B -> B+ (and I’m being extremely modest here. A if I was honest)
B ranking for Alakazam is WAY too low for this thing.
With many teams currently being Semi-Stall, as to combat Pokemon like Urshifu, Mega Matagross, Ash Greninja, and Darmanitan-Galar, Alakazam can take a huge advantage by praying on these teams after it got Nasty Plot.
Among everything in the metagame, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can 100% wall it. If there exists something that can wall 1 set, it won’t wall a slight variation in that same set.
Psyshock (or Expanding Force) for Chansey, SpD Unaware Clefable, and SpD Unaware Pyukumuku, Psychic for everything neutrally hit, Focus Blast/Dazzling Gleam/HP Fire for Dark types and Steel types, and Shadow Ball for bulky Psychic types.
The only consistent counter to this monster is Alolan-Muk, which can be chipped and isn’t very good to begin with, and revenge killing, something that isn’t so easy when it has 120 Speed.
There exists common Pokemon like Greninja, Mega Lopunny, and Dragapult who can outspeed Alakazam, but none of them have any safe ways of switching in.
There exists priority, including Sucker Punch.
But what if the Alakazam has a Tapu Lele teammate for general priority and Alakazam can always use Substitute, which not only screws over wrongly predicted Sucker Punches, but also can stop most of those revenge killers (baring Ash Greninja and Dragapult) if played well enough.
It’s frail, but with moves like Teleport and U-turn letting such frail Pokemon in for free, you will only every really care about Alakazam’s frailty against faster Pokemon and priority.
The only other thing is that Alakazam is prone to Pursuit trapping, which only Weavile, Muk-A, and Scarfers will ever get to use.
It’s Amazing against Stall.
It’s Amazing against Semi-Stall.
It cleaves through Balance.
It’s has ways around its weaknesses.
It only needs a little bit of support for something that has a massive reward.
It wins you games.
The only reason why I say it’s B+ is to be modest, something Alakazam isn’t (ironically), and even for A, Alakazam still has faults. Faults that only need a little band-aid, but faults none of the less.
![:Urshifu:](/forums/media/minisprites/urshifu.png.m.1716648629)
(Single-Strike)
S- -> A+ (Also pretty modest and I wish there was a rank between A and A+)
Honestly a bit overrated.
Everyone seems to be rating Urshifu based on its Wallbreaking capabilities, and sure it is one of the best Wallbreakers in National Dex OU, but there is more to being top tier than just breaking balance, and relying on Choice Band to become a no safe switch-in Pokemon.
My biggest problem with Urshifu is it’s sub-100 Speed.
Urshifu isn’t too far behind in the 100 Base mark, but tons on relevant Pokemon will be outspeeding this thing and revenge killing it. Even worse when you have adamant and use Band over Scarf.
The next biggest problem is it’s poor defensive typing and poor bulk (even on the physical side when uninvested).
Urshifu isn’t as frail as paper, but it can find a hard time switching in.
Every other S/S- rank Pokemon can 2HKO Urshifu minimum with standard coverage moves, which is fine since tons of Pokemon are also 2HKO’d by them as well. What’s a shame is that many walls can 2HKO Urshifu, burn it, both in many cases, Knock Off the 1 thing that makes Urshifu the No-Safe-Switchins(tm) threat it is.
I know just a few moments ago I said that you can just use Teleport and U-turn for Alakazam, but Urshifu is more on-demand for catching walls thanks to its poor speed, but also that Choice Band can lock it into a move that’s resisted by an oncoming wall. Not to even mention the stat drops from Close Combat.
Lastly, it‘s low PP in Close Combat and Wicked Blow don’t do it any favors against Semi-Stall.
Sure, being such a hard to switch-in Pokemon is a pretty good attribute, but it can only do this so many times. You have 16 PP between Close Combat and Wicked Blow, Urshifu’s main means of dealing damage. Against Balance teams, this is good as balance teams will typically have 1 core of 2-3 defensive Pokemon.
On Semi-Stall, nearly every Pokemon is defensive with the occasional Weavile, and those Defensive Pokemon can switch between each other for days, healing non-regenerators in between Urshifu being on the field and healing the regenerators between switching.
But to not have this be just trashing Boldest Bear, I will say Urshifu is what Pangoro and Terrakion wish they could be.
Unseen Fist is an amazing ability to bypass scouting attempts.
It can more Unga Bunga past cores than Terrakion and Darmanitan-G can thanks to Wicked Blow being neutral to walls like Toxapex and Hippowdon.
It’s hit neutrally by Meteor Mash, something Terrakion isn’t happy about either (and why Urshifu is so ahead of Terrakion too).
U-turn is better than Parting Shot for an offensive Pokemon like Urshifu.
And it plays a part in making Semi-stall a popular pick in the tier.
But still, very overrated and I think people will agree once the new toy syndrome wears off and puts it respectfully in the ‘A’s.
A- -> B
Despite my trashing of Urshifu just now, you can’t deny it’s popularity and influence now.
And Honestly, Reuniclus gets wrecked a lot by top tiers, namely Urshifu and Ash-Greninja.