What's the 4th move on sash: Encore?
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Alakazam
- Thread starter Emperor
- Start date
Either item should be fine with either move. I personally prefer Encore when using Focus Sash just because I don't have that much firepower to OHKO deceptively decently-bulky sweepers like Thundurus (locking Thundurus into Substitute or Nasty Plot is a good feeling). Most of the time, Substitute may seem contradictory with Focus Sash, though in this case Alakazam receives some kind of dual purpose. When the KO is gaurunteed, by all means use Life Orb with any fourth move.
I would suggest energy ball over grass knot on the LO set. It hits for more consistant damage allowing you to take out the very light Rotom-W with ease, and still killing off gastrodon or swampert. Just a suggestion.
I still like Hidden Power Fire as the 4th move.
I must say, I am extremely impressed with Life Orb 4 attacks Zam. It makes a great late game cleaner and a great way to revenge any Terrakion that isn't Rock Polish, I mean 120 base speed is amazing. Starmie can't take Shadow balls and I'm not sure whether Latios can take them either.
It is a minefield though, if they still have a Scizor. Trying to play Pursuit-Switch-Roulette is always difficult and I never run HP Fire, paralysis is also crippling and so many Pokemon carry it that it's surprising. I generally use it with Heal Bell Chansey to circumvent that outcome.
It is a minefield though, if they still have a Scizor. Trying to play Pursuit-Switch-Roulette is always difficult and I never run HP Fire, paralysis is also crippling and so many Pokemon carry it that it's surprising. I generally use it with Heal Bell Chansey to circumvent that outcome.
One thing I don't see anyone mentioning here that seems like an epic pro is the ability to use Alakazam as a status absorber now. Since Magic Guard negates Poison and Burn Damage it's pretty lulzy to switch it into an obvious status move and gain yourself an Alakazam that's now immune to Paralysis and can switch into whatever status moves it wants and start sweeping.
Also now having encountered a few on Smogon's OU ladder, I can also give testament to another assest Alakazam now boasts: Mind games. You can't know for sure whether it has Life Orb, Focus Sash or even Choice Specs since Life Orb recoil is negated. If it's sashed, that means your poke that can outspeed it will get destroyed if it stays in and attacks, but if it's got life orb your special wall could face a 2HKO or OHKO it wouldn't have to face if it was sashed. Then there's always the potential for someone with a Life Orb Alakazam to bluff a Focus Sash by switching into a boosting sweeper on the setup or coming in after a KO, forcing your sweeper out only for your switch in to get nailed by a far more powerful move than you were expecting.
Oh yes, this thing is not going to stay RU for long.
Also now having encountered a few on Smogon's OU ladder, I can also give testament to another assest Alakazam now boasts: Mind games. You can't know for sure whether it has Life Orb, Focus Sash or even Choice Specs since Life Orb recoil is negated. If it's sashed, that means your poke that can outspeed it will get destroyed if it stays in and attacks, but if it's got life orb your special wall could face a 2HKO or OHKO it wouldn't have to face if it was sashed. Then there's always the potential for someone with a Life Orb Alakazam to bluff a Focus Sash by switching into a boosting sweeper on the setup or coming in after a KO, forcing your sweeper out only for your switch in to get nailed by a far more powerful move than you were expecting.
Oh yes, this thing is not going to stay RU for long.
Same here, Zam really is outstanding.
As for Latios, LO Zam can't OHKO unless Modest + SR, in which case it's still a 37.5% chance.
Still toying with that 4th move on a LO set, and I must say I find Taunt great if only to screw with Blissey (considering it switches in on Zam in approximately 100% of cases). By the way, said pink blob is really at risk of being KO'd by Focus Miss and is one of the few things Zam doesn't instantly and horribly die to. The same goes for Jellicent.
Other defensive mons tend to pack a strong answer which they immediately use on Zam though, be it Gyro Ball, Brave Bird etc, so I think I'll revert to a 4th offensive move soon. Guess I can use Blissey/Jelly as setup fodder for Conkeldurr.
Also, it is true that Scizor is an offspring of hell, but Zam resists non-Steel priority surprisingly well. Not falling to the first Mach Punch/Ice Shard is often all it needs to resume its rampage.
I meant Clefable, and Honchkrow can't take Focus Blasts which is pretty obvious... And what can Uxie and Munchlax do? All Uxie can do is U-Turn as you hide behind a sub and Munchlax will just delay certain doom.
exactly
they can't do shit
Jirachi is pretty much the most popular all-purpose counter to any Alakazam in OU. You can also add Bronzong and Metagross to the mix, although most variants of these are offed by either two successful Focus Blasts or I could just switch to Chandelure or Scizor to set up on them.
What kind of Chandelure works with Alakazam?
I haven't actually established the perfect Alakazam partner in Chandelure. First of all, if you run Substitute Chandelure, it might be a bit redundant with three attacks Alakazam itself. I sometimes use Chandelure due to defensive synergy and it's ability to force switches, so then again, Sub is a good possibility. Then I considered using plain good old Choice Chandelure to revenge kill some dangerous Pokemon that Life Orb Alakazam can't take on, such as Steel / Psychic-type Pokemon, SD Lucario, and Dragon Dance Dragonite. It helps that Chandelure is immune to Body Slam and Extremespeed, but the entry hazards can sometimes pile up if you don't provide a Rapid Spin user.
All in all, depends on preference and team.
All in all, depends on preference and team.
Alakazam should run substitute because with it, it can beat sucker punchers.
Trust me, it works.
But you can disable other stuff too like shadow ball and what not and it does not take away health.
Alakazam doesn't really care about losing health from Substitute since it's immune to Life Orb recoil anyway. Also, to disable a Shadow Ball, you have to assume Alakazam lives it, which with its paper-thin defenses, it probably won't.
Disable is in general outclassed by Gengar due to being weak to two of the same types, and being able to use Substitute alongside it because Gengar gets STAB on one half of the unresisted Ghost + Fighting combo. Substitute in general just works better since Alakazam's massive speed and being tied with Porygon-Z for the second highest non-Uber Special Attack in the game makes it easily able to force switches.
Sucker Punch users are not particularly relevant enough in the metagame as a main reason to use Disable. Additionally, Alakazam doesn't have the typing (an area which Gengar excels in), let alone bulk, to actually use it, since Disable doesn't offer substantial protection or support. If anything, just use a coverage move, Substitute, or support option (with Focus Sash, of course) in that last slot.
Speaking of which, Thunder Wave + Focus Sash is a personal favorite of mind, since Alakazam can't OHKO them all, and paralysis helps immensely against threats with one too many speed boosts, mainly Volcarona and Dragonite (both of which Alakazam can't OHKO usually without the correct Hidden Power). Think of it as a last ditch effort, since no person is bothered to Taunt Alakazam.
Speaking of which, Thunder Wave + Focus Sash is a personal favorite of mind, since Alakazam can't OHKO them all, and paralysis helps immensely against threats with one too many speed boosts, mainly Volcarona and Dragonite (both of which Alakazam can't OHKO usually without the correct Hidden Power). Think of it as a last ditch effort, since no person is bothered to Taunt Alakazam.
Just a small nitpick- it's also tied with Volcarona, and both Chandelure and Zen Mode Darumanitan (lol) have greater special attack.
haunter
Banned deucer.
Alakazam should run substitute as it helps to minimize the need to predict your opponent's moves. Also, with substitute it can run life orb which makes it almost impossible to switch in safely.
With life orb hidden power fire will ohko Skarmory after SR (before it can roar you out) and, most importantly, 2hko every Jirachi barring the specially defensive one.
Life orb also lets you always 3hko the Lati twins with psyshock.
Not taking any form of passive damage is great for something as frail as Zam is. If you don't need it as a revenge killler, then sub+LO is the way to go.
Calm mind set imo isn't that effective. I used it and gets killed before it can even hit. Almost every team seems to have scizor or scarfed mons who destroy cm versions. I know the common argument is that "get rid of its counters" but that could be said for just about every mon.
Even the Focus Sash revenge killer can find itself being a hard-hitter with Calm Mind. Although, Focus Sash is primarily used to survive a hit and revenge kill a mon, it can also be used to guarantee a Calm Mind for an end-game clean up. Alakazam also force a lot of switches, so it can pick up a Calm Mind without losing its Sash, as well. Although Alakazam has shit physical Defense, its special bulk is rather decent, so it could set CMs on weak special hits and start a surprise mini-sweep, especially late-game.
haunter
Banned deucer.
Sure, but substitute is invaluable as, given Zam's high speed, it's not impossible to set up a sub on the switch, kill the switch in with the appropriate move, and save the sub for another free hit. That's something that sash variants can't do, if only for the lack of immediate sheer power.