[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Focus Blast / Dazzling Gleam
move 3: Nasty Plot
move 4: Taunt / Encore
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Alakazam's high Special Attack and Speed along with access to Nasty Plot make it a dangerous setup sweeper in the metagame. Shadow Ball is great for Alakazam, as it hits a lot of the metagame neutrally and makes it immune to revenge killing from Extreme Speed users. Focus Blast complements Shadow Ball well, allowing Alakazam to 2HKO Dark / Poison Clefable and hit other Dark-types like Lycanroc-D and Hippowdon, although Alakazam has to watch out for Sucker Punch from the former. While Focus Blast provides a strong yet inaccurate secondary STAB move, Dazzling Gleam has less power but lets Alakazam hit Normal / Ghost types like Blissey and more reliably hit threats like Normal / Dark Arcanine and Heracross. Nasty Plot allows Alakazam to 2HKO specially defensive checks like RegenVest Galarian Slowking and Tornadus-T with Focus Blast. Taunt prevents checks like Blissey and Clefable from healing or using status moves, which can allow Alakazam to break past them with boosted attacks. Encore is a less reliable option that locks foes into recovery or status moves, which gives Alakazam an opportunity to set up with Nasty Plot. Life Orb benefits from Magic Guard nullifying its recoil damage. Focus Sash is another option on more offensive teams, as it gives Alakazam an opportunity to revenge kill setup sweepers or use Nasty Plot.
Other special setup sweepers like Latias, Galarian Slowking, and Volcarona appreciate Focus Blast Alakazam's ability to break past Unaware Clefable and certain RegenVest users like Slowking and Galarian Slowking, as this gives them opportunities to set up and sweep as well. These teammates also benefit from Alakazam's ability to absorb Toxic, which would otherwise put them on a timer. Alakazam is outsped by threats like Tornadus-T, Zeraora, and Pheromosa, so defensive teammates like Clefable, Mew, and Salamence can help check these threats while controlling entry hazards to support the team. Alakazam is prone to revenge killing from priority users like Rillaboom, Scizor, and Sucker Punch Lycanroc-D; Mew and Salamence can also help check these threats. Bulletproof Kommo-o counters Ghost / Fighting Alakazam and can check Dazzling Gleam variants with its typing, but Clefable, Mew, and Salamence can check it.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Fairy / Fighting typing with Dazzling Gleam and Focus Blast is an option with good STAB coverage to hit Dragon- and Fighting-types, but it leaves Alakazam open to revenge killing from Extreme Speed users like Entei and Arcanine. Paired with Tapu Lele, Alakazam is threatening in Psychic Terrain with Expanding Force and Focus Blast as well as immunity to Extreme Speed. However, Psychic Terrain-based teams require a lot of support to perform well. Alakazam can use Recover over Taunt or Encore to shake off any damage taken, but it is generally too frail to see much benefit from reliable recovery. Other team support options for the last move include Knock Off, Toxic, and Thunder Wave. Teleport is another option that allows Alakazam to pivot as its checks switch in, but Alakazam lacks the bulk to be a reliable pivot. Focus Sash sets can run Counter as the last move in order to revenge kill setup sweepers and faster threats like Haxorus and Zeraora, but it is prediction reliant and misses out on Ghost-type attackers.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Foes**: Alakazam is quite frail and can be KOed by faster offensive threats like Dragapult, Pheromosa, Spectrier, and Zeraora. Focus Sash sets can beat these foes one-on-one, though, if Alakazam is still at full health.
**Priority Attacks**: While Alakazam is immune to Extreme Speed, users of other priority moves like Rillaboom, Scizor, and Lycanroc-D can OHKO it.
**Poison / Dark Walls**: Ghost / Fairy sets can struggle to break past specially defensive Poison / Dark types like Unaware Clefable, Toxapex, and RegenVest Tornadus-T. Clefable and Toxapex are vulnerable to Taunt, which prevents recovery moves and Haze, but they can use Knock Off to remove Alakazam's Life Orb to reduce its damage output.
**Blissey**: Blissey's massive special bulk and common typings like Normal / Ghost and Normal / Fairy allow it to check Alakazam fairly well, although Normal / Fairy variants can be 2HKOed by +2 Focus Blast, and Blissey is generally vulnerable to Taunt.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[a loser, 410702]]
- Quality checked by: [[In The Hills, 324242], [Dragonillis, 466276]]
- Grammar checked by: [[DC, 449990], [Finland, 517429]]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Focus Blast / Dazzling Gleam
move 3: Nasty Plot
move 4: Taunt / Encore
item: Life Orb / Focus Sash
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Alakazam's high Special Attack and Speed along with access to Nasty Plot make it a dangerous setup sweeper in the metagame. Shadow Ball is great for Alakazam, as it hits a lot of the metagame neutrally and makes it immune to revenge killing from Extreme Speed users. Focus Blast complements Shadow Ball well, allowing Alakazam to 2HKO Dark / Poison Clefable and hit other Dark-types like Lycanroc-D and Hippowdon, although Alakazam has to watch out for Sucker Punch from the former. While Focus Blast provides a strong yet inaccurate secondary STAB move, Dazzling Gleam has less power but lets Alakazam hit Normal / Ghost types like Blissey and more reliably hit threats like Normal / Dark Arcanine and Heracross. Nasty Plot allows Alakazam to 2HKO specially defensive checks like RegenVest Galarian Slowking and Tornadus-T with Focus Blast. Taunt prevents checks like Blissey and Clefable from healing or using status moves, which can allow Alakazam to break past them with boosted attacks. Encore is a less reliable option that locks foes into recovery or status moves, which gives Alakazam an opportunity to set up with Nasty Plot. Life Orb benefits from Magic Guard nullifying its recoil damage. Focus Sash is another option on more offensive teams, as it gives Alakazam an opportunity to revenge kill setup sweepers or use Nasty Plot.
Other special setup sweepers like Latias, Galarian Slowking, and Volcarona appreciate Focus Blast Alakazam's ability to break past Unaware Clefable and certain RegenVest users like Slowking and Galarian Slowking, as this gives them opportunities to set up and sweep as well. These teammates also benefit from Alakazam's ability to absorb Toxic, which would otherwise put them on a timer. Alakazam is outsped by threats like Tornadus-T, Zeraora, and Pheromosa, so defensive teammates like Clefable, Mew, and Salamence can help check these threats while controlling entry hazards to support the team. Alakazam is prone to revenge killing from priority users like Rillaboom, Scizor, and Sucker Punch Lycanroc-D; Mew and Salamence can also help check these threats. Bulletproof Kommo-o counters Ghost / Fighting Alakazam and can check Dazzling Gleam variants with its typing, but Clefable, Mew, and Salamence can check it.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Fairy / Fighting typing with Dazzling Gleam and Focus Blast is an option with good STAB coverage to hit Dragon- and Fighting-types, but it leaves Alakazam open to revenge killing from Extreme Speed users like Entei and Arcanine. Paired with Tapu Lele, Alakazam is threatening in Psychic Terrain with Expanding Force and Focus Blast as well as immunity to Extreme Speed. However, Psychic Terrain-based teams require a lot of support to perform well. Alakazam can use Recover over Taunt or Encore to shake off any damage taken, but it is generally too frail to see much benefit from reliable recovery. Other team support options for the last move include Knock Off, Toxic, and Thunder Wave. Teleport is another option that allows Alakazam to pivot as its checks switch in, but Alakazam lacks the bulk to be a reliable pivot. Focus Sash sets can run Counter as the last move in order to revenge kill setup sweepers and faster threats like Haxorus and Zeraora, but it is prediction reliant and misses out on Ghost-type attackers.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Foes**: Alakazam is quite frail and can be KOed by faster offensive threats like Dragapult, Pheromosa, Spectrier, and Zeraora. Focus Sash sets can beat these foes one-on-one, though, if Alakazam is still at full health.
**Priority Attacks**: While Alakazam is immune to Extreme Speed, users of other priority moves like Rillaboom, Scizor, and Lycanroc-D can OHKO it.
**Poison / Dark Walls**: Ghost / Fairy sets can struggle to break past specially defensive Poison / Dark types like Unaware Clefable, Toxapex, and RegenVest Tornadus-T. Clefable and Toxapex are vulnerable to Taunt, which prevents recovery moves and Haze, but they can use Knock Off to remove Alakazam's Life Orb to reduce its damage output.
**Blissey**: Blissey's massive special bulk and common typings like Normal / Ghost and Normal / Fairy allow it to check Alakazam fairly well, although Normal / Fairy variants can be 2HKOed by +2 Focus Blast, and Blissey is generally vulnerable to Taunt.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[a loser, 410702]]
- Quality checked by: [[In The Hills, 324242], [Dragonillis, 466276]]
- Grammar checked by: [[DC, 449990], [Finland, 517429]]
Last edited:
