oh oh oh it's magic, you knowww (alakazam HO team)

blizzarddd

Alright, this is my first RMT in quite some time. I played DPPt competitively, and was decent, but I skipped out on Black and Black 2 until now, due to college etc. etc. So anyway, I played through Black, learned the pokemon, and figured I'd get back into competition. Wow, how things have changed. I long for the old days when the only walls you had to worry about were Bliss, skarm, and cress. But anyway, I digress. I decided to build a team around Alakazam, because he is one of the few pokes that can sweep with no boosting of speed or attack. Since I get bored of stall easily, and not a fan of battling weather, I decided to make a hyper offense team.



TEAM:
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Skram (Skarmory) @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

To start things off, here is my dedicated lead, Skarmory. For Alakazam to sweep, it needs a little help. I found a few people using this custap berry set on their hyper offense squads, so I figured to try it myself. It works wonders, and even kills off the odd Breloom lead. Guarantees Stealth Rock, and 95% of the time, a layer of spikes as well. However, I am open to replacing this, as a spin block doesn't fit into my team well, so it is sometimes tough to keep up the hazards. A possible switch is to a defensive flinch hax Jirachi.

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OU (Scizor) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit

After Skarm, I usually end up going to Scizor. I know he is incredibly over used, but it is so apparent why. 2 hits pretty much everything that he can't OHKO. Again, nothing too special to say about the set here, pretty standard. 8 speed EVs instead of 4 in order to speed creep other Scizors and hit them with Superpower. Scizor is also a big dragon resist, as it can tank an outrage and attempt to do damage back. Because of this, I might swap Skarm with Jirachi.

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TT (Thundurus-Therian) (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Hidden Power ?

Jellicent sighting? No problem. Thundurus T takes care of my electric weakness with the oft-forgotten Volt Absorb, and hits back hard. Went with Expert belt instead of Life Orb for a little sustainability. HP Ice hits those people who try to switch in on my Volt Switch, and hits the random dragon hard. TT is a great asset to the team, and deals with his threats well with his pseudo bolt beam combo. Great synergy with Keldeo as well, which leads me to...

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Brony (Keldeo) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind

Keldeo is my scarf, and my revenge killer, and my cute little pony of terror. Again, nothing too special with the EVs here, and the standard move set. Not too much to say about the purpose of this guy, just that it picks off the scraps and revenge kills like a champ. This guy can be replaced by someone else, but I couldn't think of a better revenge killer. I would be interested in swapping out Keldeo with a scarfed physical attacker though, in order to not get walled by blissey if Scizor goes down.

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Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 4 SAtk / 252 HP
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Next comes my Calm Mind bulky Latias. This thing has the only fire move on the team, and loves to come in and set up on Ferrothorn and Forretress. Two calm minds, and it is pretty invincible. HP Fire deals with the steel types that wall Dragon Pulse. Roost obviously for healing and keeping it alive. Latias has proved its worth, as people aren't usually prepared for a CM Latias. Everyone always expects the scarf.

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Whammy (Alakazam) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice] / ??? (Fire maybe?)

Last but not least, the inspiration for this team. Alakazam was a monster in DPPt, so I wanted to bring it back. People forget how incredible this guy is, especially late in the game when their team is worn down. Standard moveset besides HP Ice, which hits the late game dragons who like to stick around. Magic Guard means Alakazam loves to come in on the will o wisps and toxics. Torn between Psyshock and Psychic, as Psyshock is a guaranteed 2HKO on Special Defense Jellicents, but Psychic hits Conkeldurr and other various things hard. HP Ice is the move i'd be willing to swap out for something else, but it has proved useful for taking down late game dragons, such as SD Garchomp, etc.




Anyway, I am open for any suggestions with this team. It has proven well thus far on PS, but any team can be improved. The one change I may make on my own is Skarm for Jirachi, to provide another physical presence and a dragon resist. Skarm could also be swapped for another bulky stealth rock setter. I ran a Landorus T for defense against Breloom, but he got replaced by Latias. Breloom can be scary, as can anything that gets a stat boost (Volc, etc), but that is expected with Hyper Offense teams. Some extra bulk could be added, but I like the synergy that's going on with this team. Give it a try, it is fun to use and often leads to quick wins.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
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Importable:
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Whammy (Alakazam) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Skram (Skarmory) @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

OU (Scizor) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 248 HP / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit

Brony (Keldeo) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind

TT (Thundurus-Therian) (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 4 SAtk / 252 HP
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]





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​
 
Hey there,

A few nitpicks. Keep in mind that this is my opinion, and is not absolute.

Choice Band Scizor, though powerful, loses momentum, as this is a HO team. I would reccomend Life Orb SD Scizor instead, as it can set up as well as switch moves. Otherwise, things like Gyarados can switch into a BP and set up. If you want to keep CB Scizor, I reccomend changing Thundurus-T to a scarf variant and switching Keldeo to EBelt or Life Orb, as that will take care of the problem.

Hope I helped!

- Lampent
 
Lampent said:
Hey there,

A few nitpicks. Keep in mind that this is my opinion, and is not absolute.

Choice Band Scizor, though powerful, loses momentum, as this is a HO team. I would reccomend Life Orb SD Scizor instead, as it can set up as well as switch moves. Otherwise, things like Gyarados can switch into a BP and set up. If you want to keep CB Scizor, I reccomend changing Thundurus-T to a scarf variant and switching Keldeo to EBelt or Life Orb, as that will take care of the problem.

Hope I helped!

- Lampent
Click to expand...

Thanks for the read through! The options you suggested make a ton of sense, and I'll give them a shot. The only problem is the whole dragon thing, as LO adds up on scizor unless I go SD AND roost.
 
Hey pjbball04, nice HO team you have here. However, like Lampent said, you do have a couple of sets that don't really help your momentum too much which is really all that HO is about. Plus, you do not have a Spin Blocker so it becomes very easy for your opponent to Rapid Spin your hazards after Skarmory is gone, meaning you essentially wasted a team slot with Skarmory.

Let's take care of that Spin Blocker first. I think your best bet would be to replace your current Latias with Gengar. While you do lose some significant bulk Gengar is an absolute must with Custap Skarmory as it can Spin Block and keep up Offensive pressure with its great speed and Special Attacking Stats. I felt that Latias was the least needed as it didn't fit your team all too well, since it takes a while for it to set up and sweep. You really want to be forcing switches and racking up hazard damage for a late game sweep. I'll recommend a Sash Gengar with Taunt and Destiny Bond so you can effectively take on any Rapid Spinner one on one as long as hazards are not on the field yet. It also keeps hazards off the field for Thundurus-T and it can be relied on as a Revenge Killer in a pinch with Destiny Bond.

Next, your Scizor set shouldn't be Choiced as so many things love to come in on a Choice Locked Pursuit and set up to proceed to cleanly sweep your team. I would recommend the SD Acrobatics Flying Gem set as it pairs really nicely with Keldeo, taking out most of its counters like Jellicent by luring them into thinking they can wall Scizor. It also beats Scizor's normal counters such as specially defensive Heatran. You can also bluff a choice set and proceed to setup, and you do not have to worry about Life Orb Recoil.
Here's the Spread you should use:

Scizor @ Flying Gem
Jolly Nature 252 speed/ 252 att/ 4 hp
Swords Dance
Acrobatics
Bullet Punch
SuperPower

Now since you have a better way of taking out bulky waters by luring them in and KO'ing them with Scizor I think we should change your Thundurus-T set. Outside of Gastrodon Grass Knot is not really hitting too much. Plus, I don't think Volt Switch is too good of an idea without a spinner as Thundurus-T will rack up Hazard Damage if SR is up. Therefore with these two extra moveslots I think you should utilize a Double Dance Set. Double Dance Thundurus-T is one of the most fearsome sweepers in the game, as it has the option of setting up a Nasty Plot to tear through slower stall teams or it can set up an Agility to tear through more fragile Offensive teams. Or it can set up both and destroy everything. With all of this boosting power this allows you to run more bulk to make it easier to set up as well.
You can use this spread:

Thundurus-T @ Leftovers
Modest Nature 252 sp att/ 128 spe/ 128 HP
Agility
Nasty Plot
Thunderbolt
HP Ice

Lastly, since your team is much weaker to Sun Teams since Latias is gone I would recommend using a Focus Sash over Life Orb on Alakazam. This set is generally much better because Alakazam is always getting off at least one attack so it becomes a great revenge killer and actually hits for more damage against slower threats since it gets to fire off two attacks. Plus it allows you to beat Venusuar one on one as long as it is not running Sleep Powder which can otherwise be a major threat to your team.

Hopefully my suggestions helped! Let me know how it works and good luck with the team!
 
MCBarrett said:
Hey pjbball04, nice HO team you have here. However, like Lampent said, you do have a couple of sets that don't really help your momentum too much which is really all that HO is about. Plus, you do not have a Spin Blocker so it becomes very easy for your opponent to Rapid Spin your hazards after Skarmory is gone, meaning you essentially wasted a team slot with Skarmory.

Let's take care of that Spin Blocker first. I think your best bet would be to replace your current Latias with Gengar. While you do lose some significant bulk Gengar is an absolute must with Custap Skarmory as it can Spin Block and keep up Offensive pressure with its great speed and Special Attacking Stats. I felt that Latias was the least needed as it didn't fit your team all too well, since it takes a while for it to set up and sweep. You really want to be forcing switches and racking up hazard damage for a late game sweep. I'll recommend a Sash Gengar with Taunt and Destiny Bond so you can effectively take on any Rapid Spinner one on one as long as hazards are not on the field yet. It also keeps hazards off the field for Thundurus-T and it can be relied on as a Revenge Killer in a pinch with Destiny Bond.

Next, your Scizor set shouldn't be Choiced as so many things love to come in on a Choice Locked Pursuit and set up to proceed to cleanly sweep your team. I would recommend the SD Acrobatics Flying Gem set as it pairs really nicely with Keldeo, taking out most of its counters like Jellicent by luring them into thinking they can wall Scizor. It also beats Scizor's normal counters such as specially defensive Heatran. You can also bluff a choice set and proceed to setup, and you do not have to worry about Life Orb Recoil.
Here's the Spread you should use:

Scizor @ Flying Gem
Jolly Nature 252 speed/ 252 att/ 4 hp
Swords Dance
Acrobatics
Bullet Punch
SuperPower

Now since you have a better way of taking out bulky waters by luring them in and KO'ing them with Scizor I think we should change your Thundurus-T set. Outside of Gastrodon Grass Knot is not really hitting too much. Plus, I don't think Volt Switch is too good of an idea without a spinner as Thundurus-T will rack up Hazard Damage if SR is up. Therefore with these two extra moveslots I think you should utilize a Double Dance Set. Double Dance Thundurus-T is one of the most fearsome sweepers in the game, as it has the option of setting up a Nasty Plot to tear through slower stall teams or it can set up an Agility to tear through more fragile Offensive teams. Or it can set up both and destroy everything. With all of this boosting power this allows you to run more bulk to make it easier to set up as well.
You can use this spread:

Thundurus-T @ Leftovers
Modest Nature 252 sp att/ 128 spe/ 128 HP
Agility
Nasty Plot
Thunderbolt
HP Ice

Lastly, since your team is much weaker to Sun Teams since Latias is gone I would recommend using a Focus Sash over Life Orb on Alakazam. This set is generally much better because Alakazam is always getting off at least one attack so it becomes a great revenge killer and actually hits for more damage against slower threats since it gets to fire off two attacks. Plus it allows you to beat Venusuar one on one as long as it is not running Sleep Powder which can otherwise be a major threat to your team.

Hopefully my suggestions helped! Let me know how it works and good luck with the team!
Click to expand...


Hey, thanks for the read through! I have tried Gengar, and i will give it another shot, but i have never liked how frail it is, and it actually loses to starmie 1v1. Without Latias, I lose a fire move, which helps a lot. I will swap out grass knot on Thundy though, as I don't think i've ever even used it. Alakazam with a sash doesn't make sense for me, because weather and hazards tend to get up due to my lack of spinner. Also, double dance sets are insanely hard to set up. I do like the flying gem scizor set, i will give that a look.


Thanks again!
 
pjbball04 said:
Hey, thanks for the read through! I have tried Gengar, and i will give it another shot, but i have never liked how frail it is, and it actually loses to starmie 1v1. Without Latias, I lose a fire move, which helps a lot. I will swap out grass knot on Thundy though, as I don't think i've ever even used it. Alakazam with a sash doesn't make sense for me, because weather and hazards tend to get up due to my lack of spinner. Also, double dance sets are insanely hard to set up. I do like the flying gem scizor set, i will give that a look.


Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Don't mean to be forcing my suggestions on to you so don't take this the wrong way but it is pretty clear that you didn't really understand or look through my rate completely so I'll just reiterate some main points.

The Gengar set I posted allows you to beat Starmie one v one since you have a Focus Sash. Also a Fire Type move from Latias isn't all that important on your team because you have multiple things that can hit Ferrothorn/Forretress/ Scizor for hefty damage. Plus you could always run HP Fire on Alakazam if you find it to be that important even though I would advise against it. Also, the extra bulk on Thundurus-T makes it much easier to set up and you don't always have to go for two boosts to make it effective, it is arguably his best set you just have to pick your spot to set up. Lastly, you may have noticed with his Magic Guard ability that hazards/weather damage does not affect Alakazam so his Sash will remain in tact until he is hit by an attack even if hazards are set up.
 
MCBarrett said:
Don't mean to be forcing my suggestions on to you so don't take this the wrong way but it is pretty clear that you didn't really understand or look through my rate completely so I'll just reiterate some main points.

The Gengar set I posted allows you to beat Starmie one v one since you have a Focus Sash. Also a Fire Type move from Latias isn't all that important on your team because you have multiple things that can hit Ferrothorn/Forretress/ Scizor for hefty damage. Plus you could always run HP Fire on Alakazam if you find it to be that important even though I would advise against it. Also, the extra bulk on Thundurus-T makes it much easier to set up and you don't always have to go for two boosts to make it effective, it is arguably his best set you just have to pick your spot to set up. Lastly, you may have noticed with his Magic Guard ability that hazards/weather damage does not affect Alakazam so his Sash will remain in tact until he is hit by an attack even if hazards are set up.
Click to expand...

yeah i never did the calc about gengar vs. starmie, i've always just seen that they don't win that battle, but i did the calc and it's a guaranteed OHKO with shadow ball on a 252 hp starmie, so i will give that a look. I completely forgot that hazards / weather don't affect kazam either, so sash makes much more sense than LO on this squad. Thanks again, i'll give them a shot tomorrow and let you know. Sorry about the earlier post, i was quick to ignore the gengar comment because he was originally on the team
 
really looking for a replacement to skarm, something that can rock/spike and hit hard physically. swords dance landorus t?
 
Hi! Nice team first off. Not too much to add here but I would highly suggest Signal Beam over Shadow Ball on Alakazam. This way you can deal with Celebi better, who is just everywhere nowadays. Secondly, I'd try Energy Ball over Hidden Power as then you don't rely on Thundurus-T to deal with Gastrodon.
 
Alakazam with a sash doesn't make sense for me, because weather and hazards tend to get up due to my lack of spinner.
Click to expand...

It is called Magic Guard for a reason. Magic Guard nullifies the effects of weather and hazards on the pokemon.
 
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