SM OU Lele/Alakazam Psyspam Core - 1400 as of 19/9

[mehavecupcake]

Hello all, I'm here to get any feedback on my Psychic Spam core team, which cu
rrently is at 1400 elo on PS!, and I will continue to ladder in the meantime. Any feedback is appreciated.

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TEAMBUILDING PROCESS

I started with the basis for every Psyspam core, Tapu Lele and M Alakazam. Mega Alakazam combines a sky-high SpA with an unrivalled Speed to become an absolute nuke, and is complemented by Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain which not only boosts the power of Alakazam's STAB, but also makes sure no prioriymoves are used which ensures Alakazam's terrible defenses are not taken advantage of.

Next I added Unburden Hawlucha, who can come in, pick up some KOs and pave the way for a 'Zam sweep, or SD on a switch and sweep in it's own right. It also synergises well with Lele because the Terrain prevents Ash Greninja's Water Shuriken from picking up a KO on it.

I wanted a bulky pivot, and AV Magearna fits that bill perfectly. At first I went with Corkscrew Crash Mage, but it really didn't gel with the team and I ended up switching it for the AV variant. It can take a hit from a Koko lead so that Lele wasn't eliminated, and could scare it off and Volt Switch out. It can shred apart top tier Dragon types with Fleur Cannon and then can create momentum again by Switching into another sweeper.

Next I wanted hazard removal, which I used Excadrill for. Exca is my go-to spinner, because it outspeeds everything with a Scarf and can do decent damage too. However, there was no real synergy with my team and it created a glaring Scarfchomp problem on my team and was eventually scrapped.

I decided that I didn't need hazard removal (big mistake) and added Suicide Victini. With a Scarf and maxed health, it could take out most leads such as Specs Pelipper and Mega-Venusaur. However, sometimes the trade between Victini and the opponent's lead could actually swing the game into their favour, or it would be predicted and I ended up wasting a 'mon on a Chansey.

I decided for a secondary VoltTurn option to go with Magearna in Staraptor, which also is an amazing Scarf Wallbreaker that can rip chunks out of Chansey, Ferrothorn and other walls. However, it was not a good pair with Hawlucha, which seems strange as they were often paired with Talonflame, but in this specially oriented meta didn't gel.

I finally conceded that I may need hazard removal, which took the form of Kartana. Defog + 3 attacks was an excellent fit, and it also helped turn around games with a silly switch into a low health 'mon, which gave it an attack boost and made it virtually unstoppable.

I chose Conkeldurr for my final 'mon, over Ash Greninja for it's better bulk and versatility. Sheer Force gave it great coverage to deal with annoying Fairies (*cough cough Fini) and Flyings with Poison Jab and Ice Punch respectively.

The Sets

Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
Tapu Lele is like the glue that holds this whoe team together. It sets up the Terrain to complement Alakazam and Hawlucha. With Specs, it also has enough offensive presence to scare away the likes of Toxapex and Venusaur, both of whom are wrecked by a Specs Psychic under Psychic Terrain. Moonblast and Psychic are dual-STABs, Psyshock is to deal with Special Walls and Shadow Ball for coverage. The EVs are tailored to be able to deal as much damage as possible while being able to sponge hits due to it's middling Speed.

Alakazam-Mega @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Alakazam forms the other half of the PsySpam core, and rips teams apart with it's SpA stat and devastating Speed. It has such great synergy with Lele, and has so much raw power, that it is made for this team. Psychic is it's STAB, which hits like a truck under Terrain. Dazzling Gleam hits Dark and Dragons; Focus Blast is for more coverage, but is less reliable; and HP Fire for Ferrothron, Scizor and the like. Timid nature and EVs for max Speed, as well as SpA EVs for firepower.

Hawlucha @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- High Jump Kick
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
Hawlucha is an excellent Physical attacker that gets 600+ Speed when combined with Unburden, as it is here. It's primary STABS are Acrobatics and HJK for maximum potency, SD for the predicted switch which gives it 622 Atk, and Stone Edge for coverage. It is an excellent answer to Landorus-T, which despite having Intimidate, has nothing to hit Hawlucha with. It also gets ~250 SpDef with the Psychic Seed, which lets it live a few hits from the likes of Fini.

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Fleur Cannon
- Flash Cannon
- Ice Beam
AV Mage is an excellent bulky pivot which can by used to switch Hawlucha or Alakazam in from Lele to avoid damage, and also scout. It's defenses are great and SpA not to shabby, able to pressure the switch with Fleur Cannon and Flash Cannon. EVs maximise SpA (Modest), and 8 in SpD for some extra bulk. The 248 in HP is to ensure it has an odd HP stat to minimise damage from the incoming SRs.

Kartana @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Defog
- Sacred Sword
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
Kartana is a fast Defogger that also packs a punch. Jolly Nature and 252 Spe EVs let it outpace much of the meta, and also hit hard with 252 in Atk. It has standard coverage with dual-STAB + SSword, which lets it hit most of the meta at least neutrally. The Focus Sash could be replaced with another item, but I'm not quite sure (Life Orb?), so ideas are appreciated.

Conkeldurr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch
Sheer Force Conkeldurr is a force to be reckoned with, due to it's monstrous Atk stat and decent defenses. Mach Punch gives it priority, Drain Punch STAB and recovery, and Ice Punch and Poison Jab provide coverage. It hasn't had much use with the rest of the team, and any suggestions to improve it would also be appreciated.

And so goes this RMT. Any feedback is much appreciated, and formatting/etiquette tips are also appreciated as this is only my 3rd RMT on this site. Thank you for reading and (hopefully) providing feedback.

Replays (WIP)

http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/battle-gen7ou-633688608
vs. Obsolete Eyes (Kartana pulls through and forces a forfeit)
http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/battle-gen7ou-633684584
vs. Vantrainer (Hawlucha is scary right from the start)

Proof of Peak

LINK

Importable

Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball

Alakazam-Mega @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Hawlucha @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- High Jump Kick
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Fleur Cannon
- Flash Cannon
- Ice Beam

Kartana @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Defog
- Sacred Sword
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike

Conkeldurr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch

 

[LiamTheCursed]

This team on paper looks really good and I may test it out myself. One thing I would recommend is maybe posting a threat list for this team. Just by looking at it, charizard y and he at ran seem like they threaten most of this team

Edit: on conkelldurr, I would recommend using iron fist over sheer force and maybe assault vest over life orb since iron fist boosts the power of 3/4 moves anyways

 

[Teclis]

Hello !

Your team is quite cool, and the Psychic Spam core always as effective as it was at the very beginning of Sun & Moon. That being said, I will suggest you a few changes to make your team even better.

The whole Zam-Lele-Hawlucha core is super agressive, and typically the kind of thing you will see in Hyper Offense. Magearna and Kartana are pretty good in that kind of team, but you should in my opinion change their set quite a bit. I would suggest you to make Magearna a set-up sweeper with the classic double dance set (since you don't really need pivot in HO, assuming you will pressure your opponent from the very beginning) and to use Choice Scarf on Kartana to gain a nice Scarfer and revenge killer still able to Defog.

Concerning Conkeldurr, I guess just using another powerful physical attacker would be just fine instead ? A Sash Landorus-T will give you the Rocks and allow you to cripple the opposing team from the beginning of the game.

Here are the sets:

Hide

Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Defog

Magearna @ Leftovers
Ability: Soul-Heart
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 96 SpA / 16 SpD / 148 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam

Landorus-Therian @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Explosion

Sorry for the english mistakes, I still have to improve myself, and have a nice day & continuation on Smogon !

PS: concerning formatting, I guess you should try using the same PS standard spirits for every mon, avoid long bolded/italic texts and perhaps put a space between the sets and their description.

 

[mehavecupcake]

Thanks Heath, will def use your sets!

 

[mehavecupcake]

However, concerning the use of Mage as a pivot, I typically use it to make sure Hawlucha and Alakazam don't take damage coming in off Lele. Any suggestions, because both have very average bulk.