Alakazam [QC: 1/3]

[emma]

approved by snake_rattler and Take Azelfie to take over

qc: snake / x / x
gp: x / x​

[OVERVIEW]

• Incredible speed with it's Mega having the highest natural speed tier in the CAP meta allowing it outspeed Kerfuffle even in its base form.
• High special attack stat coupled with a good Psychic-typing and coverage such as Focus Blast and Shadow Ball to hit Psychic resistant targets like Dark and Psychic.
• Great abilities in both forms that can be used to shake off entry hazards and Burn, Toxic, and Leech Seed damage, while being able to copy the foe's ability form itself in its mega form.
• Supportive movepool with access to moves like Thunder Wave and Encore let's it annoy certain checks like revenge killers and Calm Mind users.
• Is extremely frail, not being able to survive Terrakion and Mega Heracross Close Combat in its Base Form even though it's a resist.
• It can only use Substitute dodge status moves from defensive Pokemon. The same can be applied to Pursuit if Alakazam is not willing to stay in, as well as Sucker Punch, usually from Colossoil. However, coverage needs to be taken in order to run Substitute, making it a subpar move to run.
• Trace is a double sided ability, since the copied ability won't always be useful in that situation or useful at all.

[SET]
name: Mega Alakazam
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Calm Mind
move 4: Encore / Substitute
item: Alakazite
ability: Trace
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Psychic is a strong STAB that also hits Fighting- and Poison-types like Tomohawk and Mega Venusaur for super effective damage and scores a OHKO on the former and a 2HKO on the latter.
• Focus Blast hits almost all of Psychic's switchins, mainly Dark- and Steel-types such as Colossoil and Ferrothorn for 2HKOs.
• Shadow Ball is for Psychic-types like Latios as well as Kitsunoh for once again, 2HKOs.
• Calm Mind can also be used instead of Shadow Ball to boost Mega Alakazam's Special Attack to insane levels, while obtaining respectable Special Defense. However, you lose coverage against other Psychic-types.
  
• Encore is able to stop sweepers from setting up giving Alakazam free turns to launch powerful attacks, however, does not fare well against set-up Pokemon that can boost their Speed to outpace Alakazam like Dragon Dance Aurumoth.
• Substitute eases prediction on Pokemon switching, blocks status and is also used for creating 50-50 situations against Sucker Punch users like Colossoil.

Set Details
========

• Maximum Special Attack and Speed with a Timid nature lets Mega Alakazam outspeed every non boosted Pokemon except opposing Mega Alakazam and Mega Aerodactyl while also hitting as hard as possible. Alakazam also ties with other Base 120s, such as Dugtrio, and well as outspeeding everything below, such as Kerfuffle, before it Mega Evolves.
• Magic Guard avoid all entry hazard damage upon switching before Alakazam mega evolves.
• Trace can be used to obtain useful abilities such as Regenerator of Amoonguss and Swift Swim off Kingdra.

Usage Tips
========

• Use Alakazam mainly as revenge killer early game and when the opposing team is weakened enough as a revenge killer.
• When the opponent sends out a non Speed boosting set up sweeper like Manaphy and Clefable, try to get Alakazam in when they are going to go for a boosting move to stop it with Encore and force a switch.
• Because of Alakazam almost non exsistant Defense stat and weakness of Dark-types be wary of Pursuit trappers with Sucker Punch coming in as they can force Alakazam to make a 50-50 play. If Alakazam fails to predict properly, for example useing Psychic on a Colossoil switch in, it will more than likely end up KOed. Try to avoid bringing in Alakazam when your opponent still has Dark-types alive.

Team Options
========

• Fairy-types such as Kerfuffle and Clefable help Mega Alakazam a lot at they eliminate Dark-types which lets Alakazam spam Psychic easier. Kerfuffle can also eliminate Steel Types with its secondary STAB attack which is very beneficial.
• Fire-types such as Mollux and Heatran are very good at eliminating opposing Steels for Mega Alakazam, although they sometimes struggle taking down Heatran. They, along with Fairy-types, resist Bug, which is also helpful.
• Fighting is the only STAB that can hit both Dark and Steel-types for super effective damage so they really Mega Alakazam out a ton. Terrakion and Tomohawk are examples of this.
• Dark-types such as Colossoil and Bisharp can come in on opposing Dark, Ghost and Psychic-types while Alakazam can beat Fighting-types. However, they are both weak to Bug which leaves them weak to U-Turn and Aurumoth.
• Wallbreakers like Earth Plate Landorus-T and Life Orb Tornadus-T help to weaken the opponent's team by using extremely powerful Earthquakes or hitting hard with diverse coverage so Mega Alakazam can clean through late game, however, are not as necessary, but still very appreicated, as they are with regular Alakazam due to Mega Alakazam's higher Special Attack and the possibly of Calm Mind.

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Encore / Thunder Wave
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Psychic is a powerful STAB pressuring all those who don't resist it including picking up a OHKO on Tomohawk and 2HKO on Defensive Mega Venusaur.
• Focus Blast pairs almost perfectly with Psychic, hitting most of Psychics switchins with a super effective attack and securing the OHKO on Colossoil that aren't holding an Assault Vest.
• Shadow Ball nails Latias, Latios, and opposing Alakazam, all Pokemon that could switch into the prior two moves with no discomfort and can OHKO opposing Alakazam and 2HKO both Latios and Latias.
• Hidden Power Ice is capable of KOing Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Gliscor all in one or two hits.
• Encore is a disruptive tool for stopping defensive Pokemon and sweepers in there tracks by locking them into their last move.
• Thunder Wave is very useful for speed control and slowing down set-up sweepers and is particularly useful on the Focus Sash set so you can take a hit and paralyze the foe.
• Hidden Power Fire can be used instead to lure in Scizor and have a more reliable way of hitting Ferrothorn and secure 2HKOs on both of them, but loses other coverage and loss of one speed point, which lets other Base 120s outspeed, but you still outspeed Base 119s such as Kerfuffle.

Set Details
========

• Maximum Speed and a Timid nature is required for outspeeding Kerfluffle and 252+ Base 105s and above.
• Life Orb and maximum Special Attack lets it hit as hard as possible.
• Magic Guard is used to stop Life Orb recoil and ignore passive damage such as hazards and burn.
• Focus Sash can be used instead to turn it into a safety net revenge killer or check as it can always get off one attack granted it hasn't been hit yet, but you lose out on a significant amount of power.
• If using Hidden Power Fire, you lose one speed point meaning you are now slower than other Base 120s such as opposing Alakazam and Dugtrio. However, you still outspeed Kerfuffle at Base 119.

Usage Tips
========

• When using Focus Sash,try to keep it intact as long as possible as the safety measure of living one attack and firing off a Thunder Wave can change games. You can do this by bringing in Alakazam after a death on your team or on a predicted Status move not named Thunder Wave.
• Alakazam works best as a revenge killer, coming in on weakened, slower threats and getting the safe kill. It should not be sent out early game when the opponent's team is still heathy.
• Try to avoid bringing in Alakazam until you have gotten rid of Dark-types, especially those with Sucker Punch or Pursuit, so you do not force yourself to try to predict switch ins that are immune to Psychic or potentially get Pursuit trapped.

Team Options
========

• Since Dark-types are the only type to be immune to Psychic, Fairy-types are very helpful since they eliminate these. Kerfuffle and Sylveon are both great examples since they come in on all Dark-types except Bisharp and can pressure them offensively with Fairy STAB.
• Steels are also a big issue, so having a Fire-type is helpful. Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y and Mollux can easily dispose Steels. They also resist Bug-types.
• Fighting is the only STAB that can hit both Dark and Steel-types for super-effective damage so having these with Alakazam help a ton. Terrakion and Tomohawk are examples of this.
• Dark-types, such as Colossoil and Bisharp, pair well with Alakazam since they can come in on opposing Dark, Ghost and Psychic-types and threaten them out while Alakazam can KO Fighting-types.
• Wallbreakers such as Earth Plate Landorus-T and Life Orb Tornadus-T help to weaken the opponent's team by using extremely powerful Earthquakes or hitting hard with diverse coverage so Alakazam can come in easier and clean on a weakened team.
• Hazards help Alakazam net some KOes it wouldn't be able to before like on Latios so having a Stealth Rocker like Mollux or Heatran is nice.Both of these Pokemon can also handle Mega Scizor which is a big issue as its coverage can not get around it.
• Status Absorbers such as Colossoil and Electric-types such as Cyclohm absorb Thunder Waves which slow Alakazam out and hinder its effectiveness.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Taunt + Encore, along side Psychic and Focus Blast, can be run on the same set to stall break, but Mega Alakazam is generally much better at cleaning up late game.
• Taunt by itself is viable to shut down defensive Pokemon such as Gliscor or Chansey.
• Energy Ball, or even Grass Knot, can we used to hit Bulky Waters such as Gastrodon, Rotom-Wash, and Suicune.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Dark-types**: Dark-types are immune to Alakazam's STAB attacks so Alakazam has to rely on the shaky Focus Blast to do any damage to Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Colossoil. These Pokemon also often carry Pursuit and Colossoil carries Sucker Punch to further mess with Alakazam,

**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as (Mega) Scizor and Mega Metagross resist Psychic and take neutral damage from Focus Blast. Both have access to Bullet Punch, and although Mega Metagross is weak to Shadow Ball, it also have Pursuit to further stop Alakazam.

**Faster Pokemon**: Fast Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T, Volkraken Jirachi, and Latios can easily revenge kill Alakazam due to their strong STABs and Alakzam's frailty. Scarf Earthquake and Fire Blast are clean OHKOs, while Scarf Draco can 2HKO and Alakazam can rarely touch Jirachi offensively.

**Priority**: Priority users such Azumarill and Talonflame can come in and easily revenge kill Alakazam due to Alakazam's extreme frailty.

 

[emma]

ready for qc team : )

 

[snake]

approved by snake_rattler and Take Azelfie to take over

[OVERVIEW]

• Incredible speed with it's Mega having the highest natural speed tier in the CAP meta. Mention what its base forme outspeeds
• High special attack stat coupled with a good Psychic-typing and coverage what type of coverage to hit Psychic resistant targets.
• Great abilities in both forms kinda GP, but reword this bullet, sounds weird. that can be used to shake off entry hazards and HP draining status effects you mean Leech Seed, while in its mega form it can copy the opponent's ability for itself.
• Supportive movepool with access to moves like Thunder Wave and Encore let's it annoy certain checks like revenge killers and Calm Mind users.
• Is as frail as a paperclip
• It must use Substitute to play carefully like dodging status moves from defensive Pokemon. sounds like a mandatory thing, but sub has a secondary slash on mega The same can be applied to Pursuit if Alakazam is not willing to stay in.
• Trace is a double sided ability, since the copied ability won't always be useful in that situation or useful at all. Include an example of a good ability to trace maybe

[SET]
name: Mega Form imo call this Mega Alakazam
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Encore / Substitute
item: Alakazite
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Psychic is a strong STAB that also hits Fighting- and Poison-types like Tomohawk and Venusaur for super effective damage. relevant 2HKOes and OHKOes
• Focus Blast almost all of Psychic's switchins, mainly Dark- and Steel-types such as Colossoil and Ferrothorn. relevant 2HKOes and OHKOes
• Shadow Ball is for Psychic-types like Latios as well as Kitsunoh. does it 2HKO / OHKO
• Encore is able to stop sweepers from setting up giving Alakazam free turns to launch powerful attacks. mention that it doesn't work well against speed boosters that boost past Zam's speed (ex. can't encore Auru into QD)
• Substitute eases prediction on Pokemon switching blocks Thunder Wave and is also used for creating 50-50 situations against Sucker Punch users like Colossoil.
• Dazzling Gleam can be used to hit Mega Sableye while still hitting other Dark-types but dropping the ability to hit Steel-types created many unfavourable situations. Mega Sableye is gone - does Dgleam have a purpose?
• Include Calm Mind somewhere, maybe as a slash to Shadow Ball or something (CM + Encore is annoying)

Set Details
========

• Maximum Special Attack and Speed with a Timid nature lets Mega Alakazam outspeed every non boosted Pokemon except opposing Mega Alakazam and Mega Aerodactyl while also hitting as hard as possible.
• Magic Guard avoid all entry hazard damage upon switching before Alakazam mega evolves.
• what does Trace do

Usage Tips
========

• Use Alakazam mainly as revenge killer early game and when the opposing team is weakened enough as a revenge killer. reword
• When the opponent sends out a non Speed boosting set up sweeper like Manaphy and Clefable, try to get Alakazam in when they are going to go for a boosting move to stop it with Encore and force a switch.
• Because of Alakazam almost non exsistant Defense stat and weakness of Dark-types be wary of Pursuit trappers with Sucker Punch coming in as they can force Alakazam to make a 50-50 play. If Alakazam fails to predict properly, it will more than likely end up KOed.
• expand on this - focus blast on colo switch-in, psychic is generally the go to move, etc.

Team Options
========

• Fairy-types such as Kerfuffle and Sylveon help Alakazam a lot at they eliminate Dark-types which lets Alakazam spam Psychic easier. Kerfuffle can also eliminate Steel Types with its secondary STAB attack which is very beneficial.
• Fire-types such as Mollux and Mega Charizard Y are very good at eliminating opposing Steels for Alakazam. They, along with Fairy-types, resist Bug, which is also helpful.
• Fighting is the only STAB that can hit both Dark and Steel-types for super effective tamage. Terrakion and Tomohawk are examples of this, Terrakion can also take care of opposing Psychic-types because of the secondary Dark-typing. <- this is false
• Dark-types can come in on opposing Dark, Ghost and Psychic-types while Alakazam can beat Fighting-types. However, they are both weak to Bug. which dark-types
• Wallbreakers like Choice Banded Necturna and Life Orb Tornadus-T help to weaken the opponent's team so Mega Alakazam can clean through late game. while these are cool wallbreakers, they are underutilized so you might want to explain how they do it, also add some more common ones
• Hazards help Mega Alakazam net some KOes it wouldn't be able to before like on Latios so having a Stealth Rocker like Mollux or Heatran is nice. Both of these Pokemon can also handle Mega Scizor which is a big issue as its coverage can not get around it.

[SET]
name: Base Form call this one Life Orb
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Encore / Thunder Wave
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Psychic is a powerful STAB pressuring all those who don't resist it. relevant 2HKOes and OHKOes
• Focus Blast pairs almost perfectly with Psychic, hitting most of Psychics switchins with a super effective attack. relevant 2HKOes and OHKOes
• Shadow Ball nails Latias, Latios, and Mega Sableye remove, banned, all Pokemon that could switch into the prior two moves with no discomfort. relevant 2HKOes and OHKOes
• Hidden Power Ice is capable of KOing Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Gliscor. all OHKOes?
• Hidden Power Fire can be used instead to lure in Scizor and have a more reliable way of hitting Ferrothorn. OHKOes?
• Encore is a disruptive tool for stopping defensive Pokemon and sweepers in there tracks by locking them into their last move.
• Thunder Wave is sad that you left it out :(

Set Details
========

• Maximum Speed and a Timid nature is required for outspeeding Kerfluffle. name one or two more things
• Life Orb and maximum Special Attack lets it hit as hard as possible.
• Magic Guard is used to stop Life Orb recoil and ignore passive passive such as hazards and burn. Passive passives passively pass your time passively!
• Focus Sash can be used instead to turn it into a safety net revenge killer or check as it can always get off one attack granted it hasn't been hit yet. Is there a downside to Focus Sash?

Usage Tips
========

• When using Focus Sash, try to keep it intact as long as possible as the safety measure of living one attack could change games.
• Alakazam works best as a revenge killer, coming in on weakened, slower threats and getting the safe kill.
• Expand, way too short: early game do this, late game to this, what to use when your opponent has common checks, etc.

Team Options
========

• Fairy-types such as Kerfuffle and Sylveon help Alakazam a lot at they eliminate Dark-types which lets Alakazam spam Psychic easier. Kerfuffle can also eliminate Steel Types with its secondary STAB attack which is very beneficial.
• Fire-types such as Mollux and Mega Charizard Y are very good at eliminating opposing Steels for Alakazam. They, along with Fairy-types, resist Bug, which is also helpful.
• Fighting is the only STAB that can hit both Dark and Steel-types for super effective tamage. Terrakion and Tomohawk are examples of this, Terrakion can also take care of opposing Psychic-types because of the secondary Dark-typing.
• Dark-types can come in on opposing Dark, Ghost and Psychic-types while Alakazam can beat Fighting-types. However, they are both weak to Bug.
• Wallbreakers like Choice Banded Necturna and Life Orb Tornadus-T help to weaken the opponent's team so Mega Alakazam can clean through late game.
• Hazards help Mega Alakazam net some KOes it wouldn't be able to before like on Latios so having a Stealth Rocker like Mollux or Heatran is nice. Both of these Pokemon can also handle Mega Scizor which is a big issue as its coverage can not get around it.
• we love c/p

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Modest can be run over Timid for every power, but losing out on out speeding Kerfuffle is something a strong majority of teams do not want to do. i don't think this is worth even OO
• Hidden Power Fire is an option as a coverage move on either the Mega or Base form to lure and kill Scizor and Ferrothorn, however, the other coverage is generally better. mega should never use this, and its on Life Orb, delete this
• Taunt + Encore can be run on the same set to stall break, but Mega Alakazam is generally much better at cleaning up late game. i'd just include taunt
• Taunt by itself is viable to shut down defensive Pokemon such as Gliscor or Chansey.
• Calm Mind is also useful to wall break, but more coverage is generally better to hit a wider amount of threats.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Dark-types**: Dark-types are immune to Alakazam's STAB attacks and (soz GP comment, subject changes) has to rely on the shaky Focus Blast to do any damage to Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Colossoil. These Pokemon also often carry Pursuit and Colossoil carries Sucker Punch to further mess with Alakazam, include Weavile

**Pursuit**: Pokemon such as Bisharp, Tyranitar, Scizor, and Assault Vest Metagross can switch in and trap Alakazam due to its Dark weakness and frailty. The first two do need to worry about Focus Blast while the latter two need to scout for the uncommon Hidden Power Fire. i'd just get rid of bisharp and ttar and call it steel-types, then mention scizor, mega scizor, mmeta for BP and pursuit

**Faster Pokemon**: Fast Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T, Jirachi, and Latios can easily revenge kill Alakazam due to their strong STABs and Alakzam's frailty. Scarf Earthquake is a clean OHKO, while Scarf Draco can 2HKO and Alakazam can rarely touch Jirachi offensively. scarf volk is another good scarfer, maybe add another on top of it

**Priority**: Priority users such Azumarill and Talonflame can come in and easily revenge kill Alakazam due to Alakazam's extreme frailty.

I know you picked this up from someone else, and I know it's hard to see all the stuff that you didn't put in the analysis, so don't take the comments too hard. Added a little GP in the mix because while it isn't my job, I don't want to read the worst mistakes over and over. I'm going to check it again before I QC it since it's a little barren / needs a lot of clean up.

Again, thanks for your help, don't take the check's flatness too seriously since most of these errors probably aren't yours, and I'll QC it after that!

 

[emma]

ill implement when i get home, thanks

i was going to ask this when i said ready for qc but i forgot lol

the team options for both i cpd since i dont really know what to say since imo they are basically the same. what should i do instead snake_rattler

 

[snake]

ill implement when i get home, thanks

i was going to ask this when i said ready for qc but i forgot lol

the team options for both i cpd since i dont really know what to say since imo they are basically the same. what should i do instead snake_rattler

Just reword it if you have to, at the very least base forme should have some extra teammates that are megas right? Also Mega Alakazam can work on more balanced builds whereas base is more hyper offensive.

 

[emma]

finished implementing, kept taunt + encore since i think its definitely usable. also fighting is definitely the only type that hits dark/steels for se damage so we may have a misunderstanding.

snake_rattler

 

[snake]

approved by snake_rattler and Take Azelfie to take over

[OVERVIEW]

• Incredible speed with it's Mega having the highest natural speed tier in the CAP meta allowing it outspeed Kerfuffle even in its base form.
• High special attack stat coupled with a good Psychic-typing and coverage such as Focus Blast to hit Psychic resistant targets like Dark. I'd say that it has good coverage in Focus Blast, Shadow Ball, and Hidden Power Fire / Ice to hit common Dark-, Steel- Ghost-type checks and scarfers, but that's just me
• Great abilities in both forms that can be used to shake off entry hazards and HP draining status effects like GP thing, just say Leech Seed and include burn and toxic damage Leech Seed, while being able to copy the foe's ability form itself in its mega form.
• Supportive movepool with access to moves like Thunder Wave and Encore let's it annoy certain checks like revenge killers and Calm Mind users.
• Is extremely frail. mention some weak move that you'd think it could survive but is too frail to actually survive, the point will have a purpose then
• It can only use Substitute dodge status moves from defensive Pokemon. The same can be applied to Pursuit if Alakazam is not willing to stay in. better, but i'd point out that it's honestly a subpar option compared to other moves. mention dodging Colo's sucker punch though
• Trace is a double sided ability, since the copied ability won't always be useful in that situation or useful at all.

[SET]
name: Mega Alakazam
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Calm Mind
move 4: Encore / Substitute
item: Alakazite
ability: Trace
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Psychic is a strong STAB that also hits Fighting- and Poison-types like Tomohawk and Mega Venusaur for super effective damage and scores a OHKO on the former and a 2HKO on the latter.
• Focus Blast hits almost all of Psychic's switchins, mainly Dark- and Steel-types such as Colossoil and Ferrothorn for 2HKOs.
• Shadow Ball is for Psychic-types like Latios as well as Kitsunoh for once again, 2HKOs.
• Encore is able to stop sweepers from setting up giving Alakazam free turns to launch powerful attacks, however, does not fare well against set-up Pokemon that can boost their Speed to outpace Alakazam like Dragon Dance Aurumoth.
• Substitute eases prediction on Pokemon switching, blocks status and is also used for creating 50-50 situations against Sucker Punch users like Colossoil.
• Calm Mind can also be used instead of Shadow Ball to boost Mega Alakazam's Special Attack to insane levels, while obtaining respectable Special Defense. However, you lose coverage against other Psychic-types. This point should go above Encore

Set Details
========

• Maximum Special Attack and Speed with a Timid nature lets Mega Alakazam outspeed every non boosted Pokemon except opposing Mega Alakazam and Mega Aerodactyl while also hitting as hard as possible. What does it outspeed in base forme, it doesn't outspeed everything in Gen 6 bc older mega speed mechanics
• Magic Guard avoid all entry hazard damage upon switching before Alakazam mega evolves.
• Trace can be used to obtain useful abilities such as Regenerator of Amoonguss.mention Swift Swim from Kingdra too, just for an offensive ability

Usage Tips
========

• Use Alakazam mainly as revenge killer early game and when the opposing team is weakened enough as a revenge killer.
• When the opponent sends out a non Speed boosting set up sweeper like Manaphy and Clefable, try to get Alakazam in when they are going to go for a boosting move to stop it with Encore and force a switch.
• Because of Alakazam almost non exsistant Defense stat and weakness of Dark-types be wary of Pursuit trappers with Sucker Punch coming in as they can force Alakazam to make a 50-50 play. If Alakazam fails to predict properly, for example useing Psychic on a Colossoil switch in, it will more than likely end up KOed. What should you do to mitigate this situation? Switch to [x] check? Throw up a sub if you have it? Focus Blast and hope for the best?

Team Options
========

• Fairy-types such as Kerfuffle and Sylveon I'd say to write Clefable over Sylveon, or at least include it. Sylveon is a little underwhelming, at least compared to Clef help Mega Alakazam a lot at they eliminate Dark-types which lets Alakazam spam Psychic easier. Kerfuffle can also eliminate Steel Types with its secondary STAB attack which is very beneficial.
• Fire-types such as Mollux and Mega Charizard Y <- can't have two megas on the same team are very good at eliminating opposing Steels for Mega Alakazam sans Heatran unless HP Ground. They, along with Fairy-types, resist Bug, which is also helpful.
• Fighting is the only STAB that can hit both Dark and Steel-types for super effective damage so they really Mega Alakazam out a ton. Terrakion and Tomohawk are examples of this.
• Dark-types such as Colossoil and Bisharp can come in on opposing Dark, Ghost and Psychic-types while Alakazam can beat Fighting-types. However, they are both weak to Bug. When does this weakness come into play? U-turn users and Aurumoth come to mind.
• Wallbreakers like Earth Plate Landorus-T and Life Orb Tornadus-T help to weaken the opponent's team by using extremely powerful Earthquakes or hitting hard with diverse coverage so Mega Alakazam can clean through late game, however, are not as necessary as they are with regular Alakazam due to Mega Alakazam's higher Special Attack and the possibly of Calm Mind. Even if Mega Alakazam is more powerful, it still needs wallbreakers

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Encore / Thunder Wave Thunder Wave sounds more useful than Encore on this set, but that might just be me
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

• Psychic is a powerful STAB pressuring all those who don't resist it including picking up a OHKO on Tomohawk and 2HKO on Defensive Mega Venusaur.
• Focus Blast pairs almost perfectly with Psychic, hitting most of Psychics switchins with a super effective attack and securing the OHKO on Colossoil that aren't holding an Assault Vest.
• Shadow Ball nails Latias, Latios, and opposing Alakazam, all Pokemon that could switch into the prior two moves with no discomfort and can OHKO opposing Alakazam and 2HKO both Latios and Latias.
• Hidden Power Ice is capable of KOing Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Gliscor all in one or two hits.
• Hidden Power Fire can be used instead to lure in Scizor and have a more reliable way of hitting Ferrothorn and secure 2HKOs on both of them. if you're removing it from the slashes, you should move it down to the bottom of the list, also mention the speed drop (lets other base 120's outspeed [other zams, dug], but i think kerf still doesn't outspeed)
• Encore is a disruptive tool for stopping defensive Pokemon and sweepers in there tracks by locking them into their last move.
• Thunder Wave is very useful for speed control and slowing down set-up sweepers and is particularly useful on the Focus Sash set so you can take a hit and paralyze the foe.

Set Details
========

• Maximum Speed and a Timid nature is required for outspeeding Kerfluffle and 252+ Base 105s and above.
• Life Orb and maximum Special Attack lets it hit as hard as possible.
• Magic Guard is used to stop Life Orb recoil and ignore passive damage such as hazards and burn.
• Focus Sash can be used instead to turn it into a safety net revenge killer or check as it can always get off one attack granted it hasn't been hit yet, but you lose out on a significant amount of power.
• mention of HP Fire Speed IV drop

Usage Tips
========

• When using Focus Sash, try to keep it intact as long as possible as the safety measure of living one attack and firing off a Thunder Wave can change games. mention that the only way that this can happen is if you switch into an attack, so if a move like Toxic, WoW, SR, Spikes, Leech Seed, w/e (not TWave lol) is predicted, that's when zam should come in
• Alakazam works best as a revenge killer, coming in on weakened, slower threats and getting the safe kill. It should not be sent out early game when the opponent's team is still heathy.
• Try to avoid bringing in Alakazam until you have gotten rid of Dark-types, especially those with Sucker Punch or Pursuit, so you do not force yourself to try to predict switch ins that are immune to Psychic or potentially get Pursuit trapped.

Team Options
========

• Since Dark-types are the only type to be immune to Psychic, Fairy-types are very helpful since they eliminate these. Kerfuffle and Sylveon are both great examples since they come in on all Dark-types except Bisharp and can pressure them offensively with Fairy STAB.
• Steels are also a big issue, so having a Fire-type is helpful. Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y and Mollux can easily dispose Steels. They also resist Bug-types.
• Fighting is the only STAB that can hit both Dark and Steel-types for super-effective damage so having these with Alakazam help a ton. Terrakion and Tomohawk are examples of this.
• Dark-types, such as Colossoil and Bisharp, pair well with Alakazam since they can come in on opposing Dark, Ghost and Psychic-types and threaten them out while Alakazam can KO Fighting-types.
• Wallbreakers such as Earth Plate Landorus-T and Life Orb Tornadus-T help to weaken the opponent's team by using extremely powerful Earthquakes or hitting hard with diverse coverage so Alakazam can come in easier and clean on a weakened team.
• Hazards help Alakazam net some KOes it wouldn't be able to before like on Latios so having a Stealth Rocker like Mollux or Heatran is nice. Both of these Pokemon can also handle Mega Scizor which is a big issue as its coverage can not get around it.
• Status Absorbers such as Starmie and Electric-types such as Cyclohm absorb Thunder Waves which slow Alakazam out and hinder its effectiveness. Maybe mention Colo other Starmie

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

• Taunt + Encore can be run on the same set to stall break, but Mega Alakazam is generally much better at cleaning up late game. Run Psychic / Focus Blast?
• Taunt by itself is viable to shut down defensive Pokemon such as Gliscor or Chansey.
• Calm Mind is also useful to wall break, but more coverage is generally better to hit a wider amount of threats. if you have it for mega, idk if you really need it here
• Add Energy Ball or Grass Knot because bulky waters are a thing as of late

Checks and Counters
===================

**Dark-types**: Dark-types are immune to Alakazam's STAB attacks so Alakazam has to rely on the shaky Focus Blast to do any damage to Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Colossoil. These Pokemon also often carry Pursuit and Colossoil carries Sucker Punch to further mess with Alakazam,

**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as (Mega) Scizor and Mega Metagross resist Psychic and take neutral damage from Focus Blast. Both have access to Bullet Punch, and although Mega Metagross is weak to Shadow Ball, it also have Pursuit to further stop Alakazam.

**Faster Pokemon**: Fast Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T, Volkraken Jirachi, and Latios can easily revenge kill Alakazam due to their strong STABs and Alakzam's frailty. Scarf Earthquake and Fire Blast are clean OHKOs, while Scarf Draco can 2HKO and Alakazam can rarely touch Jirachi offensively.

**Priority**: Priority users such Azumarill and Talonflame can come in and easily revenge kill Alakazam due to Alakazam's extreme frailty.

Team Options and C&C are still a little lacking, but I think this can have QC 1/3 when the above is implemented.

 

[emma]

Team Options and C&C are still a little lacking, but I think this can have QC 1/3 when the above is implemented.

ty ill do it tomorrow

 

[emma]

Team Options and C&C are still a little lacking, but I think this can have QC 1/3 when the above is implemented.

done, 1/3 :D