Alakazam got some awesome new cookies to use in the 5th gen to go with his already massive collection.
http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/065.shtml
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[Overview]
- Yep, it's Alakazam. Master of RBY and running joke of DPPt, back again for the monochrome generation.
- Very, very good special attacking stats - 135 SpA and 120 Spe.
- One of the only special attackers able to beat Blissey, thanks to Psycho Shock.
- Powerful offensive movepool.
- Pretty startling secondary movepool, full of useful moves, so you can never be sure what it will pull next.
- Unfortunately, poor STAB + Pursuit weak + horrible defences + Scizor bait, all at once.
- Almost entirely outclassed by Mewtwo.
name: Lure + 3 Attacks
move1: Psycho Shock
move2: Focus Blast
move3: Hidden Power Fire
move4: Substitute
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Timid
ability: Synchronize
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Set Comments:
- Psycho Shock is an awesome help to Alakazam - 2HKOes Bold 252/252 Blissey with Stealth Rock, and 2HKOes Calm 4/252 Blissey full stop, both factoring in Leftovers, ridding Alakazam of its biggest counter. It also gets a stronger hit on many other Pokemon who would otherwise wall you, such as Ho-oh, Kyogre, and Snorlax.
- Psycho Shock can usually be a greater help to Alakazam than its usual STAB Psychic, as those that have a higher physical Defence stat, such as Steelix, Metagross, and Celebi, are hit harder by one of its coverage moves regardless.
- Focus Blast is necessary to take care of dangerous Dark-types, OHKOing Tyranitar and Sazandora. It is also useful to OHKO Steel-types such as Kobaruon and Heatran.
- Hidden Power Fire is generally the best option in the last slot, as it is an easy way to get rid of Scizor, Forretress, and Nattorei. It also gets a big hit on Bronzong and Metagross.
- In the last slot, Substitute is useful to scout a switch, block status, and ease prediction.
- Life Orb is the primary item to maximise damage output, however this means your life will be drained fairly easily in tandem with Substitute, entry hazard, and sandstorm damage.
- Leftovers is a useful alternative to enable you to generate more Substitutes if need be as well as survive longer, but the power drop from Life Orb is enormous - you no longer threaten Blissey at all, not to mention many other notable threats.
- Timid is recommended to enable you to outspeed Jaroda, Azelf, and all those lurking just underneath, since Alakazam's effectiveness relies on his ability to hit first. However, Modest gives you an immense increase in power, so is worth considering for the heightened damage output.
- If you dislike the low power of Psycho Shock, Psychic's slightly higher base power can be of use against threats with about equal defensive stats, such as Shanderaa and Salamence.
- If you dislike Focus Blast, Signal Beam is a more accurate but much less powerful alternative to Focus Blast that also hits Psychic-types (meaning Hidden Power Fire is absolutely necessary to hit Steel-types). However, the power loss is considerable and means that Dark-types are much more threatening.
- Shadow Ball can be useful for a stronger hit on Ghost-types such as Rotom-A and Shanderaa. It is also necessary if you want to damage opposing Psychic-types in any way whatsoever and aren't using Signal Beam.
- Simple sweeper EVs, no explanation needed. Too frail to waste EVs in bulk.
- Stealth Rock and Spikes greatly appreciated to wear down Alakazam's counters, as are those who use them. Agirudaa is an excellent Spikes user thanks to its high Speed stat, and the same is true of Aerodactyl and Azelf for Stealth Rock.
- Dugtrio can remove Blissey, Tyranitar, and Steel-types that pose Alakazam problems.
- Alakazam can easily deal with Poison- and Fighting-types thanks to its STAB moves, so Pokemon who have trouble getting through these Pokemon, such as Bug-types like Genosect and Scizor, can benefit from partnership with it.
- Alakazam can lure in and destroy Pokemon attempting to revenge kill using its coverage moves and smart play with Substitute, so can act as a very effective Tyranitar and Scizor lure. This will allow Pokemon that usually have trouble with these threats, such as Latios and Gengar, a lot more freedom to destroy the opponent's team.
name: Pure Offensive
move1: Psychic
move2: Focus Blast
move3: Shadow Ball
move4: Signal Beam / Hidden Power Fire
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
ability: Synchronize
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Set Comments:
- Psychic is Alakazam's strongest overall STAB move.
- Focus Blast and Shadow Ball together provide unresisted coverage and deal with the threatening Steel-, Dark-, Psychic-, and Ghost-types that can hinder Alakazam, especially if you can catch them on the switch.
- In the last slot, Signal Beam is an extremely useful move to catch weakened Psychic- and Dark-types whom you may have trouble with if you rely on Focus Blast. On the other hand, Hidden Power Fire does the same for Steel-types and is Alakazam's only real way of threatening Scizor, Metagross, and other threats.
- Signal Beam and Shadow Ball are not completely necessary together, as they provide redundant coverage on Psychic-types, so you can run any combination of Signal Beam, Shadow Ball, and Hidden Power Fire if you wish.
- Life Orb is necessary to give Alakazam the strength to muscle past threats unboosted, which is the only way it will be able to survive - any other item is asking for trouble.
- Timid is necessary to hit first over the large numbers of Pokemon lurking just below the 120 Speed mark.
- Psycho Shock is also available if you want to hurt Blissey.
- Again, Stealth Rock and Spikes from Aerodactyl and Agirudaa are greatly appreciated.
- Lack of Substitute makes Alakazam much more susceptible to revenge killing - Thus, Scizor and Tyranitar become big problems.
- To deal with them, Magnezone can be deployed to trap and OHKO Scizor, and can also deal with other Steel-types into the bargain.
- Dugtrio can trap and kill Tyranitar and Blissey, though this is quite risky as Dugtrio cannot really switch in on nor OHKO either. Kobaruon and Birijion can both switch into Tyranitar and set up Swords Dance as well.
- If lacking Hidden Power Fire, such Steel-type Pokemon as Metagross and Scizor become troublesome. In this case a bulky Water-type such as Swampert can be a useful addition, as they can take Steel-type attacks and hit back with their STAB moves. Swampert also makes an excellent check to Tyranitar.
name: Encore
move1: Encore
move2: Substitute
move3: Psychic
move4: Focus Blast / Signal Beam
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
ability: Synchronize
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Set Comments:
- Alakazam still has the second-fastest Encore in the game - and unlike Agirudaa also happens to be an offensive monster into the bargain.
- Can lock an opponent into an attack that grants your side a free switch, in tandem with Substitute. Also annoys walls and supporters that try to set up or use non-damaging attacks.
- Psychic is your necessary STAB attack
- Focus Blast and Signal Beam are the best options for coverage - choose if you want to cover Steel- or Psychic-types, or whether you prefer the accuracy of Signal Beam or the power of Focus Blast.
- Leftovers lets you live slightly longer and offsets the damage from Substitute somewhat.
- Speed is essential to this set's success, so it should therefore always be maximised.
- Depending on whether you lack Focus Blast or Signal Beam, Steel-types and Psychic-types respectively will be very troublesome.
- Magnezone can get rid of Steel-types for you thanks to Magnet Pull, or you can employ a Pokemon such as Heatran, who can deal with just about all Steel-types in existence thanks to its STAB Fire-type attacks.
- Pursuit support from Scizor or Tyranitar can rid you of unwanted Psychic-types.
- Support: Appreciates Spikes and Stealth Rock, which can be set up by Agirudaa or Aerodactyl respectively. Also likes Pursuit support to remove Psychic- and Ghost-types that may try to annoy it. Also likes trapper support from Magnezone or Dugtrio to remove Steel-types, and in the latter's case, Blissey and Tyranitar as well.
- Offensive Complements: Has difficulty with Steel- and Dark-types, so Fighting-types make for excellent partners. Lucario can set up Swords Dance on Tyranitar locked into a Dark-type move and wreck the opponent's team. Dark-types such as Tyranitar also make good partners to deal with Psychic- and Ghost-types. Steel-types such as Scizor can switch into Dark-, Ghost-, and Bug-type moves aimed at Alakazam and deal with their owners.
- On Alakazam's part, it can deal with Poison- and Fighting-types with its STAB moves, and this makes it a useful partner to Pokemon who have trouble with these types, such as Scizor and Tyranitar. It can also lure out revenge killers, scout them with Substitute and then wipe them out with its great coverage and attacking power, making it a useful teammate to Pokemon such as Latios and Gengar who have similar checks.
- Calm Mind sweeper.
- Dual screens + Taunt.
- Lead sets with Taunt, Trick, and Encore.
- Trick + Choice Specs.
- Grass Knot.
- Telekinesis - improves accuracy of Focus Blast.
- Thunder Wave / Knock Off.
- Blissey.
- Lugia / Deoxys-D / other bulky Psychic-types.
- Spiritomb.
- Tyranitar / Scizor.
- Metagross.
- Kyogre / Ho-oh (Psychic sets).
- Revenge killing.
- Alakazam gets a massive boost from Dream World - the ability Magic Guard.
- This means that Alakazam can run Focus Sash without fear of residual damage.
- It also means that Alakazam can run Life Orb without taking any damage, making sets even harder to deduce.
- Alakazam could also run a Flame Orb with Trick in order to avoid taking Thunder Wave as well as to weaken physical revenge killers such as Tyranitar and Scizor.
