Tales from Battle Spot Singles blog #5 — mega-Alakazam team (yankopoke S13)
The team I landed on for this month's blog post is not the highest placing thing ever results-wise, apparently only finishing in the 1880s in season 13, but features enough spicy heat to warrant picking up nevertheless, especially for anyone seeking to improve their lead picking game.
nouthuca: http://nouthuca.com/topic/?code=g7s13single&num=5
blogs: http://yanko-poke.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/01/08/142158
QR code: https://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/usum/BT-323A-48F3
Pokepaste: https://pokepast.es/5f7b576b0d8c64d7
1) Team overview:
Please see links above for builds.
Azumarill
Azumarill is the team's main physical presence, providing bulky offense and defensive cover for Salamence against special-based Ice & Fairy-attacks in a manner not too dissimilar from Tapu Fini's. This does role overlap somewhat with Aegislash, too, but Azumarill differs from the venerable steel ghost in at least one important sense: whereas Aegislash wants to preserve its health to live a crucial super-effective physical hit for a Weakness Policy KO, Azumarill is far more willing to trade proactively in order to bruise everything that threatens to wall your mega-based offensive option in order to open up a path to the victory screen.
That being said, while Azumarill does thrive in an environment where it can Knock Off the Porygon2s, Snorlaxes and Chanseys of the world, hard lead against Landorus and Charizard Y and win every time, it does have something to offer in the lategame, as well. For one, it lives things like Flare Blitz from +2 +252 Charizard X and anything up to +3 252 mega-Gyarados can dish out. Azumarill also enjoys the advantage of having a degree of uncertainty around what it is running since the distribution of Normalium-Z Belly Drum, Choice Band and Assault Vest sets is, after all, roughly equal.
Aegislash
Aside from its iconic defensive pairing with Salamence, physically defensive Weakness Policy Aegislash is very much geared towards checking mega-Metagross (252 Earthquake doesn't even 2HKO from full HP), mega-Gyarados and common variants of mega-Salamence (30% chance to live a +2 +252 Earthquake), although, as the team's author notes, relying on Aegislash to win the heads up against Dragon Dance + Roost mindgames from Earthquake Salamence in particular can be a tall order indeed. The defensive investment also lets Aegislash live a +252 mega-Blaziken Flare Blitz from full HP 87% of the time if the presence of both Azumarill and Salamence in your team select screen didn't deter the opponent from bringing it as their mega in the first place.
While Aegislash's role in the above sense necessitates that it needs to be used sparingly lest its defensive damage ranges slip away, the fact that it carries Sacred Sword makes it an interesting pick against the likes of the occasional Curse Ferrothorn and a Snorlax that seems currently quite resurgent in the metagame.
Mimikyu
This is, whenever possible, a cripple lead Mimikyu that tries to get away with its role on the back of telegraphing the typically far more likely leads of Mamoswine, and, to a lesser extent, Azumarill, instead. The dream scenario for Mimikyu is to lead against a Sash or Waterium Greninja that wants to counter lead Mamoswine, and if carrying Gunk Shot, Azumarill, and duel it with Z-Shadow Claw + Shadow Sneak removing it from the pool of things that threaten Salamence, all the while hitting a speed tier (154 stat) that lets it sabotage any follow up from anything up to 252 EV'd 100 base speed (152 stat) by way of Thunder Wave or Curse for Salamence to abuse.
The lower than usual defensive EVs for a bulky set and lack of the Mimikium-Z nuke threat don't rule out Mimikyu's disposable sweeper blanket-check role as a momentum-recovering backliner either, but are only really tailored to specifically win the Mimikyu mirror by either flat out outspeeding and Z-Shadow Clawing or surviving a +2 +252 Shadow Sneak (12.5% chance to 1HKO), also surviving any single hit Modest Scarf Tapu Lele can throw out and living through and crippling a +1 252 Waterfall mega-Gyarados (12.5% chance to 1HKO). So, ideally no tanking mega-Blaziken Flare Blitzes (81.3% chance to 1HKO) for this build, and opposing Salamences are probably best left to Aegislash or a greedy momentum play.
Salamence
Not running Dragon Dance or a hybrid physical-mixed Salamence with Draco Meteor may look bad on paper, but when you consider the fact that, one, with this, you want to come in on something that's Toxic poisoned by Mamoswine or Thunder Wave / Cursed by Mimikyu; and, two, that Hyper Voice actually 2HKOs all of the three non-Porygon2 pokemon that carry Intimidate and might want to switch into a Dragon Dance or physical attacking move from standard mega-Salamence—Landorus, Salamence and getting the first hit on Gyarados when it still has its lesser, pre-mega bulk—you'll find that there is at least some method to the madness here. Being able to outlast most Landorus sets is also useful for decision making in the team preview screen, as Salamence is the only Earthquake immunity on this team.
Now, the downsides to relying on the surprise factor like this are obvious: you miss out on what makes standard mega-Salamence standard in the first place; you lose the reliable raw physical sweeping power while still being vulnerable to many of the same things that check or counter the standard sets: namely Porygon2 and Mimikyu, the trade-off being the above alluded-to ability to abuse status and to throw off some of the softer Salamence checks. Nevertheless, for me, tech like this is precisely what makes the game interesting enough to want to keep playing.
Alakazam
This Alakazam reaches a post-mega speed stat of 209, high enough to blaze past the 200 stat benchmark set by Tapu Koko and mega-Gengar, to creep past +252 mega-Lopunny (205) and even 252 Scarf Rotom-H/W (207)—all of which are often run as leads, carving out a niche for Alakazam to put in some work in that role. This is also reflected in the HP bulk, which lets Alakazam actually live stuff when it gets its Trace online immediately for the defensive Intimidates, Flash Fires and Volt Absorbs out there, with Protean and Beast Boost as appealing offensive targets: Greninja is indeed stated as in large part the justification for running Energy Ball, and the choice of 210 SpAtt stat versus 209 Spd stat is actually targeted towards Beast Boosting Special Attack.
Specific damage ranges noted in the author's blog include the ability to have a chance against Torrent +252 Sash Scald + Water Shuriken Greninja, as well as the ability to live a non-Torrent boosted 252 Z-Hydro Cannon; and, being able to Energy Ball 2HKO offensive Tapu Fini while surviving a +252 Z-Hydro Pump from it with 93% certainty. HP Fire is mentioned as an option for leading against Ferrothorn when it, in turn, wants to counter a lead Mamoswine from your side.
Dropping a coverage move for Taunt would improve Alakazam's viability in defensive matchups, but would be better suited to even more defensive Recover and/or Calm Mind based builds instead of on a set that wants to nab KOs on the special side while having enough bulk to only really live a single powerful hit on the special side itself.
Alakazam also has a big HP management problem going up against things that hit it super-effectively with priority from the physical side (Mimikyu, Aegislash, Mawile, Kangaskhan), which isn't exactly ideal since some of these are also good picks against your Salamence, too.
Mamoswine
Mamoswine empowers lead Mimikyu and makes leading Alakazam more consistent. It does this through its image as a standard lead whose team select screen presence alone can thus be enough to play towards stopping your lead Mimikyu's Disguise from being broken for free by an otherwise reasonable lead Tapu Koko's Volt Switch, Landorus' U-turn or for having to worry about a Breloom lead from the opponent. This is not to say Mamoswine shouldn't lead as there are obviously matchups where it is simply too good to pass up on in precisely that role.
Outside the lead matchup, so long as its Sash stays intact, Mamoswine can usually 1-for-1 all but the most prohibitively defensive pokemon, against whom it ideally clicks Toxic for Salamence's Substitute + Roost benefit, or is benched altogether.
Finally, I do think that Mamoswine in general, with its excellent offensive typing and surprisingly wide movepool, is something that has been overlooked for the longest time much like Snorlax, albeit for obviously different reasons.
2) Usage notes:
As ever, do not think my experiences and conclusions about this team represent any universal, objective facts about how to play optimally, each different ladder experience being of course subject to the same slings and arrows of outrageous fortune we call the ranked ladder. Nevertheless, playing by the matchup-archetype checklist you will find below, this team skated to the 1700s with a record of 17-3 even in my questionable hands, doing more or less nothing but selling the Mamoswine lead and leading Mimikyu or Azumarill instead.
2.1 — Usual team compositions
Mamoswine/Alakazam-Aegislash
Mimikyu-Salamence-Aegislash/Azumarill
Mamoswine/Azumarill-Salamence
2.2 — Most drafted, by rate/member (descending)
1.Mimikyu
2.Mamoswine
3.Azumarill
4.Salamence
5.Alakazam
6.Aegislash
2.3 — Drafting and leading cf. matchup-archetype list
See link for my basic archetype checklist:
https://tinyurl.com/archetypes101
"Kabamanda"
Salamence/Hippowdon/Aegislash/Koko
Mamoswine-Aegislash-Salamence/Mimikyu
Azumarill-Mamoswine-Salamence/Mimikyu/Aegislash
Everything Mamoswine doesn't 1HKO, it 2HKOs with a little luck, making it a solid bring as both lead and backliner (provided its Sash is intact or it is brought in with a momentum play).
While Aegislash only has a 30% chance to die from +2 Salamence's Earthquake, it does not carry HP Ice, and is as such completely reliant on the Weakness Policy activation to have a chance at 2HKO against a Roosting and boosting Salamence. Even so, short of a Disguise intact Mimikyu, it is the most consistent way of checking Salamence once it has the momentum, with the added benefit of decently covering mono-attacking SpDef invested Substitute + Roost Salamence, which is often paired with Toxic Aegislash. Since your Aegislash is -Spd, it should have the advantage in the first salvo if Shadow Balls are traded in the mirror.
Azumarill leads decently against most things that aren't Koko—consider bringing it especially if the opponent has rounded out their team with something like Greninja, whose follow-ups the preferred anti-Greninja lead Mimikyu can't get much value out of here.
"Rizzagross / Kabarizza"
Charizard/Metagross/Greninja; Charizard/Hippowdon
Mimikyu-Mamoswine/Aegislash-Azumarill/Salamence
Azumarill-Alakazam-Aegislash
Mimikyu leads well into both Metagross and Greninja (and fully offensive Charizard Y), and hits the speed tier necessary to click Thunder Wave against 252 Spd Charizard X when it comes in to Flame Charge after Greninja has been felled by Z Shadow Claw + Shadow Sneak in the lead matchup.
Azumarill beats both Charizards in most scenarios and leads decently against non-Gunk Shot/Grassium Greninja (covered somewhat by Aegislash) as well as doing a bit of a number on the opposing Hippowdon.
Alakazam + Aegislash works so long as everything Alakazam can't 1HKO gets bruised into KO range by your other two pokemon and the opponent ideally doesn't have a Mimikyu.
"Landorus momentum"
Suicide lead Landorus+set-up sweepers (Naganadel, Dragon Dance megas, Scizor etc.)
Mamoswine-Mimikyu-Salamence/Azumarill/Aegislash
Mimikyu is basically mandatory since it checks Naga and +1 Gyarados needs a 12.5% roll to 1HKO unless it is carrying Iron Head, though if Landorus clicks Stealth Rock on turn 1, this number changes to 87.5% in Gyarados' favor, at the cost of not breaking Mamoswine's Sash. In this case, Azumarill merits some consideration as a more consistent Gyarados check even it if struggles against Naganadel and Scizor.
Rain core modular
Politoed/Pelipper/Swampert/steel type/Tapu Koko
Mimikyu-Alakazam-Aegislash/Mamoswine
Mimikyu's Z-move on turn 1 puts slow U-turn Pelipper into later Alakazam range, doing the same for the Eject Button Politoed that Tapu Koko tends to Volt Switch into. In any case, this should be the most heinous example of the Alakazam show: it Traces Swift Swim and carries the 1HKO in the form of Energy Ball, just like it does with Focus Blast to Excadrill in sand, while living a single hit from Koko and 2HKOing back in addition to having answers to Ferrothorn and non-Scarf Kartana.
Mamoswine counterleads non-U-turn Koko, but can't trade 1-for-1 against Swampert or likely even its rain setter even with its Sash intact, meaning it should be benched unless the matchups against the non-rain core part of the opponent's team are significantly better. Aegislash, too, finds more viability in just such a case while still giving Swampert a good bruising, if not beat it flat out, barring the occasional Substitute Swampert which abuses King's Shield. Still, it also trades fairly evenly against things like Ferrothorn and Kartana, two common pokemon that complement a rain core, although 252 Kartana's Z-Night Slash threatens the 1HKO if it has even a single attack boost under its belt.
"Mimigassa / suropoke"
Mimikyu/Breloom/Mawile/Porygon2 Trick Room, usually with Gyarados/Charizard X and Greninja as non-Trick Room offensive pair
Mamoswine/Mimikyu-Salamence-Aegislash/Mamoswine/Mimikyu
Mamoswine is a fantastic lead here, so fantastic, in fact, that it can be played as a reliable backliner instead against a likely Porygon2 or Gyarados lead seeking to abuse it—with a good degree of certainty that its Sash won't get broken by hazards.
While Azumarill's Knock Off looks good against Porygon2, and in Trick Room in general, Curse + Thunder Wave Mimikyu into Salamence is more consistent against a broader range of things overall, not least because Azumarill, while capable of surviving a hit from full HP, hates Intimidate from a Mawile it likely speed ties anyway—and positively despises seeing Breloom under any circumstances, period.
Dedicated stall
Chansey/Toxapex/Sableye/Celesteela/Slowbro/Skarmory/Venusaur/Shedinja/Gliscor/Gengar etc...
Salamence/Alakazam-Azumarill-Aegislash/Mimikyu
Azumarill-Mimikyu-Salamence
A major shortfall in having no native stat-boosting on a team is the inability to punch through defensively orientated lineups, of which hard stall has to be the most notable example. Also bad is the inability to stop hazards from coming down starting on turn 1. Still, depending on the opponent's actual lineup of six, there might be some space to play towards a victory screen even if the matchup is generally poor.
Alakazam (and, of course, Salamence) is decent against defensive play built around Celesteela + mega-Venusaur or Toxapex + Gliscor, but outside of that, in order to get any value out of Alakazam, it often either needs to hit multiple Focus Blasts in a row (just like with Porygon2) or it just flat out does nothing. Chansey and Curse Snorlax, in particular, are a nightmare for either mega of choice to deal with unless you manage to hit an unlikely Azumarill Knock Off on them, or, failing that, Toxic poison Snorlax with Mamoswine. If Skarmory leads Stealth Rock for Chansey, leading Salamence's surprise Fire Blast can open up a path for Azumarill to mangle some opponents, but statistically, either of the two are just as likely to lead rocks.
Dedicated Baton Pass
Scolipede, Blazikenpass into Gyarados, Eeveepass into Espeon, Dual Screens/Ninetales-A lead etc.
Mamoswine-Mimikyu-Salamence/Aegislash
Salamence-Mimikyu-Mamoswine/Aegislash
Salamence can lead against a number of screens leads, most notably Espeon and Uxie, and put up a Substitute for their Yawn/Memento momentum swing turns, thus seeking to run out the clock on screens. Mimikyu should be employed to insert a Curse into a prospective Baton Pass chain.
Dedicated Glalie
Cripple lead (Glare Serperior, Thunder Wave/Will-o-Wisp Mimikyu, Light Ball Fling users etc.), Thunder Wave + Lunar Dance Cresselia, Glalie
Mamoswine-Alakazam/Aegislash-Mimikyu
Mamoswine can lead Toxic against Cresselia and Icicle Spear against Serperior and Mimikyu. As long as you can keep your own Mimikyu healthy in the back for when Glalie comes in, Curse rules out any kind of hard all in through status, Memento or Lunar Dance.
3) In Conclusion:
Any kind of defensive playstyle impervious to special based Salamence, such as Toxapex + Tapu Bulu with Tyranitar support, or regular old hard stall whose Skarmory does not get bruised into Azumarill range early on by a Fire Blast is a major hurdle this team needs multiple hard switches in a row to overcome. But even so, as long as I did not keep hitting it, I was able to trade evenly in the low 1800s even while overbringing Alakazam for the sheer novelty of having one and getting bopped by notable high-ladder players:
For March's post I am looking at doing either Z-Shadow Ball Lele/Metagross lure Latias + Lopunny or Charizard X + Stomping Tantrum Amoonguss depending on what ends up doing better overall. Or not. Who can tell.
- Tox
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tox.146/
