As you may have noticed, this is a hyperoffensive team built around Sticky Web. The image should imply what this team is about so I will get straight into details without any unnecessary explanations.
Teambuilding Process
I chose Shuckle over Ribombee and Araquanid as a Sticky Web setter. The role compression of setting both Sticky Web and Stealth Rock as well as preventing setup with Encore is something my team appreciates a lot. Other teams often have another Stealth Rock setter with a dedicated Sticky Web user and this isn't always ideal because stuff like Landorus-T will have to forgo an attacking move for that.
With Sticky Web setter chosen, I have decided to build the rest of the team around a wallbreaker that runs rampant with said condition. Mega Medicham is the first thing that came to my mind; it is normally having hard time due to its rather poor Speed tier as a breaker but Sticky Web cancels out this theoretical weakness.
Bisharp simply fits in this team due to Defiant which lets it be a Defog deterrent. Being a Sucker Punch user means it can help out my team a lot in an event where Sticky Web has been removed too early in HO vs HO matchup.
Someone in my team needed a way to threaten Mega Sableye and Defog users like Zapdos and Mew. Choice Specs Keldeo was chosen over Tapu Lele to give my team a switch-in to Ash-Greninja as well as checking Bisharp from the other team which can be very hard to deal with otherwise.
Initially I had a second Defog deterrent that pressures Tapu Fini and Mantine as well as being a psuedo-check to Hawlucha. But then
It turns out if Thundurus has taken more than 3% of damage it falls to +2 Hawlucha. In addition, I wasn't really down to having a 'mon that is weak to Stealth Rock because Shuckle tends to draw in Stealth Rock leads from the other team and this makes Thundurus a quite bad choice. Since my team was hyperoffense I decided to employ Sash + Counter Alakazam as some sort of a blanket check to most physical attackers, if not every one of them, in the tier.
Lastly I slapped in a spinblocker. Although a single misprediction leads to KO, Gengar still makes Excadrill and other spinners think twice before pressing such move and it generally apprecaites Sticky Web support. At this point one might wonder what made me choose Gengar over Blaephalon but I will make a detailed explanation below.
Members
Shuckle @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Knock Off
Nothing much needs to be said about Shuckle. It is a lead that sets Sticky Web for the rest of the team to run rampant. Stealth Rock, which is great if it can be set alongside Sticky Web, punishes Flying-types. Encore prevents Shuckle from becoming a setup fodder and Knock Off was chosen over Toxic in order to rid Heatran, Ferrothorn, Zapdos, and Tapu Fini of Leftovers while getting rid of Choice Scarf from threats such as Kartana and Landorus-T which would otherwise still threaten my team when Sticky Web is up.
Medicham-Mega @ Medichamite
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Punch
- High Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
Mega Medicham's joy knows no bounds when Sticky Web is up. Faster threats that it once feared are now prone to getting hit by High Jump Kick that hits everything like a truck. Jolly Nature was chosen so it would outrun Choice Scarf Tapu Lele when Sticky Web is up, and Bullet Punch was chosen over Fake Out to anti-lead Mega Diancie which would force me to click X otherwise. Zen Headbutt serves as one of the very few ways for my team to break Toxapex while Ice Punch solely exists to hit Landorus-T, Lati@s, Garchomp, and Zygarde.
Bisharp @ Dread Plate
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
This is another set that is very standard. It is very hard for me to justify not using Bisharp on Sticky Web team when the hazard helps Bisharp spam Knock Off against threats it otherwise has to rely on Sucker Punch to KO and even when it can't sweep it can hinder walls by ridding their items. Just by existing it discourages Defog and Psychic-type moves from Tapu Lele and others.
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Keldeo helps the team against Ash-Greninja and opposing Bisharp, the former which would easily activate Battle Bond otherwise and the latter which would force me to use Alakazam to shut it down. Choice Specs was run to pressure Zapdos and Mew which would otherwise switch into Keldeo without much concern and Defog webs away. Hidden Power Electric is there to lure and eliminate Pelipper early against rain teams as well as 2HKOing Tapu Fini and Mantine. Hydro Pump dents most non-resistants, Scald makes sure Toxapex / AV Bulu doesn't switch in for free, Secret Sword dunks specially fat walls, and HP Electric hits Pelipper / Mantine / Tapu Fini.
Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Def
- Counter
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
Insurance policy. This is my only answer to Hawlucha and yes, I had to dedicate a slot for said threat because of how prevalent koko + hawlucha is. Even outsides that, Alakazam mostly revenge kills any physical attackers given free switch-in. It also has solid Special Attack stat to make good damage output with Psychic as well as luring Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor and denting them with HP Fire.
So far the teammates I have listed use very standard sets and therefor descriptions on them are short. Now here is the part where I explain about choosing Gengar over Blacephalon.
Blacephalon is frankly a great pick on Sticky Web teams due to its genearl damage output and good dual STAB to threaten majority of the metagame. It can run specs to immediately dispose of threats like Tapu Koko after Stealth Rock or CM + Ghostium Z to take out Heatran and Toxapex after prior damage. I was about to staple this cash money into my team until I have realized Gengar is going to be a better alternative.
Gengar @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Wave
- Taunt
Though it has less Special Attack than Blacephalon does, Gengar has exclusive traits over Blacephalon:
1. It is not pressured to run Choice Specs for important KOes.
As much as prevalent Fairy-types are from SM generation Gengar's secondary STAB in Poison shines. With Sticky Web up, Gengar is able to threaten every Fairy-types barring Magearna and Mawile and unlike Blacephalon it does not need Stealth Rock to OHKO Tapu Koko, is not threatened by Tapu Fini, and has a way to 2HKO the bulkiest variant of Heatran without relying on Choice Specs. This allows Gengar to freely switch around moves and this helps with the team's general momentum. Access to Ghostium Z allows Gengar to easily dispose of Zapdos and defensive Landorus-T after Stealth Rock.
2. It has access to Taunt.
Extreme frailty means a single misprediction with Taunt might even lead to its KO, but Gengar has an access to Taunt to mess with Defog users and setup sweepers, meaning it can help the team revenge kill a threat or keep Sticky Web up when it has outlived its usefulness. Unlike Blacephalon which can only cripple Chansey with Trick or rare Knock Off, Gengar can simply just stay in and use Taunt to render it useless and this allows Gengar to make the team less weak in stall matchups.
3. It has the exact Speed tier it needs.
110 Speed sets Gengar apart from Blacephalon for so many reasons. First of all, it outspeeds Choice Scarf Kartana when Sticky Web is up. If I opted Blacephalon, which has lower base Speed than Katana does, it would otherwise let Kartana sacrifice itself to remove Sticky Web with Defog or be threatened to be hit by Knock Off. Blacephalon is also slower than Choice Scarf Keldeo when Sticky Web is up, and this is detrimentary since my team lacks a switch-in to hydro + secret sword. Gengar simply outspeeds Keldeo and can just erase it with Never-Ending-Nightmare. Also Gengar outspeeds Ninetales-A and this helps against matchup vs Aurora Veil teams, where leading Shuckle can be quite risky due to Hypnosis.
4. It absorbs Toxic Spikes.
The title. Toxic Spikes can be annoying for this team since the team can't really afford to run a Defog user when it is already busy keeping Sticky Web up. Gengar absorbs them on switch-in and prevents my team from being slowly melt by Toxapex's Toxic Spikes.
Threatlist
This thing is only outsped by Alakazam, Speed ties with Gengar, and outspeeds everything else. It can use fast Defog thanks to Levitate and is genearlly annoying to deal with. Matchup against Latios is when my mindgame with Bisharp becomes crucially important since Bisharp can't switch into Latios more than once if it is Choice Specs variant.
Tapu Koko becomes a joke to deal with when Sticky Web is up but it actually autowins if I fail to set it. My team doesn't have Electric-immune Pokemon so it can just spam Thunderbolt to erase my team. Variants with Defog are so fucking annoying; why would anyone run it when it loses 1v1 to every relevant Stealth Rock / Spikes setter in the tier if it is not ct?
I can't just set webs against teams with this thing. Alakazam Psychic + Bisharp Sucker Punch is the only way to take out Serperior and even this can fail against subseed variants.
<Not getting webs up>
Although Shuckle is a very reliable Sticky Web setter, stuff like Gyarados can lead and go for flinch with Waterfall (better titled Flinchfall) and Bisharp in the other team can go for Iron Head flinch. Of course hax isn't the best argument to justify what is a threat to my team, but since my team is so reliant on Sticky Web, I have to mention this.
Importable
Shuckle @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Knock Off
Medicham-Mega @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Punch
- High Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
Bisharp @ Dread Plate
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Def
- Counter
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
Gengar @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Knock Off
Medicham-Mega @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Punch
- High Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
Bisharp @ Dread Plate
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Def
- Counter
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
Gengar @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
I am thinking about running Flynium Z Landorus-T to deal with Hawlucha as well as providing my team with an Electric-immune Pokemon, using Mimikyu as an alternative spinblocker, and using Tapu Lele as a better wallbreaker. Any feedback will be appreciated but this team is somehow working well... for now. Latios matchup is painful but I personally think it has been declining quite a bit so that is a relief. Pursuit Bisharp can alleviate this issue but forgoing Swords Dance isn't really ideal. Thanks for reading, and webs is so fun & useful at this point because many offense are generally unprepared for it. Good day.
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