Introduction
Pikachu has always been one of my favorite pokemon. it's cute. it's ash ketchum's best friend in the anime and it can do stuff unlike other NFE's. however. it's NFE frality and low speed have been giving him a hard time in all tiers and no matter where there is always a better offensive electric type, like tapu koko in OU, mega manectric in UU, raikou and jolteon in RU and both raichu forms in PU.
the team's idea is to give pikachu what he needs to sweep and allow the franchise mascot to shine in competitive play. i chose to build a sticky web Hyper offense because pikachu's base 90 speed allows it to outspeed most foes under webs and probably sweep if the breakers have done thier job properly in weakening it's checks(basically anything that doesn't get outsped and KOed).
The Team
Shuckle @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Final Gambit
Shuckle is the rocker and web setter of choice. i tried smeargle when i first built it but i felt that without making good predictions you cannot get up both webs and rocks. encore is for locking mons into certain moves, preventing opposing hazards and giving the other mons a free setup/kill, final gambit is for momentum. mental herb is to help prevent taunts from the opponent. the EV's allow him to survive fake out + high jump kick from mega medicham and mega lopunny who can stop him from setting up.
Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
bisharp acts as a defog/intimidate check with defiant. it can also be used as both a wallbreaker and a setup sweeper. iron head for STAB + flinching, sucker punch for priority against threatening fast opponents like tornadus T who can ohko it with focus blast, knock off can help remove items like chansey's eviolite giving mons a sweep potential. a good double into a defog can make the foe regret removing the webs
Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Frustration
- Quick Attack
with 155 base attack and aerilate giving him a boost. pinsir is the team's main wallbreaker. hyper cutter is so lando won't shut down pinsir before mega evolving, swords dance allows him to double the damage but can be replaced with stone edge if zapdos is a problem, close combat to hit skarmory and celesteela for max damage, quick attack is a priority move to deal with ash greninja under webs and OHKO serperior at +2 who can beat this mon with glare despite type advantage. frustration over return because ditto is a thing. pinsir is the main win condition against bulkier builds like stall and balance.
Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw
- Play Rough
while mimikyu is pikachu's worst enemy in the sun and moon anime. in this team they actually do support each other. mimikyu acts as the primary revenge killer and a way to stop setup sweepers and put them in priority range as there are 4 priority mons in this team. play rough is mimikyu's strongest yet riskiest attack and helps vs dark types, mega lopunny and hawlucha who is one of the reasons i have this mon, shadow sneak for priority to beat mega zam when psychic terrain is not up, shadow claw is for a more reliable STAB and SD is for sweeping. there are many teams with 2 weak to ghost and 2 weak to fairy in the meta which allows this mon to make some nice sweeps and is often my win condition
Dragonite (M) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Fly
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
Dragonite is my other favorite pokemon and surprisingly fits this team pretty well. multiscale grants setup when there are no opposing rocks and when there are. it can come after the foe defogs his rocks away and punish him for that. dragon dance and a jolly nature is used to win outside of webs by outspeeding tapu koko, ash greninja and mega lopunny at +1 and anything except excadrill in sand, swampert in rain and haulucha after the seed is consumed at +2. fly is for a strong z move from 134 base attacks with no immunities that can weaken the opponent's lando or another bulky mon, earthquake is for stuff like tapu koko and heatran and extreme speed is to guarantee a go first vs weavile and ash greninja. speaking of ash greninja, this is the team's best answer to it as it's 132 speed water shurikens that come before any of the rest of the team's priorities but dnite, as a water resist this mon takes barely any damage from it. giving you a free dragon dance. that can turn over the match
Pikachu (M) @ Light Ball
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Charge Beam
as said above, making pikachu viable is the main reason i built this team. light ball allows him to have a special attack of a fully evolved pokemon, lightning rod gives pikachu an immunity and a way to use tapu koko and rotom-wash as setup if you predict an electric attack coming and is super useful considering that mega pinsir can lure both of them and dragonite lures rotom-w. thunderbolt is the most reliable STAB pikachu can use with it's special attack boosts, the two coverge moves are to deal with ground types: grass knot can 2HKO hippowdon and OHKO mega swampert on the switch, HP ice allows him to OHKO lando-T if he outspeeds(not jolly, scarf or yache) or predicts the switch into him right. lastly, charge beam is the only way pikachu can set up if he has a free kill or switch, as nasty plot/agility are too risky to use with this mon's frality
Threats
opposing sweepers:
certain sweepers can use shuckle as setup bait. and bring you down two 2 mons if you can't find a way to revenge kill. encore will only work on properly predicting the opponent, and mimikyu only has one disguise. yesterday i had SD lando, zard x and hawlucha all in one team and wanted to preserve mimi for hawlucha but the opponent's lando prevented me from doing so destroying 4 mons of my team with a potential to 6-
scizor:
nothing on this team can OHKO it besides mega pinsir at +2/4 depending on EV spread. i thought about giving dragonite fire punch over extreme speed but i found that extreme speed is the best way for him to stop opposing priority like weaving and ash gren, or giving pikachu HP fire + surf coverage(which can also help with ferrothorn who walls him). but surf and lightning rod are illegal togheter. what i try to do against him it is weaken him with pinsir so he won't be able to roost back.
magic bounce:
with the team's role over compression to give pikachu a place. there is no way to use excadrill and ribombee over shuckle to stop magic bounce. meaning that if the foe has mega sableye, mega diancie or espeon. there is no way i can set up hazards. diancie deserves further mention as clear body prevents webs from slowing her down and makes her a threat
unaware:
with 4 setup sweepers. unaware can be a problem to deal with. clefable can be 1v1'ed by pinsir by getting predictions right(SD on protect to threaten rest of team attack on wish + moonblast) but quagsire is a problem with scald+toxic to shut down sweepers and cure + amnesia to become too bulky for anything on this team.
stall:
with no stallbreaker. it can be hard to play against, pinsir must predict his oppurtunity to switch in without taking status as he is the only way to win those teams
trick room:
you need to make youre wincon/sweeper come in when TR is off and the opponent cannot set up again. however that's not an easy task to create the oppurtunity as tr teams are hard to weaken with the frality of this team.
Conclusion
so that was my pikachu sticky web team and i hope you enjoyed and had your thoughts. on it and how it runs on the meta and helps a pokemon that's not viable even in PU get wins
on rate. try not to remove pikachu or dragonite as i want to use them and think this is probably the best team i can make with both.
