ORAS OU Save The Espers! My top 500 Mega Alakazam Team

[dfontbubu]

Save the espers!

¡Hello everyone! It is with great pleasure that I share with you today my latest team in the ORAS OU format. I hope you find this RMT very entertaining and informative. And with that I introduce to you my newest team called: Save the espers!


Team Concept:

Playstyle: Balanced

I've been playing competitively online pretty much since the beginning of 4th gen. For the most part I've mainly played in OU, So I've got a good grasp of what roles usually work on what teams. Having said this, experience in pokemon battles has taught me that the best teams are usually the ones that cover the most options possible while preserving some synergy. This concept is what I believe balanced teams are all about. Developing a solid strategy or a gamestate that deals well with other peoples options. The problem is that right now there are so many amazing Pokemon and so many strategies that it seems impossible to prepare for every type of tactic, however you have to make sure the most recurring threats are not only dealt with, but capitalised one.


Team construction:

Part 1- The core (Alakazam, Clefable, Scizor)

I found a interesting core in the Good Cores sub thread here on smogon, initially I was looking for the most broken Mega Altaria core that I could find because I really wanted to build a team around it. However as I was looking at offence and balanced cores, there was a core that caught my eye instantly.


The core was:

-Mega Alakazam

-Clefable

-Scizor


I was immediately drawn to it since Scizor has usually always been a part of my most competitive teams and Clefable is this generations S+ tier pokemon, it's very good. Also I've never used Alakazam on a team so I though what the heck lets try it. Since as I said this core was directly taken from the Smogon Good Cores thread I'd much rather you read the original description for the core written by the genius who made it. (thanks breh).


Part 2- Dealing with top tier megas (Alakazam, Clefable, Scizor, Landorous-Therian)


Upon first scrutiny of the team, so far it seamed very obvious that Mega Metagross and Mega Zard X were gonna tear right through me like a Lanister does to a sibling. And since I didn't have a stealth rocker yet Landorous-Therian became the logical answer.


Part 3- Let's get tricky (Alakazam, Clefable, Scizor, Landorous-Therian, Heatran)


Since I chose to run Thunder wave on Clefable instead of flamethrower, Steels seamed to be a major issue as well. For a while I was debating between using Talonflame or Heatran, but i eventually decided on heatran because this particular set I'm using is not very common, and getting a sub out with any top tier poke usually means a major advantage. Right now my team suffers a lot to heavy heavy stall and I'm considering changing tran for Stall Break Talon, but im still debating that switch.


Part 4- My tech Pokemon (Alakazam, Clefable, Scizor, Landorous-Therian, Heatran, Latias)


Scizor and Mega Zam are my hardest hitting mons, but their sets have no recovery and seldom bulk, Scizor can take a hit or two but Alakazam can barely take any hit, especially if its physical. I also wanted a deffoger cause I hate losing to hazards or screens. That's why I added my Healing Wish Latias Set. The set is a bid odd but I'll go into more detail about that in her description.


Now lets go Member by Member

Kefka (Alakazam) @ Alakazite

Ability: Magic Guard

Shiny: Yes

EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Energy Ball

- Shadow Ball

- Psyshock

- Focus Blast


Move Descrition:

• Energy Ball- The biggest reason energy ball is in this set is to destroy rain teams. Mega Alakazam has the oh so useful Trace ability. Which basically means if you have swift swim then so do I and my speed is over 800 so good luck with dat mate. Mega Swampert, Politoed and other water/ground/rock types get wrecked.
• Shadow Ball- This move is for ghosts and latis. It's a pretty good neutral coverage move as well especially combined with Focus Blast.
• Psyshock- Basically just for stab, I use Psyshock instead of psychic in theory for Chansey and Blissey but it really makes no difference most of the time.
• Focus Blast- Id like to start off by saying I really wish Alakazam learned aura sphere so I would never have to use this incredibly unconsistant move, but facts are facts and when Focus Blast hits its mark it means you're usually dead. This move is mainly used to deal with such threats as Tyranitar, Excadrill, Heatran, Weavile, Kyurem Black and Ferrothorn just to name a few.

Pokemon Description: Alakazam is you sweeper so he usually comes in for 1 of 2 reasons. Either revenge killing a pokemon or late game sweeping. This thing is super frail so under no conditions should you ever switch in on a hit, that's why scizor and landorous-t are in the team, so they can pivot towards Alakazam. If I can offer a piece of advice with this pokemon it would be to only Mega Evolve when necesary, Magic Guard is a pretty good ability since Zam won't take damage from hazards. This being said when it Mega Evolves it gets the all so usefull trace ability. You can trace usefull abilities like Flash Fire on a incoming heatran fire attack, levitate, sturdy, intimidate, water absorb, lightning rod and so many others. Mega Alakazam is usually extremely good agaisnt rain and sand teams since you can trace swift swim and sand rush.

Sabin (Scizor) @ Choice Band

Ability: Technician

EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD

Adamant Nature

- Bullet Punch

- U-turn

- Pursuit

- Superpower

Move Description:

• Bullet Punch- Useful priority and stab, don't hesitate to use this against powerful fairy threats and quick mons.
• U-turn- Since it's a bulky choice band set usually you'll be the second pokemon to turn, perfect for maintaining momentum and setting traps like mega alakazam or sub on tran.
• Pursuit- This is useful for getting rid of Latis twins and gengar and celebi. Be carefull when using this move though. It kinda sucks getting locked into pursuit.
• Superpower- This move is used for predicting the o so common heatran and ferrothorn, pokemon that typically counter good Scizor. It's also very usefull agaisnt the pink blobs (chansey, blissey) who are very troublesome for this team.

Pokemon Description: Scizor is used to either slow turn into your powerful threats, revenge kill with bullet punch or trap the aforementioned pokemon. Honestly this pokemon is pretty straightforward.

Terra (Clefable) (F) @ Leftovers

Ability: Magic Guard

EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD

Calm Nature

- Thunder Wave

- Moonblast

- Soft-Boiled

- Calm Mind

Move Description

• Thunder Wave- Mwuahahaha this move is evil, usually this build runs flamethrower instead of thunderwave, but i like using thunder wave as a lure to pokemon like talon flame and bisharp who like to come in and wreck clefable.
• Moonblast- Best stab move
• Soft-Boiled- Best recovery move since i don't want to wait a turn for wish
• Calm Mind- win condition

Pokemon Description:This pokemon offers important resistances in bug and dark that are very necessary for Alakazam while offering an alternate win condition. It also double as a pseudo mixed wall due to it's natural bulk and amazing typing. I would advise to keep calm minding to a minimum unless you already know you can go for the kill. I would also advice to use Thunder Wave to a minimum until you learn your opponents switch patterns.

Guau (Heatran) @ Leftovers

Ability: Flash Fire

EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Substitute

- Toxic

- Flamethrower

- Earth Power

Move Description:

• Substitute: Heatran counters a lot of pokemon and forces a plethora of switches, making him one of the best substitute users in the meta. He can get subs on common threats such as Talonflame, ferrothorn, clefable, some Charizard X variants, Venusaur and many others.
• Toxic: Good ol Toxic, the move that single handedly destroys bulky offence and some forms of stall. Toxic provides some important residual damage which is necessary to get some important kills. This set may be one of the strongest toxic stallers in the game.
• Flamethrower- I hate missing fireblast and I wouldn't like to burn a pokemon that id rather poison. Magma storm is an option but honestly I like flamethrower, it works just fine as a STAB MOVE.
• Earth Power- Good coverage move and a important tool to kill other heatrans. It's pretty useful against pokemon like tyranitar as well.

Pokemon description: This is one if not my favorite sets in all OU. Honestly it's not used very much which is good so the set is often pretty un predictable. And even if your opponent has a hunch that you might be a sub variant heatran usually only comes in on hard counters so in all likeliness you're either getting a sub up or something is eating a powerfull atack. It's important to use substitute as much as possible to really take advantage of this set. The golden rule is if you can't 0HKO it you should probably toxic. Unless you're already quicker and can get a 2HKO.

King Edgar (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers

Ability: Intimidate

EVs: 248 HP / 220 Def / 40 Spe

Impish Nature

- U-turn

- Stone Edge

- Earthquake

- Stealth Rock

Move Description

• U-turn- Standard
• Stone Edge- Standard
• Earthquake- Standard
• Steal Rock- Standard

Pokemon Description:
Honestly there's nothing I can say about bulky Landorous-T that you probably don't already know. It's a good counter to sand rush, bird spam and physical attackers in general. You can usually use it to pivot from heatran which is always provoking people to earth quake. Try to keep rocks off the field on you side whenver you can because this thing is pretty dependant on its hp to be a counter to important pokemon like Zard X and Excadrill.

Celes (Latias) @ Leftovers

Ability: Levitate

Shiny: Yes

EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Defog

- Recover

- Dragon Pulse

- Healing Wish

Move Description-

• Defog: The best tech move in the game, gets rid of hazards and sceens. This team ins't particularly afflicted by hazards since most of the team resists or avoid spikes, However it's important to not let these things add up.
• Recover: Since I use Latias as sort of Sp Wall, Recovery is important. Usually running healing wish and recover is pretty un-intuative, but honestly psyshock and draco meteor are very predictable and easy to avoid so thats why I make no investment in this things special attack.
• Dragon Pulse- It's the best STAB move that doesn't lower my stats.
• Healing Wish- The plot twist, the reason why I always use latias over latios. I noticed that sometimes balanced teams lose because they only have 1 option for 2-3 pokemon, and they eventually wither him down, not with healing wish. This move allows you to play extra aggresive knowing that you will be able to heal your pokemon in full. An amazing attack.

Pokemon description: This pokemon is used as a hazard/special wall/healing wisher. It's usually the most expendable pokemon in the team since everyone is always packing a Lati counter. My advice with this pokemon would be if your likely trapped in with Ttar, Scizor or Bisharp, just go for healing wish, any bit of momentum helps against these monsters.

Teams Weakness

Azumarill- I have no real counter to this, which is probably a terrible idea.

Chansey- probably my biggest threat, i have no knock off on my team so in a really gay stallish team this thing is usually what ends up destroying me.

Blissey- not as big of a threat as chansey but is still anoying.

Mega Sableye- Not Mega Sableye per se, cause my clefable counters him, but stall teams centered around him are pretty difficult to deal with.

 

[Mur]

Hey man nice team I've always been a fan of Mzam since it's conception! I think I have a few suggestions to make this team a little more solid. First I think energy ball should be replaced with taunt and psyshock with psychic on Mzam. Even though you want to crush rain teams energy ball does not really hit much that the standard coverage does not bar swampert(and I have something for that later). Taunt helps break opposing defensive cores and stall which trouble your team a bit without it. Mzam wants as much power as possible so thats why I suggest dropping psyshock here. Also the mons that you target with psyshock don't really take much from it so psychic will be more useful 9 times out of 10.

I would also replace heatran with ferrothorn. I loved subtoxic tran in xy but in oras mons like Msab and sd gliscor really prevent it from breaking stall like it should. Ferrothorn gives you a decent answer for azu(watch superpower) and also for swampert(again watch superpower) while also retaining the ability to counter the latis like heatran. The utility slot here on ferro can be a few different things since your team already has rocks and you are running a defogger. Spikes can be used despite having defog on your team so you can pressure stall a little more and twave can be used but you already have it on clef and your team isn't really in need of too much speed control. Overall I think the best option is protect since it can help gain lefties recovery and also stall when a mon is leech seeded but the choice is up to you on what you want to use in this slot.

I would also run draco meteor>dragon pulse, put thunderbolt>either recovery or healing wish, change lefties to life orb, and change the spread to 72hp/184spatk/252spd+ on latias. Dpulse on latias makes it a bit too passive while lo+draco/tbolt gives it more of an offensive presence so it can utilize defog and either recovery or healing wish better. This helps alleviate your weakness to azu a bit and gives you more power than the previous lati set which helps it become less of a momentum drainer. Momentum on this kind of team is very important so letting latias become to passive hurts how the team functions since a lot of the tier can handle a latias with no life orb and only dpulse to defend itself. I'l restate the fact that tbolt>psyshock helps deal with azu better while still providing an answer to keldeo so that is why it has been chosen over psyshock.

Overall nice team although the matchup against stall can be difficult but not impossible. Assuming the nature of stall doubling to scizor on the obvious chansey switch and forcing it to take rocks damage+pursuit (if you choose to do so) should eventually create an opening for either Mzam or clefable to come through and win the game so that is what I suggest your game plan be in stall matchups. Anyways cool team I'l leave my suggestions below and I hope I helped!

Changes

Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Taunt

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Protect
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Healing Wish
- Defog

 

[Ryfi110]

Use Tankchomp > Lando-T

He acts as a general check to azu, while still being usable as a bird check.

-Lives +6 Aqua Jet.
-Forces Azu to use Play Rough.
-Garchomp outspeeds and uses EQ.
-Azu dies from rocky helmet + rough skin.

The AV set is not very threatening to you, and the band set you can play around through predictions + switches.

 

[dfontbubu]

Use Tankchomp > Lando-T

He acts as a general check to azu, while still being usable as a bird check.

-Lives +6 Aqua Jet.
-Forces Azu to use Play Rough.
-Garchomp outspeeds and uses EQ.
-Azu dies from rocky helmet + rough skin.

The AV set is not very threatening to you, and the band set you can play around through predictions + switches.

Sounds interesting, I'm worried I won't have a switch in for excadrill if I do this though.

 

[Ryfi110]

Sounds interesting, I'm worried I won't have a switch in for excadrill if I do this though.

252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Garchomp: 179-212 (42.6 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 220+ Def Landorus-T: 101-121 (26.5 - 31.7%) -- 26.6% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

Garchomp has no real problem with scarf drill, but sand drill can be an issue. Note that while Garchomp is only a check, you can easily stall out the sand, and besides, EQ is an OHKO once its in.

Try Air Balloon Heatran. It is a good tool to outstall the sand produced by drill.

 

[dfontbubu]

252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Garchomp: 179-212 (42.6 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 220+ Def Landorus-T: 101-121 (26.5 - 31.7%) -- 26.6% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

Garchomp has no real problem with scarf drill, but sand drill can be an issue. Note that while Garchomp is only a check, you can easily stall out the sand, and besides, EQ is an OHKO once its in.

Try Air Balloon Heatran. It is a good tool to outstall the sand produced by drill.

Iono Heatran is my favorite pkmn in the team, id suggest you test it out first yourself so you can see how powerful he really is.