Mega Alakazam's Squad of Terrific and Extraordinary Rascals
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As the ORAS Metagame was coming to a close, I started developing a liking to Mega Alakazam. I felt that he was fully capable of destroying unprepared teams with his strong special attacks backed up by a lightning fast speed that could outspeed and promptly OHKO things consecutively. I decided that for my first carefully constructed team, Mega Alakazam would be the focus.
From there, I decided the team should follow a Dark-Fighting-Psychic core. I always liked the concept of Buzzwole and decided to use his SubPunch set at first, before switching to Roost + BoltBeam. Alola-Muk added a much needed check to Tapu Lele, something that could destroy the current core, as well as able to deal with some of the other threats 1v1 due to the AV set's stupid bulk, such as Heatran, Clefable, and Mega Metagross (w/out EQ, that is)
With the initial core completed, I believed that momentum would be very important to the team's success. VoltTurn was immediately what came to mind, and so I decided to use the classic Lando-T and Rotom-W VoltTurn core, using HP Ice Lando-T and Physically Defensive Rotom-W
Finally, Ferrothorn was added to the team. He forms a secondary hazard-stacking core with Landorus as well as having utility of his own, such as TWave, Spikes, and Leech Seed. I went with the Chople set to better suit him for more physical threats.
The Team In-Depth
Peace (Alakazam) @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard ---> Trace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
Being that he was the focus of the team, Mega Alakazam doesn't disappoint when we're talking about Special Sweepers. First off, on his first time in, Alakazam doesn't take damage from hazards, allowing him to safely come in after a Volt Switch or a U-turn or after a teammate dies. Then, he has one of the highest Special Attack and Speed stats in the game after Mega Evolution. This allows each of his moves to hit super hard against anything that doesn't resist it. Most of the moves don't need to much of an explanation. Psychic is his best STAB move, and his main tool for neutral damage. Focus
Perhaps one of the best things that came with Gen 7 were the Ultra Beasts. Mega Alakazam can trace Beast Boost or Soul-Heart and become a psuedo-setup sweeper, usually played end-game. This happens to be one of my main methods of winning matches; Trace a boosting ability and proceed to hit stuff with +1, +2, etc. Psychics and other moves. Trace can also give you Protean, Lightning Rod, and Swift Swim.
Superbug (Buzzwole) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Superpower
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
I understand why people don't like Buzzwole. He has a plethora of weaknesses, quite a few of which are specially based types, but I haven't found much of a problem while developing the team with Buzzwole as one of the key components. Buzzwole has access to the potential of a Roost + 3 Attacks set, which could include many possibilities. Ultimately, I went with Superpower as well as BoltBeam coverage with Thunder and Ice Punch respectively. Buzzwole usually is meant to soften or straight up remove some of the beefier threats to Mega Alakazam's end-game sweep. This could mean having to beat Celesteela, Pelipper, Landorus-T, or Greninja, which aren't difficult for Buzzwole to do. In the case of Mega Alakazam's death, Buzzwole could also clean up with his hard hitting Superpower backed up by Beast Boost. Roost also comes out as a reliable way for Buzzwole to recover any lost health, but due to his insane bulk, most physical attacks won't kill him.
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Atk / 92 Def / 64 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Poison Jab
- Shadow Sneak
Muk is weird in that while he isn't very spectacular at first glance, he has an amazing matchup with so many threats in the metagame that he winds up being OU. It's for good reason too. Assault Vest makes this thing able to tank tons of special punishment, including Latios Draco Meteors, Heatran Earth Powers, Scalds, Flamethrowers, etc. While his physical bulk might not be that of his special bulk, he can also take a pretty hard physical beating. Muk is mostly used for specific matchups or to throw a Knock Off or 2 around. However, his usefulness can come from elsewhere. He's the only Knock Off user on the team, so having him available to slap off an item or two while also doing substantial damage to the opponent is always a nice addition to the team. Pursuit allows Muk to make use of the switches he'll inevitable be forcing, allowing him to hit what most likely is a psychic type with a 80 BP move that has a 30% chance of poisoning. Poison Jab is his other STAB, mostly used after Knock Off is either resisted or no longer serves a purpose, as it is a 80 BP STAB move with an over 50% chance of poisoning. Shadow Sneak is on this set for necessary priority, as most players won't expect a Muk to randomly revenge kill them, which he can do in two ways.
Leo (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
Landorus is a staple for any type of team, due to his amazing role compression and versatility. In this case, I decided to use Relaxed Landorus with HP Ice. For my team, Landorus acts as our lead and a pivot. Having him and Ferrothorn on the same team allows for some amazing Turn 1 mixups; the opponent will lead with Magnezone while I lead with Landorus, allowing free Stealth Rocks. Earthquake is a strong, spammable ground type attack that while it may not do tons of damage without any attack investment, he can use it a lot. Stealth Rocks are important for any team, allowing teams to slowly be weakened as I grab momentum through U-Turn and Volt Switch. HP Ice is slowly gaining tons of popularity on Landorus, allowing the one without HP Ice to win in the lead. This caused me to go with the Relaxed set, as it doesn't weaken HP Ice and will allow me to get slower U-Turns than the opposing Landorus. Of course, U-Turn completes half of the core and allows to do quick damage and grab momentum right out of the gate.
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
Landorus is a staple for any type of team, due to his amazing role compression and versatility. In this case, I decided to use Relaxed Landorus with HP Ice. For my team, Landorus acts as our lead and a pivot. Having him and Ferrothorn on the same team allows for some amazing Turn 1 mixups; the opponent will lead with Magnezone while I lead with Landorus, allowing free Stealth Rocks. Earthquake is a strong, spammable ground type attack that while it may not do tons of damage without any attack investment, he can use it a lot. Stealth Rocks are important for any team, allowing teams to slowly be weakened as I grab momentum through U-Turn and Volt Switch. HP Ice is slowly gaining tons of popularity on Landorus, allowing the one without HP Ice to win in the lead. This caused me to go with the Relaxed set, as it doesn't weaken HP Ice and will allow me to get slower U-Turns than the opposing Landorus. Of course, U-Turn completes half of the core and allows to do quick damage and grab momentum right out of the gate.
Clean Up (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 SpD
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Rotom-Wash completes the Volt-Turn core with Landorus, as well as having benefits of his own. He acts as a secondary check to the physical attacks who threaten Mega Alakazam, throwing burns everywhere, as well as acting as a valuable asset against Stall. The set doesn't variate much at all from the normal Rotom-Wash set. Volt Switch completes the Volt-Turn core Landorus presents, as well as helping as a way to fight Pelipper and his rain friends. While Hydro Pump can be really unreliable and while I have gone into some sketchy situations through a Hydro Pump miss, its his only secondary STAB and can also be useful when fighting the likes of Landorus and Heatran. Will-O-Wisp absolutely cripples physical attackers, and while the damage was nerfed this generation, the effect is still the same. Pain Split, while it can be read and wind up being bad for you, it's still reliable recovery and allows Rotom to fight pink bulky blobs. Normally, Rotom-W has served his purpose for the game as soon as he grabs maximum momentum and burns the opposing physical attacker.
Thorns (Ferrothorn) @ Chople Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
The final member of the team, Ferrothorn, is one of the most important mons on the team. His inclusion means that against pokemon like Amoongus, Celesteela, as well as most of the dragons that could nuke the team otherwise, our matchup isn't so bad. He also forms a hazard stacking core with Landorus. His utility overall is amazing, boasting Thunder Wave to slow down and potentially paralyze switch-ins and cripple them. Spikes can help with the momentum by constantly putting grounded mons to ~63% with Stealth Rocks. Leech Seed gifts Ferrothorn with semi-reliable recovery, constantly stealing health from the opponent, as well as helping Ferro fight pink blobs. Gyro Ball allows Ferro to not be Taunt bait, almost always hitting with an at least 100 BP STAB move against faster switch-ins.
Peace (Alakazam) @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
Superbug (Buzzwole) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Superpower
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
Goop (Muk-Alola) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Atk / 92 Def / 64 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Poison Jab
- Shadow Sneak
Leo (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
Clean Up (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 SpD
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Thorns (Ferrothorn) @ Chople Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
Superbug (Buzzwole) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Superpower
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
Goop (Muk-Alola) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Atk / 92 Def / 64 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Poison Jab
- Shadow Sneak
Leo (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
Clean Up (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 SpD
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Thorns (Ferrothorn) @ Chople Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
Thank you for reading! If you like the team, that's cool, like the post. If you have any suggestions to improve it, feel free to be super harsh. Thank you!