>>54449926Hazards are designed for the 1v1 format, especially proto VGC, which wasn't 2v2. Sixes singles was notoriously stally until gen 3. Spikes were introduced in gen 2 to help fix stall, and they were moderately successful, even if gen 2 is probably the stalliest of all main metas.
In general, having hazards on the field most of the time makes for more thoughtful switches.
Also, hazards provide a secondary objective to knocking out your opponent's Pokemon. This steers the game away from 50/50s, as there are more viable tangential options (e.g. will he stay-in, switch to a pivot, or go straight for his hazards clearer).
