Alakazam, The Psi Pokémon. It has an incredibly high level of intelligence. Some say that Alakazam remembers everything that ever happens to it, from birth till death. Alakazam wields potent psychic powers. It's said that this Pokémon used these powers to create the spoons it holds.
Overview
Alakazam returns to another round in Sword/Shield with the massive downgrade on losing out on his Mega Evolution. However, Alakazam gained a new tool on Nasty Plot which allows it to terrorize teams without dedicated revenge killers or special walls to take into it. When you consider that Alakazam's excellent speed tier allows it to outspeed threats like Cinderace and Hawlucha, you end up with one of the best wallbreakers in the game. Despite its amazing sweeping potential, Alakazam is by law a glass cannon and almost any physical attack or priority move will dent it. Alakazam is also outspeed by Dragapult which makes it hard for Alakazam to find opportunities to set up considering how common Dragapult is.
Positives
Base 135 Special Attack makes it one of the most threatening special attackers in the game with access to Nasty Plot to increase its power to staggering levels.
Access to Focus Blast, Shadow Ball and Dazzling Gleam gives Alakazam enough tools coverage-wise to deal with the amount of targets it wants to damage. Access to Trick also allows it to hinder special walls like Chansey or Blissey.
Base 120 Speed gives Alakazam the jump on Cinderace and Hawlucha allowing to outspeed an important amount of Pokemon allowing to sweep with ease once Dragapult is removed.
Magic Guard is an amazing ability as it allows Alakazam to avoid indirect damage from hazards or status ailments while nullifying recoil from Life Orb.
Negatives
A paper thin base 45 Defense is terribly low which means that almost any physical priority move will put a huge dent into it or straight OHKO if it is Sucker Punch.
Dragapult is extremely common which makes it hard for Alakazam to find opportunities to set up. Dark types like Tyranitar can also be a problem as Alakazam has to rely on the inaccurate Focus Blast to hit.
Movesets
SPOON FREAK
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Substitute / Recover
Item Attached: Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs and Nature:
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Nasty Plot allows Alakazam to raise its Special Attack to colossal levels allowing it to wall break past Pokemon like Blissey who are incapable of tanking its attacks once it sets up. Psychic is Alakazam's STAB allowing it to destroy anything not resistant or immune to it. Focus Blast rounds up the coverage hitting Ferrothorn, Tyranitar and Zarude for super-effective damage and anything immune to Psychic. Substitute allows Alakazam to scout potential switch-ins and hit them hard before they break its Substitute. It also allows Alakazam to avoid paralysis from Blissey and Chansey allowing it to plow past them if they are foolish enough to attempt to hinder it. Magic Guard prevents Alakazam from taking damage from Life Orb nor entry hazards or status, allowing it to take advantage of passive status spreaders like Toxapex, provided it doesn't carry Knock Off.
DYNAMAX
Alakazam can use Dynamax in order to gain additional bulk in case it is required for it to take hits once it sets up. Alakazam gains an immense benefit from Shattered Psyche as it allows it to set up Psychic Terrain gaining an important immunity to priority moves preventing Scizor and Bisharp from revenge killing it with ease. It also allows Focus Blast to become Max Knuckle which means that it will have 3 turns of accurate Fighting attacks which can be useful on situations where you can't simply afford a Focus Blast miss.
EV and Items
Max Special Attack and Speed are mandatory to maximize its wallbreaking potential. Life Orb increases its damage output and with Magic Guard nullifying its recoil, it becomes the perfect item of choice for Alakazam.
Partners
Due to Dragapult's and Zeraora's higher Speed, Alakazam appreciates teammates like Hippowdown or Mandibuzz allowing them to take on these threats. Thanks to Magic Guard nullifying any kind of indirect damage, it doesn't has to worry about Hippowdown's Sand Stream and it also sets up Stealth Rock allowing Alakazam to gain more KOs. Cinderace and Scizor lures Toxapex which allows it to gain momentum on its favor and allow Alakazam to set up on it as long as it doesn't runs Knock Off.
THE MAGIC GLASSES
- Trick
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball / Dazzling Gleam
Item Attached: Choice Specs
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs and Nature:
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
With a Choice Specs, Alakazam gains more raw and direct power allowing it to heavily damage the opponent's team with the right move. Trick allows Alakazam to heavily hinder Chansey, Toxapex or Ferrothorn on the switch. Psychic allows Alakazam to dispose of Toxapex while doing excellent neutral damage. Focus Blast hits Tyranitar, Bisharp and Ferrothorn for super-effective damage. The last move depends on what Alakazam wants to target. Dazzling Gleam gives Alakazam a more accurate move to hit Dark types with while providing solid coverage against Dragapult. Shadow Ball provides an overall better neutral coverage while hitting other Psychic types like Reuniclus for heavy damage.
DYNAMAX
While it can be used to grant Alakazam additional bulk, this set doesn't really prefers to Dynamax since it nullifies the effects of Choice Specs. You should only consider Dynamaxing in case Alakazam is locked into a very inconvenient move to prevent the opponent from setting up against Alakazam.
EV and Items
Max Special Attack and Speed are always the required EVs for Alakazam. Thanks to Magic Guard nullifying hazard and poison damage, Alakazam finds great opportunities to switch repeatedly allowing it to wreck havoc thanks to the increased power of the Choice Specs.
Partners
Due to Dragapult's and Zeraora's higher Speed, Alakazam appreciates teammates like Hippowdown or Mandibuzz allowing them to take on these threats. Thanks to Magic Guard nullifying any kind of indirect damage, it doesn't has to worry about Hippowdown's Sand Stream and it also sets up Stealth Rock allowing Alakazam to gain more KOs. Cinderace and Scizor lures Toxapex which allows it to gain momentum on its favor and allow Alakazam to set up on it as long as it doesn't runs Knock Off. Because this set is not meant to be the main sweeper, Alakazam does very well on pairing with Volcarona since it can potentially lure Chansey or Blissey and hinder them heavily by tricking its Choice Specs.
Other Options
Calm Mind can be used to increase its special bulk for a bit, but other than that, the higher power gained from Nasty Plot is usually preferred since faster threats like Dragapult or Zeraora will easily force out Alakazam anyways.
Alakazam can also run Knock Off just to get rid of Chansey's Eviolite or Blissey's Heavy Duty Boots, but doesn't really achieves anything else outside that.
Grass Knot is an option in case you want to gain coverage on Seismitoad while hitting Tyranitar hard. Other than that, it generally isn't worth considering that Psychic will do a great deal of damage to most Water types anyways.
Countering Alakazam
Dragapult is the best revenge killer available for Alakazam considering that it will easily get rid of it thanks to its Ghost STAB. While Zeraora doesn't hits for super-effective damage, it targets its weaker physical defense and with Plasma Fists, it can easily OHKO Alakazam. Choice Scarf Jirachi also deserves a mention since it can take Focus Blast very well and it only fears Shadow Ball from the Specs set.
Pokemon like Scizor and Bisharp are effective checks as they are able to threaten Alakazam thanks to their priority attacks. However, take into account it will be harder for them to revenge kill it if Alakazam dynamaxes and sets up Psychic Terrain.
Blissey and Chansey are very threatening thanks to their sky high special attack and access to Thunder Wave to hinder it for the rest of the match. However, take into account that if Alakazam has access to Substitute, they must be careful on it as a +2 Alakazam can easily dent them if they are overpredicted.
Tyranitar can make a decent check for Alakazam however it will usually require a Chople Berry or an Assault Vest with significant bulk investment to survive a Focus Blast from it.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Evolve Kadabra
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Evolve Kadabra
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Evolve Kadabra
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Evolve Kadabra
Colosseum/XD:
Trade from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/FireRed/LeafGreen
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Kadabra
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Kadabra
Black/White:
Evolve Kadabra (White)
Trade from White/Black 2/White 2 (Black)
Black 2/White 2:
Accumula Town Trade
X/Y:
Evolve Kadabra
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Kadabra
Sun/Moon:
Evolve Kadabra
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Evolve Kadabra
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Evolve Kadabra
Sword/Shield:
Loop Lagoon, Insular Sea
Max Raid Battles: Soothing Wetlands, Challenge Beach, Training Lowlands, Stepping-Stone Sea
Anime Appearences
