Dedicated Baton Pass Team

KarateF22

The team:
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Most of the above poke's are veterans of the baton pass world, especially Ninjask and Smeargle. The decline that resulted from the new more offensive meta-game of DPP doesnt mean they cant still fulfill their roles well as baton passers. Without further ado... i deliver the in-depth analysis.

Electrode @ Focus Sash
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Ability: Static
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Sleep Talk
- Taunt
- Hidden Power [Ice]

I opted for Bolt-beam taunt Electrode because my team greatly benefits from stealth rock not getting down, and from taunt leads getting neutered for a period of time. Even the quick Aerodactyl cannot taunt Electrode before Electrode taunts him. I actually welcome Swampert leads killing off Electrode, because then smeargle can trap them and its essentially GG. Sleep Talk was only thrown in there so that if a sleep lead sleeps Electrode, he can remain in and harass the opponent. Additionally, people will assume this is a rain dance Electrode... which can prove to be a useful misconception.

Ninjask (F) @ Leftovers
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Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 232 HP/252 Def/26 SDef
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Protect
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass

Ninjask remains the best speed passer in this generation. Having tried Jolteon, Zapdos, and Ninjask... Ninjask is undeniably the best. Ninjask needs no speed investment, as if i feel shaky at all about the opponent, i simply use Protect and the next turn im faster than any scarf user common in the metagame. Protect can also help me get +1 speed in the face of taunt and scout for phazing moves. Swords Dance is of course required to boost the power of Lucario. He is my first choice coming in after Electrode against pokes faster than my Smeargle or with a priority attack.

Smeargle (M) @ Focus Sash
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Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 Def/252 Spd/6 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Spore
- Spider Web
- Ingrain
- Baton Pass

The trap-pass variety of smeargle is a risker, but often very worth it, variety of smeargle. EV's are invested for maximum speed and defense, so smeargle can outpace opponents with ninjask's provided speed boosts and better survive priority attacks. Ingrain and spore are obligatory; the first for immunity to phazing and the second for Smeargle' security. If the poke in after electrode dies is slower than smeargle, i send him in and trap him.

Vaporeon (F) @ Leftovers
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Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 12 HP/252 Def/246 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Muddy Water
- Acid Armor
- Substitute
- Baton Pass

Vaporeon's role on a BP team is pretty clear: Make bulky substitutes that cant be broken by seismic toss in a single turn to pass to teammates and use Acid Armor to jack up team Defense. I opted for Muddy Water over Surf because the hits to accuracy can really annoy dragon dancing taunt gyarados, who often pose a problem to my team but are fortunately OHKOed by Electrode if in the lead position.

Mr. Mime (M) @ Leftovers
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Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 140 HP/246 Def/124 Spd
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Encore
- Calm Mind
- Baton Pass

Mr. Mime may seem out of place in the OU meta game, but he finds a role in my team. I opted for him over Celebi to avoid the 4x weakness to U-turn. He also has the extremely valuable move Encore which can capitalize on his ability Soundproof to trap the opponent into Roar. Nothing is better than trapping a sleep-talker or stat upper with Smeargle and then encoring it with Mr. Mime... essentially guaranteeing the win. Taunt is to prevent opposing Taunts, Trick, and Whirlwind. Mr. Mime is also very useful in that if Ninjask scouts the move Roar with Protect, i can pass to Mime and then encore roar giving Mr. Mime a free move. EVs are optimized for an HP divisable by 16, speed to outpace positive natured base 100 trick users with +2 speed, and as much defense as possible.

Lucario (F) @ Life Orb
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Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/6 Spd/252 SAtk
Lonely nature (+Atk, -Def)
- Close Combat
- Crunch
- Vacuum Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Not really much to say. Fighting/Dark/Ice gives very good coverage resisted by few Pokes in the OU metagame (I cannot think of any). Being mixxed means Lucario still has a chance to sweep if ninjask dies before swords dancing or Mr Mime dies before calm minding.

Updated: Replaced Scizor with Electrode, who was moved to the lead slot over Ninjask
 
I could see most other leads screwing you over. Aerodactyl, Azelf and Gliscor can Taunt. Swampert can Roar. Skarmoy can come in later and Whirlwind your boosts away. I really can't think of anything off the top of my head that can counter that, but I can say that you would have to keep Mr. Mime alive for as long as possible to Taunt and Encore other Pokemon.

The biggest problem I can see with Lucario is that Aura Sphere just won't provide enough power by itself should you fail to set up or not get enough boosts. Therefore I would recommend you change Aura Sphere to Close Combat. This way, even if you don't get the boosts, you could still do enough damage to Blissey.

But if you decide to replace Close Combat, then I suggest you also replace Dark Pulse as Dark Pulse does less to Latias than Crunch. Close Combat and Crunch provide the great unresisted Fighting/Dark combo and when combined with Hidden Power Ice and a Special Priority, very rare these days, you got one hell of a Pokemon.

Along with that I also suggest you replace Aqua Ring on Vaporeon with Acid Armor and Iron Defense on Scizor with Swords Dance. This will allow you to power up Close Combat and Crunch while still maintaining the boost of Defense from Iron Defense. This will allow Scizor to do decent damage with Bug Bite.

Good Luck!

~ LB ~​
 
if you read my analysis... you would know that mr mime is immune to roar. the move ingrain, the effects of which are baton passable, makes my team immune to roar AND whirlwind... so those moves are of little worry to me after smeargle enters the field. I have only been roared out once with Ninjask, despite the opponent often trying, and it was because I didn't expect it from an aerodactyl. Swampert has actually NEVER successfully roared me in 50 or so games with this team. Mr. Mime traps them into roar if they try. Better yet, if they switch to skarm as I use BP, I get a free switch to smeargle and can trap skarm, who cannot OHKO smeargle and is walled by scizor (and everyone after three iron defense). He can sometimes be a problem, but there is no way around occasional skarmory problems before smeargle uses ingrain. Aerodactyl and Gliscor are countered by Vaporeon while azelf is countered by Scizor (its explosion cannot OHKO him).
 
At least try LB's suggestions, they are very good; particularly the
move changes. Have to go but might rate later, good luck.
 
Azelf and Taunt Gyarados beat the entire BP chain completely. I would recommend you pretend that you're not a Baton Pass team by leading with a Zapdos. Zapdos will add security against Gyarados and can sometimes lure Azelf into exploding early on. Furthermore, it can AgilityPass to the rest of your team.

Generally speaking, you should combine Scizor and Vaporeon into just an Acid Armor passing Vaporeon:

Vaporeon @ Leftovers
- Acid Armor
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
- Surf

You can then replace Scizor with a shallow sweeper, something that can come in early and threaten out the Pokemon that beat common Baton Passers. If you don't like that idea, you can keep your Ninjask and just move it to a non-lead position. Swords Dance would probably help Lucario better than CMs anyways, since Lucario is beaten by standard WishBliss if it doesn't get +2. (It will beat you with Wish + Protect spam and force you to die to LO recoil)
 
If you do know that Azelf can Taunt you, as can Aerodactyl, so how do you plan on working against them. Trust me, I've made plenty of Baton Pass teams. I know what the abilities do. And I'm mostly sure of the threats to it. Not to be rude or anything, but I have a lot more prior experience than you.

As for Taunt leads, I think you should consider an Agility BP Zapdos. This will allow you to deal sufficient damage to common leads and not give up your secret that it is a Baton Pass team:

Zapdos | Leftovers | Timid
248 HP / 136 Def / 88 SpA / 36 Spe
Agility | Baton Pass | Thunderbolt | Hidden Power [Grass]/Hidden Power [Ice]

Zapdos is a great offensive and defensive Pokemon. With the defensive EV spread such as this, you'll surely get off an Agility and be able to Baton Pass that to the likes of Smeargle or Mr. Mime to stop PHazers. With the physical durability of Zapdos' base 90 HP and 85 Def combined with the HP and Def EVs you can switch into Bullet Punches all day long. Thunderbolt is your choice of STAB which will hit most of OU for quite a big of damage. This coupled with the SpA EVs will put a little zap into each attack (pun intended.) Your last moveslot is dedicated to coverage. HP Grass allows you to KO lead Swampert who could be an annoyance trying to Roar away you boosts should you not feel like revealing Mr. Mime. On the other hand, Dragons who could devastate your team if you don't have Calm Mind boosts up or if you don't have a Substitute up are dealt an easy KO with HP Ice. Obviously Latias will live to see another day and possibly ventilate it frustration through Draco Meteor or Dragon Pulse, but atleast you'll be able to figure out if it's Specs'd, Scarved or even the standard CM set.

Good Luck.

~ LB ~​
 
I agree with Lord Blood the only thing you can actually set up on is Metagross or Azelf with taunt. Go with the zapdos he suggested. Good luck with the team!
 
I appreciate the suggestions provided thus far and am currently researching a good shallow sweeper to replace scizor's slot on the team. However, I do not want to replace Ninjask. his immunity to all trick scarf and status leads in the game with the protect+sub combo have proven invaluable too many times to count. I HAVE used zapdos before, but his weakness to trick and status leads have let me down more than can be afforded. Ninjasks weakness to taunt, on the other hand, can be resolved by scouting with protect for +1 speed and passing to something else. Also... a question... do you guys think guts+flame orb Heracross would do a decent job as shallow sweeper? Normally I'd doubt it because of speed... but he is essentially guaranteed a +1 boost.
 
Generally speaking, Metagross is a really good shallow sweeper due to its high base attack, good reception of speed boosts, diverse move pool, solid typing, and ability to beat the common threats you'll face early on. Metagross and Lucario share weaknesses, though, so maybe it's not a great idea in your case. If you insist on using Calm Mind for your attack boosts, then you will need a recipient for your shallow passes. Like I said earlier, Zapdos will cover your TauntGyarados weakness big time.

You probably need multiple of whatever attack booster you want, since if Mr. Mime dies, you'll be screwed. Ninjask can support with SD boosts, Scizor and Gliscor can also pass SD boosts, meanwhile Smeargle can pass anything and Celebi can pass CMs. You should really tailor your team to what you plan to do, and what you plan to do right now isn't really obvious.
 
Bump; team updated.... removed Scizor from the team, who did not serve too much of a purpose. Put taunt Electrode on team, who is the lead over Ninjask now.
 
I think you should change Lucario's nature. Modest lowers Atk and you have Crunch and Close Combat, which are both affected negatively by Modest nature.
 
Hello,

Besides Lead Electrode a fairly ordinary Baton Pass team.
SD Ninjask, Acid Armor Vaporeon, Trap Ingrain Smeargle, CM Encore Mime can basically be found on all baton pass teams. Mixed Lucario is also a commonly seen Recipient.
Of course your team has the typical BP weaknesses. First of all, you will lose each single battle if your opponent carries the move Perish song or Haze in their team. Second, you will lose to almost each Whirlwinder and to each critical hit in the wrong place. If you get hit by any random taunt, your strategy is also over. And last but not least you won't probably ever get the chance to start your chain for a 2nd time if it gets interrupted once. Besides those things you can't fix, here are my suggestions on how you could maximize your chance for a sweep.
Electrode: It will tecnically lose against most leads. However you will be able to prevent rocks. This won't assure that your opponent will never get up rocks in the whole match, but it can buy Ninjask a good opportunity to switch in. However I don't like your inability to get up rocks as any random Sash user hidden till the last pokemon can actually be a threat.
Smeargle: If it comes to use all its moves in a row you'll probably win the game. The problem is that it won't be able to do that most of the time due to its terrible stats but it's definitely the best phaze stopper, so it must stay. But I would really prefer Leftovers over Sash on it as you won't be able to keep all kinds of entry hazards off the field and thus Sash just remains an item that should only be used in lead position.
Vaporeon: I prefer Surf over Muddy Water but if you like it, keep it. The rest of the set is good.
Mr.Mime: The best set for it and it provides you with the invaluable Sound Proof.
Ninjask: I like the idea of not using it as your lead. The set is also fine.
Lucario: Lucario us a good choice in that slot but I think Metagross is better. Its Clear Body ability and its incredible bulk make sure it will stay on the field till the foe's team is gone.If you want to keep lucario you should at least drop Life Orb for Lum Berry. You will lose a bit of its power but the recoil damage can really stop your sweep (in conjunction with Intimidate, defense drops and Fighting priority for example). This won't happen commonly, sure, but it CAN happen. Metagross is immune to all those obstacles and will only need attack boosts to sweep. At +4 attack and +3 Speed, which should be achievable, it will ohko each single Pokemon in OU bar Forretress and Bronzong (who can't do anything in return), running the following set:
Metagross@Life Orb
Adamant-252Atk, 252Spe, 4HP
-Earthquake
-Iron Head
-Thunderpunch
-Zen-Headbutt

Hope this helped. Good Luck !
 
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