SS UU The Righteous & the Wicked

[Highways]

click the sprites for importable

Overview
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This is a team I built for my UU Open series against Amukamara. I ended up winning the game I played with it, and even though I lost the series, this is a team that I still wanted to share because it showed a lot of consistency in UU tournaments, going 4/4 in the later rounds of UU Open and 5/6 in UUWC (the only loss came from a Play Rough miss). Since apparently webs in UU is now called Brazilian webs because of this team and the other one hs and I built, I thought that it would be nice to share it, especially now that it seems like people are actually afraid of it.

My main goal when I built this team was to show that Sticky Web is, currently, so ridiculously strong that even Exploud, a mediocre wallbreaker under normal circumstances, becomes a deadly one with the correct set-up. I was inspired by an ORAS UU team that I'm pretty sure was Tony's, and what surprised me the most about it is the fact that it was very solid, even though it featured an Exploud. I was watching some old replays and, willing to expose webs teams' ridiculous strength, thought that building a team around Exploud wouldn't be a bad idea at all. Ribombee was the obvious choice as a webs setter since it has better synergy with Exploud than Araquanid. The other Pokemon were chosen to provide the team the aggressivity I would like it to have while also having their own defensive duties: Terrakion sets Stealth Rock, Jirachi has a solid typing to at least restrict Kyurem, Rotom-W stops Scarf Jirachi, and Mimikyu is a much needed resort in case things go south.

The Team


Ribombee @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Sticky Web
- Psychic​

Ribombee's Speed tier, typing combination, and invaluable ability to set Sticky Web make it a crucial Pokemon for this team. Araquanid is usually a more consistent option on webs, but since I was building around Exploud, I wanted a Pokemon that could offensively pressure Pokemon that are on the rise such as Terrakion, Noivern, and Mienshao while also grabbing momentum whenever I needed. Its utility is also increased by the fact that it can pressure hazard removal options such as Weezing-G, Starmie, and Tentacruel with its attacks, making the removal of Sticky Web more of a pain than a blessing. It can use Skill Swap over Psychic to set Sticky Web against Hatterene, but not being able to hurt Weezing-G and Toxtricity is much more problematic in my opinion.

Terrakion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
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Terrakion is one of these Pokemon that is busted on paper and in reality it is... Well, still busted. One of the scariest wallbreakers in the tier, the bull fit the team surprisingly well, providing the obligatory Stealth Rock support (though it is preferable to click another move in most situations, as seen in the replays at the end of the post) and a great breaking potential, oftentimes forcing the opponent to get into uncomfortable positions, especially since Terrakion and Exploud don't share any counters. It's also the second fastest Pokemon in the team, which is extremely important in case I face Pokemon that can't beat it under webs but that threaten the rest of the team, such as Scarf Jirachi, Scarf Mienshao, Lycanroc Dusk etc. Lastly, Terrakion is the only Dark resist of the team, and while this is definitely suboptimal, it's still enough to deal with the likes of Bisharp and Incineroar if the bull is played carefully.

Exploud @ Choice Specs
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Fire Blast
- Surf
- Focus Blast
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The star of the show. Wouldn't Obstagoon or Porygon-Z give me better results? Maybe. Would it be as fun as using Exploud? Definitely not. With the rise of Mimikyu and the lack of Normal resists that don't vanish to a Specs boosted Boomburst, Exploud is an excellent wallbreaker, 2HKOing or OHKOing most of the tier. Sometimes Exploud doesn't even have to come in for the team to work, but the pressure it applies due to the fact that a simple double to it might mean that the opponent has to pick a Pokemon to die should be already enough for it to be a scary threat. Fire Blast, Surf, and Focus Blast are all coverage options that pickoff the few Pokemon that resist it, such as SpDef Jirachi, Rhyperior, and Tyranitar. There is really nothing too flashy about it: click Boomburst, get a KO or at least weaken the foe so a teammate can take over and wreak havoc. A Modest nature is prefered to increase its raw power, but Timid can be used to outspeed Starmie under webs.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock / Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Aura Sphere
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Calm Mind Jirachi with Sticky Web support is easily the scariest Pokemon in the tier in my opinion. Its natural bulk, wide plethora of coverage options, and solid Speed tier already make it a deadly sweeper, but against opponents with decreased Speed it's simply a demon. The original version of the team had Psyshock over Psychic due to the fact that Blissey was still around, but Psychic is not just stronger, but a better STAB option in the current metagame, getting important OHKOs before a Calm Mind that Psyshock can't get, such as Weezing-G and Terrakion/Keldeo after Stealth Rock (25% roll). Shadow Ball and Aura Sphere are important coverage options that allow Jirachi to hit Pokemon that resist Psychic or are immune to it, such as Obstagoon, Krookodile, opposing Jirachi, Doublade etc. Jirachi's defensive utility is also immense for this team since resisting Kyurem's and Noivern's STABs is extremely valuable in the current metagame.

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Hydro Pump
- Discharge
- Pain Split / Defog
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Nasty Plot Rotom-Wash is a very underrated Pokemon. Since most of the good Electric immunities in the metagame are threatened by Hydro Pump, there are few players that manage to play around Nasty Plot without making any mistakes by assuming it is either a defensive set or a scarfed one. Hydro Pump and Discharge already make an excellent STAB combination that is able to hit for neutral damage any Pokemon that isn't a Grass-type, Seismitoad or Gastrodon, but thanks to Sticky Web, Rotom-W becomes one of the deadliest sweepers of the team, always being able to force the opponent's hand to sack a Pokemon. Pain Split works fantastically well against bulkier teams, but Defog might be an useful tool against other Sticky Web or Spike stack teams, also easing the Toxic Spikes matchup, though the latter isn't that bad. Rotom-Wash's defensive utility comes from the fact that it is immune to Ground, relieving the Mamoswine and Scarf Krookodile matchup.

Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
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Mimikyu is an invaluable presence for any Sticky Web team: its excellent defensive typing, great STAB combination, decent Speed, and broken ability make it one of the most prominent Pokemon in the team. With the lack of a Scarf user in the team, Mimikyu is primarily used as a revenge killer that is able to stop any kind of sweep if brought in at the right time, but it also functions as a strong, relatively fast sweeper if used correctly. An Adamant nature can be used instead of Jolly, but I find outspeeding Obstagoon and Krookodile outside of webs extremely valuable for this team, especially if the opponent finds their way to pressure Ribombee. Mimikyu is also a very valuable asset against teams with choice locked Kyurem, Keldeo, Terrakion, Mienshao etc., always forcing 50/50s or even taking advantage of locked attacks to set up.

Threats
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Fast HDB Pokemon: Heliolisk, Keldeo, and Barraskewda with Heavy-Duty Boots, albeit uncommon, are top threats for this team. Since they don't get affected by Sticky Web and the team doesn't have Knock Off, the only way to play around these Pokemon is to pivot around them carefully with Ribombee, Rotom-W, and Mimikyu.
Lycanroc Dusk: STAB priority and an insanely strong CC make Duskroc one of the team's biggest threats, if not the biggest. Playing around it involves making constant doubles to Rotom-W, Jirachi (these have to be healthy), and Mimikyu. If Ribombee has the opportunity to set webs, then it's not that much of a threat but it pressures Ribombee in the first place so it should be played carefully around.
Scarf Keldeo and Mienshao: Scarf Keldeo and Scarf Mienshao are extremely threatening for this team, since they outspeed Ribombee before webs and most of the Pokemon in the team even after webs. Against Scarf Keldeo, Rotom-W and Mimikyu should be preserved to force mindgames, and against Mienshao, keeping Mimikyu and Terrakion should be enough to keep it at check.
Cobalion: Cobalion is extremely threatening. It KOes Ribombee with Iron Head and after a +2 almost OHKOes every single Pokemon in the team. It also doesn't really mind taking one Play Rough from Mimikyu and ties with Terrakion. To play around it, webs has to be up or you will be forced to sack one Pokemon to beat it. Forcing Close Combat mindgames also works well.

Replays

Highways vs Amukamara (UU Open R6)

Luigi vs Nat (UU Open R7)

Askov vs UltraBallz (UU Open R7)

Askov vs High Impulse (UU Open Semifinals)

Highways vs Star (UUWC R1)

Luigi vs Anish (UUWC R1)

gorex vs Ajna (UUWC R1)

lyd vs Loki (UUWC R1)

Kiichikos vs Twilight (UUWC R1)

Conclusion
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The team is very simple to use and its aggressive nature makes it really dangerous to play around. All of the wallbreakers of the team are suited to perform against offensive and bulkier builds and that's why the team doesn't usually leave too much room for the opponent to breathe: its breaking power is so immense that it doesn't require many predictions to work. Just set webs up and start clicking the buttons that will hurt the opponent the most. It's this simple. It was really fun to build it and especially to watch it have so much success across players with different playstyles in different tournaments. Also, Exploud is good. Please excuse my poor English, and thanks for reading!

 

[vivalospride]

pls stop making webs teams it's hurting my ego as the uu webs guy, anyways this team is great aside from the exploud but you already acknowledge that so good shit hoping to see you climb to higher heights

however i cant help but notice that you stole my replay format which i stole from Chloe