(click mons for import)
Introduction:
Going into SCL, I knew webs were underexplored. In UPL people were using webs that looked super suboptimal, with mons like Hydreigon. Webs in general were only used 9 times in 116 games, with a win rate of just 44.44%. I was convinced there was a better webs build out there, and after seeing the success of this team, I believe that this is the best webs build in the metagame. I really enjoy playing webs and HO in general as it feels like a chess puzzle. Since your powerful threats often force certain sequences from your opponent, you can plan out multiple turns in advance and find your wincons easily. This is why I was so determined to make a build I liked for SCL.
Webs were a dominant force at certain points in the USM metagame. Two builds in particular stand out for being meta defining, Sharow’s Eruption Don + Sash Ray + Sash Marsh + CM Fairyceus + Ultra Necro build and hyw’s Mega Diancie + Dual Dance Don + Metro Ygod + Z Lunala + Ekiller build. While these webs builds look relatively similar they are completely different in how they play. Sharow’s build is to be played very linearly, where you essentially always lead with smeargle, get your webs up and then send your threats out sequentially. Comparatively, hyws build is designed to play longer games. All the mons have some sort of defensive utility and it isn’t as required to pilot the build linearly. This lets it have a stronger matchup spread into a variety of archetypes, including vs the mirror and vs mega sableye stall, two places where Mega Diancie shines. A good pilot will often not lead with Shuckle, or preserve Shuckle for later in the game after setting webs the first time, as it can set up webs later in the game due to its impressive bulk.
In SS there are two main options for web leads, Slurpuff and Shuckle. Slurpuff is often played on linear builds that are similar to Sharow’s usm build while Shuckle has more flexibility. The problem with Slurpuff though, in comparison to Smeargle from last generation, is that it cant keep rocks off on your opponents end. Smeargle could do this with its access to Rapid Spin and Taunt. This often prevents you from using sash mons in conjunction with Slurpuff, as their main niche is ruined when rocks is off.
Teambuilding Process:
+ 
When building this team I originally chose Slurpuff as my webs setter. A couple weeks before building this team, I tried adapting the hyw team to SS but I couldn’t find a build I liked. This made me doubt the potential of the bulkier Shuckle builds, and I decided to go for the more linear option that a Slurpuff build presents. In addition to the web setter themselves, I believe Yveltal is required on every ss webs build. There are two main reasons for this: 1. It is the best taunt user in the tier and 2. It provides a check to the most common anti offense mon in the tier, Calyrex Shadow.
+ + 
After looking at different web builds and ho options, I realized how good the Sash Nasty Plot + Draining Kiss Calyrex set is on HO. This set can 6-0 many teams by itself especially with webs up. More importantly though, is that the threat of Calyrex on preview forces your opponent to play in certain ways. For example, the opponent has to be very careful with their Yveltal as any chip or removal of it makes the Caly sweep way easier. Yveltal also happens to be the most common defogger in the tier, so it puts your opponent in an awkward situation. Do they risk their Yveltal to get a defog off or do they preserve it to keep it alive to check Calyrex?
+ + + 
The next mon I added was Necrozma Dusk Mane. Dusk Mane is arguably mandatory on every webs build, if not on every team in the format besides random stalls. Its typing and ability gives it a crucial defensive utility on webs, checking mons like Xerneas. It’s DD Stone Edge set is also an excellent partner for Calyrex and Yveltal as it ohkos opposing Yveltal and Ho-oh at +1.
+ + + + 
With these 4 mons one thing I was missing was a water resist, which is why I added Rayquaza. Rayquaza got access to Scale Shot this generation which combined with Swords Dance makes a threatening breaker and sweeper. Rayquaza is also great for weakening defensive xerneas to help yveltal sweep late game. The problem with ray though, is that its slower than Yveltal (and ohko’d by Foul Play at +2) and Eternatus outside of webs so it really wants sash. The problem with this though, as I discussed earlier, is that Slurpuff does not deny Stealth Rock so the sash is essentially useless.
+ + + + 
After realizing the problems of a Rayquaza build I decided to replace Ray with Weavile. Weavile’s dual stab combination is excellent into the meta hitting all of the top 3 most used mons (Yveltal, Eternatus, and Necrozma Dusk Mane) for super effective damage. Just like Rayquaza, it also pressures Xerneas to help Yveltal sweep late game.
+ + + + After thinking about the best item for Weavile, the obvious one was Sash. This encountered the same problem that Sash Rayquaza had, my Slurpuff lead didn’t prevent opposing hazards from going up. I decided that the best way to utilize Weavile was to lead it and have a bulkier setter in Shuckle that can come in later in the game. Leading Weavile also let me counter lead many mons that would attempt to lead vs Shuckle, such as Taunt Yveltal, Toxic Spikes Eternatus, and Calyrex Shadow.
+ + + + + 
For the team's last mon, I knew I wanted a water resist as Scarf and Defensive Kyogre gave my team trouble. I never liked Eternatus on webs as I felt like there were too many matchups where it didn’t make progress, so I decide to go with Zekrom. Zekrom paired nicely with the two dark types as they all help weaken Xerneas for each other and the dark types take advantage of mons like Lunala which is a decent zekrom check.
Team Description:
Shuckle @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Final Gambit
For my web setter I chose to go with Shuckle due to its bulk compared to the other setters. Encore is very useful vs mons that try to set up vs you as well as encoring mons into defog, generating free turns for your teammates. There are three items to consider for Shuckle that all have their unique applications: Custap Berry, Red Card, and Mental Herb. I was originally Red Card on this team to help with setup sweepers, but I ended up changing to Custap as it helped with my plan of preserving Shuckle for later in the game. For example, I can switch it into a mon that I know will guarantee put shuckle in Custap range, guaranteeing my hazards. Mental Herb is another interesting option, but since I’m often not leading with Shuckle, I don’t have to worry about them antileading a mon with taunt. This spread lives 2 Moonblasts from modest Xerneas, allowing Shuckle to switch in and get webs midgame, assuming rocks aren’t up.
Weavile @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pickpocket
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Triple Axel
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
Weavile is what makes my webs team unique from its predecessors. As I mentioned I chose Sash since my plan was to lead with Weavile most games, and thus didn’t need to worry about the Sash being broken. I went with an Adamant nature to guarantee the OHKO on spdef DuskMane at +2 (Jolly only has a 43.8% chance to OHKO). One interesting thing about this set is the ability. Pressure can be nice to see if you are faster than your opponents lead, such as scouting for the speed tier on Eternatus or seeing if a Kyogre is Scarf (based on the order the ability activates. However, since I was Adamant I was slower than most Eternatus spreads, and I didn’t want my opponent to see that their Eternatus was faster than my Weavile, letting them stay in, since Eternatus lives a neutral Triple Axel most of the time. Pickpocket can also be very useful in niche scenarios such as versus Scarf Yveltal. If Scarf Yveltal goes for Knock Off against Weavile, Weavile will steal Yveltals scarf, helping other threats on the team. The last move on this set is optional, I chose to go Low Lick since physdef Ferrothorn, Body Press Magnezone, and opposing Weavile had been popping up at the time, and Low Kick has much better damage than Axel or Knock vs them. Ice shard is also an option for more priority, as well as a 100% accurate ice move which can be nice to pick off weakened threats without risking missing Axel.
Yveltal @ Life Orb
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
IVs: 27 HP
- Dark Pulse
- Oblivion Wing
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
When building this team I went through a lot of different variation of the yveltal set. Yveltals excellent base physical and special attacking stats (131 for both), allow it to run a number of potent sets. The first set I tried was this Custap Berry Acrobatics set, the idea was that I was trying to find the best way to utilize Acrobatics and realized that custap allowed me to not need to use sucker punch to revenge kill threats like Calyrex Shadow. In testing this set performed pretty poorly, so I knew I wanted to try something else. I ended up settling with a special set with sucker punch, as the priority vs mons like Scarf Calyrex shadow is very important. Taunt and max speed was a constant on every set, as it allows Yveltal to Taunt defoggers and gives it good odds to 1v1 defensive mons like Blissey and Zygarde. I then set my IV’s to a number ending in 9 to minimize Life Orb recoil. Another set that I think has a lot of potential on this team is a physical attacking set with Roseli Berry. This set is much better vs Xerneas teams and can help Zekrom and Weavile break through fairies.
Calyrex-Shadow @ Focus Sash
Ability: As One (Spectrier)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Astral Barrage
- Psyshock
- Draining Kiss
This is the standard HO Calyrex Shadow. This set on its own (especially with webs up), can solo a lot of unprepared teams. The opponent needs to have Sucker or Snarl on Yveltal or a faster mon than Caly on their team (such as Marshadow with Shadow Sneak, or a scarfer) to not get 6-0d. While this may seem obvious, many teams still lack counterplay to this set. Sash is excellent on this set as even if rocks are up, you can Draining Kiss to get back to 100% and then the sash will activate. The presence of Calyrex Shadow on this team requires the opponent to be very careful with managing their Yveltals health, which greatly helps the other members of this webs team.
Necrozma-Dusk-Mane @ Life Orb
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Sunsteel Strike
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
DD Stone Edge Life Orb is Necrozma-Dusk-Mane’s best set on offense. Stone Edge hits Ho-oh and Yveltal for big damage. Knock Off is my preferred move for hitting other Dusk Mane, while also hitting Lunala very hard. Not running max speed might look weird, but you still outspeed the entire unboosted metagame after a Dragon Dance with webs up and don’t miss out on anything with just webs or a dd without webs. Cutting the speed allows me to run an hp number that ends in 9, minimizing life orb recoil. Another option on this set is Colbur Berry, which can lure Scarf Yveltal (and does not risk a Stone Edge miss vs normal Yveltal) which can be an annoying anti offense tool vs this team.
Zekrom @ Lum Berry
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Bolt Strike
- Dragon Claw
- Draco Meteor
This is the standard Zekrom moveset. Draco is used to hit mons like physdef Tangrowth, Buzzwole, and Groudon harder than the physical attacks do. I went with a Lum Berry as it helps vs Tspikes builds, gives you a much higher chance to beat Wisp Lunala 1v1, and allows you to set up on Ho-oh without risking a Sacred Fire burn. A + speed nature can also be considered on this set as + speed allows you to outspeed calyrex shadow at +1 (or if its at -1), but I chose +attack for more power.
Threat List:
Scarfers
:Just like other webs builds, scarfers can give this team trouble as they cancel out the speed drop from webs. Ditto is probably the most problematic one, but also the least common. You have to be careful to make sure you imposter proof yourself, as Ditto copying one of your sweepers can be deadly. Remember that Ditto ignores the webs drop, as the drop is applied before imposter activates. Scarf Calyrex is the most common scarfer, but also is arguably the easiest to play around. If you expect your opponent to have that set, make sure to keep your Yveltal healthy. Scarf Yveltal and Scarf Kyogre aren’t that common but make sure to consider them when formulating game plans. These mons are easily abusable after locking into a move, so make sure to exploit this, such as setting up Zekrom on a Kyogre locked into a water move.
Fast Yveltal
:Back when I built this team max speed Yveltal was not as common as it is today. This set causes a lot of problems as if it wins the speed tie versus your own Yveltal it can get a Defog off before it gets Taunted. When playing versus opposing Yveltal, think about if u can risk it being max speed and getting a fog off, and it you cant make sure to find other ways to prevent its fog, such as doubling to Zekrom or Weavile.
Replays:
SCL, 64 Squares vs Reje:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8ubers-587638
Seasonal (winners finals?), Aberforth vs Staxi:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8ubers-588230
Ubers World Cup, mncmt vs TJ:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8ubers-587792
Ubers Winter Team Tour, Aberforth vs TJ:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8ubers-604492
Closing Thoughts:
Overall, I’m really happy with the finished product of this webs build. Although I unfortunately got unlucky in the game I brought it in, the teams success in future tournaments show that it’s the best webs build in the SS metagame. I love how well the mons on the team pressure their respective checks, and create holes on the opponents team. It has also been great to see how Weavile has become a rising star in the metagame, with applications on all different archetypes. I would definitely recommend this team for anyone to use in ubers open, as it matches up very well into the metagame and is quite straightforward to play. Good luck to anyone using the team there and thanks for reading!
IMPORTABLE
BONUS!! Other web builds:
Over the course of my time playing SS I also built a couple more fun webs builds, these teams aren’t as structurally solid as this team but utilize some cool cores that you should try out!
https://pokepast.es/db055af34cd3d0d1
https://pokepast.es/a8edd891e3ecb61d
https://pokepast.es/5f9a8b7419411e92
https://pokepast.es/066c067112e31a27
https://pokepast.es/caea602b8a65d8f9
