Alakazam Hyper Offense [OU RMT]

When I first started competitive Pokemon, at the dawn of DP, I sucked pretty badly. I used Pokemon that I liked a lot, and stuffed them together with no idea for synergy. Put in my favourite Special Sweeper, Physcial Sweeper, Special Tank, Physical Tank, and 2 more wildcards. Now, there were many Pokemon who I used a lot in those teams, but one of the ones I used the most were Alakazam. Now, any remotely experiences OU user understands this- Alakazam sucks, and is outclassed by Gengar. Gengar has a better typing, and a better ability allowing it to switch in, slightly better defences, a better main STAB, and a better offensive movepool, while all Alakazam has is slightly higher offensive stats, and a better supoprt movepool, but, seeing how fragile it is, hardly makes any use of it in OU.

Now however, years on and off of competitive battling, and at the end of Gen 4, I think I'm finally experienced enough to create a good and competitively viable team, with Alakazam as its head.


And this is where I realised it would be harder than it looked. I would have to capitalise on Alakazam's advantages over Gengar. The only noticeable advantage is 5 higher SpA and 10 higher Speed, as I planned to use Substitute. This meant that Alaka has a slightly higher chance of getting the OHKO on Tyranitar, as well as outspeeding, notably, ScarfTar, Starmie, and Gengar. But were these threats really worth it? When I finished this team, would I not end up replacing Alaka with a Gengar, to be more competitively viable? I admit I almost gave up here, but then I remembered looking at this page a long time ago. Salamance is useful in Uber, only because it is paired with Rayquaza. When one of them is destroyed, the other one can set up, and pick off the weakened counters. Why not emulate that same strategy in this team?



Now, I have two Pokemon that can sweep, together. The moment that one is gone, the other can come in and attack, and I had the basis for my team, set. Gengar comes in, does some damage, switches out, repeat as desired, Gengar dies, Alakazam comes in, and finishes the job. No I needed something that lures in Fighting, Normal, and/or Ground attacks for Gengar to switch to. This part was easy.



And now, that's half my team done. But, oops. 3 Special Sweepers, Blissey's gonna have a heyday. None of them plan to hold a Scarf either, and so, Setup sweepers too. Heatran can end up as a lead, but I'd avoid it if I could. Meanwhile, Heatran's still going to get killed by Water type moves. And... this would also be my first team using FWG. So I wanted to give it a try. It was around this point, where I also realised that this team would have to be Hyper Offense, seeing as I use both Gengar and Alaka.

This meant I needed Water and Grass types, a Revenge killer, and hopefully another lead.



And then, I realised, I'm in kind of a pinch. Gyara is the ONLY physical water type, same with Breloom. None of them can revenge, which means that's what I'll use. As dissapointed as I am, Heatran, you lead.



And, that's my team.

It failed.

And then I saved it onto a folder with all my other failed teams.

That was a few weeks ago, but, about last week, I decided to give my team one more shot. Flygon, I realised, nowadays, was pretty useless, honestly, as it's damage output isn't too high. So byebye Flygon, Heatran, you go back row.


Here we go, finally making progress. After trying both Focus Sash and Colbur, I decided the latter was substantially more effective. But, it still wasn't too effective. I remember trying various modifications on the Pokemon and their movesets, until one day I decided to rate some teams. Fortunately, I found this one. Now the enclosed RMT, and the RMT that RMT mentioned gives a quick guide to making Hyper Offense. I've been doing it all wrong.

For those who aren't bothered to click, and are as clueless as I was, basically, it's best to be dominantly physical, or dominantly special. So that, as I stumbled upon by accident earlier, that if a Pokemon dies to take out a counter, a similar Pokemon can then sweep. In addition, Choice items = No, as they make it so much easier for the opponent to setup. So, I removed the Scarf off Heatran, and decided to use the (arguably) best Special sweeper in the game.




Now my team's beginning to work. Unfortunately, Alakazam is no longer the prime sweeper, but it is still a very important factor. I decided to keep Breloom, as a last minute stop to Suicune, Jirachi, and any other CM sweepers.

Now, problem is, Azelf's still out of place. After setting up SR, it can explode, but that's basically all. So I wanted to replace it with a powerful special Anti-Lead. With Gyara gone, I also only had a single Ground resistance, and I'm reluctant to bring Gengar in so early, so maybe a Flying would be nice too.


Yanmega... I swear, I am so lucky I came across this guy. Best, lead, ever. And, what's more, it lures out Blissey/whatever Special wall they have so easily, which means I know what I'm facing next, and who to explode against.

Well, this teambuilding part is a lot longer than I'm used to, but the actual building took a while. So, here we go.


Yanmega (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Electric]

As I've said before, my personal favourite lead in the current meta. I originally used the classic Specs set, with HP Ground and U-Turn in the last two slots, but I found this to be better. I know I said earlier that Choice = No, but the trade-off for Yanmega here is well worth it. Most people are reluctant to bring in their main setup sweeper so earlier, so I'm usually safe, and, unless they're a dedicated Special wall, even knowing what move Yanmega's locked in to doesn't help you that much, thanks to it's ability, Tinted Lens, doubling damage when resistance. This thing is just too powerful. Let me say this- Bug Buzz can 2HKO on Skarmory, who normally 4x resists. I don't believe many other Pokemon can claim that, espescially with 0 turns of setup.

I soon realised HP Ground was useless, because of the Heatran leads carrying Shuca left and right, so I put Giga Drain there to OHKO Pert, and it makes a decent attacking type with Tinted Lens. Without HP Ground, I had a spare HP to use for utility, so I removed U-Turn and put in HP Electric. Just rounds off coverage, and OHKO's Gyara and standard Skarmory.


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Empoleon (M) @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 24 Def/232 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Agility
- Substitute
- Surf
- Grass Knot

The prime special sweeper in OU, and the late-game one in my team. It is amazingly powerful, and can even heavily dent things that resist it. Empoleon is usally the last out, and so, the other Pokemon weaken Empoleon's counters, allowing an easy sweep. For those that don't know how Agility SubPetaya works, you Agility on the switch, doubling your speed. Substitute is then used, until HP drops to 25%, where Petaya Berry activates, increasing SpA by 50%. Meanwhile, when your HP drops below 33%, Torrent gives you another 50% boost to your Water moves, while Empoleon's typing makes sure it doesn't die to the majority of priority moves. I chose Grass Knot over Ice Beam to beat Bulky waters.
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Breloom (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 12 HP/248 Atk/248 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Substitute

SporePunchin Breloom. There's something no-one in my team wants- status. The moment that anyone is paralyzed, they're almost dead weight. Once Breloom is poisoned, it can take Hypnosis and Thunder Wave all day. Meanwhile it, too, spreads Sleep by Spore, being a temporary end to a particular counter, then denting another, before switching out. Used as my only Physical attacker, to beat Calm Mind. Very little to say here, the classic Breloom we all hate.
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Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Explosion

Life Orb Heatran. This guy usually lures in Blissey, as well, so BOOM, explosions, and everyone else has a party. Fire Blast is a very powerful STAB, Earth Power for coverage. HP Electric is there for Bulky Waters, espescially Gyara, who can DD and beat my team. Without it, I can only Explode. as they set up. Takes Fire aimed at Breloom, and calls Ground and Fighting types for Gengar.


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Gengar (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Explosion

Here we go, my initial sweeper, once I do some damage. ShadowSphere gives the best coverage in the game, being completely unresisted. Thunderbolt gets a few more Super Effective hits. Explosion beats Blissey once weakened, if Heatran fails to. Ironically, being a Ghost type, the moment it dies, I have a great advantage. If beaten by something genuinely faster than it, Alaka is usually faster if unscarfed, so he can, Substitute, then beat everyone else. If beaten by priority (usuallly Bullet Punch) Empoleon gets to set-up. A very useful part of the team. Naive > Jolly to boost Explosion damage.
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Alakazam (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball

My favourite Pokemon, Alakazam. Sub to assist in scouting, at which I begin to defeat everything that Gengar couldn't. Psychic coming off STAB, LO and 135 SpA and 120 Speed is nothing to laugh at, and the Dark types that do die to Focus Blast. Because of Alaka's pathetic defenses, it usually comes in and Subs as Gengar dies to it's counters- ScarfTar and Starmie to name a few, who Alaka cleanly outspeeds. The only thing that can clearly "beat" Alaka are Scarfers and Priority users, but that's why I have Empoleon.
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And... that's that. As I said, I start off with Yanmega, kill stuff, when I can't kill anymore, go to Breloom/Heatran, kill more stuff, go to Gengar, damage stuff, when it dies, go to Empoleon/Alakazam, set up, and kill stuff. And if one dies, the other's there for you.

And now, flaws. One of them is glaringly obvious- no Stealth Rock, and, unlike many people who don't use it, I know that that's a problem. The only Pokemon who can viably use it is Heatran, but if I remove HP Electric, then Gyara can set up and beat my team. So yeah, help me with that. Other than that, there are no gaping holes, but I know it can be improved, so yeah, rate and review, please ^_^

You said you would revenge kill Aero with Alaka. How, seeing as Aero is 130 base speed?Also, you said you would go to Heatran to take an Infernape's Fake Out. Why not Gengar, seeing as Fake Out is Normal, not Fire.


You mentioned that Empoleon's typing prevented it from dying to priority moves. Did you forget about Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave? They are Fighting, which Empoleon will die to.


I am not a good judge of HO teams, I was just pointing out some errors you made. The team looks good as far as I know.

HO in general and this team in particular just rolls over and dies as soon as any sweeper gets a chance to set up. Alakazam just cant stop most threats from getting 1 boost and owning your team. Even offensive gyara only takes 70% max from psychic so it gets a DD and 3 kills if breloom isnt there. (here is where you REALLY need rocks, if rocks are up gyara can only kill zam before dying) agilligross/DD nite get to set up on zam/gengar and OHKO everyone on your team
drop HP electric on heatran and put rocks on. if Gyara comes in just blow it up. only bulky gyara lives and those dont outspeed alakazam. (obviously ignore if you drop zam)
I really want to tell you to ditch breloom, since it does very little apart from scaring off bliss(none are going to stay in and die) using a calm mind suicune instead of breloom might help. Suicune can CM alongside other CM'rs, and you still have 2x explosion in case it fails. Mainly suicune has enough natural bulk to live a +1 hit and revenge, meaning its not as essential that every member of your team ensure that its not set up on. ie it lets you keep zam if you really want it. suicune also helps vs other offensive suicune, that would normally give you trouble (outspeed and OHKO breloom, gengar T-bolt does under 50%)

also, just an fyi, if aero SR's first turn and kills yanmega turn 2 with SE, you are in a little bit of trouble since it OHKO's every member of your team minus breloom and empoleon. revenge with suicune/breloom instead of zam/gengar.

alternatively, you could try a speed boost yanmega over your current one, as it helps you beat stuff like sash azelf (outspeed and kill before it explodes after SR) and ape (protect turn 1 then outspeed and kill)

Sorry, SlimMan, I was pretty tired when I posted. Fixing up my mistakes. I meant "Fire move or Fake Out", not "Fire move of Fake Out", and meant most priority.

And, mmkay, I guess I could try Suicune. I'm thinking Crocune, would I be right in that?

I really think the CM+3 attacks is better. Crocune if you want to beat bliss, but things like vappy will wall you cold. if you want to be tricky you could do leftovers with timid 252 spa/spd to fake a different set

@slimman. his is right when he says empoleon can take priority moves because of his typing. a +2 lucario will only do 58-67% with mach punch. but lucario never uses mach punch, the only fighting type who i've seen use it is infernape, but his attack is lower than lucario.

onto the rate.
i was actually thinking of using an alakazam sweeper. great minds think alike eh?
anyway. first of all. blissey. he will wall 4/6 members of this team. i will give you suggestions after as the other problems coincide with that one.

second: puruit. pursuiters(mainly scarf t-tar) will give this team hell. even though you have 3 resitors, heatran falls to earthquake. only empoleon and breloom could stand up to him, maybe yanmega with speed boost but i doubt it. you really shuldn't have to pokemon with the same type weakness on the same team.

finally sr. offensive needs sr, badly.

so, now how to change it around:
blissey: sub split gengar. simples. even though i said that you shouldn't have dual type weaknes.

pursuit: scizor. replace empoleon over scizor as it can lure fire moves for heatran and you won't have another ground weakness.

sr. i recommend using something such as aerodactyl. why? because he has the speed to quickly put sr and die. if you keep him alive, he can work as a late game swepper. yo ucan also use infernape. infernape has fake out and power. he can also use u-turn if he wants to scout. also a way of defeating bliss and pursuit.

Thanks, jchen, will try.

@scarloc

With Prusuit users, Alaka outspeeds Scarftar and OHKO's with Focurs Blast. No problem.

I tried SubSplit in an earlier revision. Didn't work well, I'd rather just Explode >_>

Anyone else? I'd rather get a few more replies...

Yeah, it won't work. You have no rocks , combine this with empoleon being the only member that can raise his stats you will get walled into oblivion. Not a hyper offensive team, just offensive.

Get rid of gengar or yanmega and use an azelf or aero lead. The team has a huge blissy and skarmony weakness, hell, you're weak to any stall pokemon really. Blissy can protect on the explosion or just switch out, it's too unreliable. No speed boosts for yanmeage means he is dead after the lead fight or you can switch into rocks and die doing nothing instead. Your team is weak to real offensive teams, e.g. alakazam used Sub, gyarados used dragon dance, gyarados used waterfall -> breaks sub -> alakazm used unboosted attack, now gyarados can mop up the rest of your team.

If you want to make a real HO team and not something that gets walled by anything i suggest replacing everything bar empoleon and maybe breloom.

sorry, i thought that it was modest, not timid. as denchura said, you need SR. end of story. you could try swords dance priority breloom or calm mind alakazam which, apart from encore, if your only real hope of destroying blissey

Oh, right, forgot to mention that >_>

Replaced HP Electric for Stealth Rock on Heatran, and replaced Breloom for Cune, both are a great improvement, but now I need an Electric resist, now that half my team is.

Point being, I think Cune fixed up the problems you both mentioned.

Blissey, really. is no problem. Against most teams, if you vs'ing a Heatran on 80% with your 70% Blissey, would you really Protect on your first move? Never happened.

So yeah, that's my main problem. I don't know who to replace for an electric resist.

Skarm/bliss/celebi annihilates this team.

Blissey walls 5/6 of your team, and not even focus blast from Alaka can score over 45%. Just softboiled to no end, and your misses and terrible PP will be the death of you.

Skarm takes predicted explosions.

Celebi kills breloom np. suicune np. Leaf storm does 79.2% - 93.6%, which is a clean 2hko. And heatran doesn't counter, they'll just switch to blissey/snorlax/vaporeon/suicune/otherheatran

You could try a heatran with magma storm instead of Fire blast. that way if blissey comes in to wall you it gets trapped and you can explode on it to clear the way for the rest of the team.

Artemisian said:

Skarm/bliss/celebi annihilates this team.

Blissey walls 5/6 of your team, and not even focus blast from Alaka can score over 45%. Just softboiled to no end, and your misses and terrible PP will be the death of you.

Skarm takes predicted explosions.

Celebi kills breloom np. suicune np. Leaf storm does 79.2% - 93.6%, which is a clean 2hko. And heatran doesn't counter, they'll just switch to blissey/snorlax/vaporeon/suicune/otherheatran

Click to expand...

Solution: SubPainSplit Gar.

It also conveniently gives you another shot at Focus Blasting Tyranitar, which means that between Zam and Gar, 91% of the time, Tyranitar is going down.