Pokemon Review will put Alakazam to the test.

Alakazam is a respected and widely used pokemon, but is it really as
effective as they claim?

Base Set Alakazam Card Statistics
* Psychic pokemon
* Stage 2 of the Abra evolution line
* 80 HP
* Has a Pokemon Power known as Damage Swap
* PPP Confuse Ray 30  Flip a coin. If heads, the Defending
   Pokemon is now Confused
* Weakness to Psychic Pokemon
* No Resistance
* Retreat Cost CCC

Alakazam is a popular psychic pokemon that is frequently present in many
decks that have psychic energy. It's the second stage of the Abra evolution
line and uses its psychic power to subdue the enemy pokemon.

80 HP for a stage 2 pokemon is quite decent. Others may find that 80 HP for
a stage 2 pokemon may be disturbing but this is not the case. It may not be
the highest HP but it's sufficient enough for it to cause the damage it was
made to do.

Alakazam has a Pokemon Power called Damage Swap which allows you to move a
damage counter from one of your pokemon to another as long as it doesn't
result in a knock out.
Damage Swap is effective in the line of defence and is often used to stall
the opponent. It can't be used if Alakazam is confused, paralyzed or asleep.

Because of the Pokemon Power, Alakazam only has one attack
that is psychic. For PPP you can use Confuse Ray that deals 30
damage and has a 50% chance of confusion. Confuse Ray is assumed a weak
attack and that's completely understandable.
I agree could be more powerful but just be thankful for the Pokemon Power it
has.

Alakazam can be very unreliable when it comes to defence. It's bad news all
round as it has a weakness to psychic pokemon and no resistance what so
ever. Further more, the Retreat Cost is high requiring CCC. Trainers must be
careful and consider the above when using Alakazam.

Assessment Process
* 80 HP is reasonable for a stage 2 pokemon > 90 points
* Pokemon Power Damage Swap > 80 points
* PPP Confuse Ray 30 50% confusion > 60 points
* Weakness to Psychic Pokemon > 60 points
* No resistance > 0 points
* CCC Retreat Cost > 20 points
* Alakazam as a pokemon > 310 points out of 400 points

All in all, Alakazam is quite good to include in your deck. Keep in mind
that it does take a while to get him out onto the battle field.

By PR Man

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