So I've been playing around with a Manaphy + webs core, and I think I found a team that works pretty well. It's a surprisingly tanky offense team that's built on slowing down and raining damage upon the enemy team; however, there's enough speed to give me options. My main win conditions in the battle are these:
1. Set up webs and eliminate Manaphy counters. Activate tail glow and break their team.
2. Use stealth rock and pivot moves to bring up chip damage and allow for fast sweepers to clean up.
3. Use Shuckle and Heatran as means of forcing pokemon out/keeping them in. Then bring in counters and repeat.
Shuckle @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
Hidden Power: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Infestation
My general lead; not reinventing the wheel here. Stealth rock and webs go out and bother the enemy team, chipping away at their speed and health to allow my sweepers free reign. Encore is also annoying, and it's great to let me swap out freely and gain momentum. Infestation fills a similar role, where I can trap a specific 'mon to defeat them (honestly I don't use this move a whole lot, I'm considering changing it). EVs are set up to allow maximum bulk, and Mental Herb prevents an initial taunt. After I'm done setting leads, this serves as a decent wall in the mid-game. This is when I mainly use encore to generate a switching opportunity. There's really not too much else to say here. The key is I never throw out webs if there's a living Serperior, since the speed boost can sweep me. But after it's fainted, I like to bring out the webs if needed.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
Lando does a lot of work spreading attack drops. I can swap him safely into electric, ground, and steel, while I can riskily swap into other physical attackers. U-turn is frequently used to bring in another, more advantageous pokemon into a weaker physical attack. Knock off is obvious, I want to have items and I don't want my opponent to. These two moves give me coverage against the fast ghost and psychic sweepers like Gengar, Gardevior M, and Alakazam M. Earthquake deals damage to anything that has feet on the ground, and stone edge hits anything that doesn't. I went with the scarf for a few reasons: one being I want to have the speed if webs aren't up. Tangentially, this is an alternative lead, so I want the first move in the battle. I also have enough firepower on the team to not need a damage boost. (I did run stealth rock instead of Knock Off by accident, but I still had success with it. I think Knock Off is the better move that provides more utility to my team though.)
Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Tail Glow
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Energy Ball
My cleanup sweeper; the rarely used crux of my team. The idea is when webs are up, Manaphy will be in a very high speed tier. So if I can get webs up on a fire pokemon, I can bring in Manaphy, force a swap, and get a tail glow. Then nothing stops me. Surf gets STAB and destroys fire and ground 'mons. Ice beam kills Dragonite, Garchomp, Gliscor, and Lando, it also does a lot of work on other ground, dragon, and flying 'mons. Energy ball hits other water types that would otherwise wall me. Tail glow is a win condition; if the following move doesn't faint the other pokemon, it'll bring it in range for my sweepers/stealth rocks. It has 328 SpA and 299 Speed, which is still solid without tail glow or webs. It's very vulnerable though, so I want to wait until threats are gone before I bring it out (namely Serperior). This bad boy can beat just about anything slower than it, and its teammates can handle what's faster.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Magnezone is another scarf-sweeper. Maybe it's redundant to have two scarf users on a webs team, but I have the need for speed. But really, I think 238 is too slow for a non-setup sweeper. Magnet pull is the key here, keeping in Manaphy threats like Ferrothorn and Scizor. Once their pulled in, I punish them with HP fire until they pass out. Flash Cannon is my only super effective move against fairies, so it's vital. Volt Switch is great because of damage and pivoting; I can keep it alive and soften up the 'mon for the sweeper I bring in. Thunderbolt is a bit electric overkill, but I need a solid STAB damaging move that doesn't force me out. HP fire also hurts Serperior, who's Leaf Storm I can reasonably tank. This is a bulky mon that I can bring in and pivot out, which is a key aspect of my strategy. I also like trapping steels, swapping to Heatran, then punishing whatever swaps in.
Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Fake Out
- Ice Punch
Mega-Lopunny hits fast, hard, and then hard again. There aren't really a whole lot of mons that can stand up against it for more than 3 turns. Fake out goest first, opening up a Mega-Evolution, and stopping their moves - Scrappy coming in clutch hitting ghosts. Return is the standard STAB attack. It hits anything but rock and steel types neutrally. Meanwhile, High Jump Kick destroys both of those types, and it is a riskier choice if I don't think Return cuts it. Ice Punch kills dragons, grounds, and flyings (which is almost half of the top viability tiers). It's too vulnerable to bring in on switches, I have to sacrifice something to bring it safely; however, it serves as an alternative win condition to Manaphy. If the other team is specially bulky, Mega Lopunny is a great choice to break through their walls. The key here is to prevent paralysis and burns otherwise I'm toast.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Toxic
Full disclosure, this is the first non-utility Heatran set I've run. I really like it. The point here is to pressure and punish their walls while allowing opportunities to swap. Magma Storm keeps pokemon in, which allows me to bring in a counter freely. Moreover, it does a lot of damage. I like doing lots of damage. Earth Power hurts electric types and other Heatran, and I at least tie any of them not wearing scarves. Toxic puts their walls on a timer, and it brings them down into one-shot range for a more powerful sweeper. Lastly, taunt exists to prevent hazards, stat boosts, and status. What's super important is that Serperior cannot touch this guy, so I can force a swap and freely punish whatever they bring in. If I think it's steel then I damage, otherwise I consider toxic or taunt. I can use it as a wall against fire and grass types, I can set up chances to bring in counters, I can force walls to swap out, and I can just do lots of damage. This flexibility really serves my team well as it can help support any win condition.
So overall I'm trying to think of ways to break my team. While I don't have a lot of Clefable/fairy counterplay, my raw damage is usually enough to break through eventually. Serperior was definitely my biggest threat, with Contrary and leaf storm destroying webs and Manaphy, repectively. However, I think I have enough counterplay to have a solid chance. Now, I'm struggling to think how to counter Rotom-Wash. It's levitate keeps it free from webs and ground moves, it threatens the one pokemon that can toxic it, and it has two status moves that can destroy my sweepers. My main hope is to set up Manaphy and tail glow to hit an energy ball, otherwise I'm stuck. The only pokemon that's safe against it is Magnezone, so keeping it alive will be crucial.
1. Set up webs and eliminate Manaphy counters. Activate tail glow and break their team.
2. Use stealth rock and pivot moves to bring up chip damage and allow for fast sweepers to clean up.
3. Use Shuckle and Heatran as means of forcing pokemon out/keeping them in. Then bring in counters and repeat.
Shuckle @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
Hidden Power: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Infestation
My general lead; not reinventing the wheel here. Stealth rock and webs go out and bother the enemy team, chipping away at their speed and health to allow my sweepers free reign. Encore is also annoying, and it's great to let me swap out freely and gain momentum. Infestation fills a similar role, where I can trap a specific 'mon to defeat them (honestly I don't use this move a whole lot, I'm considering changing it). EVs are set up to allow maximum bulk, and Mental Herb prevents an initial taunt. After I'm done setting leads, this serves as a decent wall in the mid-game. This is when I mainly use encore to generate a switching opportunity. There's really not too much else to say here. The key is I never throw out webs if there's a living Serperior, since the speed boost can sweep me. But after it's fainted, I like to bring out the webs if needed.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
Lando does a lot of work spreading attack drops. I can swap him safely into electric, ground, and steel, while I can riskily swap into other physical attackers. U-turn is frequently used to bring in another, more advantageous pokemon into a weaker physical attack. Knock off is obvious, I want to have items and I don't want my opponent to. These two moves give me coverage against the fast ghost and psychic sweepers like Gengar, Gardevior M, and Alakazam M. Earthquake deals damage to anything that has feet on the ground, and stone edge hits anything that doesn't. I went with the scarf for a few reasons: one being I want to have the speed if webs aren't up. Tangentially, this is an alternative lead, so I want the first move in the battle. I also have enough firepower on the team to not need a damage boost. (I did run stealth rock instead of Knock Off by accident, but I still had success with it. I think Knock Off is the better move that provides more utility to my team though.)
Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Tail Glow
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Energy Ball
My cleanup sweeper; the rarely used crux of my team. The idea is when webs are up, Manaphy will be in a very high speed tier. So if I can get webs up on a fire pokemon, I can bring in Manaphy, force a swap, and get a tail glow. Then nothing stops me. Surf gets STAB and destroys fire and ground 'mons. Ice beam kills Dragonite, Garchomp, Gliscor, and Lando, it also does a lot of work on other ground, dragon, and flying 'mons. Energy ball hits other water types that would otherwise wall me. Tail glow is a win condition; if the following move doesn't faint the other pokemon, it'll bring it in range for my sweepers/stealth rocks. It has 328 SpA and 299 Speed, which is still solid without tail glow or webs. It's very vulnerable though, so I want to wait until threats are gone before I bring it out (namely Serperior). This bad boy can beat just about anything slower than it, and its teammates can handle what's faster.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Magnezone is another scarf-sweeper. Maybe it's redundant to have two scarf users on a webs team, but I have the need for speed. But really, I think 238 is too slow for a non-setup sweeper. Magnet pull is the key here, keeping in Manaphy threats like Ferrothorn and Scizor. Once their pulled in, I punish them with HP fire until they pass out. Flash Cannon is my only super effective move against fairies, so it's vital. Volt Switch is great because of damage and pivoting; I can keep it alive and soften up the 'mon for the sweeper I bring in. Thunderbolt is a bit electric overkill, but I need a solid STAB damaging move that doesn't force me out. HP fire also hurts Serperior, who's Leaf Storm I can reasonably tank. This is a bulky mon that I can bring in and pivot out, which is a key aspect of my strategy. I also like trapping steels, swapping to Heatran, then punishing whatever swaps in.
Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Fake Out
- Ice Punch
Mega-Lopunny hits fast, hard, and then hard again. There aren't really a whole lot of mons that can stand up against it for more than 3 turns. Fake out goest first, opening up a Mega-Evolution, and stopping their moves - Scrappy coming in clutch hitting ghosts. Return is the standard STAB attack. It hits anything but rock and steel types neutrally. Meanwhile, High Jump Kick destroys both of those types, and it is a riskier choice if I don't think Return cuts it. Ice Punch kills dragons, grounds, and flyings (which is almost half of the top viability tiers). It's too vulnerable to bring in on switches, I have to sacrifice something to bring it safely; however, it serves as an alternative win condition to Manaphy. If the other team is specially bulky, Mega Lopunny is a great choice to break through their walls. The key here is to prevent paralysis and burns otherwise I'm toast.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Toxic
Full disclosure, this is the first non-utility Heatran set I've run. I really like it. The point here is to pressure and punish their walls while allowing opportunities to swap. Magma Storm keeps pokemon in, which allows me to bring in a counter freely. Moreover, it does a lot of damage. I like doing lots of damage. Earth Power hurts electric types and other Heatran, and I at least tie any of them not wearing scarves. Toxic puts their walls on a timer, and it brings them down into one-shot range for a more powerful sweeper. Lastly, taunt exists to prevent hazards, stat boosts, and status. What's super important is that Serperior cannot touch this guy, so I can force a swap and freely punish whatever they bring in. If I think it's steel then I damage, otherwise I consider toxic or taunt. I can use it as a wall against fire and grass types, I can set up chances to bring in counters, I can force walls to swap out, and I can just do lots of damage. This flexibility really serves my team well as it can help support any win condition.
So overall I'm trying to think of ways to break my team. While I don't have a lot of Clefable/fairy counterplay, my raw damage is usually enough to break through eventually. Serperior was definitely my biggest threat, with Contrary and leaf storm destroying webs and Manaphy, repectively. However, I think I have enough counterplay to have a solid chance. Now, I'm struggling to think how to counter Rotom-Wash. It's levitate keeps it free from webs and ground moves, it threatens the one pokemon that can toxic it, and it has two status moves that can destroy my sweepers. My main hope is to set up Manaphy and tail glow to hit an energy ball, otherwise I'm stuck. The only pokemon that's safe against it is Magnezone, so keeping it alive will be crucial.