ORAS OU Time for an Adventure (Mega Alakazam Balance Team)

[urban]

> Time for an Adventure! <

Introduction

This is a Mega Alakazam Balance Team that I have been using for a few weeks. I posted the Clefable/Garchomp/Slowking core on the OU Good Cores page a few weeks ago and got some feedback there, but I wanted RMT's opinion on the team as a whole. This team is fun to use because you can use it to keep your opponent on their feet through smart switching/pivoting.

Teambuilding Process

I wanted to make a team with Mega-Alakazam because it's an under-prepared for threat that has a blazing speed and monstrous special attack.

Mega-Alakazam is weak to Dark-Types and physical attackers in general, so I added Clefable for it's resistance to Dark type moves and ability to check a number of physical based pokemon.

I realized this pair was still weak to some very prominent threats, like Scizor, Mega-Metagross, Excadrill, and Bisharp, so I added Garchomp to the team with intentions of making it a defensive variant.

I wanted something that could act as a secondary Mega Metagross check and was a special attacker with some offensive presence. I chose Slowking because it helps with M-Meta and Heatran and has a really fantastic movepool.

I needed a speedy physical attacker that could handle priority decently, specifically from the likes of Weavile and Mamoswine and Talonflame. I added Terrakion to the team.

Finally I wanted another physical attacker that could handle fairy types and had access to priority. Scizor seemed like a natural fit.

The Team

IK (Alakazam) (M) @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute

Mega-Alakazam is an incredibly powerful revenge killer and late game sweeper. I opted for max speed with a timid nature because M-Zam's ability to outspeed the entire unboosted tier is one of its primary draws. Max special attack EVs allow it to hit as hard as possible. Psychic is Zam's most powerful STAB option, Focus Blast hits Dark and Steel types that resists Psychic, and Shadow Ball hits Psychics that resists Zam's other attacks. I use Substitute in the last slot because it can help M-Alakazam pull off a late game sweep and M-Zam forces lots of switches.

Fin (Clefable) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower

This is the standard mixed defenses Magic Guard Clefable set, which allows it to survive attacks from a number of threats, like Latios's Psyshock and Thundurus's Thunderbolt. Moonblast is obligatory STAB, Calm Mind is so Clefable can act as a secondary win condition once steel types have been removed, Soft-Boiled and Leftovers provide Clefable with great reliable recovery, and Flamethrower is for coverage on steel-types. It is also fun to nail an unsuspecting steel type switch in with Flamethrower.

The Lich (Garchomp) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Tail
- Toxic

I knew I wanted a defensive Garchomp, so I opted for RockyChomp. I run enough speed EVs to outspeed Jolly Bisharp, max HP EVs, with the rest dumped into defense. An Impish nature maximizes Chomp's defense. SR is great to rack up damage on opponents, Dragon Tail is a nice STAB phazing option, Fire Blast nails Ferrothorn/Scizor, and Toxic allows Chomp to do something to Rotom-W and Hippo.

Pbubs (Slowking) (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 132 SpA / 36 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam

With the given EV spread and an AV, Slowking becomes a nice defensive powerhouse especially on the special side. It can also survive two Pursuits at full health from ScarfTar. Scald is a great STAB option because it is decently powerful and comes with that glorious 30% burn chance, Psyshock allows Slowking to hit pokemon with higher special defenses harder, Fire Blast is great to nail Ferrothorn, and Ice Beam hits 4x weaknesses on the switch nicely.

Jack (Terrakion) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab

I opted for Choice Scarf Terrakion so that it could revenge kill most threats without access to priority. It also has nice offensive synergy with M-Alakazam. Max speed and attack EVs, Jolly nature, Close Combat and EdgeQuake are no brainers. I orignally had X-Scissor in the last slot, but I changed it to Poison Jab to hit Fairy types on the switch. It also still hits Celebi pretty hard.

Marcy (Scizor) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 140 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Superpower

Choice Band Scizor is a great Fairy check and offensive pivot, so I thought it would fit well on this team. Max attack EVs, enough speed to outpace Adamant Azu, 104 HP EVs for HP number, and the rest dumped into defense. An Adamant nature is used so Scizor hits as hard as possible. Bullet Punch is nice STAB priority with a boost from Technician, U-Turn allows for pivoting, Superpower hits Ferrothorn. Knock Off is used because it is decently powerful and can help out with the Chansey, but I have been considering Pursuit so that Scizor can trap the Latis.

Conclusion

I enjoy using this team because it can handle both offensive and defensive playstyles well, though I will admit that it can have a tough time against stall, specifically Chansey. Outside of stall, this team can have trouble facing some bulky mons like M-Venusaur and some set-up sweepers like DD M-Gyara/Gyara, so some guidance on how to better handle these threats would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!​

A few replays for anyone interested

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-221495659
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-221630394
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-221508658

Importable

IK (Alakazam) (M) @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute

Fin (Clefable) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower

The Lich (Garchomp) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Tail
- Toxic

Pbubs (Slowking) (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 132 SpA / 36 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Psychic
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam

Jack (Terrakion) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab

Marcy (Scizor) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 140 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Superpower

 

[chimpact]

Hey there, pretty solid team, but I do have a few suggestions.

i thinkk you should probably use Keldeo over terrakion as your scarf user. it has more better offensive coverage and the fact that it has scald to really limit switch ins is huge. terrakion for the most part can be a nonfactor in a battle while that is not the case for Keldeo.

Additionally I would go with pursuit over Knock Off on Scizor. Knock Off may be powerful but I feel like most of the time U-turn is just better. You get similar damage output, but insteeaed of eliminating an item you get momentum. It obviously gets much better when you factor in certain megas that switch in on scizor too [Venu/Zard/Gyara pre mega etc]. Pursuit has good synergy with Keldeo as you can pursuit Latis as they're the prime switch in for Keldeo and other ghost/Psychic types for secret sword spam.

Lastly, I would test out Knock Off on Alakzam over Substitute. Zam may be able to force switches, but without spikes support it doesnt really land OHKOs so yu wont get a substitute that gets you value. it only aids in prediction. That's not to say thats not important either. Knock off helps itself and clefable out so stuff like Heatran/Jirachi/Chansey/Tornadus can't take hits as well as they can later on in the game so they have an easier time. Again im not saying substitute isnt the best move on your Zam, but i think you should give Knock Off a go.

hope i helped!

 

[zbr]

Your EVs look like they got slammed hard by a truck but that's okay. This squad is looking hella nice atm but let's see what we can do about it.

First off, I don't think Chomp really helps your team out alot. I understand that it's a sturdy rocker that helps to chip off damage on your opponent's weak physical leads (M-Lop Fake Out, Land-T U-Turn, Azu's AquaJ and the likes), however, for a team like yours, we want something that can solidly stay on the field and attempt to set up hazards as hazard setting is extremely important to M-Zam's victory. My suggestion is that we switch up tankChomp to Hippowdon. Why this suggestion is because Hippowdon is actually more suited for balance than tankChomp is and it provides pretty much the same benefits except for actually having a reliable form of recovery. It also gives us more options against M-Meta.

Next up, Scarf Terrak isn't exactly the best mon to use in the current metagame since everything is still pretty unfriendly towards it. My suggestion is that we switch it up for SubCM Keldeo. I understand that you wanted something that could deal with Weavile/Talonflame, in other words, the fast, thin paper priority users of the tier. Talonflame is amply dealt with by Hippo and Slowking eats the Spdef set alive. With this change, we are also ensured some security against stall.

Some more minor changes would include using Pursuit over Knock Off on Scizor as it is a really good switch in the Lati twins and with them out of the way, your M-Zam would be able to function much more efficiently. Also, using Encore over Substitute may be a better option on your M-Zam since with such a squad, you want to be able to force things out and allowing you to get a free and safe Mega off as well allowing you to revenge stuff or set up on stuff.

Hope I helped and good luck with the squad [:

 

[urban]

Hey there, pretty solid team, but I do have a few suggestions.

i thinkk you should probably use Keldeo over terrakion as your scarf user. it has more better offensive coverage and the fact that it has scald to really limit switch ins is huge. terrakion for the most part can be a nonfactor in a battle while that is not the case for Keldeo.

Additionally I would go with pursuit over Knock Off on Scizor. Knock Off may be powerful but I feel like most of the time U-turn is just better. You get similar damage output, but insteeaed of eliminating an item you get momentum. It obviously gets much better when you factor in certain megas that switch in on scizor too [Venu/Zard/Gyara pre mega etc]. Pursuit has good synergy with Keldeo as you can pursuit Latis as they're the prime switch in for Keldeo and other ghost/Psychic types for secret sword spam.

Lastly, I would test out Knock Off on Alakzam over Substitute. Zam may be able to force switches, but without spikes support it doesnt really land OHKOs so yu wont get a substitute that gets you value. it only aids in prediction. That's not to say thats not important either. Knock off helps itself and clefable out so stuff like Heatran/Jirachi/Chansey/Tornadus can't take hits as well as they can later on in the game so they have an easier time. Again im not saying substitute isnt the best move on your Zam, but i think you should give Knock Off a go.

hope i helped!

Keldeo sounds like a great option over Terrakion. It provides way more offensive pressure while still maintaining good synergy with Alakazam/Scizor. Having a much more spammable move in Scald is also ridiculously helpful. I'll definitely replace Knock Off with Pursuit on Scizor because I agree that it will provide a lot more utility considering Knock Off isn't very helpful most of the time. Knock off on M-Zam seems pretty cool too. All of those pokemon you mentioned bar Heatran can give this team trouble, so being able to cripple them would be beneficial for sure.

Thanks for your feedback! It helped a lot.

Your EVs look like they got slammed hard by a truck but that's okay. This squad is looking hella nice atm but let's see what we can do about it.

First off, I don't think Chomp really helps your team out alot. I understand that it's a sturdy rocker that helps to chip off damage on your opponent's weak physical leads (M-Lop Fake Out, Land-T U-Turn, Azu's AquaJ and the likes), however, for a team like yours, we want something that can solidly stay on the field and attempt to set up hazards as hazard setting is extremely important to M-Zam's victory. My suggestion is that we switch up tankChomp to Hippowdon. Why this suggestion is because Hippowdon is actually more suited for balance than tankChomp is and it provides pretty much the same benefits except for actually having a reliable form of recovery. It also gives us more options against M-Meta.

Next up, Scarf Terrak isn't exactly the best mon to use in the current metagame since everything is still pretty unfriendly towards it. My suggestion is that we switch it up for SubCM Keldeo. I understand that you wanted something that could deal with Weavile/Talonflame, in other words, the fast, thin paper priority users of the tier. Talonflame is amply dealt with by Hippo and Slowking eats the Spdef set alive. With this change, we are also ensured some security against stall.

Some more minor changes would include using Pursuit over Knock Off on Scizor as it is a really good switch in the Lati twins and with them out of the way, your M-Zam would be able to function much more efficiently. Also, using Encore over Substitute may be a better option on your M-Zam since with such a squad, you want to be able to force things out and allowing you to get a free and safe Mega off as well allowing you to revenge stuff or set up on stuff.

Hope I helped and good luck with the squad [:

I'll work on some of the EV spreads. I know CB Scizor's EVs are the biggest mess and Slowking's could use some honing too. Hippowdown seems like it would fit nicely because, like you said, it can set up rocks more reliably while providing more defensive utility thanks to its reliable recovery. Plus being able to fit Stone Edge for Talon is really appealing. I'm definitely liking the idea of this change, and I'll let you know how it goes!

Again, Keldeo definitely provides a nicer fit than Terra, and I'll give the SubCM set a try in addition to the Choice Scarf set. I'll also replace Knock Off with Pursuit on Scizor and tinker around with that last moveslot on M-Zam. Encore is super enticing because it can help out against set up sweepers and stall pokemon alike.

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate the help!

 

[firehusky]

Hi the urbandear, interesting team!

Your team looks very solid but I think here are some changes that you might want to try out. I recommend replacing Earthquake on Terrakion with HP Ice. Earthquake really does not target anything that close combat can't hit, as fire-types are already bopped by stone edge. The only thing that earthquake really hits is mega diancie, and even then it is not even OHKOed. Ever since aegislash was banned, earthquake has not seen much use. HP Ice is nice to lure in landorus-t which would otherwise be a problem for terrakion. I would also run pursuit over knock off on Scizor. Most of the time you will rarely find yourself clicking knock off as u-turn and bullet punch are usually the moves that scizor should use the most. Pursuit allows scizor to weaken or remove the lati twins, giving alakazam and terrakion an easier time cleaning up. Pursuit can also be nice to take out something such as a weakened slowbro to stop it from switching out to obtain regenerator recovery. Other than that, great team!

Hope this helped n_n