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Why is it so hard to solo Alakazam?

This must be my twentieth failure to solo Mr. Zam. Opponent is having Psycho Cut and Shadow Ball under cloudy sky and my lineup is as follows:

Ttar B/Se A14 L31.5
Ttar B/Se A14 L33
Ttar B/Se A14 L36.5
Ttar B/C A15 L40
Ttar B/C A10 L30
Ttar B/C A14 L35.5

Q: 1) Should I dodge instead of keep attacking?
2) Will CTM one of the stone edges help?
3) I use an android which only gives me ~175 sec. Does it make a difference using ios ?

Thank You

Asked by donguding7 years 3 months ago

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Answers

Tyranitar is a great all-around counter (and also double-resists Psychic). However, you want to temper this with a bit of glassy DPS too. Consider a mix of Tyranitars and Gengar/Mewtwo with Shadow Ball.

Also consider that Focus Blast is the most devastating move for a Tyranitar. You absolutely should try to dodge it as it will 1 hit Tyranitar otherwise due to being a double-weaknesss. They by no means are a bad counter against this moveset, but you should be using a couple glass cannons in front and dodging Focus Blast.

Tks for the prompt reply.

As I don't have Mewtwo, I did put in a L40 Sc/Sb Gengar to replace one of the B/Se Ttars. Next I used the same Gengar plus a Houndroom as glass cannons but both attempts failed miserably. When I put in a third glass cannon, all six counters fainted too prematurely and left me little time to rejoin. Maybe dodging is the solution.

p.s My bad, Mr Zam has Shadow Ball instead of Focus Blast.

Stone Edge to Crunch would help, but don't feel like you would need to have all of them be Crunch. Dodging the Specials, according to Pokebattler, adds only 7 or so seconds to the clock. If you dodge with perfect maxed TTars, you should only need a little over two of them to win against Shadow Ball.

Gengar won't really do it if alakazam has Shadow Ball. If you still can't win with dodging specials, then Tming the level 36 TTar to Crunch should get you there. You don't need to touch the rest of them.

Build 4 high level Ttar with Crunch!
Gengar can help on psycho cut Zam!
Facing FS Zam, no dodge
Facing SB Zam, super high level Ttar, no need dodge
Facing FB Zam, have to dodge!

I think stone edge is the main problem. If all had bite crunch, it would be MUCH better.

Gengar will help you get ahead of the clock. I'd probably use multiples if you have them against PC and/or FB. I've heard that SC/SB Banette is also good, although I haven't used one personally.
Crunch is better that SE on Ttar in this fight, even if SE is weather-boosted.

I have a Banette Sc/Sb A14 L27.5 . Is it a better glass cannon than Houndroom with Snarl/Foul Play ?

No. Banette has a low attack stat holding it down, it's only useful if powered up very high.

Have you tried using the tier 3 raid solo guide on the site?

My lineups was basically built from the guide on this site. Problem is either I don't dodge very well or with no dodging at all.

Technically, given perfect conditions, a single TTar could beat an Alakazam by dodging all Charged Moves and one or two Quick Moves. lol.

According to Pokebattler: https://www.pokebattler.com/fights/users/3930/pokemon/545822/defenders/ALAKAZAM/quickMoves/PSYCHO_CUT_FAST/cinMoves/FUTURESIGHT/cp/22646/strategies/DODGE_SPECIALS/DEFENSE_RANDOM_MC?includeDetails=true&dodgeStrategy=DODGE_100&weatherCondition=FOG&seed=1512696886801

I just cTM one of the Ttars and are now having four with Crunch. Hopefully, below lineup with all dark/ghost type move works better next time:

Gengar Sc/Sb L40
Houndroom Snarl/Foul Play A15 L29 or Bannete Sc/Sb A14 L27.5
Ttar B/C A14 L33
Ttar B/C A15 L40
Ttar B/C A10 L30
Ttar B/C A14 L35.5

That lineup looks solid and should succeed against any moveset, though some are more difficult than others.
Use the Houndoom, not the Banette. If boss has Confusion, put Gengar second instead of first.

Tks. Will a Gengar H/Sb A15 L33 work better than both Houndroom and Banette?

It's better than Banette in every way. Much higher DPS than the Houndoom but dies faster. Personally I use 2 Gengar 4 Tyranitar against almost any Alakazam moveset.

Put your SC/SB Gengar first. He wll die quickly, but don't worry about it; one shadow ball from him is enough. Next, put your three B/C Ttars in order of strongest to weakest. Next, your S/FP Houndoom. In the last spot, put your best B/SE Ttar.

Do not dodge.

With this lineup, you will win, although if you have plenty of charge TM's, CTM'ing one of the B/SE Ttars to B/C will give you an extra cushion.

Your lineup is strong enough, and the biggest reason people fail with a lineup that is strong enough is too much dodging.

Did you put your attackers in the order you listed them? If so, that is part of your problem, because B/SE is not as strong against Zam, and you will get behind on the clock. You want your highest DPS attackers first.

This same lineup should also work against PC/FS, and that should be even easier.

Good luck.

Tks. I have CTM one of the B/Se Ttars and reshuffled the lineup as follows:

Gengar Sc/Sb L40
Ttar B/C A15 L40
Ttar B/C A14 L35.5
Ttar B/C A14 L33
Ttar B/C A10 L30
Houndroom A15 L29

Hope it can do better this time. Do I need to power up the Houndroom ?

If you have lots of stardust and candy, the Houndoom will hit its final breakpoint at L35*, and will do more damage, but it's not critical for this purpose. The last mon will probably not be used much if at all in the battle. I don't think you've actually mentioned the Houndoom's moveset, but I'm assuming it is S/FP. Any other moveset is inferior,

If you face a Zam boss with PC/FS (by far the easiest, IMO), put your H/SB Gengar in the #2 slot, and move all the Tyranitars down a spot (leaving out the Houndoom). Again, don't dodge, and don't worry that the Gengars die quickly. They will do huge damage in their short life.

Let us know how it goes.

*this is an edit correcting something I posted a few minutes ago when looking at the wrong breakpoint chart. The above info is now correct.

Tks. If a H/Sb Gengar can go in second slot, I prefer to save stardust for something else.

A trivial question: shadow ball is a two bar charge move. Should I wait for both bars ready and fire simultaneously or keep firing whenever one bar is being filled up?

Fire when a single bar is ready. Gengar is too fragile to risk not launching as soon as you are able.

To clarify, I am recommending adding the second (hex) Gengar against the PC/FS Zam moveset, not against PC/SB. You could possibly get away with it against PC/SB, but there is a reasonable possibility of the second Gengar getting killed by a SB before being able to launch even a single SB of its own.

Again, I'm talking about a no-dodging strategy here, which is the simplest and most reliable way to get it done with the team you have. Dodging with the Gengars to avoid getting hit by a SB is an alternative option, but you would run the risk of dodging too much and losing too much DPS. If you keep it simple and don't dodge, you will be able to win.

I hear that. The Bastard's had focus blast the last 12 times I try.

Stone Edge is bad in Alakazam/Gengar raids.

Yes, it's bad !

Nevertheless, Gamepress listed Ttar B/Se as a supreme counter to Alakazam.

When i 1st succeded against psycho cut Alakazam, mya Ttar is way below yours
I used 2 gengar SC/SB to boost the dps needed so it wont time's out
The trick is to use shadow ball as much as posible, you should have 2, 3 if lucky with shadow ball
Then its a matter of dodge only one Zam CM with TTar
Sometime i only dodge with 2 TTar ( all with FB Zam)

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