Introduction

Hi, I am the infamous Denissss that loves playing with the Baton Pass strategy. I've been working so hard to turn Baton Pass into a perfect play style, but unfortunately it was nerfed twice.
Some people have been saying that nobody used to play with Baton Pass on famous Tournaments because it is an unreliable strategy, but I would break that paradigma. If someone asked/suggested me to play on the Tournament scene, I would clearly try to do my best to be succesful just like I've been doing on the ladder, but now I just lost the opportunity.

I have made a new Baton Pass team based on Geomancy + Cottom Guard Smeargle with massive team support, but, unlike my previous Baton Pass Chains, it is really unreliable, because I'm lacking the move Substitute on Smeargle, and any critical hit on either Smeargle or Espeon (on the turn Smeargle uses the move Baton Pass) would make me lose the battle (crits happen really often). The team usually manages to hit the top 5 on the OU ladder, but since it is completely based on luck, it is really hard to go any further, and tilts usually happen.

I will finally stop playing Pokemon. Mainly because it is a game completely based on team match ups and luck (I know that predictions and mind games are cool, but they also involve luck), and I also have to focus on studies and on my career. Now I will talk about my team with 3 baton passers that was really succesful (it isn't allowed anymore), possibly even better than the 6 Baton Passers team and my recent team that is pretty lame.


3 IS PERFECT, JUST LIKE GOD (BATON PASS 2.0)

Team building process

"Forbid the use of the move Baton Pass on more than 3 Pokémon on the same team"

I knew I had to start with Espeon and Scolipede, for obvious reasons. The combination of Magic Bounce and Speed Boost is amazing, not to mention that the core Scolipede + Espeon is capable of increasing all stats I needed to be succesful: Defense, Speed, Special Defense and Special Attack.

I had one spot left for another Baton Passer. After a lot of thinking, I thought that Smeargle would fit very nicely, because it is immune to Ghost type attacks, and that would help with mind games. Smeargle could also contribute with Ingrain (helps with survivability and guarantees the chain wouldn't be stopped, even by any surprising Roar on Scolipede, or any Sturdy + Red Card combination) and either Quiver Dance or Geomancy for Speed and Special Defense boosts mainly (Special Attack isn't really important at the beggining of the match).

I still had to think about my remaining spots. A Dual screener, such as Deoxys-S would be of huge help, because it would help the initial set up of the "semi chain". Behind Reflect, Scolipede is incredibly bulky, being able to set up Iron Defense boosts against most physical attackers, even those with STAB and super effective attacks. Behind Light Screen, Smeargle and Espeon were able to set up Quiver Dances and Calm Minds with ease too. Espeon was even able to set up Calm Mind boosts against Gengar and Greninja. Deoxys-S access to the fastest non Prankster Taunt was very nice to prevent opposing side from setting up.

Clefable was an interesting choice to use as a recipient, because it had the combination of the ability Unaware and Stored Power, and that was a pretty nice way to deal with set up sweepers, such as Swords Dance Pinsir and Diggersby. After some defensive boosts, Clefable would just laugh at the opposing Pokemon, even if it had +6 Attack.

It was a tough to decide who would be my last Pokemon. I was thinking about either Vaporeon, as another recipient option (it has some notable advantages over Clefable, and it was the main sweeper, if the opposing side doesn't needed to be checked by Clefable's Unaware), or Whimsicott, as another supporter (usually offering me the Taunt + Tailwind + Memento support, allowing me to have a much better match up against Taloflame, Mega Pinsir, Greninja, Gengar or Aegislash leads). I decided to use Vaporeon, mainly because it is one my favorite Pokemon, and it was a member of my previous Baton Pass chain.






The Lead

YAKUZA (Deoxys-Speed) @ Light Clay
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock / Knock Off


I was using Max HP and Max Defense for Mega Pinsir and Talonflame:

252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Deoxys-S: 192-226 (63.1 - 74.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Quick Attack vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Deoxys-S: 76-90 (25 - 29.6%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
Considering the 1st hit dealt maximum damage, there would still be a 31,1% chance survive Quick Attack on second turn.
I would have a nice chance to use both Taunt (to prevent Swords Dance) and Reflect

(critical hits would screw up with everything of course).

252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Deoxys-S: 181-214 (59.5 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO - Guaranteed Reflect :)

Even without any Speed EV I would still outspeed most important stuff, such as Thundurus and Greninja.



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THE BATON PASSERS

The core Scolipede + Smeargle + Espeon, even with screens support is not very durable (screens are far from being durable). It means that I would have to set up the boosts (and Ingrain) pretty quickly and pass them to the recipient of my choice. 2 Iron Defenses + 2 Calm Minds + 1 Quiver Dance + Ingrain is usually enough for a succesful sweep in most cases. If the recipient still lacks power to sweep the opponent, they can also boost their Special Attack.





BIN LADEN (Scolipede) (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Speed Boost
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SDef
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Protect
- Substitute
- Baton Pass

Scolipede EV spread has changed, with focus on the physical bulk. My previous BP Chain had Acid Armor Vaporeon to contribute with Acid Armor boosts and Zapdos to deal with Flying Spam. Now Scolipede is my only Defense booster and still has to eat Brave Birds and Aerilate Returns, but I have Deoxys-S screens and Taunt to help him.




AL CAPONE (Smeargle) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 88 HP / 204 Def / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ingrain
- Quiver Dance
- Spore
- Baton Pass

Thanks to Focus Sash and Spore, Smeargle can usually contribute with at least one Quiver Dance boost and/or Ingrain. It is also a reliable switch in against Shadow Ball users, such as Gengar and Aegislash (both can exploit Espeon's ghost type weakness and Scolipede's low Special Defense).
I'm not using Geomancy because it is not always guaranteed that I would have both Screens. The lack of Focus Sash also makes it hard to set up both Quiver Dance and Ingrain on the same match, not to mention that Geomancy is pratically a single use move (if my oponent has Haze, it will be impossible to restart the chain).



DON CORLEONE (Espeon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Substitute
- Baton Pass

Focus on Special Defense, since it is my main Special Defense booster. With the Light Screen support it can set up against most Special Attackers, including Greninja and Gengar:

252 SpA Gengar Shadow Ball vs. +1 200 HP / 252+ SpD Espeon through Light Screen: 66-78 (20.5 - 24.2%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Dark Pulse vs. +1 200 HP / 252+ SpD Espeon through Light Screen: 74-87 (23 - 27.1%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery




------------------------



Now, between passing to Vaporeon or Clefable depends about team match ups.



THE RECIPIENTS


When passing to Clefable:

TATTAGLIA (Clefable) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 216 HP / 252 Def / 40 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Moonblast
- Substitute

Clefable is supposed to counter set up sweepers, such as Swords Dance Scizor, Pinsir, Bisharp or Diggersby that may try to boost alongside with me.

252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bullet Punch vs. +6 216 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 54-66 (14 - 17.1%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. +6 216 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 55-66 (14.2 - 17.1%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. +6 216 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 62-74 (16.1 - 19.2%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. +6 216 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 81-96 (21 - 24.9%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

Clefable is also my best answer to Mega Gyarados, a dangerous threat because it is immune to Stored Power and resists Vaporeon's Scald, not to mention that Mold Breaker still nulfies Clefable's Unaware.

In case my opponent also has a Sturdy phazer, such as Skarmory or Donphan, I will try to do my best to set up Ingrain with Smeargle, to prevent them from phazing me and making me lose all the boosts I managed to set up.

216 HP EVs make it have a magic Leftovers number, that it really useful to minimize the HP lost when I have to create a Substitute.

Calm Mind is there, in case my opponent forces me to baton pass to Clefable early game. Calm Mind also boosts considerably Stored Power destructive capability, in case it need to kill something really sturdy such as Specially Defensive Heatran or Chansey.



When passing to Vaporeon:

AL QAEDA (Vaporeon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 64 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Work Up
- Scald
- Stored Power
- Substitute

Clefable and Espeon are two Pokemon that share weaknesses to Aegislash, Gengar and Bisharp STABs. Vaporeon, on the other hand, as long as it has some defensive boosts it won't even care about them at all. Because Seismic Toss can't break Vaporeon's large Substitutes, it is also an amazing cleaner against Stall teams (Unlike against Clefable, Chansey doesn't have a chance to use Toxic or Thunderwave on Vaporeon). As long as it has +2 Def and +3 SpD and Ingrain, Vaporeon is almost guaranteed to sweep. Even Mega Venusaur might be unable of breaking Vaporeon's Substitutes. Vaporeon also has a higher physical bulk, special bulk, special attack and speed than Clefable. Work up is there in case I'm missing the power to kill Chansey or anything else.


Other Options

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LOL (Whimsicott) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Encore
- Memento
- Tailwind

Whimsicott access to amazing support moves and Prankster would make him an awesome team supporter. Thanks to Memento + Tailwind, it would be of huge help against powerful attackers.

-2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. +2 240 HP / 252+ Def Scolipede through Reflect: 49-58 (15.2 - 18%) -- possible 6HKO - Tailwind would make Scolipede faster than Mega Pinsir even without any speed boost

-2 252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Scolipede through Reflect: 91-108 (28.3 - 33.6%) -- 0.2% chance to 3HKO

-2 252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 240 HP / 16 SpD Scolipede through Light Screen: 53-63 (16.5 - 19.6%) -- possible 6HKO
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Replays

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http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133344382 - Mega Pinsir

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133092833 - Bisharp

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133065469 - Thundurus

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133067759 - Perish Song Politoed

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133525480 - Perish Song Politoed

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133126922 - Haze Honchkrow

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133275209 - Haze Milotic

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-133264935 - Haze Tentacruel

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