Alchemist vs Io

How this matchup plays

The entire game against Alchemist is a race against his farm. Io challenges this directly with Relocate, bringing an ally to punish Alchemist as he tries to clear jungle stacks with Acid Spray. This constant threat can disrupt Alchemist's rhythm and force him to farm less efficiently. A Tethered carry arriving from across the map is hard to anticipate. On the other hand, Alchemist's Unstable Concoction is a perfect tool for turning a gank. If he can land the stun on Io or his partner, he can often secure a return kill and make the enemy's play a net loss.

This creates a high-stakes mid-game. A few successful Relocate ganks can shut Alchemist down for good, but any failed attempt is a huge tempo swing in Alchemist's favor, giving him the uncontested space he needs to accelerate. If Alchemist weathers that storm and gets his key items, the tables can turn completely. He becomes tanky enough to survive the initial burst, and can then focus on blowing up the fragile Io in teamfights to effectively disable the enemy's most dangerous core.