Community POTW #93

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week from the RNG

This week, we've got the fastest Pokémon known to man, Ninjask



Ninjask has got great Speed and so can do quite a lot, plus it's a Bug-type. Bug-types are cool.

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/291.shtml

Go nuts

[Ilan]

What ninjask does best

Baton Passing
@leftovers
Speed Boost
156 speed, 252 attack, 96 HP, 4 defense
Adamant
-X-scissors
-Subtitute
-Swords dance/Protect
-Baton Pass

This is a set that aims to baton pass but in the same moment to not be a death fodder if it doesn't X-scissors is highly underrated and this set is to try to not be a taunt bait you don't need that much speed inversment but what's there is ok.

Counters: Politoed with perish song can counter most sets prankster taunts like sableye o\r other taunts can stop the BP chain but beware of espeon, celebi is a good perish song user but if ninjask have X-scissors celebi is doomed.
STEALTH ROCK although ninjask is mainly used as lead a stealth rock rip 1/2 of ninjask live whhich means he can switch a maximum of 3 times with stealth rock around.

@serebii deoxys-S is fastest pokemon.

Edit: THose speed EVs let you outspeed full speed jolteon

[YourPermanentRecord631]

Edit: Ninjask'd
Leftovers
Impish
248 HP / 212Def / 48
Baton Pass
Substitute
Protect / Swords Dance
X-Scissor

Edit: wow I was Ilan'd

[Sala-imence]

Item: Choice Band
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 100 Spe / 152 HP
Ability: Speed Boost
Moveset:
- X-Scissor
- U-Turn
- Aerial Ace
- Night Slash

Simple, just attack with whatever is best. U-Turn allows for an immense attack and still switch out too.

[Lucario Fan]

Ability: Speed Boost
Item: Leftovers
Moves: Protect, Substitute, Swords Dance, Baton Pass

[Spinner]

I'm a Ninjask- I'm a hoodie Ninjask...

I agree with Lucario Fan above, I love that set (even though it is taunt bait)

Nature - Timid/Jolly
252 speed 252 hp 4 def
item: Focus Sash/Leftovers

Protect
Substitute
Sword Dance
Baton Pass

Play Protect, Sub, protect, dance, protect, dance again or pass. You will need the speed for the substitute.

A shame about prankster...

[SkyDriver]

Ninjask @ Focus Sash
252 Atk/252 Spe/4 SpD
Speed boost
Adamant/Jolly
-Swords Dance
-X-Scissor
-Aerial Ace
-Night Slash

Offensive Ninjask, designed to sweep. Needs help of Magnezone, as it can't harm steels, but after an SD or two, it put major dents in most pokemon. Rapid Spin support is appreciated, or send it in after a healing wish to nullify the SR damage. If you insist on Passing the boosts, put it instead of anything but X-Scissor, as that is your strongest move. Best used in lower tiers, such as NU.

[TimmahX]

Countering Ninjask

Every Prankster who's name is not Whimsicott. Priority Taunt stops all of what it meant to do, but Ninjask can easily predict a priority Taunt and switch out or move to X-Scissors if the opponent tries Whimsicott. Stealth Rock will severely neuter Substitute Passing sets, but it's just a great counter in general as it brings Ninjask straight down to 1/2 HP. Prepare a phaser if you cannot stop Ninjask outright. Everything that counters baton pass counters Ninjask as long as that counter isn't weak to X-Scissors. Multi Hit attacks smash through Ninjask's frail substitutes and punish it easily.

[Kraleck]

Ninjask is the very epitomy of Speed Demons. Outside of Trick Room, it is only outrun by Speed Deoxys, and that's only before your Speed Boost Ability kicks in. As a Baton Passer, it's a great Pokemon to start a Battle with, but a quad-Weakness to Stealth Rock lessens the utility quickly. If you can B.Pass to another Pokemon that naturally buffs its stats like Shell Smash Cloyster, Moxie Ability Pokemon like Scrafty, Quiver/Dragon Dancers, a Nin-Passer has done its job admirably.

On Offensive sets, Speed Boost can only get Ninjask KO'd by Trick Room users and barely gives you any edge in Speed that you don't already have. Infiltrator is somewhat preferred over Speed Boost if you decide to use it as an Attacker because of that.

Moxie Scrafty is an amazing Ally for Nin-Passer - Low Speed being buffed by Speed Boost and a potential Swords Dance gives it a sizeable offensive prowess. Similarly, passing to another Speed Boost Pokemon like DW-Sharpedo gives you a lot of sweeping potential.

As to Ninjask on its own, it's mediocre. Base 61/45/50 gives it low endurance, Base 50 Sp.Atk is negligible towards any Special Options, and Base 90 Attack is good, but not good enough when you consider its fragility and many Physical Walls being Rock Types. However, the roles it established in 3rd Gen are solid for strategies. Ninjask gets practically-one shot at success, but it's a game-changer if you can swing it...

[jeffdavid102]

For countering Ninjask, I have found that Mamoswine is often used to do this. Priority Ice Shard coming from a base 130 attack would hurt, but Ninjask can survive since most Mamo are Jolly or Scarfed and Baton Pass. Banded Mamo is a good offensive counter, as with Adamant and max attack, it will alway OHKO unless Ninjask is physically defensive, surprising surviving with about 20%

[Patri25]

Sub-Boost
Nature:Jolly
Ability: Speed Boost
Item:Leaftovers
Ev´s:252HP/102Att./150Speed
Moves:
-X- Scizor
-Night Slash
-Baton Pass
-Substitute

Baton Pass allows to make the other pokemon faster and hit first.X Scizor is for STAB and the main attack. Night Slash is for more coverage and Substitute boost the speed and i recover the HP with the leaftovers.

[philzone]

Yay ninjask. Just added one to my team
Here is the set I use
@leftovers
jolly
252 spd, 252 hp, 4 def
-protect
-substitute
-swords dance
-baton pass

this guy is good. sets up all the stuff a physical sweeper needs. Unfortunately, it has taunt bait in big letters all over it. One way to counter is taunt tornadus-I, as this shuts down most ninjasks.

[Ilan]

Don't run full speed OR full HP I am not sure how much speed you need (too lazy to check) but don't run too much no more than 200
and 252 HP let you switch 2 times to SR use 248 with jumps of 8 so it will be an even number (I think I missed an even number in my set cause I rushed to avoid people from posting "first I will edit later" something that annoys me

[EmbC]

Item: Choice Band
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 100 Spe / 152 HP
Ability: Speed Boost
Moveset:
- Giga Impact
- U-Turn
- Aerial Ace
- Night Slash

[MatchMaster]

Last generation Ninjask was struggling to stay in OU, mostly due to its pathetic defenses, lackluster offensive movepool, and x4 Stealth Rock weakness. Its stat spread makes it appear to be an offensive Pokemon, but it cannot function as such. Instead, it is relegated to the position of Baton Passing, which fits it actually quite well due to its blistering speed, which is only second to Deoxys-S, and Speed Boost Ability. It has dropped to NU this generation due to the introduction of team preview and newly introduced Pokemon that threaten it, particularly Prankster users, who can taunt it before it can Baton Pass. Ninjask still works well in the lower tiers though, where it is harder to prevent it from doing what it does best.

Abilities
Speed Boost: This is practically the only thing that makes Ninjask stand out. It allows it to Baton Pass at least one speed boost if the opponent doesn't have a faster Taunt user.
Infiltrator: If you're running an offensive set, this might be a superior ability, but then Ninjask will lose its niche. Accelgor also does this better due to its higher offensive stat and better move coverage.

Baton Pass
Ability: Speed Boost
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Impish
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
- X-Scissor / Protect
- Sword Dance
- Substitute
- Baton Pass

This set is the best Ninjask can manage in pretty much any tier. The idea is to set up Substitute as soon as you get the chance, then use Swords Dance on the next turn as your opponent breaks it. By that time you'll be able to pass at least one more Speed Boost by using Protect. After that, Baton Pass and bring something in that benefits from +3 speed and +2 Attack such as Rampardos. X-Scissor prevents Ninjask from being total Taunt bait, but shouldn't see much use anyway. More speed can be invested to outpace Accelgor who can OHKO with Hidden Power Ice.

[DizzyCobraMew]

Ahh ninjask one of my favorites

Adamant
Speed boost
Item @ focus sash
EV's 252 attack, 252 speed 4 Hp nothing else fits it so....
Metal claw
Night slash
Bug bite/aerial ace/x scissor
Swords dance
Not a whole lot more I can think of

Adamant/jolly ~ either way
EV's 252 attack 252 speed 4 Hp
Speed boost
Item @ bug gem/focus band
Protect
Substitute
Bug bite/x scissor/aerial ace
Night slash/aerial ace/metal claw
Almost the same sets
Nothing mode I can say... It's pretty cool though

[grantholomew]

Sorry I'm late I was busy playing a hamazing sequel.

Ninjask w/ Leftovers
Speed Boost
248 HP/244 Def/16 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
-X-Scissor
-Substitute
-Protect/Swords Dance
-Baton Pass

[Rayofquazar]

Ninjask is a pokemon with a duty! Even thought it has dropped tiers I still use it in OU and most of the times succeeds in what I need it to do. What separates ninjask from other passers like gorebyss is that amazing speed that keeps getting better and better each turn making sure that you baton pass before you die.

This is my set for my ninjask
Ninjask@leftovers
Ability: speed boost
Nature: +Speed -Sp ATT
Evs: 252 Speed, 252 HP, 4 ATT
Moveset:
-Substitute
-Protect
-Baton pass
-X-Scissor
This ninjask is mainly used to pass speed bossts and substitutes to my other sweepers mainly my dragonite. While mostly it fails to pass the substitutes it can almost always pass up the speed boost and my dragonite can take the hit through the multiscale. Protect, substitute, protect will guarantee passing 3 speed boosts to any pokemon and if lucky a substitute. Note that if ninjask was successful at passing the substitute youre next pokemon is set to sweep most if not the entire opponent team! I had several time a game changing performance from that ninjask! X-scissor is there to revenge kill weakened psychic types notably latias and latios and to prevent it from being useless if it was taunted!

The main counter to this set is Ice shard! that priority move not only destroys my ninjask but also destroys the main recipient of the passing boosts dragonite. Even with extremespeed dragonite cannot KO Ice shard users like mamoswine and donphan as they are both Extremely bulky on the physical side!

[Zachmac]

This is done through a process known as Absofusion which has it merge with Zekrom using the DNA Splicers.

May I request that you become more sensitive with spoilers? I'm still very annoyed after reading this, since you just ruined a bit of B/W2 for me.

I mean, the cover makes it sort of obvious, but I wanted to find out how Kyurem transformed on my own, thank you.

Countering Ninjask

Every Prankster who's name is not Whimsicott. Priority Taunt stops all of what it meant to do, but Ninjask can easily predict a priority Taunt and switch out or move to X-Scissors if the opponent tries Whimsicott. Stealth Rock will severely neuter Substitute Passing sets, but it's just a great counter in general as it brings Ninjask straight down to 1/2 HP. Prepare a phaser if you cannot stop Ninjask outright. Everything that counters baton pass counters Ninjask as long as that counter isn't weak to X-Scissors. Multi Hit attacks smash through Ninjask's frail substitutes and punish it easily.

And roar/whirlwind can work on pokemon behind subs. This is actually the most common way to stop Ninjask next to stealth rocks, and is also more effective, since it keeps any pokemon from getting the boost in the first place, while Ninjask often leads or only needs to pass once....

[Chingchar]

Many people only see Ninjask as a baton passer but it can be an amazing attacker I like to use this set:

Ninjask

Nature: Adamant
Item: Focus Sash
EV's 126 Atk / 126 HP / 252 Spd
Moveset:
X-Scissor/Night Slash
Aerial Ace/Dig
Swords Dance
Baton Pass/U-turn

This is a lot more offensive then a baton pass set as you can do significant damage after a swords dance and when you get into trouble just baton pass or U-Turn away.You can go with aerial ace to get rid of fighting types or for STAB but dig is to hurt fire types and steel types. X-scissor is for STAB or you can use Night Slash to deal with Ghost types like Gengar. I find this set can be very helpful as Ninjask can still work as a Baton Passer just a little more offensive and doesn't become taunt bait.

[Kraleck]

Ninjask-Countering Options
-Gyro Ball hits Ninjask like a truck, regardless of Speed Boost.
-Punishment is a great Move to use against Ninjask or a B.Pass recipient. Boosted enemy Stats boost the power of your Punishment.
-Roar/Whirlwind works wonders on any B.Pass Strategy, but beware of Soundproof for Roar and Suction Cups with either.
-Haze and Clear Smog are great for eliminating B.Pass-work, but Pranksters are preferred for Haze.
-Weavile has access to Base 120 Attack, Fake Out, and STAB Ice Shard, allowing it to scare off Ninjask early on.
-Trick Room makes Ninjask the slowest Pokemon ever, so consider a user that isn't weak to Bug such as Gallade, Klinklang, or members of the Porygon-, Misdreavus-, Shuppet-, Duskull-, Bronzor-, Yamask-, Frillish-, or Litwick-Evolutionary Lines.

[2406Blackbird]

Just try to de-mask this Ninja!

[jesusfreak94]

Let's please keep in mind that the only set Ninjask should ever be running, and I do mean the only set, is the Baton Pass set. Since Combusken doesn't have Speed Boost + Baton Pass yet, Ninjask is still the premier speed passer, and it's usually not hard to get 3 or 4 boosts off to something else if you play it right. Besides, offensive sets are terrible. You don't have a way to hit Steels besides Dig, and your other good moves are X-Scissor, U-turn, and Night Slash, with Aerial Ace being your only option for a Flying STAB. Not to mention that every tier but NU has a physical Bug who does far better, and even in NU there's not much of a reason to use a paper-thin, average strength Bug over the plentiful selection of other physical attackers. Even if you want U-turn, you'd be better off running CB Eelektross or Cinccino or something.

[Ilan]

Let's please keep in mind that the only set Ninjask should ever be running, and I do mean the only set, is the Baton Pass set. Since Combusken doesn't have Speed Boost + Baton Pass yet, Ninjask is still the premier speed passer, and it's usually not hard to get 3 or 4 boosts off to something else if you play it right. Besides, offensive sets are terrible. You don't have a way to hit Steels besides Dig, and your other good moves are X-Scissor, U-turn, and Night Slash, with Aerial Ace being your only option for a Flying STAB. Not to mention that every tier but NU has a physical Bug who does far better, and even in NU there's not much of a reason to use a paper-thin, average strength Bug over the plentiful selection of other physical attackers. Even if you want U-turn, you'd be better off running CB Eelektross or Cinccino or something.

But it is still viable to use a set with X-sccissors to beat celebi (which can use perish song) and focus sash alakazam not to say also pranksters like whimsicott that you can hit for a nice damage when they try to taunt.

But straight offense I agree with you it isn't that good even with choice band.

An interesting calc:
252 +2 Atk Ninjask (+Atk) X-Scissor vs 252 HP/252 Def Ferrothorn: 41.19% - 48.86% (3 hits to KO)

It can beat a weakened ferrothorn after a swords dance.

[jesusfreak94]

Yeah, you'll want to keep X-Scissor anyways to keep from being Taunt bait, and occasionally you'll get to check a random Celebi or Alakazam. But the focus of Ninjask should be support.