>>44698817>Darkrai has a much better STAB that means it doesn't always need to rely on Focus MissFor key Pokemon, it does, and if there is a Fairy, it has to use Sludge Bomb instead.
Meanwhile Alakazam just needs Psychic and Focus Blast.
>decent bulk for an offensive PokemonThe bulk on Darkrai is obviously better, being able to survive a Wicked Blow twice from Urshifu while Zam is OHKO’d by Close Combat, how often will this bulk actually come into play?
Both are easily kept off thanks to the strong Pokemon and coverage.
The priority Darkrai can survive still does a huge chunk of immediate damage, requiring Darkrai to always be healthy and some prevent Darkrai from coming in all together.
>giving it more setup opportunities against offensive teamsYou mean the teams that run Rillaboom and Hawlucha all the time? Yeah, a CB Grassy Glade OHKOs Darkrai and Hawlucha will almost always activate its Unburden Abilities.
There is also Dragapult and Zeraora now, which both fit onto pretty much every team and can easily revenge kill Darkrai.
>while Hypnosis sucks ass it's still a 60% chance to delete a Pokemon or get free set up making defensive counterplay much riskierLiterally no Darkrai uses Sleep moves post Dark Void nerf. Not only do you miss out on coverage to hit Fairy types with, but also leave yourself vulnerable for something with 70/90/90 bulk.
Not to mention that Blissey and Chansey exist, which just by switching will nullify Sleep, while also being able to easily tank the assault Darkrai can dish out, even with Focus Miss.
>Alakazam also has to deal with Urshifu and Mandibuzz being everywhereDarkrai also has to deal with Clefable, Rillaboom, Urshifu, Volcarona, Toxapex, Togekiss, Kommo-o and every other Body Presser, and a lot of other Pokemon.
This isn’t to say Alakazam has better overall match-ups, but to say Darkrai is far from perfect match-ups either.
