Hey everyone! I've been off the Pokemon Showdown grind for a little while, but I've recently started getting back into team-building and playing with & against cool teams. I recently wanted to try creating a webs team for OU, something I haven't done before (mainly because webs have terrible matchups against most other archetypes). I also figured that this was as good of a team as any to let one of my favorite mons, Weavile, shine. Anywho, I've got a quick rundown of the team, and I have tested it in 2-3 games.
Weavile @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Focus Punch
- Ice Shard
First off is the star of the team, Weavile. I'm sure you've all heard of what this Pokemon does, and I'm not going to go into too much depth on it. Dual stab is nuts against everything in the OU tier, bar some defensive water types or Magearna. Ice Shard is always a nice crutch, being able to pick off weakened Scarfers, Tapu Koko, or a setup Pokemon like Zard X (all in the event that webs aren't up for whatever reason). Focus Punch is the best move aside from Z-Dig that Weavile has against Heatran and Magearna, and while Low Kick is also an option, my read-based style of play allows for Focus Punch to be a better option. Standard EV's and Nature, and while I considered Adamant, the speed is just too important for scenarios without webs (i.e. early game).
Araquanid @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 Spe
Impish Nature
- Sticky Web
- Liquidation
- Toxic
- Protect
A webs team isn't a webs team without Sticky Web, and so I chose to pick Araquanid. There aren't many viable Webbers, as Ribombee, Araquanid and Smeargle are imo the top 3, but Araquanid provided me with a Water Type, a.k.a a switch-in to Heatran and bulky waters, which Weavile struggles with. The speed is for outpacing uninvested A-Muk, Chansey, Mega Mawile, and other Base 50s. I ran Physically Defensive in order to have some sort of switch in against Landorus (though Stone Edge is getting more popular by the day) and the aforementioned Mawile. Araquanid's SpDef is already insane, so it can naturally soak hits from Greninja and Heatran. The moves is pretty standard, Toxic + Protect is there to wear down bulky Pokemon into Weavile range while also being able to scout choice-locked moves with Protect.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 112 SpD / 148 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
- Protect
- Iron Head
I consider Jirachi to be the most wall-like Pokemon on the team, and it's here for a few reasons. It naturally checks all Psychics and Fairies that don't run Shadow Ball, and acts as your typical Steel type does. It's got Rocks, because any time is infinitely worse without Rocks than with Rocks, and Wish support prevents Araquanid or other team members from getting beat down. The speed is to outspeed Max speed base 85s as well as Neutral natured base 100s. I didn't really notice the difference in defense when I decided to invest heavily into Speed, and the Speed helped me get an extra Iron Head off against specific threats.
Landorus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 192 HP / 184 Atk / 4 Def / 128 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fly
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Swords Dance
Landorus. Who here is surprised? Jokes aside, the real surprise is that I'm running Z-Fly in 2019. It's good against Bulu, but then again, so are many Pokemon on my team. For me, it serves as a general nuke. It can decimate bulky waters, and while it does little against steel types, +2 Earthquake doesn't have an issue with them. U-turn is just there for early-game momentum, allowing me to pivot into Jirachi for Rocks, Araquanid for Webs, or someone else to put a hole in the opposing team.
Thundurus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 164 HP / 92 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
The team looked a tad weak to Koko and Celesteela, so I thought Thundurus-T would be a good check to them while also providing some more offensive pressure. The HP is for living HP-Ice from a wide range of mons, from Lando to Koko to whatever else wants to run it. Sludge Wave is there over Focus Blast because, like I said, this thing will be switching in on Koko many times. Celesteela won't wear it down with Protect so long as I don't reveal all four moves (it might fear Nasty Plot). Defog is only there for emergency situations, as the team is rather weak to Rocks, but I'd hate to lose Webs unless I don't need them. Ferrothorn walls this, but I have Landorus and Passimian to do a good chunk to it.
Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide
The last member of the squad. It's common knowledge that Defiant is good with webs, but Bisharp seemed redundant, so it was out of the picture. Passimain recently got Defiant, so I thought to give it a Scarf and see what it could do. It served as my revenge killer most games, and boy does it do it's job right. Rock slide / Knock off are there for coverage, and U-turn is another form of momentum that my team could abuse to set up hazards or break some more.
My game plan is to either lead with Lando or Araquanid most games. Passimian often serves as my revenge killer, and Weavile is usually my sweeper. Thundurus is a fantastic breaker, as Base 145 Thunderbolt is terrifying. Jirachi is usually the all-around tank, and it does annoying things with Wish and Iron Head.
Threats: I'd say that the two biggest threats to this team are Celesteela and Rain. If you lose Thundurus, say goodbye to ever being able to break Celesteela. The abundance of water-types in rain makes it hard for Weavile, Jirachi or Landorus to do much of anything, and Swift Swim practically nullifies the existence of my webs.
Despite me saying that Weavile is the star of the team, I would be OK with any number of the team's members being swapped or remade, as long as the concept of Webs and super-offensive mons is at least a little intact. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to give me a bit of advice! :)
(Sorry, I forgot to save the replays of this team in action, but trust me, I have played with it and fixed it as much as I could)
Weavile @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Focus Punch
- Ice Shard
First off is the star of the team, Weavile. I'm sure you've all heard of what this Pokemon does, and I'm not going to go into too much depth on it. Dual stab is nuts against everything in the OU tier, bar some defensive water types or Magearna. Ice Shard is always a nice crutch, being able to pick off weakened Scarfers, Tapu Koko, or a setup Pokemon like Zard X (all in the event that webs aren't up for whatever reason). Focus Punch is the best move aside from Z-Dig that Weavile has against Heatran and Magearna, and while Low Kick is also an option, my read-based style of play allows for Focus Punch to be a better option. Standard EV's and Nature, and while I considered Adamant, the speed is just too important for scenarios without webs (i.e. early game).
Araquanid @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 Spe
Impish Nature
- Sticky Web
- Liquidation
- Toxic
- Protect
A webs team isn't a webs team without Sticky Web, and so I chose to pick Araquanid. There aren't many viable Webbers, as Ribombee, Araquanid and Smeargle are imo the top 3, but Araquanid provided me with a Water Type, a.k.a a switch-in to Heatran and bulky waters, which Weavile struggles with. The speed is for outpacing uninvested A-Muk, Chansey, Mega Mawile, and other Base 50s. I ran Physically Defensive in order to have some sort of switch in against Landorus (though Stone Edge is getting more popular by the day) and the aforementioned Mawile. Araquanid's SpDef is already insane, so it can naturally soak hits from Greninja and Heatran. The moves is pretty standard, Toxic + Protect is there to wear down bulky Pokemon into Weavile range while also being able to scout choice-locked moves with Protect.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 112 SpD / 148 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
- Protect
- Iron Head
I consider Jirachi to be the most wall-like Pokemon on the team, and it's here for a few reasons. It naturally checks all Psychics and Fairies that don't run Shadow Ball, and acts as your typical Steel type does. It's got Rocks, because any time is infinitely worse without Rocks than with Rocks, and Wish support prevents Araquanid or other team members from getting beat down. The speed is to outspeed Max speed base 85s as well as Neutral natured base 100s. I didn't really notice the difference in defense when I decided to invest heavily into Speed, and the Speed helped me get an extra Iron Head off against specific threats.
Landorus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 192 HP / 184 Atk / 4 Def / 128 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fly
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Swords Dance
Landorus. Who here is surprised? Jokes aside, the real surprise is that I'm running Z-Fly in 2019. It's good against Bulu, but then again, so are many Pokemon on my team. For me, it serves as a general nuke. It can decimate bulky waters, and while it does little against steel types, +2 Earthquake doesn't have an issue with them. U-turn is just there for early-game momentum, allowing me to pivot into Jirachi for Rocks, Araquanid for Webs, or someone else to put a hole in the opposing team.
Thundurus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 164 HP / 92 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
The team looked a tad weak to Koko and Celesteela, so I thought Thundurus-T would be a good check to them while also providing some more offensive pressure. The HP is for living HP-Ice from a wide range of mons, from Lando to Koko to whatever else wants to run it. Sludge Wave is there over Focus Blast because, like I said, this thing will be switching in on Koko many times. Celesteela won't wear it down with Protect so long as I don't reveal all four moves (it might fear Nasty Plot). Defog is only there for emergency situations, as the team is rather weak to Rocks, but I'd hate to lose Webs unless I don't need them. Ferrothorn walls this, but I have Landorus and Passimian to do a good chunk to it.
Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide
The last member of the squad. It's common knowledge that Defiant is good with webs, but Bisharp seemed redundant, so it was out of the picture. Passimain recently got Defiant, so I thought to give it a Scarf and see what it could do. It served as my revenge killer most games, and boy does it do it's job right. Rock slide / Knock off are there for coverage, and U-turn is another form of momentum that my team could abuse to set up hazards or break some more.
My game plan is to either lead with Lando or Araquanid most games. Passimian often serves as my revenge killer, and Weavile is usually my sweeper. Thundurus is a fantastic breaker, as Base 145 Thunderbolt is terrifying. Jirachi is usually the all-around tank, and it does annoying things with Wish and Iron Head.
Threats: I'd say that the two biggest threats to this team are Celesteela and Rain. If you lose Thundurus, say goodbye to ever being able to break Celesteela. The abundance of water-types in rain makes it hard for Weavile, Jirachi or Landorus to do much of anything, and Swift Swim practically nullifies the existence of my webs.
Despite me saying that Weavile is the star of the team, I would be OK with any number of the team's members being swapped or remade, as long as the concept of Webs and super-offensive mons is at least a little intact. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to give me a bit of advice! :)
(Sorry, I forgot to save the replays of this team in action, but trust me, I have played with it and fixed it as much as I could)