Move Sticky Web

[Jaroda]

Actually there would very much be a answer, or at least a guesstimate of majority use. For teams you are up against, well most of the time it won't affect your own 6, just how you use them.

As for this move, people talk it up but it ain't going to see much use. The Pokemon that use it are far from acceptable to be in a OU final 6 team. There are far better Bug types to run (Volcarona in December and Scizor). The best case would be Galvantula, but then you would pass up much better electric types that are OU as of now. Jolteon, Magnezone, RontomW, and Thundurous T.

Also, stealth rock will IMO stay as dominant as it is. Hurting Pokemon on the switch is far more important then a speed decrease, made all the easier to stick with SR when the sticky web pokemon are very weak competitively.

This attack will find a niche. You may find the occasional Galvantula but this will hardly replace stealth rock. Teams running both? Now that would be cool to see that being adopted.

That's what people said about Poitoed and Ninetails last gen as well. When one move or ability benefits the whole team then people will find a way to make it work. Besides, what is one relatively weak pokemon vs an entire team of bulky, strong AND fast pokemon now? It's like having an entire team with Swift Swim only with better coverage options and less shared weaknesses. Not to mention Shuckle, Galvantula and Leavenny are far from horrible. They're all pretty unique in some form.

That said based on ubiquity alone and ease of use Stealth Rock will never be usurped. You'll always see more Stealth Rock than Sticky Web but there are surely teams that will run both. Shuckle alone can set up both and has Sturdy. It was meant for this role.

 

[SomeoneStoleTheNameIWant]

No, I'm pretty sure its determined by actual speed, not base. That's why people tend to run 0 speed IVs on Bronzong.

Excuse me. You're right, it's by speed stat in general. The part about not going over 150 is relevant though.

 

[Golemman]

That said based on ubiquity alone and ease of use Stealth Rock will never be usurped. You'll always see more Stealth Rock than Sticky Web but there are surely teams that will run both. Shuckle alone can set up both and has Sturdy. It was meant for this role.

Custap shuckle lead with SR and sticky web is the way to go. Throw on toxic and rest to potentially stall something. Taunt bait sure so that will have to be avoided, but otherwise is very useful.

 

[Jaroda]

My Shuckle has Rest and is on a team with Heal Bell and Sand Stream. It has no problem getting back to full health. Infestation is good with Toxic in the Sand that's for sure and you can Rest stall. Power Swap is good for crippling sweepers. And Knock Off is just plain frustrating.

 

[Magnemite]

Custap shuckle lead with SR and sticky web is the way to go. Throw on toxic and rest to potentially stall something. Taunt bait sure so that will have to be avoided, but otherwise is very useful.

What's the point of using Custap (which I think is unreleased anyway) over Mental Herb? The entire point of using Shuckle is that it hardly ever gets OHKOed, so why use something that only works when you do? Mental Herb stops Shuckle's worst enemy, Taunt, once. That's almost invaluable if you're using the biggest Taunt bait in the game? (Smeargle can Magic Coat obvious Taunts at the very least) Also, I've had no trouble at all setting up both Sticky Web and SR in one battle. It's not like Stealth Rock is at all hard to set up; that's a lot of what makes it so good. I still think Galvantula is the best web user for offensive teams for two main reasons: Its Speed and ability to OHKO every Magic Bouncer in the game. Its speed is by far the best of any web user, and if it ever gets a chance to come in again, it can almost always outspeed and hit something hard at least once due to the web, as it's the only web setter so far that has actual threatening offenses.

 

[Dragontamer]

Turn 1: Gyarados uses Taunt
Shuckle eats White Herb. Shuckle uses Encore.

That's right son! You just got owned!

 

[Golemman]

What's the point of using Custap (which I think is unreleased anyway) over Mental Herb? The entire point of using Shuckle is that it hardly ever gets OHKOed, so why use something that only works when you do? Mental Herb stops Shuckle's worst enemy, Taunt, once. That's almost invaluable if you're using the biggest Taunt bait in the game? (Smeargle can Magic Coat obvious Taunts at the very least) Also, I've had no trouble at all setting up both Sticky Web and SR in one battle. It's not like Stealth Rock is at all hard to set up; that's a lot of what makes it so good. I still think Galvantula is the best web user for offensive teams for two main reasons: Its Speed and ability to OHKO every Magic Bouncer in the game. Its speed is by far the best of any web user, and if it ever gets a chance to come in again, it can almost always outspeed and hit something hard at least once due to the web, as it's the only web setter so far that has actual threatening offenses.

I figured custap could be useful to get a priority rest in before dying. Custap activates when u are below 25% correct? I haven't used it much 5th gen but thought you didn't need to be near OHKOd for it to work. If shuckle is hit a few times while setting up the hazards, he can quickly heal up.
Mental herb is a very great solution though, I forgot about it.

Turn 1: Gyarados uses Taunt
Shuckle eats White Herb. Shuckle uses Encore.

That's right son! You just got owned!

did you mean mental herb?

 

[Bombkirby]

It'd be awesome if Ditto didn't copy stat losses... then sticky web would allow Ditto to run something other than Choice Scarf. Is there...some item or something than can get rid of the Sticky Web speed loss when it switches in and copies the speed loss off of the opponent?

 

[kuroashi]

I figured custap could be useful to get a priority rest in before dying. Custap activates when u are below 25% correct? I haven't used it much 5th gen but thought you didn't need to be near OHKOd for it to work. If shuckle is hit a few times while setting up the hazards, he can quickly heal up.
Mental herb is a very great solution though, I forgot about it.

did you mean mental herb?

At 50% if you have Gluttony Shuckle but ofc you will be sacrificing Sturdy.

 

[Slheyas]

It'd be awesome if Ditto didn't copy stat losses... then sticky web would allow Ditto to run something other than Choice Scarf. Is there...some item or something than can get rid of the Sticky Web speed loss when it switches in and copies the speed loss off of the opponent?

White herb?

 

[DDRMaster]

At 50% if you have Gluttony Shuckle but ofc you will be sacrificing Sturdy.

Why not just use Sturdy to make sure you don't die to powerful attacks? There's plenty of Pokemon that can either OHKO Shuckle or can't 2HKO it, so you'll get your Custap activation.

 

[JL_muserwolves]

I still think Galvantula is the best web user for offensive teams for two main reasons: Its Speed and ability to OHKO every Magic Bouncer in the game. Its speed is by far the best of any web user, and if it ever gets a chance to come in again, it can almost always outspeed and hit something hard at least once due to the web, as it's the only web setter so far that has actual threatening offenses.

I have to jump to Leavanny's defense here. Base 92 Speed is sufficient to outstrip the large majority of OU leads, and it also enjoys the distinct advantage of not having its Sash broken against Tyranitar due to Overcoat. Furthermore, Leavanny's base Attack is 6 points higher (at 103) than Galvantula's base 97 Special Attack and can boost itself with Swords Dance if it feels like it, so while Galvantula can hit harder with Thunder, to claim that Galvantula is the only one with "actual threatening offenses" is a definite falsehood. Leavanny also offers more utility with the ability to Baton Pass around said Swords Dances, which is something any offensive team enjoys. It's got aspects that make it worth choosing, depending on what you're looking for.

 

[Bombkirby]

White herb?

No. Ditto doesn't show "it's speed fell!" if it copies an enemy that was afflicted by Sticky Web. So white herb doesn't activate.

 

[Haruno]

No. Ditto doesn't show "it's speed fell!" if it copies an enemy that was afflicted by Sticky Web. So white herb doesn't activate.

If ditto copies a mon with stat drops and is equipped with a white herb then ditto will indeed use the white herb up to remove the stat drops, similar to how mons that got bp'd a she'll smash would lose the def drops if the recipient is holding a white herb

 

[Thorhammer]

Is it just me or are people not using this well? Every time I've played against someone with Sticky Web on Showdown, they see my Excadrill in Team Preview, yet still just stick their Smeargle or Galvantula out at the start and let it get annihilated while only setting up a web that never lasts long. As fun as it is to finish off a Focus Sash Galvantula with Rapid Spin, it's weird seeing so few people who can get it to work properly. Is that really the most it's worth against a team with a good spinner, in a metagame where Excadrill is so common? Is it capable of better, but just not popular among skilled players? Or is this just random chance and not representative?

 

[Haruno]

Is it just me or are people not using this well? Every time I've played against someone with Sticky Web on Showdown, they see my Excadrill in Team Preview, yet still just stick their Smeargle or Galvantula out at the start and let it get annihilated while only setting up a web that never lasts long. As fun as it is to finish off a Focus Sash Galvantula with Rapid Spin, it's weird seeing so few people who can get it to work properly. Is that really the most it's worth against a team with a good spinner, in a metagame where Excadrill is so common? Is it capable of better, but just not popular among skilled players? Or is this just random chance and not representative?

You have unrealistically high expectations of the skill of the ladder.

 

[Lazybeef]

The distribution is pretty poor regarding OU-worthy mons. You either have to suicide-lead which is very inefficient because of defog, or you have to use shuckle, and there are many downsides for using shuckle. For starters, you have to use a f***ing shuckle.

 

[suaqua]

I think Defog still can be used on the same team, since Galvantula doesn't have to be in the lead position -- and if you're using an offensive team alongside the spider, you should be very mindful about when Defog and SW are used.

Basically, I believe defog will require more "finesse" if you will, and is still a good option if your team doesn't synergize with any of the viable spinners. (like mine)

I tried out a team with a crobat lead, I took on a mamoswine lead. he got off stealth rocks so I used hypnosis then defog to clear, switched to galvantula, set up sticky web and killed it with energy ball, then switched to volcarona and swept

 

[Dragontamer]

Is it just me or are people not using this well? Every time I've played against someone with Sticky Web on Showdown, they see my Excadrill in Team Preview, yet still just stick their Smeargle or Galvantula out at the start and let it get annihilated while only setting up a web that never lasts long. As fun as it is to finish off a Focus Sash Galvantula with Rapid Spin, it's weird seeing so few people who can get it to work properly. Is that really the most it's worth against a team with a good spinner, in a metagame where Excadrill is so common? Is it capable of better, but just not popular among skilled players? Or is this just random chance and not representative?

Unlike Stealth Rocks, which is always useful, it is important to keep an eye on your opponent's Pokemon remaining.

I've been running Shuckle / Sticky Web / Infestation / Rest / Knock Off, and more often than not, I've been deciding that the 16% damage/turn from Infestation is more important than Sticky Web. Knock Off is also useful, despite being glitch-nerfed in Pokemon Showdown.

I'm still keeping Sticky Web on my set, but suicide lead is the dumbest strategy you can do with this move. The advantage is amazing, but situational. Sticky Web has won me games... but I dare say Infestation / Knock Off / Rest has won me more games at the moment. (Oh, your wall can't kill Shuckle? Well, you die now...)

"Sweeping" teams doesn't happen till the late game. As such, Sticky Web isn't useful until the late game.

 

[Meteor]

If Sticky Web is only really useful lategame, is there any real need to set it up with a lead rather than perhaps setting it up midgame? That gives you the opportunity to deal with any spinners/defoggers if you use an SR lead or whatever to bring them out and whatever the norm is for dispatching them, leaving them unable to get rid of sticky web.

I mean, I do see downsides - getting any of the users in and having them get Sticky Web up midgame is probably going to cost you offensive momentum and/or give the opponent a chance to set up (especially as bringing in any of the users is kinda a giveaway that you're planning to sticky web), plus most of them are going to lose their sashes without reliable spin support to clear hazards on your side. Then there's the possibility of teams with multiple spin/defog carriers come December, and the limitations on viable leads given using a suicide lead and a midgame pokemon that is probably not going to take anything out before dying on the same team is probably a bad idea. Still, maybe it's worth looking into (perhaps it has been already, I haven't thoroughly read every page of the thread but from what I did read, most discussion seems to centre on leads).

 

[Brammi]

The big problem with using it outside of the lead slot is that apart from Shuckle, most users aren't capable of actually switching in as they are all so squishy.

 

[Magolor]

I think most people aren't using the move to it's fullest potential tbh. Most uses of the move have just been as a Galv suicide lead and while that would work in gen 5 the increased ease of Hazard Control due to Defog and Excadrill. Instead I think Sticky Web should be thought of as the central part of the team with the main focus being getting the Hazard Remover dead and then killing shit with pokes that are really cool but can be hindered due to their merely decent speed tier (Mold Breaker Exca, Kyurem-B, Hyderigon, Lando-T etc). Hell this move could even be the opportunity for pokes like Darm to shine in OU.

ofc this is just Theorymon and crap, but I'll whip up a team based on my template and tell you how it goes.

 

[PawnSlayer]

It's fortunate that Galvantula is fast enough that he has a chance, if he switches into the right thing, that he can outspeed and thus get the web up. Obviously he's even more certain to die that way than as a lead, since any opponent who isn't profoundly stupid almost certainly will have something that can 2HKO easily, but he's still the best bet for mid-game Web I think.

 

[GeneralMLD]

Starting to notice that opponents like to lead with a sticky web user if they got em. That makes them all the more predictable since its easy to spot a sticky web pokemon.

 

[anubite]

Leavanny as primary or secondary lead

252 hp 252 atk 4 spe

Magic Coat
Swords Dance / Leech Seed / Agility
Sticky Web
Leaf Blade / X-Scissor / Knock-off

Pros:
All-around good defensive stats (75 hp with 80 def and 80 spd)
Pretty okay speed (92)
Pretty okay attack (103)
In sun can outspeed most threats to lay down the 'fastest' sticky web
Magic Coat means you hardcounter prankster leads (ESPECIALLY if they try to throw a taunt out first turn)
Sticky Web is the obvious 'must-have' and core element of using Leavanny over Galvantula or Ariados, both of which are rather frail and predictable.
Decent attack stat means you can still damage things that try to set up on you, leaf blade or x-scissor can hurt, especially if supplemented by swords dance, knock-off is great if someone tries to switch in aegislash or something

Cons:
x4 weak to fire
x4 weak to flying

So basically, you have a very fragile pokemon against certain teams (basically, it's screwed over by Talonflame among others), but bug/grass as a typing isn't that bad defensively, if you can keep it safe with anti-fire and anti-flying checks. I think Leavanny might actually rise to RU or UU once people realize its potential as a sticky webber.