Hi everyone! This is my first RMT, and one of my first few posts in the forum. I had decided that I wanted to make a new team, but I was struck with a problem: my teams always ended up the same, no matter what they were supposed to be. I've started off making weather teams, or stall teams, or any other kind of team, but they always ended up being the same: a hastily made team with a few of my favorite pokemon thrown on. I decided that I was going to try something new, and that it would not turn out the same as the rest. With that in mind, I decided to make a Baton Pass team!
Get it? Because a relay race is where you race and pass the baton, and... you know what, I'm just gonna get on with it and show you the team.
Team Building Process
Well, the first pokemon I chose was Smeargle. Since it can learn any move in the game, with the exception of Chatter, and with terrible stats in everything but Spd, Smeargle and Baton Passing go hand-in-hand.
Next up, I put Victini on the team, mainly to capitalize on Stored Power and V-create. In a Baton Pass team, these are the strongest moves you could get (barring suicide moves), and Victini gets STAB on both of them.
Reliable recovery? Magic Guard? 90% accurate burn? Yes please!
Espeon is a nice little psychic cat. It has wonderful SAtk, great Spd, and it even has Magic Bounce to boot! Even better, it has the strongest Stored Power in the entire metagame.
Ninjask, like Smeargle, has the right stats for a Baton Passer. I mainly used it to pass a Speed Boost or two to Smeargle so it could outrun faster opponents and put them to sleep.
To top off the team, I decided that I needed something that could make nice and bulky Substitutes. That's where Drifblim came in. There are probably other bulky Pokemon that can use Baton Pass, but do any of them learn Stockpile? No!
After a few test runs, it turned out that this team wasn't cutting it. It had four major weaknesses, namely Focus Sashes, Substitutes, Prankster users, and priority. If the enemy had a pokemon with any of these, my team would be shut down in an instant. I needed something to stop these.
The addition of these two pokemon helped a lot. Cloyster was just amazing. Having access to two 25 base power multi-hit moves and a priority attack helped crush several common counters. As for Whimsicott, well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Having a Prankster user of my own helped to counter other pokemon with Prankster, such as Tornadus and Sableye.
The Team
Ninjask (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 100 HP / 156 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Substitute
- X-Scissor
- Baton Pass
Ninjask is one of my three possible leads. As I said before, I use it to pass a Speed Boost to Smeargle so it can outspeed the opponent, if needed. The EVs in HP and Def are to allow it to survive a hit from Scizor's most commonly used attack, namely Bullet Punch. The Spd EVs and nature are fairly standard. I run Protect and Substitute mainly to stall for more Speed Boosts. X-Scissor is so Ninjask won't be complete stalled by Taunt.
Drifblim (M) @ White Herb
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Stockpile
- Shadow Ball
- Baton Pass
Next up is Drifblim. Oh, how I love your bulky Substitutes. The EVs and nature allow it to take more hits, whereas the White Herb removes the Def and SDef drops from when Smeargle passes its boosts over. Substitute and Stockpile allow it to pass its bulky Substitutes, and increase the defenses of the pokemon receiving the Baton Pass. Shadow Ball, as with Ninjask, is so that it won't be completely wrecked by Taunt, and so that it can kill off any threats early in the match.
Smeargle (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ingrain
- Shell Smash
- Spore
- Baton Pass
Ah, Smeargle, how I love you so. What's not to like about learning every move there is? The EVs in Def and HP allow it to survive a hit from Scizor or Tyranitar without its Focus Sash breaking. The EVs in Spd are so it can Spore the slower leads that would otherwise set up entry hazards. Ingrain prevents Smeargle from being phazed out by Skarmory, and also give it some helpful recovery. Shell Smash is so that it can accumulate as many boosts at once as possible. Spore is 100% accurate sleep. Nothing else needs to be said about it.
Sigilyph (M) @ Flame Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 164 Def / 252 SAtk / 92 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Stored Power
- Ice Beam
- Psycho Shift
- Roost
The special attacker of the team. I was considering using Espeon over Sigilyph, but I decided on the latter due to reliable recovery and immunity to hazards. The EVs allow it to take a decent amount of damage, and still hit like a truck. Stored Power is the main attack of the set. Best case scenario, which happens more often than not, Stored Power reaches a whopping 750 base power after STAB, even further boosted by Sigilyph's boosts to SAtk. Ice Beam is to hit Dark-types, which are immune to Stored Power. Psycho Shift burns the opponent, thanks to Flame Orb, and Roost is for recovery if needed.
Cloyster (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Razor Shell
- Ice Shard
Every team needs a physical attacker, and Cloyster fits this job perfectly, mainly thanks to Skill Link. The EVs help to strengthen its massively powerful Icicle Spears and Rock Blasts, and also let it outspeed slower pokemon. Icicle Spear and Rock Blast are the main moves here, both having 25 base power, and five hits, letting the moves get past Sturdy, Focus Sashes, and Substitutes. Razor Shell is the secondary STAB move. I only ever use it against Steel-types that resist Ice- and Rock-type moves. Ice Shard is to kill off other priority users that would otherwise kill Cloyster.
Whimsicott (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Switcheroo
- Stun Spore
- U-turn
Last, but not least, is my dear little prankster. It holds a Choice Scarf so it can outspeed other Whimsicotts, which it can then use to lock them into a support move such as Leech Seed or Taunt. The EVs let it take at least one more hit before dying, and then run away as fast as it can. Taunt takes care of leads such as Ferrothorn and Forretress, while Switcheroo cripples other Whimsicotts. Stun Spore cripples faster pokemon, while U-turn aids in running away.
Major Threats
Names in bold are the greatest threats; names in italics are dangerous.
Weavile - Easily the biggest threat. Can easily kill Ninjask, Smeargle, Drifblim, Whimsicott, and Sigilyph.
Choice Specs Rotom-W - Can easily kill Drifblim, Ninjask, and Smeargle. Checked by Whimsicott
Choice Band Tyranitar - Can easily kill Drifblim, Ninjask, and Smeargle. Checked by Whimsicott.
Choice Scarf Whimsicott - Can cripple Drifblim, Ninjask, Smeargle, and Sigilyph. Choice Scarf checked by Whimsicott. Otherwise, countered by Whimsicott.
Choice Band / Life Orb Scizor - Can quickly kill Drifblim. Checked by Whimsicott. Countered by Cloyster.
Export from Pokemon-Online
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
| RELAY RACE |
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
| RELAY RACE |
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Get it? Because a relay race is where you race and pass the baton, and... you know what, I'm just gonna get on with it and show you the team.
Team Building Process
Well, the first pokemon I chose was Smeargle. Since it can learn any move in the game, with the exception of Chatter, and with terrible stats in everything but Spd, Smeargle and Baton Passing go hand-in-hand.
Next up, I put Victini on the team, mainly to capitalize on Stored Power and V-create. In a Baton Pass team, these are the strongest moves you could get (barring suicide moves), and Victini gets STAB on both of them.
Reliable recovery? Magic Guard? 90% accurate burn? Yes please!
Espeon is a nice little psychic cat. It has wonderful SAtk, great Spd, and it even has Magic Bounce to boot! Even better, it has the strongest Stored Power in the entire metagame.
Ninjask, like Smeargle, has the right stats for a Baton Passer. I mainly used it to pass a Speed Boost or two to Smeargle so it could outrun faster opponents and put them to sleep.
To top off the team, I decided that I needed something that could make nice and bulky Substitutes. That's where Drifblim came in. There are probably other bulky Pokemon that can use Baton Pass, but do any of them learn Stockpile? No!
After a few test runs, it turned out that this team wasn't cutting it. It had four major weaknesses, namely Focus Sashes, Substitutes, Prankster users, and priority. If the enemy had a pokemon with any of these, my team would be shut down in an instant. I needed something to stop these.
The addition of these two pokemon helped a lot. Cloyster was just amazing. Having access to two 25 base power multi-hit moves and a priority attack helped crush several common counters. As for Whimsicott, well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Having a Prankster user of my own helped to counter other pokemon with Prankster, such as Tornadus and Sableye.
The Team
Ninjask (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 100 HP / 156 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Substitute
- X-Scissor
- Baton Pass
Ninjask is one of my three possible leads. As I said before, I use it to pass a Speed Boost to Smeargle so it can outspeed the opponent, if needed. The EVs in HP and Def are to allow it to survive a hit from Scizor's most commonly used attack, namely Bullet Punch. The Spd EVs and nature are fairly standard. I run Protect and Substitute mainly to stall for more Speed Boosts. X-Scissor is so Ninjask won't be complete stalled by Taunt.
Drifblim (M) @ White Herb
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Stockpile
- Shadow Ball
- Baton Pass
Next up is Drifblim. Oh, how I love your bulky Substitutes. The EVs and nature allow it to take more hits, whereas the White Herb removes the Def and SDef drops from when Smeargle passes its boosts over. Substitute and Stockpile allow it to pass its bulky Substitutes, and increase the defenses of the pokemon receiving the Baton Pass. Shadow Ball, as with Ninjask, is so that it won't be completely wrecked by Taunt, and so that it can kill off any threats early in the match.
Smeargle (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ingrain
- Shell Smash
- Spore
- Baton Pass
Ah, Smeargle, how I love you so. What's not to like about learning every move there is? The EVs in Def and HP allow it to survive a hit from Scizor or Tyranitar without its Focus Sash breaking. The EVs in Spd are so it can Spore the slower leads that would otherwise set up entry hazards. Ingrain prevents Smeargle from being phazed out by Skarmory, and also give it some helpful recovery. Shell Smash is so that it can accumulate as many boosts at once as possible. Spore is 100% accurate sleep. Nothing else needs to be said about it.
Sigilyph (M) @ Flame Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 164 Def / 252 SAtk / 92 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Stored Power
- Ice Beam
- Psycho Shift
- Roost
The special attacker of the team. I was considering using Espeon over Sigilyph, but I decided on the latter due to reliable recovery and immunity to hazards. The EVs allow it to take a decent amount of damage, and still hit like a truck. Stored Power is the main attack of the set. Best case scenario, which happens more often than not, Stored Power reaches a whopping 750 base power after STAB, even further boosted by Sigilyph's boosts to SAtk. Ice Beam is to hit Dark-types, which are immune to Stored Power. Psycho Shift burns the opponent, thanks to Flame Orb, and Roost is for recovery if needed.
Cloyster (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Razor Shell
- Ice Shard
Every team needs a physical attacker, and Cloyster fits this job perfectly, mainly thanks to Skill Link. The EVs help to strengthen its massively powerful Icicle Spears and Rock Blasts, and also let it outspeed slower pokemon. Icicle Spear and Rock Blast are the main moves here, both having 25 base power, and five hits, letting the moves get past Sturdy, Focus Sashes, and Substitutes. Razor Shell is the secondary STAB move. I only ever use it against Steel-types that resist Ice- and Rock-type moves. Ice Shard is to kill off other priority users that would otherwise kill Cloyster.
Whimsicott (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Switcheroo
- Stun Spore
- U-turn
Last, but not least, is my dear little prankster. It holds a Choice Scarf so it can outspeed other Whimsicotts, which it can then use to lock them into a support move such as Leech Seed or Taunt. The EVs let it take at least one more hit before dying, and then run away as fast as it can. Taunt takes care of leads such as Ferrothorn and Forretress, while Switcheroo cripples other Whimsicotts. Stun Spore cripples faster pokemon, while U-turn aids in running away.
Major Threats
Names in bold are the greatest threats; names in italics are dangerous.
Weavile - Easily the biggest threat. Can easily kill Ninjask, Smeargle, Drifblim, Whimsicott, and Sigilyph.
Choice Specs Rotom-W - Can easily kill Drifblim, Ninjask, and Smeargle. Checked by Whimsicott
Choice Band Tyranitar - Can easily kill Drifblim, Ninjask, and Smeargle. Checked by Whimsicott.
Choice Scarf Whimsicott - Can cripple Drifblim, Ninjask, Smeargle, and Sigilyph. Choice Scarf checked by Whimsicott. Otherwise, countered by Whimsicott.
Choice Band / Life Orb Scizor - Can quickly kill Drifblim. Checked by Whimsicott. Countered by Cloyster.
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Code:
Ninjask (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 100 HP / 156 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Protect
- Substitute
- X-Scissor
- Baton Pass
Drifblim (M) @ White Herb
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Stockpile
- Shadow Ball
- Baton Pass
Smeargle (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ingrain
- Shell Smash
- Spore
- Baton Pass
Sigilyph (M) @ Flame Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 164 Def / 252 SAtk / 92 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Stored Power
- Ice Beam
- Psycho Shift
- Roost
Cloyster (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Razor Shell
- Ice Shard
Whimsicott (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Switcheroo
- Stun Spore
- U-turn