Introduction
Hey guys so this is my second RMT here on Smogon and this is a new team that I've made based off discovering the insane power of Alakazam after coming back to competitive battling from my break which is nearly a year ago.
So I started playing around on Pokemon Showdown with my old teams after my friend wanted to get into competitive battling, so I helped him make a standard DragMag team and he's doing really well with it so far. So I started playing as well just to see what the new metagame was like, unfortunately my old teams were completely outdated and I was getting destroyed fairly easily left, right and center. It also didn't help that a few of my teams were made before the banning of Genesect, Landorus-I, and Tornadus-T so I had to make a lot of abrupt changes and they were just awful because I had no idea what to expect.
However one Pokemon did manage to surprise me and it was Alakazam, simply because of its sheer power and coverage, coupled with Magic Guard, and backed by a Focus Sash. I was completely shocked at how powerful he was and why I never realized it. So I decided to build a team around him and it's doing fairly well so far after the most recent changes I haven't encountered any glaring problems.
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Team Building Process
So Alakazam was obvious since he was the reason I started building this team. The next Pokemon to drop into the basket was Celebi, the reason being that I wanted some way to break Alakazam even more (as if that was even possible). I realized that Celebi had the ability to Baton Pass a number of Nasty Plots, so the wheels started turning and I thought that if I could successfully pass even one Nasty Plot to this monster it would at the very least take down one of a double priority combo, a resist to getting OHKO'd and being able to OHKO back + priority combo, or a double resist to OHKO and the ability to OHKO back combo. If they failed to have either of these combinations then Alakazam would just wreak havoc through teams.
The good old CeleTran combo never gets old. Heatran was added due to the fact that I needed a reliable counter to Volcarona and Scizor who threatened both Alakazam and Celebi with that annoying STAB Bug Buzz and Bug Bite / U-Turn respectively. He also offers Alakazam coverage on certain Pokemon that gets scary when boosted by a Nasty Plot. The great defensive core of Heatran and Celebi is awesome as well and can wear down teams really far to the point where my other Pokemon can just clean up.
I wanted something to revenge kill and be able to punch holes through teams and Terrakion seemed like great idea, Choice Scarf variant allowed me to punish most things on their team after dealing with the CeleTran defensive core, or after Alakazam has devoured a few of the team's members. He was a nice addition to the team and basically was there just to do raw physical damage.
Dragon types were slightly annoying especially those that had Dragon Dance and I wanted to kill them off more easily in some way, and while my Alakazam could do that I didn't want to rely on him solely just to finish off these pesky Dragon types so Mamoswine was added. Mamoswine was also slightly helpful in being able to deal with Air Balloon Heatran that didn't carry Earth Power more easily.
Forretress was added because of the prominence of entry hazards for the current meta, at least I believe so anyways. He was also really helpful in setting up Toxic Spikes against some of the more defense oriented teams and being able to use Rapid Spin to ensure the longevity of my defensive core and Terrakion was very nice. He also dealt with opposing Terrakions much more easily and not having to deal with speed tie randomness was very good. Scouting with Volt Turn was also very cool as well.
After testing the team out fresh from the drawing board, it was pretty good but I found that entry hazards weren't really that much of an annoyance to my team since Heatran basically laughed at them. However I still needed to retain a way to counter Terrakion so I added Conkeldurr because I love this Pokemon and was very helpful. Having the extra bulk was very helpful indeed and having a status buffer without risking the death of my Celebi was great.
More testing ensued and I noticed that I started to have some serious problems in dealing more defensive teams. So I thought for a while and got stuck, but after watching a battle with my friend my eyes were opened and I saw Breloom and how it was a great Terrakion counter, but also an amazing wall breaker because of Spore.
After more testing I found that even though I had Breloom and Celebi on the team, as long as they could deal with Breloom then rain teams became a problem. I thought long and hard between Thundurus-T and Keldeo, however Choice Scarf Keldeo was far more devastating in the rain than Thundurus-T and Keldeo gave insane coverage which was something I couldn't pass up.
Lastly I noticed Psychic and Ghost types were still somewhat problematic but I didn't have a way of dealing with them and keeping my team intact, or so I thought. So now please welcome the most abusive Pokemon on this team. Weavile is like Mamoswine but has better utilities; he has Ice Shard and Pursuit which makes him the ultimate revenge killer especially for Psychic and Ghost types and he also has Brick Break to deal with pesky dual screens.
After Shurtugal's rate Weavile was replaced with Scizor as he allowed me to check more of the threats on my team while still maintaining what Weavile had to offer and more. Basically he was just so much better than Weavile for my team.
So without further ado, I present to you Apples & Oranges.
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The Team
Alakazam (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
The destroyer of worlds himself, his monstrous base 135 Sp. Atk is nothing to scoff at. His attack spread allows him to do neutral damage to almost all Pokemon barring a few that I can't immediately remember. Psychic was chosen over Psyshock as I found that I was getting walled by Conkeldurr of any variant, and special walls haven't been too problematic for him especially if there is a Nasty Plot stacked.
I really dislike Focus Blast's accuracy however the move is very necessary and I have surprisingly been able to connect more than 80% of the time. Signal Beam is also very helpful for opposing Psychic types that think they can resist a few hits from Alakazam. Hidden Power [Ice] is chosen over Hidden Power [Fire] as didn't want Dragon types to ruin my fun when I'm sweeping, plus Heatran can also deal with anything that would require Hidden Power [Fire] to be relevant. Shadow Ball has replaced Signal Beam on Shurtugal's suggestion for the ability to hit other important things harder.
Magic Guard is a wonderful ability, being immune to entry hazards, burn, and toxic damage is invaluable. This immunity is very important to abuse as it not only keeps your Focus Sash on, it also allows you force Alakazam to avoid getting paralyzed by switching into a Toxic or Will-O-Wisp. Getting paralyzed almost always means game over for Alakazam as he is far too frail to take anything and main synergy of the team is to abuse that base 135 Sp. Atk and potentially with a Nasty Plot stacked alongside his base 120 Speed.
Finally Focus Sash is the most insane item on Alakazam, basically it narrows down to one of three things; it either lets him survive a priority attack or a faster Pokemon, allows him to miss once with Focus Blast, or allows him to deal with anything that isn't OHKO'd.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 112 Spd / 252 HP / 144 SDef
Calm Nature
- Baton Pass
- Giga Drain
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
Celebi is basically like a net that holds this team together it offers the team a way to receive a Nasty Plot and he does that with effective bulk. The EV spread is suggested by Shurtugal to out speed important threats to Celebi itself which leads into the ability to make my team more versatile and not have to lose it's support so easily.
Keep in mind Celebi is no slouch it offers the team an invaluable way to absorb nasty paralysis and sleep attacks while simultaneously being an amazing wall. It's walling abilities are strengthened by the combo of Giga Drain and Recover.
Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Max Speed EVs allow Heatran to out speed all forms of Scizor and he is also my only effective counter to Volcarona who would otherwise destroy most of my team if gets a Quiver Dance off. The rest of the EVs have been placed on Sp. Atk for maximum hole punching ability according to Shurtugal's suggestion.
Heatran paired with Celebi is amazing and we all know that so I don't really have much to say about Heatran. He's basically just Heatran; the obvious Fire and Poison immunity is great, Stealth Rock is amazing support for when they have to do an obvious switch and Roar allows Heatran to shoo away anybody thinking they can just set up on it because of the obvious switch or that they could take a hit and clean up.
Fire Blast and Hidden Power [Ice] have been added after Shurtugal's suggestion because of the raw power that Fire Blast provides and the ability of Hidden Power [Ice] to counter Pokemon that would normally be able to switch into a defensive Heatran.
Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Icy Wind
Keldo is a beast, I mean he doesn't necessary destroys teams like Alakazam does but the raw power of this guy backed by a Choice Scarf is insane. He's my final ace in the hole against rain teams as well. If this guy gets a Nasty Plot passed to him then just like Alakazam something is definitely going to get OHKO'd. The coverage of Keldeo and the raw power of his moves are just phenomenal.
I won't need to go into detail about Hydro Pump + Secret Sword since they are fairly obvious, however I would like to note that I do dislike Hydro Pump for the same reasons as I dislike Focus Blast but I also cannot pass it up over the weaker Surf for the same reasons for Focus Blast. Hidden Power [Electric] is devastating if they think anything with Water Absorb bar Gastrodon or at least resists Water can just come in without eating a face full of shocking goodness.
Now Icy Wind is there for coverage and dealing with weakened Dragons or directly deal with Dragons if boosted by a Nasty Plot, however it's primary use is to force Speed drops against annoyingly speedy Pokemon.
Breloom (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Stone Edge
- Mach Punch
- Spore
This guy breaks down walls, and I'm not even exaggerating. Spore + Technician and Life Orb boosted Bullet Seed is agonizing to deal with. It usually just ends up doing insane damage even if you resist it, in any case if they do wake up from Spore they need a reliable way to kill Breloom before I Spore them down again. If they do decide to switch they turn one of their Pokemon into a liability where I can use as set up fodder or easily kill.
Mach Punch is pretty much self-explanatory, he just uses this mainly to kill off Terrakion and Heatran and Stone Edge as per Shurtugal's suggestion had allowed me to lure Dragonite out and kill it and this has been quite helpful as Dragonite can be problematic it it can set-up.
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 Spd / 248 HP
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
The new guy on the team he lets me check Dragons much more easily and offers some needed bulk on my team. He also replaced the role of Pursuit trapping the Lati@s twins that Weavile used to provide for this team. As well offering a check to Mamoswine which has been a nuisance until now.
But Scizor does so much more for this team, Superpower is just insane that move does so much damage to pretty much anything and Bullet Punch offers another form of priority to check Terrakion and well as just being awesome in general. Everyone should know the power coming from a Choice Band Scizor using a Bullet Punch.
Finally Scizor rounds it off with U-Turn, and to qoute Shurtugal
Finally Scizor rounds it off with U-Turn, and to qoute Shurtugal
That's just it basically
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Conclusion
So yeah there is my team, please let me know what you think and don't hesitate to put up comments or suggestions. The exportable file will be down below if anyone wants to try it out.
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Exportable
Alakazam (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Celebi @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 112 Spd / 252 HP / 144 SDef
Calm Nature
- Baton Pass
- Giga Drain
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Icy Wind
Breloom (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Stone Edge
- Mach Punch
- Spore
Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 Spd / 248 HP
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Superpower
Changes have been placed in bold
Changes have been placed in bold
