[OVERVIEW]
While Abra may initially seem like one of PU's top threats thanks to its massive Special, high Speed, excellent Psychic typing, and access to Thunder Wave, the tier is extremely hostile to it, and it's barely viable as a result. Abra is held back by its horrendous physical bulk; while it can outpace every common threat except Scyther, Fearow, Rapidash, Magmar, and Arcanine, each of these Pokemon can easily OHKO Abra and they are all common. Teams with Abra can use Rock-types to check these faster foes, but they are exploitable and better suited supporting other Pokemon. While not as bad of a matchup, slower physical attackers like Pinsir can also beat Abra one-on-one even if they have to take a hit or paralysis first. To make matters worse, despite Abra's higher Special, the Fire-types actually do more damage on neutral foes due to Fire Blast having a higher base power than Psychic. Despite its access to Thunder Wave, Abra's frailty means it fears paralysis more than just about every other Pokemon in PU. One notable paralysis spreader is Drowzee, a foe that both counters Abra and turns it into a liability by threatening to spread status to its teammates. While Drowzee cannot match Abra's Speed and power, it's higher bulk and access to Hypnosis gives Abra major competition as a Psychic-type status spreader.
Abra's one saving grace is its fantastic Gastly matchup. Abra outspeeds Gastly, 2HKOes it with Psychic, threatens paralysis against its team if it switches out, and takes minimal damage from Gastly's Psychic and Thunderbolt. Unlike Drowzee, Abra outspeeding Gastly means Hypnosis is far less reliable against it, and once sleep clause is active Abra dominates Gastly like no other Pokemon in PU, forcing Gastly to either be KOed or use Explosion to trade with Abra, enabling teammates that fear Gastly such as Seaking and Scyther. Abra also has favorable matchups against some other foes, such as Nidoqueen and many Porygon variants. However, these few positive matchups still don't outweigh Abra's flaws, so it is a Pokemon that players should seriously consider other options before using.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Seismic Toss
move 3: Thunder Wave
move 4: Substitute / Counter
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Psychic serves as Abra's primary attack, and it's very spammable thanks to Abra's high Special and how few Pokemon resist it. Seismic Toss is Abra's strongest attack against Psychic-types like Drowzee, opposing Abra, and the rare Slowpoke. Thunder Wave lets Abra spread paralysis, though it should be used carefully given that the majority of the tier either has a strong physical attack or their own Thunder Wave; many are also more threatened by Abra's Psychic. Thunder Wave is best used when Abra forces something out or when sacrificing Abra is worth paralyzing something back, such as against Porygon. Substitute is another tool to let Abra exploit switches, but it still leaves Abra vulnerable to paralysis. Counter can be used instead to punish foes using physical attacks like Body Slam to predict Abra switching out, but Hyper Beam will often OHKO Abra even at full health.
Abra should generally be used as an answer to Gastly, usually switching in after sleep clause is active, though it can find switch-in opportunities when Gastly uses an special move against a foe such as Seaking and weakened Nidoqueen or in a double switch against a predicted Gastly switch-in. Once on the field, Abra dissuades Gastly from switching out thanks to its powerful Psychic and Thunder Wave. Even if Gastly survives Abra's Psychic and uses Explosion to trade with it, Abra's team no longer having to worry about such a dangerous threat is generally an advantageous trade. If Gastly ceases to be a concern, Abra has a good matchup against Porygon variants that lack Double-Edge, taking minimal damage from its attacks and threatening paralysis and Special drops with Psychic. Nidoqueen is another foe Abra is adept at taking on, being rarely being OHKOed by its Earthquake while outspeeding and 2HKOing it in return. Omanyte and Graveler are useful partners to Abra thanks to their ability to check Scyther, Rapidash, Arcanine, Fearow, and Magmar, as these threats outspeed and usually OHKO Abra. Notably, they force mind games where the faster threat must decide between using Hyper Beam to OHKO Abra before it can paralyze them or using another attack against the incoming Rock-type to avoid having to recharge. Abra also aids Graveler against Staryu, easily able to switch into Staryu's Surf, and either paralyze Staryu or KO it outright if it has taken prior damage such as if it switched into Graveler's Earthquake. However, Fearow and Scyther can bypass this to some extent, since they have attacks besides Hyper Beam that can OHKO Abra. Faster threats such as Fearow, Rapidash, Arcanine, and Scyther also make great partners, as they can trade hits with their opposing counterparts and overwhelm slower paralysis spreaders for Abra. Scyther is notably appreciative of Abra handling Gastly for it. Partners that can that can switch into Thunder Wave users, like Nidoqueen and Sandslash, are also very useful.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Reflect looks like an enticing option to increase Abra's physical bulk, notably letting it dodge OHKOs from the plethora of Hyper Beam users. However, Abra's lack of reliable recovery and the need for a free turn to set it up makes Reflect difficult to use, especially when many Hyper Beam users outspeed Abra. Additionally, Reflect is useless against Scyther and Pinsir due to Slash, and it can often be useless against common foes such as Rapidash, Arcanine, and Fearow due to their high critical hit rates. Rest is an extremely niche option that allows Abra to dominate Porygon sets that only have Psychic as an attacking move, though it is useless against every other relevant foe.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Threats**: Scyther, Fearow, Arcanine, Magmar, and Rapidash outspeed Abra; the former three always OHKO with Hyper Beam, and the latter two have a very high chance to OHKO with their own Hyper Beam. Fearow also has a 51.3% chance to OHKO with Double-Edge, and Scyther has a 74.4% chance to OHKO Abra with Slash. However, these threats have difficulty switching into Psychic and hate getting paralyzed.
**Psychic-types**: Drowzee and Slowpoke resist Psychic and are only 4HKOed by Seismic Toss. Both can paralyze Abra with Thunder Wave, and in return they don't mind Abra's Thunder Wave that much. Drowzee can also 3HKO Abra with Seismic Toss. As a result, both Pokemon can switch into Abra with ease and force it to sacrifice itself or make a teammate risk taking status or a powerful attack.
**Physical Attackers**: While it's outsped and dislikes being paralyzed, Pinsir is only 3HKOed by Psychic and OHKOes back with Slash. Sandslash is immune to Thunder Wave, 3HKOed by Psychic, and OHKOes Abra with Earthquake 92.3% of the time. Abra outspeeds and 2HKOes Machamp and Graveler, but they can also tank a hit in a pinch and retaliate; the former OHKOes Abra with Hyper Beam, and the latter has a 76.9% chance to OHKO with Earthquake.
**Thunder Wave Users**: Thunder Wave users such as Staryu, Porygon, and Dragonair can paralyze Abra and leave it helpless against every physical attacker in the tier. However, they struggle to tank Abra's Psychic and hate being paralyzed themselves.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
While Abra may initially seem like one of PU's top threats thanks to its massive Special, high Speed, excellent Psychic typing, and access to Thunder Wave, the tier is extremely hostile to it, and it's barely viable as a result. Abra is held back by its horrendous physical bulk; while it can outpace every common threat except Scyther, Fearow, Rapidash, Magmar, and Arcanine, each of these Pokemon can easily OHKO Abra and they are all common. Teams with Abra can use Rock-types to check these faster foes, but they are exploitable and better suited supporting other Pokemon. While not as bad of a matchup, slower physical attackers like Pinsir can also beat Abra one-on-one even if they have to take a hit or paralysis first. To make matters worse, despite Abra's higher Special, the Fire-types actually do more damage on neutral foes due to Fire Blast having a higher base power than Psychic. Despite its access to Thunder Wave, Abra's frailty means it fears paralysis more than just about every other Pokemon in PU. One notable paralysis spreader is Drowzee, a foe that both counters Abra and turns it into a liability by threatening to spread status to its teammates. While Drowzee cannot match Abra's Speed and power, it's higher bulk and access to Hypnosis gives Abra major competition as a Psychic-type status spreader.
Abra's one saving grace is its fantastic Gastly matchup. Abra outspeeds Gastly, 2HKOes it with Psychic, threatens paralysis against its team if it switches out, and takes minimal damage from Gastly's Psychic and Thunderbolt. Unlike Drowzee, Abra outspeeding Gastly means Hypnosis is far less reliable against it, and once sleep clause is active Abra dominates Gastly like no other Pokemon in PU, forcing Gastly to either be KOed or use Explosion to trade with Abra, enabling teammates that fear Gastly such as Seaking and Scyther. Abra also has favorable matchups against some other foes, such as Nidoqueen and many Porygon variants. However, these few positive matchups still don't outweigh Abra's flaws, so it is a Pokemon that players should seriously consider other options before using.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Seismic Toss
move 3: Thunder Wave
move 4: Substitute / Counter
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Psychic serves as Abra's primary attack, and it's very spammable thanks to Abra's high Special and how few Pokemon resist it. Seismic Toss is Abra's strongest attack against Psychic-types like Drowzee, opposing Abra, and the rare Slowpoke. Thunder Wave lets Abra spread paralysis, though it should be used carefully given that the majority of the tier either has a strong physical attack or their own Thunder Wave; many are also more threatened by Abra's Psychic. Thunder Wave is best used when Abra forces something out or when sacrificing Abra is worth paralyzing something back, such as against Porygon. Substitute is another tool to let Abra exploit switches, but it still leaves Abra vulnerable to paralysis. Counter can be used instead to punish foes using physical attacks like Body Slam to predict Abra switching out, but Hyper Beam will often OHKO Abra even at full health.
Abra should generally be used as an answer to Gastly, usually switching in after sleep clause is active, though it can find switch-in opportunities when Gastly uses an special move against a foe such as Seaking and weakened Nidoqueen or in a double switch against a predicted Gastly switch-in. Once on the field, Abra dissuades Gastly from switching out thanks to its powerful Psychic and Thunder Wave. Even if Gastly survives Abra's Psychic and uses Explosion to trade with it, Abra's team no longer having to worry about such a dangerous threat is generally an advantageous trade. If Gastly ceases to be a concern, Abra has a good matchup against Porygon variants that lack Double-Edge, taking minimal damage from its attacks and threatening paralysis and Special drops with Psychic. Nidoqueen is another foe Abra is adept at taking on, being rarely being OHKOed by its Earthquake while outspeeding and 2HKOing it in return. Omanyte and Graveler are useful partners to Abra thanks to their ability to check Scyther, Rapidash, Arcanine, Fearow, and Magmar, as these threats outspeed and usually OHKO Abra. Notably, they force mind games where the faster threat must decide between using Hyper Beam to OHKO Abra before it can paralyze them or using another attack against the incoming Rock-type to avoid having to recharge. Abra also aids Graveler against Staryu, easily able to switch into Staryu's Surf, and either paralyze Staryu or KO it outright if it has taken prior damage such as if it switched into Graveler's Earthquake. However, Fearow and Scyther can bypass this to some extent, since they have attacks besides Hyper Beam that can OHKO Abra. Faster threats such as Fearow, Rapidash, Arcanine, and Scyther also make great partners, as they can trade hits with their opposing counterparts and overwhelm slower paralysis spreaders for Abra. Scyther is notably appreciative of Abra handling Gastly for it. Partners that can that can switch into Thunder Wave users, like Nidoqueen and Sandslash, are also very useful.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Reflect looks like an enticing option to increase Abra's physical bulk, notably letting it dodge OHKOs from the plethora of Hyper Beam users. However, Abra's lack of reliable recovery and the need for a free turn to set it up makes Reflect difficult to use, especially when many Hyper Beam users outspeed Abra. Additionally, Reflect is useless against Scyther and Pinsir due to Slash, and it can often be useless against common foes such as Rapidash, Arcanine, and Fearow due to their high critical hit rates. Rest is an extremely niche option that allows Abra to dominate Porygon sets that only have Psychic as an attacking move, though it is useless against every other relevant foe.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Threats**: Scyther, Fearow, Arcanine, Magmar, and Rapidash outspeed Abra; the former three always OHKO with Hyper Beam, and the latter two have a very high chance to OHKO with their own Hyper Beam. Fearow also has a 51.3% chance to OHKO with Double-Edge, and Scyther has a 74.4% chance to OHKO Abra with Slash. However, these threats have difficulty switching into Psychic and hate getting paralyzed.
**Psychic-types**: Drowzee and Slowpoke resist Psychic and are only 4HKOed by Seismic Toss. Both can paralyze Abra with Thunder Wave, and in return they don't mind Abra's Thunder Wave that much. Drowzee can also 3HKO Abra with Seismic Toss. As a result, both Pokemon can switch into Abra with ease and force it to sacrifice itself or make a teammate risk taking status or a powerful attack.
**Physical Attackers**: While it's outsped and dislikes being paralyzed, Pinsir is only 3HKOed by Psychic and OHKOes back with Slash. Sandslash is immune to Thunder Wave, 3HKOed by Psychic, and OHKOes Abra with Earthquake 92.3% of the time. Abra outspeeds and 2HKOes Machamp and Graveler, but they can also tank a hit in a pinch and retaliate; the former OHKOes Abra with Hyper Beam, and the latter has a 76.9% chance to OHKO with Earthquake.
**Thunder Wave Users**: Thunder Wave users such as Staryu, Porygon, and Dragonair can paralyze Abra and leave it helpless against every physical attacker in the tier. However, they struggle to tank Abra's Psychic and hate being paralyzed themselves.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gastlies.540559/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sabelette.583793/
Last edited:
