NationalDex
ninjask
#291

Ninjask

Ninja Pokémon

BugFlying

Because it moves so quickly, it sometimes becomes unseeable. It congregates around tree sap.

Base Stats

HP 61
Attack 90
Defense 45
Sp. Atk 50
Sp. Def 50
Speed 160
Total 456

Type Effectiveness

Abilities

Evolution Chain

Moves

Details

Category Ninja Pokémon
Height 0.8 m
Weight 12.0 kg
Base Exp 160
Growth Rate Slow Then Very Fast
Capture Rate 120
Base Happiness 70
Gender 50% ♂ / 50% ♀
Habitat Forest
Egg Groups Bug

Sprites

ninjask Front Front
ninjask Back Back
ninjask Front Shiny Front Shiny
ninjask Back Shiny Back Shiny
ninjask Official Art Official Art
ninjask Official Art (Shiny) Official Art (Shiny)

Competitive

ru Usage: 0.0%
Base 160 Isn't Enough IMO
Item
Leftovers
Nature
Timid
EVs
HP 240
Def 252
Spe 16

Strategy Overview

Despite its unique role, Ninjask struggles in RU for reasons both inherent to itself and to the tier as a whole. Ninjask's ability to passively acquire Speed boosts and Baton Pass them, along with any other secondary buffs acquired in the process, though not necessarily a simple task, immediately establishes a niche in the tier. Bug / Flying is a very unappealing typing defensively, possessing a series of weaknesses to common attacking types (as well as a dangerous Stealth Rock weakness), and 61 / 45 / 50 defenses aren't doing much to mitigate this issue. The inherently bulky nature of the metagame means that Speed boosts often aren't enough for a Pokemon to consistently sweep, meaning that Ninjask often has to either prioritize passing Swords Dance boosts (a role it doesn't perform nearly as well as that of a Speed passer) to a partner for it to apply the offensive pressure necessary to wear down the common defensive cores of the tier, or resign itself to use in the mid- to late-game in order to find a window in which its abilities become pertinent for a sweeper to effectively clean up.

Furthermore, the omnipresence of priority users, such as Entei, Kabutops, and Spiritomb, make both passing and receiving boosts a much more difficult task, forcing the Ninjask user to carefully plan their Baton Pass. Even after all that, there are still multi-hit move users and phazers that can almost completely stop any given Ninjask setup, often forcing it to reserve itself until mid-game to have any impact on the match. Ninjask is a very capable supporter of a plethora of potent Pokemon in RU, but in order to excel in this role, it requires significant support, proper prediction and judgment on the part of the user, and just a pinch of patience.

Most Used Moves

Protect
100.0%
X-Scissor
62.5%

Most Used Items

Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc