Status: Skeleton, awaiting QC approval.
As much as I hate increasing the OU backlog when we're both so close to clearing out the subforum and so close to GenV OU, if stuff like Nidoqueen is getting an OU analysis I don't see why this beast shouldn't.
Stamps:
(panamaxis)
(Megan_Fox)
(Philip7086)
(Setsuna)
QC Approved (4/4)
(Oglemi)
(Eraddd/Echo. by bugmaniacbob)
GP Approved (2/2)
Read me for a more thorough bit of reasoning
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/alakazam
---------------------
[Overview]
<p>Alakazam's back, and he's angry. Four generations have passed since Alakazam's glory days in RBY, and each one has brought something new to spite it, while giving it almost nothing back in return. GSC's special split not only ruined Alakazam's special bulk but also made Snorlax a more potent foe, as well as adding Blissey and Tyranitar to the fray. ADV added abilities, which essentially improved every Pokemon in the game except Alakazam, and also gave us Choice Band to increase the strength of the physical attackers that Alakazam hates. But it was DPP that gave Alakazam the final push into obscurity—the introduction of Choice Scarf to undermine Alakazam's godlike Speed, the physical/special split to make both Pursuit and the elemental punches physical, and of course the rise of the ubiquitous Technician Scizor, in which Alakazam has at last met its match. But we can go even further than that: for the first time since its introduction, Alakazam was close to being outclassed by a non-Uber Pokemon. Azelf has slightly lower Speed and Special Attack, but an arguably better movepool, which most notably includes Nasty Plot. While its old rivals Gengar and Starmie can still get by on their slightly larger movepools and better typings, Alakazam lacks the necessary traits to be a special sweeper in this new DPP metagame. Primarily, it lacks notable resistances, priority moves, and usable setup moves. Furthermore, it is as frail as a glass thimble, its STAB is resisted by half the OU metagame, and it just isn't half the threat it used to be.</p>
<p>However, we cannot be so hasty as to condemn it to disuse. While the metagame seems to have surpassed it, Alakazam still has everything that made it so good back in the day: its titanic base 135 Special Attack stat, the highest of any non-Uber Pokemon, backed up by its equally impressive base 120 Speed stat, which allows it to outrun nearly the entirety of the unboosted OU metagame. Matched with plenty of little tricks to annoy the opponent continuously, which Alakazam is infamous for (such as Encore, Trick, and Taunt), so much raw power is begging to be used, and when played correctly, Alakazam can become as threatening as any offensive Pokemon. He may have fallen from grace, but popularity is by no means a definition of power.</p>
[SET]
name: OU Offensive
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Signal Beam
move 4: Substitute / Encore
Item: Life Orb / Leftovers
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Alakazam has lost its popularity as an offensive Pokemon, it does not mean that Alakazam lacks the potential to be a threat. It is still one of the strongest special attackers in the game, and thanks to its high Speed stat, it can actually outrun Jolly Choice Scarf Tyranitar, unlike its fellow Psychic-types Starmie and Azelf. This means that not only can it bypass an otherwise rock-solid check to Psychic-types, but it can also act as an excellent lure, removing these problematic Pokemon with a combination of Substitute and one of its coverage attacks.</p>
<p>Substitute enables Alakazam to scout its opponent, and thus allow Alakazam to hit its switch-in with the appropriate attack. This also allows it to block status attacks from Blissey and escape from Pursuit traps set by opponents such as Weavile and Scizor. Alakazam has a tendency to force plenty of switches, making it relatively easy to get a Substitute up; however, remember that Alakazam will be losing a great deal of health to passive damage, so Substitute should generally be used sparingly. Psychic is a good, reliable STAB, which has the power to 2HKO just about everything that does not resist it, besides Blissey and Snorlax of course. Focus Blast is necessary to get rid of the Dark-types who are immune to Alakazam's STAB attacks, as well as the Steel-types who can cause problems. It easily OHKOes Tyranitar and Heatran with Life Orb, and does a fair amount to Blissey and Snorlax. However, many of the common Steel-types of OU, such as Scizor, Metagross, and Skarmory, are only neutral to Focus Blast, and given how dangerous these Pokemon are to Alakazam, it becomes necessary to have a way to beat them too. Hidden Power Fire easily OHKOes Scizor and also gets a clean 2HKO on Jirachi, Celebi, and Metagross with Life Orb. On the other hand, Signal Beam is worth considering, since it enables Alakazam to hit Psychic-types, such as Starmie, Azelf, and Celebi, and also allows Alakazam to get a more reliable hit on Dark-types. Unfortunately, the loss of Hidden Power Fire is a crippling blow to Alakazam's effectiveness against Steel-types, particularly Scizor, Jirachi, and Metagross.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If you dislike Substitute's residual damage, there are a number of other options that are worth mentioning in the last slot. Encore and Taunt are both useful stall-killing moves that can hinder any secondary attacks that the opponent may try to use. Protect can be a useful option to predict an attempt at trapping by Choice-locked Scizor, enabling you to plan your next move accordingly. Lastly, if you cannot decide between Hidden Power Fire and Signal Beam in the third slot, you can also choose an offensive route and use both attacks on the same set, with all four moveslots dedicated to attacking moves. You could also run Shadow Ball in the third slot, not only for coverage on Psychic-types but also to smack Ghost-types super effectively, enabling Alakazam to OHKO Choice Scarf Rotom-A with Stealth Rock support. Remember that without Substitute or Protect, Alakazam is much more susceptible to revenge killing. If you do not mind losing out on a bit of type coverage, you can drop an attack and run Encore in the third slot. This allows you to more easily take advantage of Encore with lower risk, as Alakazam can now Encore attacking moves with the protection of Substitute. Be aware that the loss of a third attack massively reduces Alakazam's type coverage and therefore its offensive capabilities, which can be troubling if you are worried about Scizor and Metagross.</p>
<p>Generally, in terms of EVs and nature, the best thing to do for Alakazam is to first maximize its Speed and Special Attack, as these are really the only two stats it will be using. A Timid nature is recommended as Alakazam simply cannot afford to be hit first by anything. The remaining EVs can just be pushed off into HP. However, with the IV drop from Hidden Power, you cannot tie with other base 120s. Therefore, you may wish to lower your sights and hit the next-lowest Speed benchmark. Timid and 228 Speed is advised as a minimum to beat out Jolly Choice Scarf Tyranitar, who is the biggest threat you will face in this area. For the item, Life Orb is highly recommended as the item of choice despite Alakazam's weakness to passive damage, as it gives Alakazam the power necessary to OHKO dangerous threats such as Tyranitar and Heatran. On the other hand, Leftovers is useful to offset Substitute and residual damage, but the loss in power is quite crippling.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Entry hazard support is extremely useful to wear down counters as they switch in, especially as Alakazam will be causing a lot of switches. Toxic Spikes support is particularly useful in order to break down any walls that may try to stall you out, such as Blissey. With this in mind, Forretress is an excellent choice to pair with Alakazam as it can come in on various Pokemon that Alakazam dislikes, such as Weavile, Scizor, and Tyranitar, and has access to all three entry hazards, making Forretress customizable to your specifications. It even has access to Rapid Spin, which helps Alakazam sustain less damage while switching in and out. Skarmory works similarly, but it lacks Toxic Spikes and Rapid Spin in return for Roost. On the other hand, if you are hoping to run Alakazam on a more offensive team, Aerodactyl and Azelf are both excellent choices to set up a fast Stealth Rock, and Roserade can do the same with Spikes and Toxic Spikes.</p>
<p>If you think Alakazam is going to provide any kind of defensive help whatsoever, then you're much mistaken. So, good teammates will be those with offensive synergy with Alakazam, or the ability to take on and beat each other's counters. For Alakazam, Steel-types are generally the biggest obstacles to overcome. Thus, a Steel-trapper such as Magnezone or Dugtrio can therefore be a powerful ally. Magnezone can destroy dangerous Steel-types such as Scizor and Jirachi locked into their STAB moves with ease, thanks to its STAB Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Fire. However, beware of Steel-types that also have super effective STAB moves, such as Lucario and Heatran. Dugtrio is much weaker both offensively and defensively, but can also trap Tyranitar and Blissey into the bargain. If you are not looking to trap these foes, Swampert is a good choice, as it can take on both Tyranitar and Metagross and also check Scizor to an extent. Heatran works in much the same way but forfeits the ability to beat Tyranitar in exchange for the ability to maul just about every Steel-type that exists. Lastly, you will also want some physical offense on your team, for Blissey if nothing else, and a way to beat down Pursuit-users. Thus, Fighting-types such as Machamp make good partners.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there are many ways in which Alakazam can actually support the team offensively. For example, Substitute Alakazam makes an excellent lure for many problematic Pokemon such as Scizor, Tyranitar, and Heatran, all of whom are OHKOed by one of its coverage attacks. Non-Choice Scarf Jirachi and Celebi can also be removed by the same principle. With this in mind, you can elect to use a setup sweeper that will benefit from the weakening of these Pokemon. For example, Swords Dance Breloom greatly appreciates the removal of all of these threats, and it can also support Alakazam through Spore and being able to frighten away Blissey. This is further accentuated since Alakazam forces a lot of switches, weakening your opponent's team if you have entry hazards down. Dragon Dance Gyarados is another good option as a late-game sweeper since it can set up on a Choice-locked Scizor's Bullet Punch and Jirachi's Iron Head. Similarly, Tyranitar and Lucario can set up very easily on Choice-locked Pursuit. Lastly, Tyranitar or Scizor can be a helpful ally to an Alakazam running Encore; should you manage to Encore a non-offensive move such as Blissey's Softboiled, the aforementioned Pokemon can take the opportunity to trap it with Pursuit. Tyranitar and Scizor are also helpful in beating Psychic-types such as Starmie who may cause Alakazam trouble.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Alakazam is nothing if not versatile, and it has a massive number of tricks up its sleeve that can be very appealing in OU. Taunt and Encore have already been mentioned, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Alakazam is the fastest user of Reflect and Light Screen in OU, and as such can easily set up both with the help of Taunt. Trick is an excellent move and is useful on Choice sets, though this is no longer Alakazam's trademark, as Rotom-A does this better, plus it makes you Pursuit bait for Tyranitar and Scizor. Thunder Wave is another useful move to support the team with, though because of Alakazam's blistering Speed, it rarely has much application. Knock Off is much the same, but as fun as it may be to deprive Scizor and Tyranitar of their Choice items, generally it is not worth the moveslot. Of all the field effects it gets, Gravity is perhaps the most notable, improving the accuracy of Focus Blast and supporting the team.</p>
<p>On the offensive side, Calm Mind is an interesting setup move that can be useful on Alakazam's sweeper set in place of (or even in addition to) Substitute, but sweeper Alakazam is generally stopped too easily by pseudo-hazers and Blissey to be used effectively. Lum Berry lets you absorb status attacks, which are pretty crippling for Alakazam, but the loss in power from Life Orb is considerable. Lastly, Recover can offset lost health from Substitute, Life Orb, sandstorm, and other residual damage, but generally this compromises type coverage and that moveslot has many, many better choices for it.</p>
[Counters]
<p>One of the biggest reasons for Alakazam's fall was the fact that the metagame it abided in included everything it couldn't handle, revolving almost entirely around Dragon- and Steel-types and powerful physical attackers. While this is no longer entirely the case, there are still plenty of annoying opponents knocking about. Of all its potential counters, Blissey is by far the most solid, as it is able to take even a Choice Specs Focus Blast with ease, and can recover its health with Softboiled or Wish. However, Alakazam can employ a number of tricks to beat its number one "counter", including Trick, Taunt, Recover, and Encore, so be on your guard. Snorlax can also take most special attacks and has access to Pursuit and Return. However, Life Orb Focus Blast has a chance to 2HKO with a little residual damage.</p>
<p>In terms of the ubiquitous Steel-types, Scizor is a massive problem for Alakazam, which is never a good thing. If Scizor switches in and Alakazam does not have a Substitute up, it essentially traps Alakazam entirely – if Alakazam stays in it gets KOed by Bullet Punch, but if it switches out it can be KOed by Pursuit. Furthermore, Scizor can also use U-turn to annihilate Alakazam and escape from its counters all in one stroke. Similarly, Choice Scarf Steel-types such as Jirachi and Heatran can switch in to revenge kill, but risk a super effective attack on the switch, or from behind Alakazam's Substitute.</p>
<p>Without Shadow Ball or Signal Beam, Starmie effectively walls Alakazam to high heaven, between Recover and its attacking options. Weavile is another nasty threat, as it is immune to Psychic and is one of the few Pokemon naturally faster than Alakazam, allowing it to OHKO Alakazam with Pursuit regardless of whether it stays in or not. Tyranitar also deserves a mention in this regard since it can act as a last-minute check if Focus Blast misses. Alakazam will generally faint the moment it is hit by anything, so if you have a faster Pokemon, they will almost always be a viable revenge killer, though Pokemon actually faster than Alakazam are few and far between outside of Choice Scarf users.</p>
---------------
Post-critique changes:
- EV shuffle on Dual Screen set
- Merged Life Orb and Encore sets
- EV shuffle on Offensive set
- Hidden Power Fire / Signal Beam on Offensive set
- Added comments relating to Substitute + Encore on Offensive set
- Removed Dual Screen set
- Wrote up analysis
- Grammar check 1, thanks to Eraddd
- Grammar check 2, thanks to Aeron Ee1 (Overview)
- Grammar check 3, thanks to Echo.
- GP Grammar-Prose Check #1, thanks to Oglemi
- GP Grammar-Prose Check #2 (collective check stamp)
As much as I hate increasing the OU backlog when we're both so close to clearing out the subforum and so close to GenV OU, if stuff like Nidoqueen is getting an OU analysis I don't see why this beast shouldn't.
Stamps:
QC Approved (4/4)
GP Approved (2/2)
Read me for a more thorough bit of reasoning
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/alakazam
---------------------
[Overview]
<p>Alakazam's back, and he's angry. Four generations have passed since Alakazam's glory days in RBY, and each one has brought something new to spite it, while giving it almost nothing back in return. GSC's special split not only ruined Alakazam's special bulk but also made Snorlax a more potent foe, as well as adding Blissey and Tyranitar to the fray. ADV added abilities, which essentially improved every Pokemon in the game except Alakazam, and also gave us Choice Band to increase the strength of the physical attackers that Alakazam hates. But it was DPP that gave Alakazam the final push into obscurity—the introduction of Choice Scarf to undermine Alakazam's godlike Speed, the physical/special split to make both Pursuit and the elemental punches physical, and of course the rise of the ubiquitous Technician Scizor, in which Alakazam has at last met its match. But we can go even further than that: for the first time since its introduction, Alakazam was close to being outclassed by a non-Uber Pokemon. Azelf has slightly lower Speed and Special Attack, but an arguably better movepool, which most notably includes Nasty Plot. While its old rivals Gengar and Starmie can still get by on their slightly larger movepools and better typings, Alakazam lacks the necessary traits to be a special sweeper in this new DPP metagame. Primarily, it lacks notable resistances, priority moves, and usable setup moves. Furthermore, it is as frail as a glass thimble, its STAB is resisted by half the OU metagame, and it just isn't half the threat it used to be.</p>
<p>However, we cannot be so hasty as to condemn it to disuse. While the metagame seems to have surpassed it, Alakazam still has everything that made it so good back in the day: its titanic base 135 Special Attack stat, the highest of any non-Uber Pokemon, backed up by its equally impressive base 120 Speed stat, which allows it to outrun nearly the entirety of the unboosted OU metagame. Matched with plenty of little tricks to annoy the opponent continuously, which Alakazam is infamous for (such as Encore, Trick, and Taunt), so much raw power is begging to be used, and when played correctly, Alakazam can become as threatening as any offensive Pokemon. He may have fallen from grace, but popularity is by no means a definition of power.</p>
[SET]
name: OU Offensive
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Signal Beam
move 4: Substitute / Encore
Item: Life Orb / Leftovers
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Alakazam has lost its popularity as an offensive Pokemon, it does not mean that Alakazam lacks the potential to be a threat. It is still one of the strongest special attackers in the game, and thanks to its high Speed stat, it can actually outrun Jolly Choice Scarf Tyranitar, unlike its fellow Psychic-types Starmie and Azelf. This means that not only can it bypass an otherwise rock-solid check to Psychic-types, but it can also act as an excellent lure, removing these problematic Pokemon with a combination of Substitute and one of its coverage attacks.</p>
<p>Substitute enables Alakazam to scout its opponent, and thus allow Alakazam to hit its switch-in with the appropriate attack. This also allows it to block status attacks from Blissey and escape from Pursuit traps set by opponents such as Weavile and Scizor. Alakazam has a tendency to force plenty of switches, making it relatively easy to get a Substitute up; however, remember that Alakazam will be losing a great deal of health to passive damage, so Substitute should generally be used sparingly. Psychic is a good, reliable STAB, which has the power to 2HKO just about everything that does not resist it, besides Blissey and Snorlax of course. Focus Blast is necessary to get rid of the Dark-types who are immune to Alakazam's STAB attacks, as well as the Steel-types who can cause problems. It easily OHKOes Tyranitar and Heatran with Life Orb, and does a fair amount to Blissey and Snorlax. However, many of the common Steel-types of OU, such as Scizor, Metagross, and Skarmory, are only neutral to Focus Blast, and given how dangerous these Pokemon are to Alakazam, it becomes necessary to have a way to beat them too. Hidden Power Fire easily OHKOes Scizor and also gets a clean 2HKO on Jirachi, Celebi, and Metagross with Life Orb. On the other hand, Signal Beam is worth considering, since it enables Alakazam to hit Psychic-types, such as Starmie, Azelf, and Celebi, and also allows Alakazam to get a more reliable hit on Dark-types. Unfortunately, the loss of Hidden Power Fire is a crippling blow to Alakazam's effectiveness against Steel-types, particularly Scizor, Jirachi, and Metagross.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If you dislike Substitute's residual damage, there are a number of other options that are worth mentioning in the last slot. Encore and Taunt are both useful stall-killing moves that can hinder any secondary attacks that the opponent may try to use. Protect can be a useful option to predict an attempt at trapping by Choice-locked Scizor, enabling you to plan your next move accordingly. Lastly, if you cannot decide between Hidden Power Fire and Signal Beam in the third slot, you can also choose an offensive route and use both attacks on the same set, with all four moveslots dedicated to attacking moves. You could also run Shadow Ball in the third slot, not only for coverage on Psychic-types but also to smack Ghost-types super effectively, enabling Alakazam to OHKO Choice Scarf Rotom-A with Stealth Rock support. Remember that without Substitute or Protect, Alakazam is much more susceptible to revenge killing. If you do not mind losing out on a bit of type coverage, you can drop an attack and run Encore in the third slot. This allows you to more easily take advantage of Encore with lower risk, as Alakazam can now Encore attacking moves with the protection of Substitute. Be aware that the loss of a third attack massively reduces Alakazam's type coverage and therefore its offensive capabilities, which can be troubling if you are worried about Scizor and Metagross.</p>
<p>Generally, in terms of EVs and nature, the best thing to do for Alakazam is to first maximize its Speed and Special Attack, as these are really the only two stats it will be using. A Timid nature is recommended as Alakazam simply cannot afford to be hit first by anything. The remaining EVs can just be pushed off into HP. However, with the IV drop from Hidden Power, you cannot tie with other base 120s. Therefore, you may wish to lower your sights and hit the next-lowest Speed benchmark. Timid and 228 Speed is advised as a minimum to beat out Jolly Choice Scarf Tyranitar, who is the biggest threat you will face in this area. For the item, Life Orb is highly recommended as the item of choice despite Alakazam's weakness to passive damage, as it gives Alakazam the power necessary to OHKO dangerous threats such as Tyranitar and Heatran. On the other hand, Leftovers is useful to offset Substitute and residual damage, but the loss in power is quite crippling.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Entry hazard support is extremely useful to wear down counters as they switch in, especially as Alakazam will be causing a lot of switches. Toxic Spikes support is particularly useful in order to break down any walls that may try to stall you out, such as Blissey. With this in mind, Forretress is an excellent choice to pair with Alakazam as it can come in on various Pokemon that Alakazam dislikes, such as Weavile, Scizor, and Tyranitar, and has access to all three entry hazards, making Forretress customizable to your specifications. It even has access to Rapid Spin, which helps Alakazam sustain less damage while switching in and out. Skarmory works similarly, but it lacks Toxic Spikes and Rapid Spin in return for Roost. On the other hand, if you are hoping to run Alakazam on a more offensive team, Aerodactyl and Azelf are both excellent choices to set up a fast Stealth Rock, and Roserade can do the same with Spikes and Toxic Spikes.</p>
<p>If you think Alakazam is going to provide any kind of defensive help whatsoever, then you're much mistaken. So, good teammates will be those with offensive synergy with Alakazam, or the ability to take on and beat each other's counters. For Alakazam, Steel-types are generally the biggest obstacles to overcome. Thus, a Steel-trapper such as Magnezone or Dugtrio can therefore be a powerful ally. Magnezone can destroy dangerous Steel-types such as Scizor and Jirachi locked into their STAB moves with ease, thanks to its STAB Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Fire. However, beware of Steel-types that also have super effective STAB moves, such as Lucario and Heatran. Dugtrio is much weaker both offensively and defensively, but can also trap Tyranitar and Blissey into the bargain. If you are not looking to trap these foes, Swampert is a good choice, as it can take on both Tyranitar and Metagross and also check Scizor to an extent. Heatran works in much the same way but forfeits the ability to beat Tyranitar in exchange for the ability to maul just about every Steel-type that exists. Lastly, you will also want some physical offense on your team, for Blissey if nothing else, and a way to beat down Pursuit-users. Thus, Fighting-types such as Machamp make good partners.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there are many ways in which Alakazam can actually support the team offensively. For example, Substitute Alakazam makes an excellent lure for many problematic Pokemon such as Scizor, Tyranitar, and Heatran, all of whom are OHKOed by one of its coverage attacks. Non-Choice Scarf Jirachi and Celebi can also be removed by the same principle. With this in mind, you can elect to use a setup sweeper that will benefit from the weakening of these Pokemon. For example, Swords Dance Breloom greatly appreciates the removal of all of these threats, and it can also support Alakazam through Spore and being able to frighten away Blissey. This is further accentuated since Alakazam forces a lot of switches, weakening your opponent's team if you have entry hazards down. Dragon Dance Gyarados is another good option as a late-game sweeper since it can set up on a Choice-locked Scizor's Bullet Punch and Jirachi's Iron Head. Similarly, Tyranitar and Lucario can set up very easily on Choice-locked Pursuit. Lastly, Tyranitar or Scizor can be a helpful ally to an Alakazam running Encore; should you manage to Encore a non-offensive move such as Blissey's Softboiled, the aforementioned Pokemon can take the opportunity to trap it with Pursuit. Tyranitar and Scizor are also helpful in beating Psychic-types such as Starmie who may cause Alakazam trouble.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Alakazam is nothing if not versatile, and it has a massive number of tricks up its sleeve that can be very appealing in OU. Taunt and Encore have already been mentioned, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Alakazam is the fastest user of Reflect and Light Screen in OU, and as such can easily set up both with the help of Taunt. Trick is an excellent move and is useful on Choice sets, though this is no longer Alakazam's trademark, as Rotom-A does this better, plus it makes you Pursuit bait for Tyranitar and Scizor. Thunder Wave is another useful move to support the team with, though because of Alakazam's blistering Speed, it rarely has much application. Knock Off is much the same, but as fun as it may be to deprive Scizor and Tyranitar of their Choice items, generally it is not worth the moveslot. Of all the field effects it gets, Gravity is perhaps the most notable, improving the accuracy of Focus Blast and supporting the team.</p>
<p>On the offensive side, Calm Mind is an interesting setup move that can be useful on Alakazam's sweeper set in place of (or even in addition to) Substitute, but sweeper Alakazam is generally stopped too easily by pseudo-hazers and Blissey to be used effectively. Lum Berry lets you absorb status attacks, which are pretty crippling for Alakazam, but the loss in power from Life Orb is considerable. Lastly, Recover can offset lost health from Substitute, Life Orb, sandstorm, and other residual damage, but generally this compromises type coverage and that moveslot has many, many better choices for it.</p>
[Counters]
<p>One of the biggest reasons for Alakazam's fall was the fact that the metagame it abided in included everything it couldn't handle, revolving almost entirely around Dragon- and Steel-types and powerful physical attackers. While this is no longer entirely the case, there are still plenty of annoying opponents knocking about. Of all its potential counters, Blissey is by far the most solid, as it is able to take even a Choice Specs Focus Blast with ease, and can recover its health with Softboiled or Wish. However, Alakazam can employ a number of tricks to beat its number one "counter", including Trick, Taunt, Recover, and Encore, so be on your guard. Snorlax can also take most special attacks and has access to Pursuit and Return. However, Life Orb Focus Blast has a chance to 2HKO with a little residual damage.</p>
<p>In terms of the ubiquitous Steel-types, Scizor is a massive problem for Alakazam, which is never a good thing. If Scizor switches in and Alakazam does not have a Substitute up, it essentially traps Alakazam entirely – if Alakazam stays in it gets KOed by Bullet Punch, but if it switches out it can be KOed by Pursuit. Furthermore, Scizor can also use U-turn to annihilate Alakazam and escape from its counters all in one stroke. Similarly, Choice Scarf Steel-types such as Jirachi and Heatran can switch in to revenge kill, but risk a super effective attack on the switch, or from behind Alakazam's Substitute.</p>
<p>Without Shadow Ball or Signal Beam, Starmie effectively walls Alakazam to high heaven, between Recover and its attacking options. Weavile is another nasty threat, as it is immune to Psychic and is one of the few Pokemon naturally faster than Alakazam, allowing it to OHKO Alakazam with Pursuit regardless of whether it stays in or not. Tyranitar also deserves a mention in this regard since it can act as a last-minute check if Focus Blast misses. Alakazam will generally faint the moment it is hit by anything, so if you have a faster Pokemon, they will almost always be a viable revenge killer, though Pokemon actually faster than Alakazam are few and far between outside of Choice Scarf users.</p>
---------------
Post-critique changes:
- EV shuffle on Dual Screen set
- Merged Life Orb and Encore sets
- EV shuffle on Offensive set
- Hidden Power Fire / Signal Beam on Offensive set
- Added comments relating to Substitute + Encore on Offensive set
- Removed Dual Screen set
- Wrote up analysis
- Grammar check 1, thanks to Eraddd
- Grammar check 2, thanks to Aeron Ee1 (Overview)
- Grammar check 3, thanks to Echo.
- GP Grammar-Prose Check #1, thanks to Oglemi
- GP Grammar-Prose Check #2 (collective check stamp)
