XY OU stickyyy webzzz (Peaked 1800)

[The Great Gastly]

Introduction ~

Hellooooo. I don't post RMTs like ever, but I have this team I've been using for awhile that I'd love to get some feedback && criticism on! It features one of my favorite Mega Evolutions for one of my top 5 favorite pokemon (Heracross), but this team began before her inclusion.

As a legit strategy, Sticky Web always appealed to me, so I began with a lonely, little Shuckle...

(I don't have perfect recollection of my teambuilding process, but w/e)

At a Glance ~

Matching. Pairs. <3

~Teambuilding~

This is the earliest version of the team that I can remember. I used Defiant + Mixed Thundurus to fuck up all kinds of shit -- it worked! However, this team's lack of a steel-type && redundant typing overlaps led to it getting easily swept if I couldn't keep webs in play. However, it still had wallbreaking between the two genies + Mega Gard, hazards from Shuckle, HW from Latias, and a win condition in BellyDrum Azu -- fundamental roles that have generally been maintained.

After using that version for awhile, I changed up some of the movesets, and replaced Thundurus with a Bisharp. I really needed a Steel-type, and Bisharp provided that while still possessing Defiant; I used a SD + 3 attacks set b/c it appealed to me at the time. Some notable changes were Sub > CM on Landorus && Taunt > CM on Gardevoir. Not much to say here, other than Modest + Taunt Mega Gard is incredible vs stall.

This is the current version of the team. Gardevoir + Landorous were eventually replaced with Heracross + Magnezone since a Physical Attacking wallbreaker appealed to me more. Magnezone complemented Mega Cross very nicely, and Magnet Pull + that 4x flying resist led to its inclusion on the team. I floundered around with Azumarill's set, but ended up settling back into the Belly Drum sweeper set. Though I originally preferred the sweeping potential a lot more, I'm now reconsidering AV or CB again since that boosting role unnecessarily overlaps with Heracross. I did the same thing with Magnezone: trying out Specs, Scarf, and finally the set which I eventually settled on due to its ability to have a chance against Excadrill.



~Team Members~

Shuckle (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Def / 196 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Encore

Where it all started. Shuckle is the best user of Sticky Web by a large margin (Galvantula sucks & Smeargle is too frail to do anything), and was thus the easiest team member to decide on!

The EV spread enables it to avoid some specific 2HKOs (since it can't be OHKO'd outside of multi-hit moves) such as Lando's Earth Power and Rotom-W's Hydro Pump. It's come in handy many times, and has remained the same from the very beginning. Mental Herb + Sturdy practically guarantees at least one hazard can be set down, and with Shuckle's bulk he can often get both of them down early in the game. Many people seem to forget Shuckle has Encore, which lets him fuck over things that try to set up, and also creates safer switching opportunities. I prefer Toxic > Knock Off or Infestation because of its effect being the most useful throughout a match; Knock Off is too passive coming off of its pathetic attack stat, and Infestation's residual damage is too constant and often cut off short. After Shuckle has done its hazard setting, Toxic softens up foes throughout the match to make a sweep go along more smoothly.

Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yep
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Pursuit

Bisharp was also an easy addition to the team, since Defiant discourages / takes advantage of the evasion reduction caused by Defog. Many offensive teams running Defog > Rapid Spin don't like Rocks + Webs to be down, so Bisharp can take advantage of their inclination to use it. I opted for Max Speed over any kind of HP investment because the added bulk doesn't seem as advantageous. Black Glasses > Life Orb because I hated the recoil, and boosting 3/4 of his moveset without recoil is more optimal imo.

I chose to run Pursuit > SD because Pursuit trapping has proven to be a lot more valuable against threats (like the Lati twins) that could otherwise escape Bisharp's onslaught. It isn't hard to get a Defiant boost, and once it's acquired, an additional +2 boost is superfluous. This is an irreplaceable teammate thanks to his amazing Dual STABs, that fantastic ability, and the holy trinity of Dark STAB moves.

-->

Heracross (M) @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance

Mega Heracross is both my Mega and stallbreaker, and can even pose a threat to offensive teams -- especially with Sticky Web up. He easily picks apart poorly built stall teams, and does sizable damage even to well-equipped ones (Doublade is annoying, but I’ve only seen it like twice). I tried Sub > SD for awhile, but I ultimately came back to SD because I missed the ability to thrash tougher Physical Walls, and having HW Latias in tow lets me boost a bit more liberally and recklessly than I would otherwise.

I run Jolly + 224 Speed to outrun Mega Tyranitar & everything slower -- particularly +Spe Base 70s like Lead Breloom (which Hera happens to annihilate thanks to bypassing its sash). Finally, he provides crucial resists to Ground (most important!), Fighting, and Dark.

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yeh
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Healing Wish
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic

Latias is kind of my glue pokemon, without her I don’t know if this team could even function. Her typing provides so many crucial resistances (Water being #1), and serves as the team’s only source of speed with or without Sticky Web’s presence.

I hate Psyshock on the Lati twins, so I use Psychic instead. Lati@s isn’t breaking Chansey, defensive Mega Venusaur is almost always physically defensive, Landorus and Gliscor are naturally more physically defensive (and I’d rather not waste a Meteor on them until they’re in KO range), etc. Draco Meteor is the standard, high powered Dragon STAB used as a nuke for KOing offensive threats that Latias outspeeds -- such as Landorus-I. T-Bolt > HP Fire because I hate being at 349 speed, I have Magnezone for Scizor + Ferro already, and not being forced out 100% by opposing Azumarill is sometimes helpful.

Finally, Healing Wish is my trump card -- bringing back a crippled / weakened Mega Heracross (or anything else) can often mean gg if the remainder of the opponent’s team can’t stand up to whatever I revitalize. It’s a fantastic move with tons of utility + momentum, and I don’t run Defog because I’d rather not remove my own hazards -- they’re hard enough to keep up as is. :P

Azumarill (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Shiny: Yah
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Belly Drum

Belly Drum Azumarill is amazing, and one of my win conditions. It pulls off clutch victories, provides a somewhat safe switch-in to threats like HP Fire Greninja, and even if she doesn’t manage to get a Belly Drum off some lasting damage is sure to be dealt with the amazing Water/Fairy STAB combination. <-- This happens more often than not, thus making a set without Belly Drum more ideal. Aqua Jet is useful priority, Waterfall and Play Rough are total nukes on the correct targets, and after a successful BD even resists struggle to avoid a 2HKO -- especially late game.

I run Adamant + Max Atk/Speed which, while the standard, serendipitously outruns Jolly (Mega) Pinsir prior to Mega Evolving w/ Sticky Web up; it’s situational, but it’s actually saved my ass before.

TESTING...

these two sets

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off/Superpower
- Waterfall

AND...

Azumarill @ Assault Vest

Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Waterfall​

​

Magnezone @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 128 HP / 252 SpA / 128 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Magnet Rise
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power
- Flash Cannon

Throwback to BW2 OU! Air Balloon + Magnet Rise is a sneaky combination that helps tremendously against Excadrill, and despite flinch hax sometimes ruining its plans, it’s KO’d enough moles to be worth using. Not to mention it can come in handy against dragon types relying solely on EQ for Steel-coverage.

I’ve chosen to run a Magnezone because removing shit like Ferrothorn, Scizor, Skarmory, Excadrill (tentatively) and more makes life SO much easier for all of my physical attackers.

Azumarill will no longer be walled by Ferrothorn, Heracross won’t be checked by Skarmory any longer, and Excadrill (w/ Balloon intact) won’t force Shuckle to re-apply its hazards. On top of that, it helps to have a 4x resist to combat Birdspam just a bit better, but even then it’s still annoying to face.

-----

...and that’s my team! The overall strategy is to take advantage of Sticky Web’s speed drop in order to apply powerful offensive pressure before normally faster threats can get a move in. They work together in order to get Sticky Web up, keep it up, and then run with its advantages for the rest of the match -- with countermeasures against methods attempting to remove it (Bisharp & Magnezone).

I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading! I appreciate any and all feedback. :)


Threatlist ~

- Excadrill -- laughs at Shuckle w/ STAB iron head, and Rapid Spin removes hazards. I have very few consistent switch-ins, and often have to rely on Azu's Aqua Jet to properly deal with it.

- Greninja -- Grass Knot versions slaughter my team if I don’t have webs up. Simple as that.

- Mega Pinsir (& Birdspam) -- my only chance is Latias’ T-Bolt, or hope to catch it in webs before it Mega Evolves. If it has EQ > CC, then Zone can handle it.

- Mega Charizard Y -- I have to rely on revenge kills to deal with this, since I have very few switchins outside of Latias.

”importable”

Shuckle (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Def / 196 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Encore

Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Pursuit

Heracross (M) @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Healing Wish
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic

Azumarill (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Belly Drum

Magnezone @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 128 HP / 252 SpA / 128 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Magnet Rise
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power
- Flash Cannon

=)
thank you to Bulbapedia for the overworld sprites, and to pkparaiso.com for all the animated sprites!

 

[TheBluRaichu]

I'm no expert but there are some flaws on your team I am gonna try to patch up.

Charizard Y completely annihilates your pokemon with Fire Blast, Solarbeam, and Dragon Pulse. Assuming their team has rapid spin support, he is going to be a huge problem. I would suggest running Terrakion instead of Bisharp. He out-speeds Charizard-Y (Assuming Terrakion is Jolly, Max Speed) and crushes him with Rock Slide/Stone Edge. He also gets rid of the Birdspam that your team fears (Outspeeds Staraptor, Honchcrow). Aerodactyl plays a similar role. (Notably outspeeding Greninja, who is on your threat list). I would run Choice Scarf on Terrakion so he could outspeed more Pokemon. A modest base 108 Speed allows Terrakion to run an Adamant Nature next to his Choice Scarf. I would use a set something like this.

Terrakion
Justified
Adamant/Choice Scarf
252Atk, 4SpDef, 252Spe
Rock Slide/Stone Edge
Close Combat
Earthquake
X-Scissor

This Terrakion variant is made to counter your threats. He outspeeds all of your threats (Excluding Gale Wings Talonflame, Quick Attack Mega Pinsir). The first turn Pinsir mega evolves, Terrakion should have no problem eliminating Pinsir from the game. Terrakion is capable of cleaning up just about anything except for Talonflame, which Azumarill should be able to handle with sub par bulk and an insane attack stat. If you feel that Terrakion is fitting for your team but you think Azumarill can clean better, just run Jolly, Choice Band/Life Orb.

 

[Ahabb]

The team looks pretty solid. I've myself used sticky web with mega heracross and got success with it but it wasn't as good as this one. Anyways, with sticky web hera can take a lot of things out with ease so i don't believe you have a use for BD azumarill. If you want power i suggest its band set. It can take care of the business left unfinished by heracross with its banded power. If power is not much of an issue, you can also run the AV set. It still hits pretty damn hard enough to make pokemon cry, lel. Here are both the sets:

Choice band:

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off/Superpower
- Waterfall

Assault vest:

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Waterfall

Try these both sets and after that you can use whatever set you want. You might like the banded or the AV set more than the BD set. Azumarill eon't be getting a chance to set up a BD, imo. But whatever suits you best. Hope i helped. Goodluck.

 

[The Great Gastly]

I'm no expert but there are some flaws on your team I am gonna try to patch up.

Charizard Y completely annihilates your pokemon with Fire Blast, Solarbeam, and Dragon Pulse. Assuming their team has rapid spin support, he is going to be a huge problem. I would suggest running Terrakion instead of Bisharp. He out-speeds Charizard-Y (Assuming Terrakion is Jolly, Max Speed) and crushes him with Rock Slide/Stone Edge. He also gets rid of the Birdspam that your team fears (Outspeeds Staraptor, Honchcrow). Aerodactyl plays a similar role. (Notably outspeeding Greninja, who is on your threat list). I would run Choice Scarf on Terrakion so he could outspeed more Pokemon. A modest base 108 Speed allows Terrakion to run an Adamant Nature next to his Choice Scarf. I would use a set something like this.

Terrakion
Justified
Adamant/Choice Scarf
252Atk, 4SpDef, 252Spe
Rock Slide/Stone Edge
Close Combat
Earthquake
X-Scissor

This Terrakion variant is made to counter your threats. He outspeeds all of your threats (Excluding Gale Wings Talonflame, Quick Attack Mega Pinsir). The first turn Pinsir mega evolves, Terrakion should have no problem eliminating Pinsir from the game. Terrakion is capable of cleaning up just about anything except for Talonflame, which Azumarill should be able to handle with sub par bulk and an insane attack stat. If you feel that Terrakion is fitting for your team but you think Azumarill can clean better, just run Jolly, Choice Band/Life Orb.

I like the sound of Terrakion for covering my threatlist, but am skeptical of replacing Bisharp for it... I'll give it a shot though. Thanks! :D

The team looks pretty solid. I've myself used sticky web with mega heracross and got success with it but it wasn't as good as this one. Anyways, with sticky web hera can take a lot of things out with ease so i don't believe you have a use for BD azumarill. If you want power i suggest its band set. It can take care of the business left unfinished by heracross with its banded power. If power is not much of an issue, you can also run the AV set. It still hits pretty damn hard enough to make pokemon cry, lel. Here are both the sets:

Choice band:

Assault vest:

Try these both sets and after that you can use whatever set you want. You might like the banded or the AV set more than the BD set. Azumarill eon't be getting a chance to set up a BD, imo. But whatever suits you best. Hope i helped. Goodluck.

In hindsight, I think I may have over-inflated just how good BD Azu is on this team, so I will give those two sets a try once again. You make a good point about finishing up Heracross' unfinished business -- especially after it's at +2 -- so CB or AV are indeed a better fit. I'm actually kind of torn, since AV has the benefit of bulk + flexibility, whereas the extra power and freedom to run speed EVs on CB takes better advantage of webs. :s

I actually haven't used either of them on this iteration of the team, so I may have more success than I did in previous versions (the ones with Mega Gard). Thanks for the rate, and I'll edit in changes soon after testing them!

 

[Rustyy]

i dont get why everyone uses mega cross on sticky web teams. the one thing sticky web doesnt affect is flying type which cross is OHKO'd by. what do you do about mega pinsir and banded talonflame and mega aero?

 

[Pikachu42]

i dont get why everyone uses mega cross on sticky web teams. the one thing sticky web doesnt affect is flying type which cross is OHKO'd by. what do you do about mega pinsir and banded talonflame and mega aero?

you set up rocks then you use aqua jet on them lol

 

[Rustyy]

you set up rocks then you use aqua jet on them lol

well you will lose the battle then.

 

[KyleCole]

just played with this team and it's weak to having mega heracross miss at every opportunity including 2 rock blast misses in a row and 2 pin missles misses in a row
0/10

 

[The Great Gastly]

well you will lose the battle then.

Actually CB Talonflame isn't really the biggest problem on Birdspam (it's SD Talonflame and/or Pinsir). Magnezone and Bisharp can handle Brave Bird, and Azumarill or Latias can deal with it locked into Flare Blitz. It might require a sacrifice to get something in safely, but that kind of momentum is needed against them fastpaced Birdspam teams.

And at the above post, accuracy of moves is hardly an indicator of a team/pokemon's viability. :P

Anyway, I've been testing the other Azumarill sets as previously suggested. After giving both a whirl, my verdict is that I still dislike CB's inability to change moves, which made AV a superior choice in my eyes. I'll edit the OP later tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Drastic]

This team look pretty good! Never played with Mega-H all that much but after this it's pretty good. Keep up the good work!:)