Concerning Alakazam movesets and power up.
Greetings,
It is well established that Future Sight is the best charge move for Alakazam, but what about the trade-off between DPS and EPS with regard to the quick moves Confusion and Psycho Cut? I have two Alakazams (both at level 20 from hatched Abras) with PC/FS and C/FS, IV 91% and 89%, respectively (both have 15 attack and the rest doesn't matter much for a glass cannon). Which one should I power up to level 30? Confusion has the ease of 1 dodge 1 counter attack but low EPS to put FS to work whereas Psycho Cut can only be used 2 to 3 times safely between dodges but gains energy much faster. Which would you power up and why? I would appreciate the input.
Indignus
Answers
I'm inclined to go with PC. Let's say you get 3 PC in before you dodge. That is 24 energy gained, as opposed to 15 with a single confusion. This means for every 3 charge moves with confusion, you get 5 with PC (~20 confusions). Extra 240 damage. Damage-wise, you are looking at 15 for PC v. 20 for confusion. The extra quick move damage is only 100. Overall PC wins.
Beyond that, against a slower charge move, you can get 4 PC in whereas still one confusion. Here they do the same damage while PC gets over double the energy generated as confusion. Far and away better in this case.
On another note, I really like the way these moves are. Each has a strength and weakness (one for attack, the other for confusion). It makes the game better.
Tl;Dr I choose PC over confusion for attack.
I personally prefer Pc over C...but that one will come down to personal preference when using it.
C is more damage, but Pc is easier for dodging and collects faster energy - for a glass cannon, you want to have the best chance to dodge.
On a spreadsheet C is the big dps winner...but for me personally, in practice PC is the winner.
Since the recent changes to moves and movesets, attacking movesets are more of a personal preference now more than ever before. So it comes down to choice on how you prefer to play. Some moves are clearly just better (FutureSight, Overheat), but in most cases the moveset comes down to which you like using.
The spreadsheets will help narrow down which to test...but experience will help you decide your preference.
If you have them, test them, play with them and then decide....this would be my suggestion.
On a side note, for a glass cannon, the stat that plays the most significant role is Stamina. It can make a difference of more than 10HP at level30 for Alakazam....which is more than 10% of his HP
It's attack is high enough, and the IV difference does not make a difference when attacking
Stamina also makes a massive difference to the CP...but as an attacker that is the least of your worries - you just want as much HP as possible.
With your IV %, your stamina stat is goingto be high anyway, so you have this part covered...but I thought it was an interesting point to mention.
First of all, thank you everyone for replying. Looking at everyone's answers, it would seem that PC is considered easier to dodge with. Though in practice, perhaps due to my lack of skill and/or muscle memory from using Water Gun in battles so often, I sometimes find myself attempting to get that 3rd or 4th hit in between each dodge and end up paying for it with Alakazam's already abysmal healthpool when I misjudge the timing of the incoming attack. With Confusion the battles seem less intense. All I need to do is Dodge-Tap-Dodge-Tap... In most battles I get into, FS gets used only once or twice unless going against bulky Pokemon such as Blissey and Snorlax. Not to mention the fact that I always switch out at ~15-20% health so maybe the extra EPS doesn't get used with my play style. Weighing in the risks I've decided to power up the C/FS Zam. Thanks again for your input.
