slow, heavy hitters into insanely fast wrecking balls.</p>
<p>Swords Dance is the move that makes this set work, boosting Attack to secure the offensive power the pass receiver will need to break through the enemy team. secure the offensive power the pass receiver will need to break through the enemy team. The biggest decision for the set is choosing between X-Scissor and Protect. X-Scissor prevents Ninjask from being completely shut down by Taunt, and can deal heavy damage to certain key Pokemon such as Whimsicott and Deoxys-S. However, one cannot ignore Protect's awesome benefits to this set-- scouting for priority attacks and Taunt, securing more Leftovers recovery to make more Substitutes, and stalling for more turns (and thus, more precious boosts to Speed).</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The item choice on this set is fairly straightforward, allowing Ninjask to produce five Substitutes in conjunction with 176 HP EVs as opposed to four. As for the rest of its EV spread, maximum Attack EVs let Ninjask hit as hard as possible with X-Scissor, especially after a few Swords Dances. The remaining 80 EVs are placed in Speed. The EVs and nature are set to allow Ninjask to outspeed 130 base Speed foes. As an aside, the 252 Attack EVs should be moved to Defense when not using X-Scissor. This will allow Ninjask to better weather blows from powerful priority moves like Dragonite and Deoxys-S's ExtremeSpeed and Scizor's Bullet Punch.</p>
<p>Ninjask doesn't need a lot of support on its own, as its role is mainly to support its team. It does appreciate a consistent Rapid Spin user such as Tentacruel to alleviate its crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, but that's about it. A more important teammate for Ninjask is the receiver of the Baton Pass. Bulky, powerful Pokemon that could use a boost to their Speed stat fit the bill well. Metagross is a noteworthy pass target, owner of a 135 base Attack, as well as resistances to Ninjask's Ice- and Rock-type weaknesses.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Ninjask doesn't have a lot of other options to consider. The most noteworthy alteration one could make to the standard set would be to replace Leftovers with Mental Herb. In BW, Mental Herb blocks both Taunt and Encore for a turn, making it impossible for Prankster users to stop Ninjask's Baton Pass. With Mental Herb and Protect, even in a lead match up against a Prankster user, Ninjask is guaranteed to at least make one pass of +1 Speed to a teammate. If the Prankster user has to switch into Ninjask, it will get to pass 2 Speed boosts (with Protect), and likely an intact Substitute as well! While the loss of Leftovers seriously diminishes Ninjask's long-term abilities, its 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, general frailty and heavy reliance on Substitute often mean its strategy will only be a "one-shot wonder" in many games anyway. Mental Herb can help ensure that "one-shot" goes off well. It can run Aerial Ace as its attacking move over X-Scissor to hit opposing Fighting-types such as Conkledurr hard. Bug Bite is another option to consider, as it renders any berry held by its opponent useless. However, both of these moves are inferior to the sheer power of X-Scissor.</p>
<p>Ninjask can also run a simple Life Orb or Choice Band attacking set. However, these sets are poor options because of Ninjask's mediocre base 90 Attack and shallow movepool. In addition, it is forced to run Dig in order to hit the extremely common Steel-type Pokemon in the metagame.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>There aren't many ways to attack Ninjask before it can set up a Substitute or use Baton Pass, rendering most common attackers useless against the ninja cicada. However, any attack that successfully hits Ninjask has a high probability of heavily damaging or outright KOing it due to its frail defenses. Priority attacks ignore Ninjask's enormous Speed, making common users of priority such as Scizor and Azumarill good checks to Ninjask.</p>
<p>Another good way of stopping Ninjask from doing its job is the move Taunt, which prevents it from using Baton Pass, Substitute, and Swords Dance, basically rendering Ninjask useless. As Ninjask can always Baton Pass out at the first sign of a Taunt, Prankster users such as Thundurus are the most effective. Whimsicott also has access to a priority Taunt, but will take heavy damage from X-Scissor. It should be noted that even without Taunt, Whimsicott's priority Encore will absolutely shut down a Ninjask that had previously used Swords Dance or Substitute. On the other hand, Mental Herb can go a long way in alleviating issues with Taunt and Encore, so one should be weary of relying on these moves should Ninjask lack Leftovers recovery.</p>
<p>An even greater issue for Ninjask is phazing. Phazing has always been the biggest problem for any Baton Pass strategy, and this is unchanged in the fifth generation. Phaze will blow away Ninjask's boosts whether it passes or not, and can't be stopped by Substitute. Unlike with Taunt and Encore, there's no magic item Ninjask can throw on to alleviate its problems with Whirlwind and Roar. The most common phaze users in OU are Skarmory, Gyarados and Hippowdon. It would be wise for any Ninjask user to bring teammates that can deal with these Pokemon.</p>
<p>As a final measure of desperation, one could always throw out an extremely powerful offensive Pokemon against Ninjask. The most vulnerable point in Ninjask's strategy is the turn it passes to the Baton Pass target. As long as you can prevent Ninjask from getting up a Substitute intact somewhere, you should get a free shot to attack the Baton Pass target directly as it is switched in. With Team Preview on your side, you also will likely know in advance what the likely pass targets will be. If you can get a powerful offensive Pokemon in front of Ninjask that OHKOes or otherwise cripples/defeats Ninjask's potential pass targets, you will likely come out advantageous against Ninjask's team.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Ninjask gets the ability Infiltrator from the Dream World; this makes all of Ninjask's attacks ignore Reflect and Light Screen. This ability is completely useless when compared to Speed Boost, as it takes away Ninjask's only niche in the metagame.</p>
