eric the espeon
maybe I just misunderstood
Something that's come up a few times is a set adds enough speed to outpace a set which runs enough Speed to outrun the first set and wants to outrun the first. The loss of defenses/attacks from 4 EVs is minimal, so logically it is better to move 4/8 EVs on the first set to Speed, the gain from going first against a common opponent is much greater than the loss. The problem comes when both Pokemon are capable of investing just that little bit more, and bulk is important for both. Since so many people simply follow the analysis what we put in changes what is the best option. In this case, both sets should continually add a small number of EVs to push their own speed above the set they are competing with. There is no good way to tell where to stop this speed creep in most situations, at some point it is better to just drop your speed back to 0 since the loss of defenses from speed investment is too great. Or what about dropping it back to 4, to beat those who dropped it to 0. And then the cycle starts again.
I propose that for common sets only we disallow spreads specifically designed to beat Pokemon which can add a small number of EVs to speed easily, and start a speed creep cycle. This means no 8 Speed Scizor, no "Metagross lead with enough speed to beat Empoleon lead", none of that. A short paragraph explaining the option to slightly raise Speed by any reasonable amount the player chooses would be included in analyses which need it. However, unusual Pokemon may still use these types of spreads since the more common Pokemon would be unlikely to react and raise their Speed to beat a rare threat.
For added justification, consider this: There is no final correct speed for this kind of set. The ideal speed depends on the metagame, which depends on the analyses. We can't tell people which spread is best because by doing so we make ourselves wrong, so the best resolution is to allow players to decide individually how much they are willing to take out of bulk to give them a better chance of outspeeding foes. This obviously does not apply to things like "enough speed to beat the + Speed base 90s", since they can't just add 4 EVs.
I propose that for common sets only we disallow spreads specifically designed to beat Pokemon which can add a small number of EVs to speed easily, and start a speed creep cycle. This means no 8 Speed Scizor, no "Metagross lead with enough speed to beat Empoleon lead", none of that. A short paragraph explaining the option to slightly raise Speed by any reasonable amount the player chooses would be included in analyses which need it. However, unusual Pokemon may still use these types of spreads since the more common Pokemon would be unlikely to react and raise their Speed to beat a rare threat.
For added justification, consider this: There is no final correct speed for this kind of set. The ideal speed depends on the metagame, which depends on the analyses. We can't tell people which spread is best because by doing so we make ourselves wrong, so the best resolution is to allow players to decide individually how much they are willing to take out of bulk to give them a better chance of outspeeding foes. This obviously does not apply to things like "enough speed to beat the + Speed base 90s", since they can't just add 4 EVs.