Announcement National Dex UU Suspect 9: What You Know (Alakazam Suspect)

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:ss/alakazam:


Is it even an NDUU Suspect if the song isn't creatively borrowed
from a previous gen suspect at this point? (shoutouts ORAS UU)

While we had hoped to be able to move directly into the Drought Retest, we believe suspect testing Alakazam now is for the best, as its effects on teambuilding are becoming more and more evidently unhealthy.

Suspect Reasoning
Alakazam's viability has seen highs and lows since it was unbanned in the Great Unban Wave following its initial quickban when it first got Nasty Plot, though it was generally considered "alright but not great" until Weavile's departure, at which point its viability took off like a rocket, quickly taking its place among the heavy weights of the tier. And it's not hard to see why, thanks to its excellent speed tier, high special attack, extreme difficulty to chip thanks to Magic Guard, strong STAB, sufficient coverage and, of course, its newfound Nasty Plot, which propels it from an already above average breaker to an absolute nightmare to deal with. As if that wasn't enough, Magic Guard also allows it to use Life Orb completely drawback free and turns it into one of the very few viable users of Focus Sash that isn't a Hyper Offense lead, and it has just enough overall special bulk to take some average strength special attacks. Its speed and power allows a +2 Alakazam to rip an unprepared team to shreds with only a single free turn. While Nasty Plot is its scariest set, non Nasty Plot sets are definitely still good options, especially to catch an opponent expecting a Nasty Plot off guard or to lure a conventional check with additional coverage (or by surviving a hit you wouldn't against an offensive Pokemon, in Focus Sash's case).

Though the tier has by and large managed to deal with Alakazam better than most things that have been banned, it has become increasingly clear how much of an impact Alakazam has on building and how restrictive it can be and has been, mandating either a very safe defensive check (of which few viable ones exist) or both a defensive check and an offensive check, the latter meaning you need to pick not one but two Pokemon that can check Alakazam on a team. Several Pokemon run a move or even entire sets almost solely for Alakazam - Thunder Wave Slowking went from a niche but acceptable alternative to Future Sight in order to check Nihilego and other sweepers to the standard second move in order to avoid giving Alakazam free setup (admittedly helped by FuturePort not being so free and abusable anymore), and Aqua Jet Urshifu-Rapid-Strike was practically nonexistent in NDUU prior to Alakazam (though Blaziken dropping after gave it a reason aside from Alakazam), for example. It's this constricting factor on teambuilding that we believe merits this suspect more than anything else.

Perhaps no greater testament to its impact exists than the fact that Mega Beedrill, previously considered a bottom of the gutter awful mon comparable to the likes of Breloom and Donphan, was ranked almost solely for the fact it can run Pursuit, be faster than Alakazam and trap it without hitting like a wet noodle otherwise. This is mostly thanks to the fact our list of viable Pursuit users after Weavile's departure is short, and the list of viable Pursuit users that can reliably trap Alakazam is even shorter, consisting of two mediocre at best options, one of which, the aforementioned Mega Beedrill, is only viable because of Alakazam.

Due to the lack of good pursuiters that can trap Alakazam, most teams rely on a faster Pokemon to revenge kill it and a shaky defensive check to manage it. The reason I say "shaky" is because Alakazam has few to no true counters, being able to run options like Hidden Power Fire for Scizor, Z-Zap Cannon for Slowking and Celesteela, or Grass Knot for Swampert and Hippowdon, among others. Even without Grass Knot, Hippowdon can run into issues checking Alakazam, given many run just enough defense to always live Hippowdon's Earthquake from full, giving it a free Nasty Plot or letting it finish Hippowdon off if it was weakened beforehand. Even offensive checks aren't 100% consistent between Focus Sash and Substitute sets, unless you really feel like bringing Choice Scarf Urshifu-Rapid-Strike back from the dead.

Of course, Alakazam has flaws. Its physical bulk can barely be called "bulk" for how lacking it is, and, while fast, some Pokemon outspeed it naturally, namely Zeraora and Mega Manectric (even if the latter struggles to actually kill a healthy Alakazam), and most scarfers can handle it. It is also usually forced to force something out to Nasty Plot, as most of the Pokemon it could use as Nasty Plot fodder often run something to punish it, attack it to put it in range of the revenge killer, phaze it out or switch into the revenge killer with a move like Flip Turn or Teleport. While few unboosted priority Pokemon can OHKO it from full (the list consisting of Choice Band Azumarill with a roll and Offensive Scizor), the fact Alakazam will often be forced to take damage setting up means they are usually good enough. Additionally, while Focus Sash sets can mess with offensive checks, the loss in power is very noticeable, leaving it struggling to break anything without a Nasty Plot boost, though Knock Off on such sets can mitigate this a little. Thanks to its poor bulk and no useful resistances, it also has to be brought in with a double or VoltTurn pivot.

Additionally, while lacking a true counter, its options for defensive counterplay are actually surprisingly common thanks to Alakazam being unable to run everything in one set. Its defensive checks are also already pretty good on their own, namely Scizor, Assault Vest Tangrowth, SpDef Slowking, SpDef Hippowdon and Celesteela, all of which check or help to check several other Pokemon in their own right. This means its impact on teambuilding is smaller than it would otherwise be, though the small pool of checks compared to other prominent threats is still concerning.

Suspect Test Information
  • Reading this is mandatory to participate in the suspect test. The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 79 with at least 40 games played. In addition, you may play 1 less game for every 0.2 GXE you have above 79 GXE, down to a minimum of 20 games at a GXE of 83. Also, needing more than 40 games to reach 79 GXE will suffice.
  • GXEminimum games
    7940
    79.239
    79.438
    79.637
    79.836
    8035
    80.234
    80.433
    80.632
    80.831
    8130
    81.229
    81.428
    81.627
    81.826
    8225
    82.224
    82.423
    82.622
    82.821
    8320
  • You must use a fresh account that begins with the given prefix for this suspect test. That prefix is NDUUZAM. For example, I could signup and qualify with the name NDUUZAM Niadev.
  • You may not impersonate or mock another user with your account name. If there is any slight hesitation, you're probably better off picking a different name. We reserve the right to null your voting requisites if you are found impersonating or mocking another user with your account name. Moderator discretion will be applied.
  • If you are found trying to manipulate voting requisites in any way, you will be met with a harsh infraction. Manipulating voting requisites ranges from faking your screenshot to asking another user to forfeit.
  • The Pokemon that's being suspect tested, Alakazam, will be allowed on the National Dex UU ladder for the next two weeks so that we can properly assess its position in the metagame.
  • This suspect test will go on for two weeks. It will last until March the 4th at 11:59 PM GMT.
 
Last edited:
So Mareanie wanted something posted on here and since i don't wanna repeat myself again (because i covered this a few weeks ago) you can check out my meta post about Zam. And since im lazy instead of re-doing it, im gonna point out a few things i got wrong or i forgot.

Braincells Rewinded (Check the original post before this)


1.1: Extra checks

:hippowdon: Specially Defensive Hippo is able to heal compared to Swampert but Zam is able to freely spam Psychic on it as well so its mostly just one way to play around it

228 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 248+ SpD Hippowdon: 173-204 (41.1 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

:dragonite: a +2 Psychic would only end up doing around half your hp if multiscale is active, the problem is that you aren't strong enough to actually OHKO zam so its mostly roost stall and try to get an inmunnity like Scarf Krook or Zarude in for free

0 Atk Dragonite Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 28 Def Alakazam: 198-234 (78.8 - 93.2%) -- approx. 2HKO
(You usually want Hurricane as your stab of choice so this makes it quite sad)



1.5: The Best Check


:ss/tangrowth:
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain / Power Whip
- Knock Off
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Earthquake

Im honestly amazed by the fact that i didn't mention this mon since its literally one of the most splashable Zam checks that's not a steel or dark which makes it really unique alongside being a backup check to almost everything such as Defensive Celes, Urshifu-RS, Keldeo, Zeraora, Krookodile, Bulky SD Sciz (they often lack u-turn but be aware of Knock Off), Mixed DD M-Altaria, Rotom-Wash, Demon Deo-D if paired with other Regen users like Slowking (knock + poison yessir), and of course Alakazam. This largelly made the physically defensive variants forgotten as the walling capabilities of AV were too good to pass up, even with this its not a counter for Alakazam for a reason due to being reliant on the Assault Vest not being knocked away which not only happens when Zam does it but also agaisn't other mons its trying to check such as Zeraora or Krookodile and hazards make it harder for Tangrowth to check it long term although you usually have some backups both Offensively and Defensively. Overall its pmuch a glue and while its not perfect, it does its job perfectly fine.

6: Changes?

I wouldn't say i changed my mind about Zam because it requires you to run at least 2 checks on a team to actually handle it which is not really a good thing to have around but its definitely a weird one if you compare it to the other unhealthy mons we had before. Most of the things i previously mentioned still stand and despite not being that popular (specially in Triple Crown, that's some wack shit ngl), its still the same restrictive mon that we all know in the end. Now we gotta hope it ends up banned so we can have a Drought re-test without having terrible restrictions on building.
 
The long-awaited suspect is up, guess I'll post some thoughts.


Alakazam @ Life Orb / Electrium Z / Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot / Counter / Substitute / Knock Off / Grass Knot
- Psychic
- Focus Blast / Zap Cannon
- Shadow Ball / Zap Cannon

24 Defense lives an unboosted Earthquake from Hippowdon, allowing for a second attack or NP boost against it since Stealth Rock and Sand can't finish you off. I'll be using this spread in my calcs.

Alakazam's impact in the tier arguably boils down to several factors, its incredible offensive prowess, ability to adapt to said checks used against it, and the general unhealthiness of the precedents forced onto the builder as a result.

:alakazam:Threat Potential :alakazam:
Alakazam's effects on the metagame have been few and far between, the simple combination of Psychic / Fighting / Ghost coverage on its own lacks any notable overlapping or seriously troubling gaps against defensive counterplay, and is made even more effective by the effects of Life Orb (a commonly used item that is rather riskless in its effectiveness in most matchups to say the least) or additional options in the last moveslot such as Nasty Plot to boost up and limit the number of things able to stand up to it as a whole without playing roulette or even others such as Knock Off to cripple item-reliant checks like Celesteela or AV Tang long-term, many are excellent, combine to keep the opposition on their toes, and its here where we begin to see the major cracks in the defensive metagame.

Focus Sash
Battle Possibilities
Electrium Z

Such brings us to the next aspect of Alakazam's influence that makes it so dangerous, its ability to constantly switch up moves and items to get around the already limited amount of tactics used against it, both offensively (as if an outstanding Speed Tier of 372 and lack of good Scarfers in the tier wasn't dumb enough already for the slower metagame with Weavile gone) and more importantly, defensively. The 6 alternative options (yes... 6: Z-Zap Cannon, Sub, HP Fire, Knock Off, Sash with/or without Counter and Grass Knot) all of which are extremely easy to disguise thanks to Magic Guard and with Alakazam's great Speed that gives it many opportunities to properly set up the expected conditions on the switch-in in an offense heavy-meta.

To further illustrate my point, let's look at some example of the interactions between checks in practice and see how easily they can be skewed into the Alakazam user's favor, even in the most unideal of situations:

From S to A- Rank
  • :aegislash: - Shadow Sneak doesn't kill from full unless you're running some form of Attack investment or Spell Tag.
    0- Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 186-222 (74.1 - 88.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

    232 SpA Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Blade: 306-362 (94.4 - 111.7%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Blade: 398-471 (122.8 - 145.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Blade: 335-395 (103.3 - 121.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO (All applies if you moved first by clicking Sneak)
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 264-312 (81.4 - 96.2%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 343-406 (105.8 - 125.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • :scizor: - Bullet Punch doesn't OHKO unless it's an offensive variant, and those rarely pack the staying power needed to tank Focus Blasts or HP Fires throughout the game.
    16+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 162-192 (64.5 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

    Offensive sets:
    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Scizor: 207-244 (73.6 - 86.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Hidden Power Fire vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Scizor: 416-494 (148 - 175.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Scizor: 317-374 (112.8 - 133%) -- guaranteed OHKO


    Defensive sets:
    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 236 SpD Scizor: 160-188 (46.6 - 54.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (If Boots get Knocked Off)
    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 236 SpD Scizor: 322-380 (93.8 - 110.7%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 236 SpD Scizor: 318-376 (92.7 - 109.6%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Gigavolt Havoc (190 BP) vs. 248 HP / 236 SpD Scizor: 388-457 (113.1 - 133.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • :zeraora: - OHKOes since it's also naturally faster than Alakazam but hardly switches in safely, if not ever.
    252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 262-310 (104.3 - 123.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    252 Atk Zeraora Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 340-402 (135.4 - 160.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

    232 SpA Alakazam Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 180-213 (56.7 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 234-277 (73.8 - 87.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 358-423 (112.9 - 133.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO (If the Zam is Sashed and decides to stay in, worth noting that Zeraora can Volt Switch out to another teammate on its team and come back in to finish Alakazam off if it suspects any form of Sash from the damage calcs however.)
  • :slowking: - Acts as a check to anything but Zap Cannon and can cripple Zam with TWave or can Teleport out into a revenge killer to finish the job. Unfortunately, being Knock Off and Status weak really hampers its ability to stand up to boosted attacks late-game without being forced to sack a mon.
    0 SpA Slowking Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Alakazam: 91-108 (36.2 - 43%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Slowking: 161-192 (40.8 - 48.7%) -- 75% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Slowking: 322-382 (81.7 - 96.9%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (both calcs apply if Boots get Knocked Off)
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Gigavolt Havoc (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Slowking: 588-692 (149.2 - 175.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • :swampert: - SpD sets take any one hit that isn't Grass Knot but it doesn't kill from full with the Defense investment in mind and has no reliable recovery.
    0 Atk Swampert Flip Turn vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 126-148 (50.1 - 58.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    0 Atk Swampert Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 208-246 (82.8 - 98%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 149-177 (36.8 - 43.8%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 229-271 (56.6 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 298-352 (73.7 - 87.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 354-421 (87.6 - 104.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
  • :tangrowth: - Great mon and check in a pinch with AV since it can OHKO but relying on staying at High HP with Regenerator before Alakazam can get in and boost really cuts into its reliability long-term, Knock Off variants can also potentially straight-up 2HKO Tang.
    0 Atk Tangrowth Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 168-198 (66.9 - 78.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    0 Atk Tangrowth Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 248-294 (98.8 - 117.1%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO (Pray that they aren't Sash Counter since you're essentially forced to click this)

    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tangrowth: 211-250 (52.2 - 61.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (If Vest gets Knocked Off)
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tangrowth: 419-495 (103.7 - 122.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Not usually on the same set but a teammate like Krook or Scizor can get that covered for you instead)
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth: 216-255 (53.4 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth: 281-331 (69.5 - 81.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • :celesteela: - Solid Alakazam check against anything that isn't Zap Cannon with SpD sets but Knock Off and overreliance on Leech Seed recovery means that Alakazam can potentially push past it late-game.
    0 Atk Celesteela Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 232-274 (92.4 - 109.1%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO (See AV Tang)
    252+ SpA Celesteela Air Slash vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Alakazam: 123-145 (49 - 57.7%) -- 96.1% chance to 2HKO
    252+ SpA Celesteela Supersonic Skystrike (140 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Alakazam: 229-271 (91.2 - 107.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
    +1 252+ SpA Celesteela Meteor Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Alakazam: 197-232 (78.4 - 92.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

    Offensive Sets:
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Celesteela: 341-402 (101.7 - 120%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    232 SpA Alakazam Gigavolt Havoc (190 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Celesteela: 416-490 (124.1 - 146.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Gigavolt Havoc (190 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Celesteela through Light Screen: 414-488 (123.5 - 145.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

    Defensive Sets:
    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 123-146 (30.9 - 36.6%) -- 66.8% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery (Adds up, especially once Lefties are removed)
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 246-290 (61.8 - 72.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Zap Cannon vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 378-446 (94.9 - 112%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO (If you tried to Protect vs the Z)
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Gigavolt Havoc (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 600-706 (150.7 - 177.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • :hippowdon: - Works from full in a pinch like Swampert and has recovery but it can't kill from full either which again, causes problems in the late-game.
    0 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 211-250 (84 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Hippowdon: 309-364 (73.5 - 86.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Hippowdon: 267-315 (63.5 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Hippowdon: 347-409 (82.6 - 97.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
  • :krookodile: - Scarf is arguably an unset vs fatter teams but it does pack some decent role compression which also makes Krookodile a faster Pursuitter vs Alakazam. Unfortunately, that and Chople sets (which could surprise and take out Zam on a double if it hasn't setup yet) rarely kill from full with Pursuit however (If the Zam user knows your item choice) meaning that Focus Blast has good odds at winning the matchup in this 50/50, especially once you're behind a Substitute.
    252 Atk Krookodile Pursuit (40 BP) vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 218-258 (86.8 - 102.7%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Krookodile: 309-364 (93.3 - 109.9%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (If you have it and are looking to avoid missing Focus Blast or running into Chople)
    232 SpA Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Krookodile: 354-418 (106.9 - 126.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Chople Berry Krookodile: 230-272 (69.4 - 82.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Chople Berry Krookodile: 353-416 (106.6 - 125.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Chople Berry Krookodile: 459-541 (138.6 - 163.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • :moltres-galar: - Doesn't OHKO from full without a Berserk boost, and often relies on Sleep Talk luck to repeatedly check any Alakazam that isn't running Zap Cannon after being forced to Rest. Arguably the elephant in the room out of the bunch despite being really good at the job otherwise (although the RestTalk set can be argued to be more justifiable than beyond just Alakazam since it also acts as a mon to beat Aegislash + Grasses and CM Psychics). Offensive sets work similarly in a pinch, but trade consistency in exchange for the ability to secure the OHKO while healthy.
    0 SpA Moltres-Galar Fiery Wrath vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Alakazam: 204-240 (81.2 - 95.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

    Offensive Sets:
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Moltres-Galar: 219-258 (64.2 - 75.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    232 SpA Alakazam Gigavolt Havoc (190 BP) vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Moltres-Galar: 348-410 (102 - 120.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

    Defensive Sets:

    +2 232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 204+ SpD Moltres-Galar: 221-260 (57.7 - 67.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
    +2 232 SpA Alakazam Gigavolt Havoc (190 BP) vs. 248 HP / 204+ SpD Moltres-Galar: 536-632 (139.9 - 165%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • :zarude: - OHKOes with a Scarf set but can never switch in safely since any form of Life Orb Focus Blast is instantly dropping it on the switch meaning that Alakazam is free to threaten whatever beforehand.
    252 Atk Zarude U-turn vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 260-306 (103.5 - 121.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    252 Atk Zarude Power Whip vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 331-390 (131.8 - 155.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
    252 Atk Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Alakazam: 470-554 (187.2 - 220.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

    232 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zarude: 359-424 (102.2 - 120.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
:scizor:Effects on Teambuilding:tangrowth:
As we can see, it's not that there isn't an unreasonable amount of counterplay in the tier which could be brought to the table and used to argue against the case per say, but rather an inabillity to handle Alakazam consistently within the tier. The risk of overrelying on Slowking as a check only to potentially fall to Zap Cannon or Tangrowth to Sash Counter normally wouldn't be a bad thing, but that isn't the case. Alakazam overcentralises the meta too much as it is as an offensive threat. The potential of its vast array of options being inherently devestating in the right scenarios with a serious unbalance in opportunity cost forces a very strenous confinement that leads to at least 2 or more checks being mandatory on the premise of one losing to the other, and vice versa.

All in all, Alakazam's restrain in both the teambuilder and in battle from which I refer to as inconsistent counterplay and unfortunate for the tier leads me to believe that the situation will be better handled as a result of its absence, I'll be voting to ban it.
 

Trashuny

Banned deucer.
Going to vote DNB. Out of everything NDUU has suspected in the past year to ban (excluding Azu and stuff), Alakazam definitely is the worst poke out of all of them. It has a poor defensive typing, a laughable defense stat and mediocre special defense stat, and can only really be switched into weak special moves or via a double. At least weavile had an immunity, priorirty, pursuit, and banded knock off to easily make progress during early/mid games without having to click the perfect coverage move and hit a focus blast.

However it does reward a good double quite a bit, being immune to hazards and threatening a large part of the tier with psychic/focus blast/shadow ball coverage. In this game, Lunala loads zam vs HO and has a good matchup and plays well. They deserved to win, and them playing zam well was a big part of that. A game like this shows its upsides, but it still isn't enough to convince me zam is broken. Also, yeah, zam + spikes is really good.

I think the tier has a lot of options as counterplay to zam, even if it sometimes feels a bit restricting to run one. Also, outplaying zam's coverage and pivoting around it honestly isn't the hardest thing to do in the game. It's also fairly susceptible to pursuit, even if holding a sash, and also you can get creative with stuff like scarf beat up. Psychic resists also just are not remotely hard to fit onto teams.

I think due to the bulky nature of the tier, glass cannons that aren't super ridiculous and are fine for the tier, and them rising up to the top is generally not a terrible sign. This suspect showed me that I think people need to run more celesteela. It kind of just beats HO, and is annoying for other structures too. Not being able to leech seed grass types is annoying, but that's not that hard to deal with in the teambuilder (knock off, future sight, pokes that hit the grasses super effectively to double to. Also pursuit for slowking).
 
I’ll be voting ban on Alakazam, wanted to give some reasoning as to why since most people who vote on these suspects don’t actively play the tier, and with the lack of usage Zam gets it’s easy for people to be misinformed.

I think Arishemm’s post explains quite effectively the potential Alakazam has, the mon’s ability to adapt its set to beat very literally every check is disgusting. Between AoA LO, NP LO, sash counter, and Electrium, nothing can claim to be safe vs Alakazam. The thing I haven’t seen mentioned often is that this doesn’t necessarily mean Zam is broken. It has to choose between these sets, most of the time if you load Goltres into Zam it won’t be Electrium. It can also be easily revenge killed, so “just play better” could be a valid rebuttal.

This leads to the reason I’ll be voting ban. Zam can cover the majority of its answers on simple LO sets. Other sets are effective, but they are nowhere near as consistently threatening as LO. There are a ton of move combinations on LO that beat a large majority of the meta, I’ll list some here, all of these can beat most answers and the 1/2 mons that switch in on each set safely are different for each. Zam's versatility isn't 4MSS because no matter what it brings (within reason), it'll be able to beat most counterplay.

It’s been a while since knock and HP Fire were discovered, but I still don’t see them enough. HP Fire isn’t very versatile, but nailing (imo) the best Alakazam check in the tier is huge. Knock lets Zam beat the entire tier. It almost invalidates Celesteela as an answer while also messing up Slowking, Scizor (even if you’re not HP Fire), Goltres, and AV Tangrowth. I have those as my top 5 Zam answers in the tier, and 1 coverage move is enough to break every single one of them long-term. I don't think these techs are known to the general public, and they're a big part of why zam is broken.

I’d also like to address what I think is the only other criticism of Zam. It’s frail and hard to bring in, so its offensive prowess is balanced by its weaknesses. It’s not super hard to bring in Zam, we have plenty of simple ways to gain momentum in NDUU. Baiting in and pivoting on defensive mons like Amoonguss with Urshifu, Zeraora, or Zarude is very easy to do, and there are plenty of common examples of this like in any other tier. We also have excellent defensive pivots like Rotom-Wash, Swampert, Slowking, and Rotom-Heat which can bring in Alakazam for free. LO means that Alakazam takes full advantage of these opportunities. Magic Guard obviously compliments LO, but it also allows Alakazam to safely leverage its HP vs special attackers. Normally doing this leaves you vulnerable to hazards, but with Alakazam it's almost completely free. There is another offensive mon capable of doing this in Mienshao, but Alakazam's speed tier and coverage put it on a completely different level.

When this suspect was announced my first reaction was to think that Alakazam was probably not broken, although I thought it was certainly unhealthy. Since then I’ve used it a bit more and thought about its impact, and I now do believe it is both broken and unhealthy. I think it’s close enough that voting DNB is understandable, but I urge people who don’t have much experience with Zam in NDUU to make sure they know the mon. The fact that it sees such low usage makes it tough to figure out, but I think it’s telling that I believe every NDUU main (yup all 5 of them!) is going to vote ban.
 
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