[OVERVIEW]
With the highest Special Attack in GSC OU, ultra high Speed, and STAB Psychic, Alakazam is well positioned to take advantage of the popular offensive Poison- and Fighting-type Pokemon such as Gengar, Nidoking, and Machamp and severely threaten a broad swath of the metagame. Compared to Espeon, which has Growth and Baton Pass, Alakazam has Dynamic Punch, which allows it to use a mixed set, and Encore to stop setup Pokemon. Its Speed advantage over almost all other Pokemon makes it one of the best late-game cleaners and ensures that other fast Pokemon like Raikou and Gengar can't threaten it with Thunder or Explosion without taking a heavy hit first.
However, Alakazam faces one very large problem. Snorlax, as well as other specially bulky Pokemon such as Blissey and Dark-type Pokemon such as Tyranitar, can make it very difficult for Alakazam to deal lasting damage to the opposing team if they are not first weakened or removed by its teammates. Alakazam does have Dynamic Punch in its arsenal to give it a fighting chance at breaching these Pokemon, but it is unreliable due to its poor accuracy. In addition, status effects, especially paralysis from Pokemon such as Exeggutor, will compromise its potential. Furthermore, compared to Jynx, a much more common offensive Psychic-type, Alakazam has better defensive properties and unique coverage options, but it lacks Lovely Kiss and the ability that Jynx has to 2HKO Zapdos with STAB Ice Beam.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Dynamic Punch
move 3: Recover / Substitute
move 4: Fire Punch / Thunder Punch / Zap Cannon / Ice Punch
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Alakazam's base 120 Speed and STAB Psychic allow it to run an offensively-oriented mixed set, which aims to control opposing threats such as Nidoking, Machamp, and Gengar. Recover gives Alakazam a survivability tool to function as a switch-in to said Pokemon, but Substitute can be used instead to block status effects and scout for Explosion from Pokemon like Forretress. Since Hidden Power from Zapdos and Exeggutor breaks Alakazam's Substitute less than 10% of the time, Alakazam can use its Speed to set up a Substitute, avoid status ailments from Stun Spore and Thunder, and exploit Thunder's low accuracy. Dynamic Punch hits not only Snorlax and Blissey, but also Tyranitar for super effective damage, and its guaranteed confusion can potentially open up an opportunity to break past them.
When it comes to the last slot, Fire Punch is nice for Forretress and threats such as Exeggutor, Jynx, Steelix, and Skarmory. An Electric-type attack hits not only Skarmory, but also Starmie; Thunder Punch is reliable in accuracy, but Zap Cannon inflicts paralysis if it lands, which has great synergy with Dynamic Punch and Substitute. Ice Punch hits Exeggutor, secures the 3HKO against Zapdos, and has a chance to inflict freeze.
Team Options
========
This set is used more on offensive teams with Explosion users. With access to Explosion, Dynamic Punch, and Destiny Bond, Gengar can be used to wear down Snorlax, Blissey, and Dark-types, which Alakazam appreciates. It can sometimes block Explosion for Alakazam, too. Snorlax can use Self-Destruct to take out opposing Snorlax, especially Curse variants. Its coverage moves such as Earthquake can also be used to weaken Alakazam's other checks like Tyranitar. Spikes from Pokemon such as Cloyster are helpful to chip down the opposing team and eventually bring them into Alakazam's 2HKO range. Cloyster can also potentially use Clamp to trap Snorlax, nullify any of its Defense boosts with Screech, and use Explosion to remove it. Rhydon is a great choice for a complementing offensive Pokemon thanks to its ability to pivot into Electric-type attacks and take on unboosted Snorlax, although it needs to be wary of Curse + Earthquake Snorlax if it lacks Counter. Finally, although Alakazam has Zap Cannon, paralysis support from teammates such as Zapdos is still recommended to achieve parafusion when combined with Dynamic Punch.
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Fire Punch / Toxic
move 3: Encore / Toxic
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Encore is the selling point of the utility set. It allows Alakazam to stop setup Pokemon such as Growth Vaporeon and can create safe opportunities for teammates to switch in by locking foes like Zapdos into Rest. If Alakazam is brought in by a phazing move, it can also lock that Pokemon into said move, buying a free turn for the next Pokemon to be brought in. It also pairs well with Recover, as it allows Alakazam to stall out weak attacks such as Pursuit. However, although Encore may give you momentum to attack or switch out, an opponent can predict it and switch out. Moreover, it always fails against a Pokemon that last used Sleep Talk. Alternatively, Toxic can be used to wear down Alakazam's checks so that they will use Rest or be knocked out, which pairs well with Recover against Pokemon such as Starmie without Thunder Wave in the long run. In addition, it puts Tyranitar without Crunch or Rest on a timer as long as it doesn't land a critical hit on Alakazam. Despite being the selling point of the set, Encore can also be dropped for the combination of both Fire Punch and Toxic, which shines once Snorlax is removed.
Team Options
========
This set is used more on bulky teams that do not require consistent pressure on the opponent. Offensively, Snorlax's coverage and status moves such as Earthquake and Toxic can be used to weaken Alakazam's checks such as Tyranitar. Defensively, it can absorb status from Pokemon such as Exeggutor for Alakazam. Skarmory and Umbreon help Alakazam against Snorlax and Exeggutor, while Alakazam can switch into dangerous foes such as Gengar and Machamp.
If Alakazam is using Toxic and Spikes are set by Cloyster or Forretress, Roar Raikou can pose a serious offensive threat by racking up residual damage, especially since all of its checks are affected by Spikes and many of Alakazam's checks are also used to check Raikou. To keep Spikes on the field and provide a switch-in for Explosions, Ghost-types such as Gengar and Misdreavus also make for good teammates.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Thunder Wave has good synergy with Recover, potentially allowing Alakazam to return to full health by waiting for the foe to miss a turn. Inflicting paralysis is also an excellent way of supporting its teammates, especially if it can land paralysis on speedy foes such as Starmie, Raikou, and Zapdos. However, it is incompatible with Encore. Hidden Power Dark can be used for Psychic-types like Exeggutor, Starmie, and Jynx, while Hidden Power Water can be used for Tyranitar, Houndoom, Golem, and Rhydon. Light Screen helps Alakazam against special attackers and supports its team, but can be tricky to fit in Alakazam's moveset. Counter can be used to land a surprise OHKO against Double-Edge Snorlax. While Encore can't be used alongside Counter, the threat of Encore can be enough to deter Curse and Belly Drum from Snorlax and encourage it to attack Alakazam immediately. However, if Snorlax sets up in anticipation of Alakazam switching out, dealing with a boosted Snorlax could prove to be very challenging. Thief can steal an item from an opposing Pokemon, which will often deprive Alakazam's checks such as Snorlax, Blissey, and Starmie of the recovery from Leftovers; however, this is typically done better by Jynx and Gengar, as they don't need the moveslot as much. Miracle Berry can help Alakazam shrug off status effects from Pokemon such as Exeggutor, but it can only work once.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Special Walls**: Special walls such as Snorlax and Blissey have great bulk to take Alakazam's special attacks and inflict status ailments with Body Slam, Toxic, or Thunder Wave. The former frightens Alakazam with its STAB moves, while the latter can run Present or Light Screen. However, Dynamic Punch can hit them super effectively and cause confusion.
**Dark-types**: Crunch from Tyranitar and Houndoom is useful to 2HKO Alakazam, but they should be wary of Dynamic Punch on the switch-in. In particular, Tyranitar without Rest will be severely crippled by Toxic. Umbreon can wall many Alakazam sets even if it struggles to trap it and can threaten it with Toxic.
**Psychic-types**: Starmie can use Thunder Wave or Thunder to cripple Alakazam, but it will struggle to KO Recover Alakazam without them and could be crippled by Toxic or take heavy damage from Thunder Punch or Zap Cannon. Exeggutor can run Stun Spore or Sleep Powder to cripple Alakazam and Explosion for a trade KO, but Alakazam can potentially have Fire Punch or Ice Punch to hit it super effectively and Substitute to block status moves, Explosion, and Giga Drain.
**Steel-types**: Steelix can force a trade with Explosion to remove Alakazam, Skarmory can cripple it with Toxic, and Forretress can threaten it with Explosion or Toxic, but all of them, especially Forretress, are heavily threatened by Fire Punch variants. Substitute Alakazam can cause major problems to Forretress and Steelix; the former struggles to break Alakazam's Substitute without Hidden Power Bug or Hidden Power Ghost and is OHKOed by Fire Punch, whereas the latter must guess whether Alakazam will use Fire Punch or Substitute and use Earthquake, Roar, or Explosion accordingly.
**Electric-types**: Raikou and Zapdos can paralyze Alakazam with Thunder or Thunder Wave in Zapdos's case, but neither can break its Substitute with neutral Hidden Power, so if they are using the inaccurate Thunder, they may be forced to hit several in a row to beat Alakazam. Alakazam can also 3HKO Zapdos with Ice Punch reliably and has a chance of 3HKOing it with Psychic, whereas Raikou survives three hits from Psychic but must be wary of Spikes damage racking up. Alakazam can also force them to switch out by using Encore to lock them into Rest.
**Bulky Water-types**: Suicune and Vaporeon can wall most Alakazam sets with Rest. Suicune can threaten to poison it, while Vaporeon can potentially PP stall Encore if Alakazam is being relied upon to check Vaporeon due to its high PP count.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[wyc2333, 336830]]
- Quality checked by: [[Fear, 2005], [Earthworm, 15210]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Milak, 262594], [Estronic, 240732]]
With the highest Special Attack in GSC OU, ultra high Speed, and STAB Psychic, Alakazam is well positioned to take advantage of the popular offensive Poison- and Fighting-type Pokemon such as Gengar, Nidoking, and Machamp and severely threaten a broad swath of the metagame. Compared to Espeon, which has Growth and Baton Pass, Alakazam has Dynamic Punch, which allows it to use a mixed set, and Encore to stop setup Pokemon. Its Speed advantage over almost all other Pokemon makes it one of the best late-game cleaners and ensures that other fast Pokemon like Raikou and Gengar can't threaten it with Thunder or Explosion without taking a heavy hit first.
However, Alakazam faces one very large problem. Snorlax, as well as other specially bulky Pokemon such as Blissey and Dark-type Pokemon such as Tyranitar, can make it very difficult for Alakazam to deal lasting damage to the opposing team if they are not first weakened or removed by its teammates. Alakazam does have Dynamic Punch in its arsenal to give it a fighting chance at breaching these Pokemon, but it is unreliable due to its poor accuracy. In addition, status effects, especially paralysis from Pokemon such as Exeggutor, will compromise its potential. Furthermore, compared to Jynx, a much more common offensive Psychic-type, Alakazam has better defensive properties and unique coverage options, but it lacks Lovely Kiss and the ability that Jynx has to 2HKO Zapdos with STAB Ice Beam.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Dynamic Punch
move 3: Recover / Substitute
move 4: Fire Punch / Thunder Punch / Zap Cannon / Ice Punch
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Alakazam's base 120 Speed and STAB Psychic allow it to run an offensively-oriented mixed set, which aims to control opposing threats such as Nidoking, Machamp, and Gengar. Recover gives Alakazam a survivability tool to function as a switch-in to said Pokemon, but Substitute can be used instead to block status effects and scout for Explosion from Pokemon like Forretress. Since Hidden Power from Zapdos and Exeggutor breaks Alakazam's Substitute less than 10% of the time, Alakazam can use its Speed to set up a Substitute, avoid status ailments from Stun Spore and Thunder, and exploit Thunder's low accuracy. Dynamic Punch hits not only Snorlax and Blissey, but also Tyranitar for super effective damage, and its guaranteed confusion can potentially open up an opportunity to break past them.
When it comes to the last slot, Fire Punch is nice for Forretress and threats such as Exeggutor, Jynx, Steelix, and Skarmory. An Electric-type attack hits not only Skarmory, but also Starmie; Thunder Punch is reliable in accuracy, but Zap Cannon inflicts paralysis if it lands, which has great synergy with Dynamic Punch and Substitute. Ice Punch hits Exeggutor, secures the 3HKO against Zapdos, and has a chance to inflict freeze.
Team Options
========
This set is used more on offensive teams with Explosion users. With access to Explosion, Dynamic Punch, and Destiny Bond, Gengar can be used to wear down Snorlax, Blissey, and Dark-types, which Alakazam appreciates. It can sometimes block Explosion for Alakazam, too. Snorlax can use Self-Destruct to take out opposing Snorlax, especially Curse variants. Its coverage moves such as Earthquake can also be used to weaken Alakazam's other checks like Tyranitar. Spikes from Pokemon such as Cloyster are helpful to chip down the opposing team and eventually bring them into Alakazam's 2HKO range. Cloyster can also potentially use Clamp to trap Snorlax, nullify any of its Defense boosts with Screech, and use Explosion to remove it. Rhydon is a great choice for a complementing offensive Pokemon thanks to its ability to pivot into Electric-type attacks and take on unboosted Snorlax, although it needs to be wary of Curse + Earthquake Snorlax if it lacks Counter. Finally, although Alakazam has Zap Cannon, paralysis support from teammates such as Zapdos is still recommended to achieve parafusion when combined with Dynamic Punch.
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Fire Punch / Toxic
move 3: Encore / Toxic
move 4: Recover
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Encore is the selling point of the utility set. It allows Alakazam to stop setup Pokemon such as Growth Vaporeon and can create safe opportunities for teammates to switch in by locking foes like Zapdos into Rest. If Alakazam is brought in by a phazing move, it can also lock that Pokemon into said move, buying a free turn for the next Pokemon to be brought in. It also pairs well with Recover, as it allows Alakazam to stall out weak attacks such as Pursuit. However, although Encore may give you momentum to attack or switch out, an opponent can predict it and switch out. Moreover, it always fails against a Pokemon that last used Sleep Talk. Alternatively, Toxic can be used to wear down Alakazam's checks so that they will use Rest or be knocked out, which pairs well with Recover against Pokemon such as Starmie without Thunder Wave in the long run. In addition, it puts Tyranitar without Crunch or Rest on a timer as long as it doesn't land a critical hit on Alakazam. Despite being the selling point of the set, Encore can also be dropped for the combination of both Fire Punch and Toxic, which shines once Snorlax is removed.
Team Options
========
This set is used more on bulky teams that do not require consistent pressure on the opponent. Offensively, Snorlax's coverage and status moves such as Earthquake and Toxic can be used to weaken Alakazam's checks such as Tyranitar. Defensively, it can absorb status from Pokemon such as Exeggutor for Alakazam. Skarmory and Umbreon help Alakazam against Snorlax and Exeggutor, while Alakazam can switch into dangerous foes such as Gengar and Machamp.
If Alakazam is using Toxic and Spikes are set by Cloyster or Forretress, Roar Raikou can pose a serious offensive threat by racking up residual damage, especially since all of its checks are affected by Spikes and many of Alakazam's checks are also used to check Raikou. To keep Spikes on the field and provide a switch-in for Explosions, Ghost-types such as Gengar and Misdreavus also make for good teammates.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Thunder Wave has good synergy with Recover, potentially allowing Alakazam to return to full health by waiting for the foe to miss a turn. Inflicting paralysis is also an excellent way of supporting its teammates, especially if it can land paralysis on speedy foes such as Starmie, Raikou, and Zapdos. However, it is incompatible with Encore. Hidden Power Dark can be used for Psychic-types like Exeggutor, Starmie, and Jynx, while Hidden Power Water can be used for Tyranitar, Houndoom, Golem, and Rhydon. Light Screen helps Alakazam against special attackers and supports its team, but can be tricky to fit in Alakazam's moveset. Counter can be used to land a surprise OHKO against Double-Edge Snorlax. While Encore can't be used alongside Counter, the threat of Encore can be enough to deter Curse and Belly Drum from Snorlax and encourage it to attack Alakazam immediately. However, if Snorlax sets up in anticipation of Alakazam switching out, dealing with a boosted Snorlax could prove to be very challenging. Thief can steal an item from an opposing Pokemon, which will often deprive Alakazam's checks such as Snorlax, Blissey, and Starmie of the recovery from Leftovers; however, this is typically done better by Jynx and Gengar, as they don't need the moveslot as much. Miracle Berry can help Alakazam shrug off status effects from Pokemon such as Exeggutor, but it can only work once.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Special Walls**: Special walls such as Snorlax and Blissey have great bulk to take Alakazam's special attacks and inflict status ailments with Body Slam, Toxic, or Thunder Wave. The former frightens Alakazam with its STAB moves, while the latter can run Present or Light Screen. However, Dynamic Punch can hit them super effectively and cause confusion.
**Dark-types**: Crunch from Tyranitar and Houndoom is useful to 2HKO Alakazam, but they should be wary of Dynamic Punch on the switch-in. In particular, Tyranitar without Rest will be severely crippled by Toxic. Umbreon can wall many Alakazam sets even if it struggles to trap it and can threaten it with Toxic.
**Psychic-types**: Starmie can use Thunder Wave or Thunder to cripple Alakazam, but it will struggle to KO Recover Alakazam without them and could be crippled by Toxic or take heavy damage from Thunder Punch or Zap Cannon. Exeggutor can run Stun Spore or Sleep Powder to cripple Alakazam and Explosion for a trade KO, but Alakazam can potentially have Fire Punch or Ice Punch to hit it super effectively and Substitute to block status moves, Explosion, and Giga Drain.
**Steel-types**: Steelix can force a trade with Explosion to remove Alakazam, Skarmory can cripple it with Toxic, and Forretress can threaten it with Explosion or Toxic, but all of them, especially Forretress, are heavily threatened by Fire Punch variants. Substitute Alakazam can cause major problems to Forretress and Steelix; the former struggles to break Alakazam's Substitute without Hidden Power Bug or Hidden Power Ghost and is OHKOed by Fire Punch, whereas the latter must guess whether Alakazam will use Fire Punch or Substitute and use Earthquake, Roar, or Explosion accordingly.
**Electric-types**: Raikou and Zapdos can paralyze Alakazam with Thunder or Thunder Wave in Zapdos's case, but neither can break its Substitute with neutral Hidden Power, so if they are using the inaccurate Thunder, they may be forced to hit several in a row to beat Alakazam. Alakazam can also 3HKO Zapdos with Ice Punch reliably and has a chance of 3HKOing it with Psychic, whereas Raikou survives three hits from Psychic but must be wary of Spikes damage racking up. Alakazam can also force them to switch out by using Encore to lock them into Rest.
**Bulky Water-types**: Suicune and Vaporeon can wall most Alakazam sets with Rest. Suicune can threaten to poison it, while Vaporeon can potentially PP stall Encore if Alakazam is being relied upon to check Vaporeon due to its high PP count.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[wyc2333, 336830]]
- Quality checked by: [[Fear, 2005], [Earthworm, 15210]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Milak, 262594], [Estronic, 240732]]
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