[OVERVIEW]
Generalize what the Pokemon does in the metagame and as a whole and why you should or shouldn't consider using it on your teams. See this thread for more tips.
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Thunder Wave
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Recover
move 4: Seismic Toss / Kinesis
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
As a lead, Alakazam excels at forcing paralysis onto foes. Thunder Wave is an effective move against many common opposing leads, such as Mewtwo, Tauros, Zapdos, and Jynx. Against Gengar, Psychic should be used as a critical hit or Hypnosis miss will deny Gengar sleep. A common first-turn switch for the opponent is Exeggutor, as it can absorb Thunder Wave and attempt to land Sleep Powder on Alakazam. Lead Alakazam is a fantastic sleepsack so it can simply use Seismic Toss to chip Exeggutor until it gets slept. In other cases, Mewtwo may be switched into lead Alakazam's Thunder Wave to give the opponent a sleepblocker. This is most commonly seen with Barrier Mewtwo, which appreciates getting paralyzed early. In this case, it is important to switch Alakazam out immediately and threaten Mewtwo with an Explosion user. Exeggutor is effective at this since the opponent will be pressured to stay in with Mewtwo due to the threat of sleep.
Alakazam is also commonly seen outside of the lead slot with Kinesis as its fourth move. The main purpose of Kinesis is to counter Amnesia Mewtwo. A healthy Alakazam can comfortably switch into an unboosted Amnesia Mewtwo and paralyze it with Thunder Wave. From there, it can use Kinesis and then Recover to stall out Mewtwo's PP. A +4 Thunderbolt or Ice Beam does 58.7-69.3% on Alakazam, which means Mewtwo typically has to land four non-critical hit attacks in a row to KO Alakazam, which is unlikely after the accuracy drop and full paralysis chances. Non-Barrier Mewtwo can try to improve its odds by fishing for a special drop with Psychic, as a +4 Thunderbolt or Ice Beam has a 41% chance to KO Alakazam at -1 special. However, getting a special drop through paralysis and accuracy drops is also quite difficult. If Mewtwo boosts to +5 when stalling, Alakazam can start using Psychic to fish for a special drop and trigger overflow.
It is extremely important to avoid paralysis on Alakazam. If Alakazam is paralyzed, it becomes much less effective at stalling out Mewtwo, as Kinesis accuracy is already shaky and stalling requires Alakazam to be able to use Recover on every turn. More offensive teams forgo Amnesia on Mewtwo in favor of Thunder Wave and Self-Destruct. In these cases, Alakazam is not as effective against Mewtwo and should be used instead to force damage and paralysis on a teammate like Tauros.
Lead Alakazam generally fits on offensive teams that appreciate the momentum gained from early paralysis spreading. Since Exeggutor is a common first-turn switch into lead Alakazam, good teammates include slower offensive Pokemon such as Snorlax, Slowbro, and Rhydon, as they appreciate the paralysis and chip damage to Exeggutor. Since Mewtwo is also a common switch-in, Explosion users such as Snorlax, Cloyster, and Exeggutor, and Pokemon that appreciate Mewtwo being removed, such as Zapdos, Articuno, and Cloyster effective teammates for lead Alakazam as well. Kinesis Alakazam fits best on offensive teams that need a defensive backbone to fend off Barrier Mewtwo. These teams typically contain Mewtwo sets lacking Recover, as well as pokemon like Tauros, Snorlax, and Zapdos. Kinesis Alakazam is also much less effective against Mewtwo sets with Thunder Wave, which the afformentioned offensive Pokemon excel at fighting.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
List some options for the Pokemon user that are plausible but not always recommended due to either being not consistent enough or too outclassed by other Pokemon in the metagame.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Insert Counterplay Here**: Describe the counterplay / check / counter.
**Insert Counterplay Here**: Describe the counterplay / check / counter.
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