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Pokémon Galvantula

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Well IMO sash is mandatory.

I didn't mention it, because I just assumed that was staple.

My fault. Without sash, he has no game whatsoever. However, I'm still surprised he hasn't gotten much attention this gen. Oh well.
 
GeneralMLD said:
His weakness is predictability; like everyone who sees the team preview will know hes the lead.

Then again, he has a sash so he can lay the sticky web, take the hit to 1 hp, and then switch out.
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There is nothing funnier than leading with a Zoroark with Galvantula in the back of the party in those situations.


But honestly, if you see the opponent has a quick and easy Galvantula counter, then you need to be prepared to lead with something else and bring in Galvy later. The question: What good lead pokemon are out there that would otherwise counter things that counter Galvantula? Like I said, I like using Zoroark for that purpose.
 
Blackbeltsam said:
There is nothing funnier than leading with a Zoroark with Galvantula in the back of the party in those situations.


But honestly, if you see the opponent has a quick and easy Galvantula counter, then you need to be prepared to lead with something else and bring in Galvy later. The question: What good lead pokemon are out there that would otherwise counter things that counter Galvantula? Like I said, I like using Zoroark for that purpose.
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I usually lead with Excadrill if I see a Galvantula; if it doesn't show up, I can just switch out with no harm done.
 
Blackbeltsam said:
There is nothing funnier than leading with a Zoroark with Galvantula in the back of the party in those situations.


But honestly, if you see the opponent has a quick and easy Galvantula counter, then you need to be prepared to lead with something else and bring in Galvy later. The question: What good lead pokemon are out there that would otherwise counter things that counter Galvantula? Like I said, I like using Zoroark for that purpose.
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But seeing Zoroark in the team preview wouldn't that just lead to the opponent using an attack that would counter Dark types and hit Gal's type for neutral damage at least? Figure even a neutral attack will bring it down to 1 hp.
 
I've seen peeps use Compound Eyes Galvantula for Thunder, but what if we go with Unnerve? Unnerve checks a few other suicide lead Pokemon such as Skarmaory with Custap Berry, however sacrificing Thunder's power and paralyze chance. While it might only work for suicide leads, but is helpful against other berry users (I'm looking at you Trevenant) and have them suffer a bit. While T-Bolt might be someone's best option with Unnerve, I'd personally would run Volt Switch instead so I can keep it alive for later, just in case. Also, I can see Swarm having more usage due to the new popular suicide lead set. Bug Buzz getting a boost for some damage will come in handy as a lead.

Just my thoughts on one of my favorite Gen 5 mons
 
Hrothgar said:
Sacrificing an ability with a constant benefit for an extremely situational one is an atrociously bad idea.
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Atrocious... But unexpected. And sometimes the crazy unexpected shit can win you a match.Although it'd be nice if abilities didn't straight up broadcast themselves.

"HEY LOOK UNNERVE!"

"Great, time to switch out my Skarmory"
 
Galv works great with Gengar. Lay web, and dive to Gengar to block a spinner and set up a substitute if the opportunity presents itself. Galv also has serious teeth with his high speed and punishing Thunder in case your counter lead is TalonFlame (if you have a sash) or a defogger. Bug buzz will brutalize any magic bouncers who may seek to catch your web as well. Also being neutral to the automatic Ground type attacks people seek to dish at Electric types works great, especially if your attacker is not getting STAB from Ground attacks. Though sticky web's effectiveness against a slow bulky team with priority strikers (breloom, conkeldurr, scizor, metagross, etc) is minimal in my experience. He's a great addition to your team, but by no means should he be the only trick in your deck of six cards. However, his very presence should warrant at least one spinner or defogger on your team if speed is anywhere in your strategy.
 
Puck the Folice said:
Well IMO sash is mandatory.

I didn't mention it, because I just assumed that was staple.

My fault. Without sash, he has no game whatsoever. However, I'm still surprised he hasn't gotten much attention this gen. Oh well.
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Disagree, scarf lets him outspeed and OHKO a lot of threats


Impy said:
Atrocious... But unexpected. And sometimes the crazy unexpected shit can win you a match.Although it'd be nice if abilities didn't straight up broadcast themselves.

"HEY LOOK UNNERVE!"

"Great, time to switch out my Skarmory"
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Yeah it can win you a match, but on the whole it will lose you more than you will win, and when climbing the ladder, the long term is what you want to focus on
 
I played tested gava lead along with adamant mega mawile and diggersby. He didnt have a spinner, I then proceeded to sweep after gava died. I outsped pretty much all his pokes. Loving sticky web.
 
Suicide lead Galvantula is completely neutered by Defog. In fact suicide leads in general are now obsolete because of that. Why not just run a LO set with Sticky Web/Thunder/Volt Switch/Bug Buzz? At least it will be able to do something other than using Sticky Web once and bite the dust.
 
Sticky Web is the sole reason why anyone is using Galvantula in OU, and using it with an Assault Vest is just plain silly. Plus, it's not like Galvantula has any bulk or is planning on taking specs Draco Meteors (or anything for that matter). A standard sash variant is probably by far Galvantula's most effective set, followed by a Life Orb set.
 
I have yet to see a good player of Sticky Web on the OU ladder in my 90+ battles so far.

Most of the Sticky Web teams I face have Smeargle, but even those that have Galvantula use it as a lead, and I lead with Tyranitar. I've seen teams of Galvantula+5 random mons, and all I could do was set up SR with Tyranitar, kill Galvantula, go to Forretress, Spin, and laugh.

The best Galvantula users I've seen are those that don't lead with it, but even so Tyranitar, Klefki, and a lot more stuff wall it and it can only really hope to get off the web.
 
So Sticky Web Galvantula... doesn't seem all that great in practice, heh. Definitely not the game changer we all assumed it would be. I'm going to assume it's due to the sheer number of Pokemon that can bypass it, in addition to solid spinners, and tons of priority users/Talonflame.

It's still a ton of fun to use though. It makes slower wallbreakers a bitch for offensive teams to face if you can keep the web down.
 
Galvantula is doing serious work for my teams. IMO this is the only set he should ever be running:

Galvantula @ Focus Sash
Compoundeyes
Timid | 4 HP | 252 SpA | 252 Spe
- Thunder
- Bug Buzz
- Volt Switch/Energy Ball
- Sticky Web

I'm not going to waste your time with a summary of what Galvantula does and instead only focus on what you need to do to play Galvantula properly.
  1. You don't have to lead with Galvantula. You don't need Sticky Web support for the early game, it is a MIDGAME entry hazard. In fact, I often find it's better to wait for my opponent to make a slip-up in their play and then throw up Sticky Web. Weather can break Galvantula's sash and we all know how popular lead T-Tar is. Just be patient and let him come out when he's ready.
  2. Galvantula is more than just Sticky Web. His Thunder and Bug Buzz do a LOT of damage. In general, I find it's usually more beneficial to use Thunder/Bug Buzz over Sticky Web until your Focus Sash breaks (or you're otherwise threatened with a KO and you don't feel like Volt Switching out). Read your opponent's play to see if they are more worried about Thunder or Sticky Web, then play accordingly. With a little prediction, you can take Galvantula a long way.
  3. Volt Switch vs. Energy Ball: Energy Ball should only be considered if you're playing in Galvantula's home tier (RU) because of Quagsire. Don't even think about using it in OU, because Volt Switch is a vastly superior option in every other circumstance.
 
I love Galvantula and Sticky Web, but... it doesn't seem all that fantastic to be honest. A lot of common leads shut it down, and more importantly, hazards being easier to clear off than ever (with Defog obviously, but even in pre-bank, reliable spinners like Excadrill are very common) means that it's work to keep your Sticky Web up as long as possible, since Galvantula cannot last long enough to set Silly Strings more than once.

I actually think, it's the end of the age of suicide leads in general. Actually, Galvantula shouldn't be used as a lead imo. It should be used mid-game, after you've baited and killed that T-Tar or whatever is poison for a Silly Strings team.
 
I've been using Galvantula as my lead and have had great success with him. Depending on what the opponent sends out, I either run him as a suicide lead or if I see an opportunity, a bit of a special sweeper. Laying down Sticky Web to make my Malamar and Excadrill able to out speed is really helpful. I don't know if he'll be nearly as good once Defog runs rampant, but for the pre-Pokebank meta, he's exceeded my expectations.
 
Hrothgar said:
Sacrificing an ability with a constant benefit for an extremely situational one is an atrociously bad idea.
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Galvantula @ Focus Sash
Unnerve/Swarm
Timid | 4 HP | 252 SpA | 252 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Bug Buzz
- Energy Ball
- Sticky Web

I'll break down then what I currently use. I don't intend for Galvy to be complete Suicide all the time, as Kriptini described above, it does not need to be a that all the time. In fact, I almost never lead with it. I always keep it for an opportune moment to send it in, and/or as a lure to spinners/defog users. If they don't have Exca, time to Volt Switch! It's very predictable to what Galvantula does most of the time, so I use that to an advantage. Even more, if I did have Swarm, they would never know that it would not have Thunder or not, since they did not see the ability pop up (until they have a Trace user switched in or if you revealed your entire moveset, they'd know then.)

I'm not saying you are wrong, but I'm saying the other options can be very helpful as well.
 
The other option can be helpful, or more accurately in this case, is almost never helpful. The main option is always helpful. The protocol should be obvious.

Surprise factor doesn't even enter into it. I can sneak up behind the dude sitting in front of me right now and surprise him over the head with a cottonball and he probably wouldn't even notice, but if I can hit him in the head with an always-accurate thunder, he's probably going to be ohkod. He's fat, but he's not a ground type.

Anyway, I digress. Unnerve bad, compound eyes good.
 
See myidea is to run galvantula as a frosslass-esque suicide lead. Something like this:
Nature: Timid
Ability: Swarm/Unnerve
Item: Focus sash
-Sticky web
-Disable/Thunder wave
-Bug buzz/Thunder wave
-Volt switch

Swarm for some good stab damage in a set running bug buzz, unnerve for any random berry user leads, which i dont believe is relevant, but hey. The way I see it this set would work on an aggressive team is come in, set up your webs then it splits into a few scenarios. 1. Focus sash was used, you are faster than opponent. Throw up a thunder wave, get in some good damage with bug buzz, disable to force a switch for an attacking lead, whatever seems good. 2. Focus sash was used, you were slower. Hey, you set up a web, nuff said. 3. They set up something too, still have focus sash. Well you get to be creative. But i think with a 108 base speed, galvantula should be able to outspeed a lot of common leads, and be generally disruptive and gain some momentum. This set also offers some offensive potential with some decent neutral coverage, especially with swarm/bug buzz. Lemme know what you guys think, criticism welcome.
 
Abandoning reliable Thunder (far and away your strongest move besides Swarm Bug Buzz, which is super sketchy given all the priority running around) is a TERRIBLE idea. Some of the Pokemon that try to abuse "pinch Abilities" like Swarm or Torrent already use a priority move (SD Gatr), so letting yourself get wrecked and then trying to use the very commonly-resisted Bug Buzz is not a good idea. Keep up the initiative in making sets, but do some playtesting before you start posting sets.
 
bryndir said:
Galv works great with Gengar. Lay web, and dive to Gengar to block a spinner and set up a substitute if the opportunity presents itself. Galv also has serious teeth with his high speed and punishing Thunder in case your counter lead is TalonFlame (if you have a sash) or a defogger. Bug buzz will brutalize any magic bouncers who may seek to catch your web as well. Also being neutral to the automatic Ground type attacks people seek to dish at Electric types works great, especially if your attacker is not getting STAB from Ground attacks. Though sticky web's effectiveness against a slow bulky team with priority strikers (breloom, conkeldurr, scizor, metagross, etc) is minimal in my experience. He's a great addition to your team, but by no means should he be the only trick in your deck of six cards. However, his very presence should warrant at least one spinner or defogger on your team if speed is anywhere in your strategy.
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This actually isn't a bad combination- especially since Gengar can duck back out after trapping/killing anything Galvantula lured in to clear hazards and re-establish them. Swarm with Focus Sash tends to give you the chance to get in one really good shot (at least) later on if it's something Galv's able to outspeed- STAB Bug Buzz + Swarm is excruciatingly harsh on anything Galv can slap it with, though more conditional than Thunder.

I had one person playing an all-Bug team for lulz, and much to my surprise, he ended up Baton Passing from Scolipede to his badly dented Galvantula late in the game, as I'd managed to apparently wreck his usual sweepers and he'd taken out my priority users. +2 Speed and Swarm Buzz was enough to wreck everything I had left. Think it had something like Buzz/Sticky Web/Volt Switch/??? w/Focus Sash. Not at all what I'd expected.
 
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