I'd like to state my stance that
Scolipede needs to go. There are a few reasons why I say this:
1) Scolipede can
effortlessly stack Spikes. Literally nothing in NU can reliably prevent Scolipede from getting up at least 2 layers of Spikes without getting heavily dented in the process. Taunt users are either slower than it or frail enough to be OHKOed, Magic Coat users are uncommon and can be played around (heck, the fact that some Pokemon choose to run Magic Coat to counter Scolipede's Spikes already show something, ie. Golurk and to an extent Bastiodon [whose Magic Coat set never really took off beforehand]), Rock Blast Golem can't prevent one layer and needs to pray that it hits thrice = unreliable. Being able to spray around entry hazards every game does not make NU enjoyable at all like Cherub already mentioned. We've seen OU banned the 2 Deoxys formes and UU ban Froslass. Why is that so? All 3 of them could set up entry hazards with little to no risk and have extremely high Speed (apart from Deoxys-D). Sure, Scolipede doesn't have Destiny Bond or Taunt, but here in NU there are literally no good Rapid Spin users and that means all those layers of entry hazards are going to stick around most of the time, hence discouraging switching and making the meta much more offensive. As a result of this, stall became a lot less popular in the first few months and never really got back to the level of popularity it once had. Sidfrid brought up that Torkoal with Lava Plume could defeat Scolipede but as far as I'm concerned it's not a very good argument because 1) Scolipede can still stack 2 layers of Spikes if burn doesn't happen and still gets up 1 layer even if it does and 2) what is Torkoal's role in your team? Solely to counter Scolipede? Defensive Torkoal is a defensive Fire-type, which will never be as effective as the other physical walls in the tier with Stealth Rock around, and will be even less effective if Scolipede gets a layer of entry hazards off each time it gets into the field. Torkoal may be able to counter Scolipede in the traditional sense, but take into account the fact that on the playing field, there's no guarantee that Scolipede vs Torkoal is always happening, because remember that bulky Scolipede and Life Orb Scolipede exist, not just sash lead. I would say 8 times out of 10, the situation will be that Scolipede is in before Torkoal and gets up the Spikes, and can easily get off another layer or simply switch to a spinblocker and come back later. Torkoal is also going to find a hard time switching in later, because once again, Spikes. Yes, Scolipede's presence is diminishing even further the role of grounded SR-weak Pokemon as they lose a whopping 50% HP with all hazards up. Out of all the SPL matches so far, how many times have you seen a grounded SR-weak Pokemon not named Scolipede or Jynx? That Sawk vs Torkoal calc isn't very relevant anyway because it 2HKOes it with Earthquake (and Close Combat), while Mola can scout and switch thanks to Regen, so it does seem to me like Torkoal is being used just to check Scolipede and maybe Grass-types which it cannot really do effectively anymore. Sidfrid later mentioned a few other things that could "beat" Scolipede, but notice how they all get set up on; Probopass can't prevent 2 layers either, and this was part of the reasoning that got Froslass banished from UU. And while I'm at it, 4MSS doesn't really exist on Scolipede because the main set has Spikes, Megahorn, Aqua Tail and a filler move that can be tailored to suit the team's needs and these three are really all Scolipede needs to stack Spikes effectively.
Remember though that Sash lead isn't the only Spikes Scolipede set. We have Life Orb, Bug Gem, BulkyPede, Payapa Berry etc. and they are all dangerous in their own way. SashPede has been the focal point of many arguments here for good reason, so I won't touch on that. I'd like to state here the effect that BulkyPede has on the meta. While offensive Scolipede can set up layers quickly, BulkyPede can set up layers consistently. This can be likened to Deoxys-D: there was the fast offensive set that Spikesed quickly while the defensive one could Spike up throughout the game. No longer can Golem KO with 3 Rock Blasts, no longer can Lava Plume Torkoal KO with burn, while Scolipede can now set up even more hazards in front of weaker opponents. Once again, the 3 moves + filler is the main ingredient behind Bulky Scolipede, but this one can be bulky enough to set up Spikes and continue to threaten Charizard, Jynx, and anything else below the monkeys. Consistent Spikes are just as good as fast Spikes and there is a huge reason to use Scolipede over, say, Garbodor: Speed and offensive presence. The extra Speed over Garbodor allows Scolipede to get off extra layers while the offensive presence means its harder to set up on Scolipede, and let's face it, Garbodor is really only used because of Aftermath as well as slightly superior physical bulk. Garbodor (and Cacturne and Roselia I guess) was once the premier NU Spiker, but even then it couldn't get off so many hazards guaranteed. Now look at Scolipede.
2) Scolipede has other huge utility outside of Spikes. Offensive Spiking sets could also threaten the opponent really hard. The closest thing I can draw to a parallel right now is Cacturne, but even so Cacturne didn't have blazing Speed, Cacturne didn't have amazing STAB moves and amazing coverage, and Cacturne couldn't Spike twice a game and damage the opponent at the same time. Meanwhile, Sash, Life Orb, and Bug Gem Scolipede could Spike away and once it's done, it can threaten the opponent right away. Base 90 Attack doesn't sound much, but to make up for it, Scolipede has a base 120 STAB move that hits a lot of things for at least neutral, a powerful coverage move in Aqua Tail, Swarm, Swords Dance and quite possibly a boosting item. To top that off, not a lot of things that can threaten Scolipede can outspeed it. In addition to being such a terrifying attacker, also remember that it can set up Spikes effortlessly to aid its teammates or even itself. Scolipede can do so many things in one moveset, and that's just one of the many things it can do. Bulky Scolipede has a lot of utility and is probably a better Sawk check than Garbodor because it can switch into both of Sawk's main moves, at the same time Charizard, Musharna, Jonx etc are still not safe. It's also the only NU Spiker that can include both Spikes and Toxic Spikes without sacrificing an important move. I haven't even touched on non-Spikes sets yet, and I will do so now: SubSalac is easily one of the most threatening sweepers right now. Add a speed boost to one of the fastest things in NU, a swords dance boost, a base 120 attack Pokemon and swarm, and possibly baton pass, and you get a massive sweeper and supporter in one that can escape all its counters except maybe Kangaskhan
So what was the purpose of telling you all this? To show that Scolipede isn't limited to just a Spiking role. Froslass and Deoxys were banned because they Spiked really well (and Destiny Bond in Froslass's case). Scolipede not only Spikes insanely well, it also threatens the opponent in the process. While those threats powerful enough to get banished from higher up tiers couldn't really do much against teams not weak to Spikes, Scolipede can simply set up Swords Dance and go to town thanks to a combo of Speed and power, similar to any normal sweeper. If the opponent isn't weak to offensive Scolipede, it can simply set up Spikes. Within one moveset Scolipede can already be so damn versatile. Why shouldn't it be banned or suspected at least, if those higher up threats could be banned even when all they did was set up Spikes?
3) There's no harm in including Scolipede in your team. Every single team loves Spikes, even more so 2 layers of them a game. Guess which Pokemon can set them up consistently? Unlike Garbodor or Roselia, all variants of Scolipede can threaten opponents such that it isn't set up fodder. This is great for offensive teams especially since they don't carry a phazer while Scolipede can continue to hit hard and fast once it's done. For bulky offense teams, Scolipede is great as well because it can set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes without sacrificing an important move, something that neither Garbo nor Rose can claim to do. Heck even stall teams can fit bulky Scolipede into their teams. I refer you to BasedVictory's
stall team, one that could fit in Scolipede without any major repercussions. As you can see, Scolipede can easily fit into teams of almost all archetypes.
What if you don't include Scolipede in your team? In this new meta defined by it, not having a Spikes setter could easily be a disadvantage because while your opponent is placing all the pressure on you, you aren't doing the same. Hence having a Spikes setter on your team can only be beneficial. Guess which Pokemon is the most reliable, most effective, most versatile, and has the most utility out of all Spikers? Yep, Scolipede. This is not to say that the other Spikers do not have their own niches. However most of the time when you think "wow I need a reliable and effective Spiker", Scolipede is the one that comes to mind because that's what it does best. The reason you pick Rose as your Spiker is not because it Spikes well but because it counters Ludicolo, special Samurott, Alomomola and acts as a special wall. The reason you pick Garbodor as your Spiker is because you want something to pressure users of contact moves with Rocky Helmet and Aftermath. But the reason you pick Scolipede as your Spiker is because it Spikes reliably and it's the best Spikes user. So if I was looking for a good Spikes user, which no team would get any harm from having, I would first take a look at Scolipede.
4) Here I list some of the many metagame changes Scolipede brought around.
- Stall's role had diminished, even before the arrival of Mandibuzz because it was the playstyle that switched around the most
- Audino became more prominent than Lickilicky because Regenerator allowed it to switch in and out of Spikes
- Scarf Tauros and Swellow became more prominent because they could outspeed and OHKO, and the former never really played a large role before
- Garbodor and Roselia's role diminished
- Pinsir's role diminished
- Misdreavus and Weezing became more prominent because they could check Scolipede's coverage moves, although they couldn't prevent Spikes
- Meanwhile Tangela usage just died
- Grounded Poison-types are almost mandatory now
- It became almost mandatory to run Magic Coat on Bastiodon
- The role of Grass-types, especially Sawsbuck, diminished and the main ones that stayed relevant, Serperior and Ludicolo in rain, could outspeed it
- It became almost mandatory to use Jolly on Carracosta
- Grounded SR-weak mons dropped in usage, and those that managed to stay relevant had plenty of positive traits to offset that (Jynx, Scolipede)
- and most importantly, Spikes stacking became the face of NU
Thank you for your time. I'll post about Jynx another day