Baton Pass - Still Viable? Even More Viable?

[Creamyy~]

So right off the bat I know what you're thinking - seriously, baton pass? Good luck getting past 1500 on the ladder. This really isn't a super serious team, it's more for fun. I'm posting it here for some tips on making it better and so other people can try it out if they want.

Now getting right to the point, I believe that Baton Passing actually benefited from the transition from Gen 5 to 6.
1) Baton Pass teams have new toys to play with (Speed Boost Scolipede, Mega Absol [who has Magic Bounce, a fantastic ability for baton pass teams], Mega Mawile, etc.
2) Perhaps the most important is the addition of Fairy types. Before, Baton Pass teams would get screwed over by Dragon Tail since it can't be bounced back by Magic Bounce/Coat or blocked by Taunt. However, now that Fairy types are immune to Dragon, this move is not nearly as much as a problem as it was before.

So with that, allow me to introduce the team!

Scolipede @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Baton Pass
- Megahorn
Yeah I know, not a very creative set. The only thing that stands out here is the Liechi Berry. Since I don't have any other Pokemon to boost my Attack, Liechi Berry gives Scolipede a free Atk boost in addition to speed. Granted, I could very easily swap Megahorn with Swords Dance and call it a day. However I tried that originally and found that I had very little opportunities to set up any Swords Dances. Also Megahorn allows me to not crumble completely to taunt

Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Acid Armor
- Aqua Ring
- Baton Pass
- Wish
Standard Baton Pass Vaporeon, not much has changed since last gen for it. Max Special Defense + Acid Armor allows me to set up fairly easily, and Aqua Ring + Wish keeps the whole team nice and healthy.

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Roar
- Defog
- Baton Pass
- Thunderbolt
With Gen 6, as we all know, Defog now allows you to remove all entry hazards from the field. And so, Zapdos made it on the team. I used it instead of something like Scizor because Zapdos is the only Pokemon with decent bulk to learn Defog + Roar/Whirlwind + Baton Pass (sorry Fearow, maybe next time). Roar is essential to the team, as many players like to set up along side Baton Pass teams in hopes of overpowering them and breaking the chain.

Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Baton Pass
- Pursuit
Like most Baton Pass teams, there's a big Ghost weakness. And of course, Mega Absol eats ghosts for breakfast. Knock Off and Pursuit lets it trap pesky Ghost types if they try to switch out, and Taunt is a handy move to carry. And of course, Magic Bounce is fantastic to have.

Mr. Mime @ Leftovers
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Calm Mind
- Baton Pass
- Encore
- Substitute
Mr. Mime is a must for any Baton Pass team. Its ability Soundproof allows it to not only be immune to Roar, it also lets it switch in to Perish Song, a move that completely crushes every other Baton Pass member. Mr. Mime actually has some pretty solid Special Defense, so it can set up Calm Mind and Substitutes fairly easily. Encore is very handy for when I'm in Calm Mind wars (and then going to Zapdos and Roaring is just priceless). And of course, that nifty Fairy typing stops Dragon Tail cold.

Espeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Baton Pass
- Dazzling Gleam
I'm sorry Mr. Mime, you may be an important member to the team, but Espeon is by far the MVP of this or any Baton Pass team. Stored Power, Calm Mind, Magic Bounce, Baton Pass, need I say more? This is the same Baton Pass set that crushed the souls of players everywhere last gen, the only difference being that Dazzling Gleam can now be used over Signal Beam/HP Fighting to hit Dark Types who are immune to Stored Power.

And that's it!

​

Special Mentions:​

I tried messing around with Oblivious Illumise now that Oblivious allows you to be immune to Taunt. However it wasn't very effective.

Mega Mawile is a fantastic Pokemon, but my team needed something to deal with Ghost types, so it ended up getting replaced by Mega Absol.

Team Text:
http://pastebin.com/6xfLbfkM

 

[BenTheDemon]

These Pokemon keep Baton Pass in its place. Talonflame's Gale Wings nails Scolipede, Ditto steals your boosts if you can't keep up Substitute, and Sableye's Prankster Taunt pretty much destroys the entire Strategy. This is just for Baton Pass in General.

But what I've noticed is that your team doesn't have much Physical power, so this thing will be a nuisance.

I'm not trying to put you down, but Baton Pass is really just a gimmick. Granted, it's a gimmick that can work, but it's kind of like FEAR, Shedinja, and 5th Gen Riolu; it's deadly if not prepared for, but pretty much all teams up the ladder are prepared for these.

That being said, the team looks pretty good aside from not having a good answer to Ditto. I'd recommend finding a place to throw on a Focus Sash and be able to counter your own Pokemon. Vaporeon is agood answer to Talonflame, and Espeon is a good answer to Sableye, so if you can find an answer to Ditto and Blissey, then this team could make Baton Pass viable.

 

[Petrico94]

After losing like 10 times to baton pass teams in gen5 UU, I finally decided to give my Lapras Perish Song. It's still gimmicky but it will drive you insane if you don't have one pokemon ready to break it.
Make sure to have perish song, taunt or a roar type move to kick out stat boosters and start them over again. It just has to go through substitute and make them switch w/o passing the baton. After that, traps will keep them from switching too much, SR is especially good at ruining Ninjask's speed.
I'm not sure how to get around it in OU or with 2 magic bouncers but I'm pretty sure Perish Song works equally good.

 

[TheEnder]

Nr. 3 on the ladder, Denissss, has reached a Elo-Ranking of over 2000 using BatonPass teams.

Due to the Bulky and Offensive nature of the meta, few teams carry an answer to BP, and have no way of dropping the chain if its started (exept crit).

Here is a replay:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-89511659