TEH MASTER OF GEN 1 IS BACK
Status: Awaiting QC checks
QC [3/3]: (Snunch) (Delta 2277) (Oglemi)
GP [0/2]: () ()
[OVERVIEW]
<p>Alakazam has always been an offensive monster. With its 135 base Special Attack stat and 120 Speed, the Psi Pokemon is capable of delivering quite a hit. It gained two excellent new tools in BW, the first of which is Psyshock which uses its huge Special Attack but hits the opponent's physical Defense, allowing it to hurt special walls like Chansey a lot more than it ever could before. The second is the unreleased Magic Guard, which prevents all damage not caused by direct attacks, including Life Orb recoil. However, as a fast, offensive Psychic-type, he has gained competition in Celebi, Mew and Azelf who all dropped through the tiers. In addition, with his 45 base Defense, Alakazam isn't surviving any physical hits. Despite these flaws, Alakazam is still stupidly powerful and can differentiate himself from the other UU Psychic-types, as he has the highest Special Attack and Speed of all of them, as well as a support movepool including Encore, Taunt and Knock Off which prevent him from being totally predictable.</p>
[SET]
name: Sub + 3 Attacks
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Psyshock / Psychic
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Shadow Ball / Grass Knot
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Synchronize / Inner Focus
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p> This set’s main aim is to lure in counters and weaken if not eliminate them. The execution is relatively simple; switch in on something that you threaten, set up a Substitute on the switch to scout the switch-in and block status, then attack with the appropriate move. Psyshock or Psychic will be your mandatory STAB move. Psychic is generally more powerful, but Psyshock deals large amounts of damage to Chansey, one of the counters that this set aims to destroy, so Psyshock is the primary option. Focus Blast hits Dark- and Steel-type foes who are immune and resist Psychic moves respectively for super effective damage, whilst Shadow Ball hurts opposing Psychic-types and completes the perfect neutral coverage of Fighting + Ghost. Grass Knot can be used to hurt bulky Water-types, as well as hitting Spiritomb for the same amount of damage as Shadow Ball; however you will lose the ability to hit Cresselia, Celebi and Sigilyph. </p>
<p> The EVs on the set are very simple, just maximize Special Attack and Speed. The ability and item of the set are both a matter of personal preference. In terms of abilities, Synchronize punishes attempts to status Alakazam when he doesn’t have a Substitute up, and Inner Focus prevents flinching from things like TechniTop Fake Out. In terms of items, Life Orb gives a huge boost in power but Substitute damage and Life Orb recoil can wear Alakazam down very quickly. Leftovers is the safer choice, giving Alakazam the ability to make more Substitutes. </p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> Generally, you will be switching Alakazam in after a kill, as it really cannot afford to take any hit or status move. Obviously, being an offensive Pokemon, Alakazam loves entry hazards wearing down the opponents as they switch in. Due to the purpose of this set, a sweeper who has similar counters to Alakazam would benefit from having them removed. Good examples of the aforementioned sweepers include Nasty Plot Mew and Azelf.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Psychic / Psyshock
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Grass Knot
move 4: Trick / Grass Knot
item: Choice Specs
ability: Synchronize
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Choice Specs equipped, Alakazam hits 554 Special Attack. This raw power allows it to rip through weakened teams late game, or hit-and-run early on. The same three attacking moves are used on this set as on the previous set; the only change here is that you forgo Substitute for Trick or Grass Knot. Trick is an excellent way to deal with Chansey if you choose not to run Psyshock, robbing it of Eviolite and locking her into one move, rendering her practically useless. Grass Knot is another excellent choice to hit bulky Water-types. A pure Life Orb set is also viable, giving Alakazam a little more flexibility, at the expense of some power and HP. </p>
<p> This set also uses max Special Attack and Speed to give Alakazam the best possible sweeping potential. Inner Focus is rather pointless on this set, as Alakazam is very fast and therefore unlikely to be flinched, and most Fake Outs will probably kill him. Therefore the preferred ability is Synchronize, which can punish some walls by switching in on Toxic.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p> Once again, Alakazam loves entry hazards to more easily score some OHKOs and 2HKOs. Alakazam was a big winner from the introduction of Team Preview. It gives the user three advantages; scouting for counters, Pursuit users, and possible Choice Scarf users. Counters can be cleverly neutralized with a well timed Trick or the correct attacking move. Pursuit users are a big problem for this set. You must be very wary of locking yourself into Psychic or Psyshock, as common Pursuit users can switch in on the attack and eliminate Alakazam as it tries to run. Notable users of the move include Spiritomb, Bisharp and Weavile. You need to watch out for Choice Scarfed Pokemon and priority users, as they can make revenge killing Alakazam very easy. Alakazam is more powerful and faster than other Psychic-type Choice Specs users, and has the powerful Focus Blast to hit Dark- and Steel-types, whereas every other common UU Psychic-type needs the noticeably weaker Hidden Power [Fighting] to obtain coverage, making Alakazam stand out from the crowd. However, if you hate Focus Blast missing at crucial moments, Hidden Power is an option.</p>
[Other Options]
<p> Alakazam has a plethora of options available to it. He has access to two moves that boost Special Attack—Calm Mind and Charge Beam—which can be used to attempt a sweep. However, Alakazam lacks the bulk to set up effectively. Alakazam’s support movepool is huge, sporting moves like Taunt, Encore, Reflect, Light Screen, Magic Coat and Knock Off. Encore is particularly noticeable, for when it is used in conjunction with Substitute, it can be very threatening and can cripple Chansey and other special walls. Signal Beam can be used as another coverage move, hitting opposing Psychic-types as well as Dark-types, but you lose the ability to hit Steel-types. Moving on to more gimmicky options, Guard Split with a negative Special Defensive nature and 0 IVs in both Defenses can help even the odds against walls like Cresselia, turning their mammoth defenses against them. Finally, Miracle Eye can surprise Dark-types on the switch, but is rather unnecessary and is often just a waste of a moveslot. </p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p> Alakazam’s worst enemies are those who pack Pursuit or a physical priority move. Spiritomb is a major worry, as he is immune to the Psychic / Fighting combination and can comfortably take a coverage move with his high Special Defense. He also packs Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch and Alakazam’s worst nightmare, Pursuit. Aside from Spiritomb, Alakazam has ways to work around his other counters. Alakazam can set up a Substitute on Chansey, Taunt her, or Trick her a Choice Specs. Snorlax is very similar but is much more threatening as he can use Pursuit, though it is rare, and he doesn’t mind Taunt. Practically any physical priority attack will kill Alakazam due to his abysmal 45 base Defense, so he must have teammates who are able to take strong physical hits.
[Dream World]
<p> In Magic Guard, Alakazam has obtained arguably the best ability in the game. Once released, Alakazam will benefit greatly from the lack of entry hazard damage, but more importantly, no Life Orb recoil, so you get the 30% boost in power with absolutely no drawbacks. Magic Guard should be the primary option on all sets once released.</p>
