Well, though I'd post 'bout this whole thing, not that I normally care but this seemed kinda interesting :3 It's written like a short article but meh, idc.
Is Speed Boost + Baton Pass broken?
Recently in the NU metagame, after the last shifts and bans, another mon has been subjected to questioning on whether it is broken or not; enter Combusken. As a standalone mon it isn’t essentially broken, instead being a decent addition to the other fire types that dominate the A ranks with an ability that enables it to outpace the metagame after two to three turns. The problem lies in its access to baton pass, enabling it to pass speed boosts to other teammates. This isn’t just a problem that has arisen recently though, as baton pass plus shell smash was a combo that was banned in NU a while back due to it being too overwhelming (along with baton passing any other stat with speed), putting massive strain on team-building as a result.
Now passing speed to most ‘mons makes them more dangerous, be it from immediate power or set-up opportunities; however, the recent outcry about ‘chickenpass’ has to do with two mons primarily, Malamar and Xatu.
Xatu @ Kee Berry
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Signal Beam/Heat Wave
- Roost
- Stored Power
Malamar @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Both of these mons are dangerous as standalone mons due to contrary and magic bounce being great abilities, with xatu also having access to a wide special movepool. However, when passed one or two boosts they can become almost unstoppable as low speed is what often holds them back, allowing them to outspeed their usual checks/counters (e.g. at +2 Malamar outspeeds Scyther). This makes them potent to teams that don’t bring more than one way of dealing with chickenpass, putting a certain amount of strain on team-building that almost borders on unhealthy.
Does this mean that Speed Boost + Baton Pass is a broken/unfair strategy?
This is where the problems lie. It’s not something that can be simply solved with a ban, because none of these mons are inherently broken, meaning that there cannot be a justifiable reason to ban them. Xatu is a great offensive measure of dealing with hazards, being the only mon in the tier that can punish hazard setters immediately and Malamar is a massive answer to bulkier teams, with the ability to demolish stall.
So… then speed boost + baton pass should be banned? Well, no. Whilst this combo is a powerful one, which can easily threaten most teams, it isn’t broken like shell smash passing because it doesn’t instantly make everything deadly, but instead gives crucial outspeeding options or ability to set-up (like with Xatu and Malamar). It also isn’t nearly as powerful on the other two mons, Whirlipede and Ninjask, due to both having crippling weaknesses to stealth rock and Whirlipede being naturally slow.
In my opinion, the best case scenario that can come from this is banning baton pass on Combusken… But if bans were to get this specific as to affect moves, that means that it could influence how future tests were to be approached.
