ORAS OU Mega Alakazam is back

[toenails_sauce]

Hi again, cheeky scrublords! Hi guys, I just built a team around Mega Alakazam. I don't have much experience with this team, only having battled once with it. But thanks in advance for the criticisms my team solely needs for improvement!

Teambuilding Process:

Click Me

This is how my team came to be.

Click Me

It's Mega Alakazam, our favorite Psychic type! With its stellar sweeping, revenge killing, and wallbreaking capabilities, I promptly chose this guy as the center of my team.

Dark-types like Tyranitar, Bisharp, and Hoopa-U ruin Alakazam's day, so I added Keldeo in order to take care of them.

Clefable is an important asset to the team, since it can check Electric-types and bulky Water-types that Keldeo struggles against. Not only that, but Clefable is a good safety net for many special attackers in general. Furthermore, having a Calm Mind + Magic Guard set, Clefable can serve as a win condition.

Clefable's evil side have come to manifest itself, and here it is! Gengar is a great wallbreaker in general and pairs decently with Rotom-w (shown later). It also has a better matchup with Fairy-types.

Landorus-t is simply an outstanding Stealth Rock setter. Its influential presence forces switches, and it can break walls with its sheer power. Its ability, Intimidate, can pressure numerous physical attackers that potentially trouble my team. And when Landorus-t is finished with its job, it can just use Explosion and leave it to the others.

Generally, I did not really like my matchups with opposing scarfed Landorus-t, so I chose Rotom-w. It can bring my frail attackers safely into battle and run circles around unprepared teams, spreading burns.

^ I have repeatedly tried to fix this mess, to no avail.

"Then I open my eyes and the nightmare was me."
​

Rasputin (Alakazam) (M) @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute

• Alakazite is the Mega Evolution item. Abomasite is optional.
• Magic Guard is an important ability, as it negates residual damage.
• Its EVs and Timid Nature are made for special offense.
• Psychic is Rasputin's main STAB move, and its extra power and ability to hit more physical walls make me prefer it over Psyshock.
• Focus Blast smashes Steel-types and Dark-types, like Hearten and Tyranitar, respectively.
• Shadow Ball makes Rasputin no longer helpless against opposing Psychic-types.
• Substitute serves as a scouting move and safety net against revenge killing.

"'Sup?"
​

Willy Wonka (Keldeo) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Electric] ​

• Choice Specs is great for dishing out massive damage, against both offensive and defensive Pokemon.​
• The EVs and Timid Nature are made for special offense.​
• The Water-type STAB Scald is used most of the time, as it potentially wears down opponents with 30% chance burns.​
• Secret Sword is Willy Wonka's second STAB, dishing out great damage against Steel- and Dark-types.​
• I honestly do not use Hydro Pump a lot, but it is useful in some situations where pure damage matters the most.​
• HP Electric deals damage to Water-types whom Willy Wonka would otherwise have trouble against, such as Starmie and Slowbro.​

"BUU TURN YOU INTO CHOCOLATE!"
​

Majin Buu (Clefable) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower

• The Leftovers are required on such a bulky set, as Majin Buu would usually take a hit before it does anything. The passive recovery turns many 2HKOs into 3HKOs.
• Magic Guard nullifies any form of residual damage, which would otherwise undermine Buu's defensive capabilities.
• Its Calm Nature and 84 SpD points allow Majin Buu to avoid the 2HKO from Mega Diancie's Moonblast and Thundurus's Thunderbolt. 172 Def EVs allows it to survive two Returns from Jolly Mega Lopunny and two Psyshocks from Latios.
• Calm Mind turns Majin Buu into a win condition. Nuff said.
• Moonblast is the mandatory STAB move.
• Soft-Boiled is a no-brainer; Majin Buu can recover 50% of its health. Nifty move.
• Flamethrower literally roasts unsuspecting Steel-types, especially Ferrothorn and Scizor.

"..."
NOTE: I MIGHT REPLACE THIS ONE WITH SCARFED EXCADRILL, DUE TO THE FACT THAT I HAVE NO CHECKS/COUNTERS TO MEGA CHARIZARD X. THIS WAY I CAN ALSO MAINTAIN GOOD MATCHUPS AGAINST FAIRY-TYPES.​

Evil Buu (Gengar) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Taunt ​

• Life Orb causes its attacks to do 33% more damage, which is useful in numerous cases.​
• Its EVs and Timid Nature are made for special offense.​
• Shadow Ball provides neutral coverage and forces out slower Psychic-types.​
• Sludge Wave is good against Grass- and Fairy-types, which are some of the Pokemon Evil Buu is meant to check.​
• Focus Blast gets rid of Steel- and Dark-types.​
• Taunt allows Evil Buu to prevent utility and boosting moves, which is very important. Taunt can also aid Evil Buu to destroy the SkarmChansey core.​

T-bag from above
SINCE I MIGHT REPLACE GENGAR WITH EXCADRILL, I MIGHT REPLACE LANDORUS-T WITH HIPPOWDOWN OR TYRANITAR.​

T-bag (Landorus-Therian) @ Soft Sand
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

• Soft Sand powers up T-bag's Earthquake, making it a more dangerous wallbreaker.
• Intimidate is good for forcing out or weakening physical attackers.
• 184 Speed EVs allows T-bag to outspeed positive-natured base 70s, such as Bisharp and Breloom. 252 Atk points and Adamant Nature maximizes its power. The rest of the EVs is dumped into bulk.
• Earthquake is the main STAB move.
• Explosion is a good move for retaining offensive momentum. I usually use it when Landorus-t is not needed anymore.
• Stone Edge hits Flying-types and Levitate users.
• Stealth Rock is why I chose this Pokemon; it is a great entry hazard to pressure the opponent's Pokemon, especially the ones weak to it.

"BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGHH"
-piss cannon, on using Hydro Pump​

piss cannon (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split​

• Leftovers is the obligatory item for passive recovery, since piss cannon is a defensive pivot.​
• The given EVs and nature maximizes physical bulk, in order to improve matches against physical attackers like Landorus-t.​
• Volt Switch enables piss cannon to switch out and bring others safely into the battlefield. It also enables piss cannon to escape from unfavorable matchups.​
• Hydro Pump is a great STAB move, as it forces out Ground- and Fire- types. It also confirms the fact that piss cannon is not a passive Pokemon.​
• Will-O-Wisp is great to spread around; burns are annoying and puts chip damage on opponents, and they make it easier for my offensive Pokemon to destroy the opposing team.​
• Pain Split a recovery move that can be annoying if used at the right time.​

I don't really have a Threat List, due to the lack of experience with this team.

Thanks for reading!
-toenails_sauce

 

[BreloomMyHomie]

Hey man! cool team you have there. Soft Sand Landorus T is a really fun set that I have fun using. Anyways, I noticed that Mega Metagross and Mega Gardevoir are huge threats to the team. Landorus T, Clefable, and Mega Alakazam don't appreciate a Meteor Mash while Rotom-W, Gengar and Keldeo don't like Zen Headbutts. Reason why Mega Gardevoir is such a threat is because nothing on your team switches into both of its STABs. I was thinking about replacing Mega Scizor>Mega Alakazam, but because Alakazam is the pokemon you built the team around, I won't suggest that. However, I'm thinking Scizor>LO Gengar. The reason being is because Scizor is an excellent Gardevoir and Metagross check. Now you could go Choice Band with Pursuit which is pretty cool, but that will get weakened everytime it switches into a Hyper Voice or a Hammer Arm with no recovery. What about a bulky LO Scizor set with Roost so you can reliably switch it in to Mega Gardevoir and Mega Metagross? It's honestly based on preference on the Scizor set. Now, this does make you a lot more weak to Charizard X, which is why I'm giving you a couple of options you are free to use. You can go with maybe a Physically Defensive Landorus T, or maybe replace it with the standard defensive Stealth Rocks Tyranitar. Defensive T-Tar does not get 2hkoed by Zard X's Dragon Claw with the 252 HP 180 Defense Relaxed spread. Anyways, GL with the team, and hope I helped! :]

 

[toenails_sauce]

Hey man! cool team you have there. Soft Sand Landorus T is a really fun set that I have fun using. Anyways, I noticed that Mega Metagross and Mega Gardevoir are huge threats to the team. Landorus T, Clefable, and Mega Alakazam don't appreciate a Meteor Mash while Rotom-W, Gengar and Keldeo don't like Zen Headbutts. Reason why Mega Gardevoir is such a threat is because nothing on your team switches into both of its STABs. I was thinking about replacing Mega Scizor>Mega Alakazam, but because Alakazam is the pokemon you built the team around, I won't suggest that. However, I'm thinking Scizor>LO Gengar. The reason being is because Scizor is an excellent Gardevoir and Metagross check. Now you could go Choice Band with Pursuit which is pretty cool, but that will get weakened everytime it switches into a Hyper Voice or a Hammer Arm with no recovery. What about a bulky LO Scizor set with Roost so you can reliably switch it in to Mega Gardevoir and Mega Metagross? It's honestly based on preference on the Scizor set. Now, this does make you a lot more weak to Charizard X, which is why I'm giving you a couple of options you are free to use. You can go with maybe a Physically Defensive Landorus T, or maybe replace it with the standard defensive Stealth Rocks Tyranitar. Defensive T-Tar does not get 2hkoed by Zard X's Dragon Claw with the 252 HP 180 Defense Relaxed spread. Anyways, GL with the team, and hope I helped! :]

Yo! Thanks for the help! It was good that you suggested replacing Landorus-t with SR Tyranitar, as it has a better matchup against Charizard X. But I also think it would help to add Excadrill to my team and use SR Tyranitar's Sand Stream for support (or maybe Hippowdon). Excadrill can destroy Mega Metagross, Gardevoir, AND Charizard X. Due to its frailty, it is not so easy to switch Excadrill into those aforementioned threats, but this is an offensive team, and I would not really expect most of my Pokemon taking a hit on the switch. I might replace Gengar with Excadrill.
Anyway, thank you for making me consider my weaknesses on my team! Have a good day.

 

[rob.]

Try using Skarmory and Hippowdon over Landorus-Therian and Gengar. Both would improve your team's synergy and ultimately help against most wallbreakers that would outright destroy the team. At the moment this team struggles against anything with Gardevoir, Azumarill, Manectric, Raikou, Bisharp, Volt-Turn, and Weavile. Hippowdon + Skarmory provides a great backbone that would be able to support both Clefable and Rotom-W defensively. Skarmory and Hippowdon can also limit the opponent's opportunities through Stealth Rock + Spikes. This also opens things up for Alakazam to come in and clean up late game. A Choice Scarf Keldeo might be better since the speed would help when facing offensive teams + it would help when facing DD'ers like Charizard X and Gyarados, two mon's that would easily be able to boost on most of the team. Encore or Taunt on Alakazam could be pretty useful against defensive teams; but other than that the team looks pretty solid, good work.

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Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 168 SpD
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Stone Edge

 

[Tio Chico]

Hi.
You can try Hidden Power Bug instead of Electric. Continues to hit Starmie and Slowbro, and even helps against Celebi, Lati@s and Hoopa-B.
Normal Gem in Landorus-T maximizes Explosion damage and is great for Rotom-W and Hippowdon.
Thunder Wave in place of Flamethrower is effective against Heatran and Charizard in switch, also, limits other offensive threats as Mega Metagross.
I hope be useful.

 

[toenails_sauce]

Thank you ALL for your suggestions! I will probably try them all and see what works best for me. Maybe I'll post a new thread containing the improved version of my team (or maybe change this thread). Again, thank you.

Remember guys, this is an offensive team, and I usually don't want to change it so that it looks like a stall/balanced team.

 

[Bluemargay]

Muscle Band works better than Soft Sand on Landorus because it raises all your attacks instead of just Earthquake.