OU Leads

[pieguy13]

This thing works wonders.


Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Trait: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock

This can be used in 1 of 3 ways. 1: Get stealth rocks up then die. 2: Predict the fact that you're slower, go down to sash, use Endeavor, then Ice Shard. 3: If you're faster, set up rocks, go down to sash, endeavor.

[Blinder]

I find this effective in most situations:

Azelf@Lum Berry
252 attack/252 speed
Jolly Nature
-Stealth Rocks
-Zen Headbutt
-Ice Punch/U-turn
-Explosion

I tend to use Ice punch over U-turn for coverage, but usually end up exploding at some point to take out an opposing threat. However, Ice punch can take out Salamence and Broken DNite.

[Alexander.]

Uxie @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Yawn
- U-turn
- Psychic

I used it in several hyper offense team, it can setup easily the stealth rock with a strong bulknyess and yawn + u-turn is a great combination. Psychic for hit something...

PS: magic coat is a good choice I guess, because it hates taunt users

[bubbly]

Yeah, I think Magic Coat would definitely be the way to go, instead of Yawn. Leads which get completely destroyed by Deoxys-D without beating Tyranitar / Heatran aren't generally a good idea; with Magic Coat, you handle Deoxys much more comfortably and get an extra turn against Tran and non-CB Tar which go for SR first turn (Magic Coat, they SR; U-turn, they SR again).

[explosivedot]

This guy is really killer:



Infernape @Choice Band
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Jolly/Adamant
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Stone Edge/ Mach Punch
- U-turn

Banded Nape is a monster. With choice band, and adamant, he hits 505 atk, and can take a significant dent out of anything that comes at him. U-turn is also very convenient. I usually run Jolly, to get as many 2hkos as possible on the switch from the original lead, as nape is pretty frail. Stone edge is great for coverage, but if you lack good priority, a banded stab mach punch will do the job just fine.

Close Combat vs. 252/0 Politoed
90-107% (44% to OHKO)

Close Combat vs. 252/0 Ninetails
99-117% (98% to OHKO)

Flare Blitz vs. 252/4 Deoxys-D
60-71% (Guaranteed 2HKO)

Stone Edge vs. 0/0 Salamence
111-131% (Guaranteed OHKO)

Also easily dispatches with t-tar, Forretress, Mamoswine, and Roserade, which I see a reasonable amount. Overall an awesome lead.

[explosivedot]

Originally Posted by Fat pieguy13

This thing works wonders.

Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Trait: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock

This can be used in 1 of 3 ways. 1: Get stealth rocks up then die. 2: Predict the fact that you're slower, go down to sash, use Endeavor, then Ice Shard. 3: If you're faster, set up rocks, go down to sash, endeavor.

Adamant seems like kind of a waste, as the only damage it'll really be doing is finishing stuff at 1 HP off with ice shard. Max speed might put you in the best situation most frequently.

[Scarfwynaut]

Lets be real here:



Heatran @ Shed Shell
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock

Is a pretty amazing go to lead 90% of the time, only forced out by Landorus, Terrakion, and Mamoswine leads. This guy takes stone edges from Tyranitar, and hydropumps from Rotom-W, to boot he is an amazing lead vs the the mega-common Genesect scout lead. To sum it up, a solid pokemon to set up rocks and still do something later on. Use leftovers at your own digression.

[Lavos Spawn]

Originally Posted by Fat Scarfwynaut

Lets be real here:



Heatran @ Shed Shell
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock

Is a pretty amazing go to lead 90% of the time, only forced out by Landorus, Terrakion, and Mamoswine leads. This guy takes stone edges from Tyranitar, and hydropumps from Rotom-W, to boot he is an amazing lead vs the the mega-common Genesect scout lead. To sum it up, a solid pokemon to set up rocks and still do something later on. Use leftovers at your own digression.

First, what is Hidden Power Ice doing on this set? It serves absolutely zero purpose and in my opinion you should drop it for either Roar or Earth Power. Next, this set doesn't work as well as the Jimbon Shed Shell ResTalkTran set, because it lacks any recovery, so it's going to be worn down very quickly by entry hazards, Genesect's U-Turn, et cetera. Therefore it's not going to do a great job beating Sun teams because it's going to die so fast, and most Sun teams have an answer for this type of Heatran anyways. Finally, have you considered maybe putting Stealth Rock on something else? Shed Shell Heatran likes all the moves it can get...there are things that can set up rocks better, too!

[alkinesthetase]

i would say that shed shell tran without restalk is a risky move... but if you run it alongside a strong wishpasser, it can be doable, as long as you make sure to create a team that will make switching into said wish passer fairly reasonable. i was actually considering taking sleep talk off my heatran and putting rocks on it so that i could free up a slot for heal bell on my chansey which is another interesting take on it

the problem with that idea is that heatran will often be called upon to wall shit like cb victini, and if your opponent thinks you need wish to save heatran he's gonna probably take the risk of staying in on heatran to spam vcreate more, predicting the pink blob switch. it can be tough in situations like that where heatran's job is to wall physical as well as special attackers and your pink blob really cannot come in. so it's doable, but definitely a risky option.

i will overall submit my agreement with lavos in that heatran is a mon that desperately needs recovery. air balloon sucks seeing as you have no leftovers and you're just gonna get popped by genesect every other game. lefties would be nice if it didn't mean you automatically lose to dugtrio. shed shell's flaw is that eating +1 uturns and hazard damage over and over again is gonna kill you, dugtrio or no dugtrio... so the healing has to come in somewhere or you are gonna lose

heatran is like blissey man, its job just keeps getting harder and harder

[Scarfwynaut]

A ton of cruddy leads and pokemon have been posted in this thread... and a heatran sparks discussion?

Simply put, I need to get rocks up, a lot of teams I am facing these are incredibly hyper offensive, I can't sit back and let my Chansey set up rocks, because for all I know, I might face a team of 6 physical pokemon. Heatran all in all, is the most reliable pokemon to set up rocks I have used that still can do other things.

Pretty much every genesect + dugtrio team I have faced with my team has had a hard time taking on this Heatran, Im sorry Lavos if every other sun player isn't as amazing as you. As for keep it alive, I use wish support from Blissey, which does the job. I could ditch shed shell and put rocks on Blissey, but you know, I don't like to lose to sun.

Hidden power ice is preference, so far it has been helpful to take on incoming dragons, although yeah earthpower could be used, its mainly a filler slot honestly.

[Superpowerdude]

What i have found is depending on the type of team you use often determines what type of lead you wan't in HO teams a daul screen user or a hazard setter is generally preferef while some teams like a scout pokemon or a choice scarf user. The there are obviously the weather inducers. Anyway this is one of my favourite leads...


Twotales (Espeon) (M) @ Light Clay
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Baton Pass
- Hidden Power [Ice]

This is straight out of my Dreamteam rmt and this lead is awesome. I used it on a HO team so basically i set up screens then one of my sweepers would come in and start setting up. Some of you might complain why i have Hidden Power [Ice] here and this is honestly not worth discussing. It is just a prefrence thing i liked the ability for Espeon to suprise Ko Salamence and Dragonite while my team had the fighting and fire type moves necassary to beat steel-types anyway.

[Shurtugal]

Leads?

Deoxys-D @ Mental Herb
Trait: Pressure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 Spe / 252 Hp / 4 Def or SDef

~ Taunt
~ Night Shade / Low Kick / Psysho Boost
~ Spikes
~ Stealth Rock

Mental Herb is a very underrated item on Deo-D. It works; as Mental Herb is an item that restores taunt / encore condition (for those who didn't know). It only has one use, but it still works, as you can win Taunt war on other Deo-D's and even Taunt faster threats like Azelf and Aero. Also bypasses Politoed's Encore, which is useful. Basically gets all the hazards you want, on the field, with no worries on some slower, unexpected taunt user too, and you don't even have to emergency taunt too, which is always handy. Night Shade wrecks stall, but Low Kick isn't bad for those TTars. The P-Boost is decent I guess for STAB but it really depends on your team, as a number of moves work in the last slot.

There are other viable leads too, just thought I would share this Deo-D version.

[Temp V1]

Okay well this guy is something that I used to use, and the only reason I stopped was because the main orientation of the team changed.


Sableye @ Leftovers
Prankster
Calm: 248 HP / 252 SDEF / 8 DEF
IVs: 0 ATK
Taunt
Recover
Substitute
Will-O-Wisp

Thanks to his typing and prankster, Sableye can be a huge pain in the ass (we all know this). The main idea behind this set is to cause annoyance and break stall. The beauty of this set is that it can counter HO teams and stall teams, and you've only used one slot in your team. That allows this guy to be the 6th member on an already built team, that requires a little more insurance against certain teamstyles or specific threats.
Now the fact that it doesn't actually have any offensive moves can be looked on as a negative, although the four moves on the set are more useful than say Nightshade.

Taunt is obligatory with this set as it is the main thing annoying stall, and it can also hinder HO teams who try to set up hazards/screens early on. It also annoys the hell out of any set up sweeper in general. Will-O-Wisp is used over Toxic as time taken to stall something out with the burn damage is not so much of an issue, and the decrease in attack allows Sableye to stall out almost any physical attacker. Substitute is used in conjunction with Recover to allow Sableye to stall effectively, and if you absolutely couldn't stand not having an attacking move, you'd swap one of those.

The given EVs let Sableye maximise leftovers recovery, while pumping the rest into special defense so that he can stall out special attackers. The rest are thrown into Def as Sableye isn't actually attacking anything, and thanks to Prankster it doesn't need to worry about outspeeding. 0 attack EVs to minimize any confusion damage, if it somehow gets confused.

Thats just a lead I like.

[Jimbon]

For the argument with Shed Shell Heatran, it's main niche was to beat Sun Teams that rely on using Dugtrio to beat Heatran. The way Heatran does that is by being able to heal up successfully and overcome hazards, Genesect's U-Turns and other stray moves such as random Scalds and Volt Switches. Without recovery, you kind of lose the ability to do that, which is the point of the set. If you play smart with Shed Shell ResTalk Heatran, you will always beat Sun that relies on Dugtrio to remove Heatran, unless your opponent is running something like Scarf Terrakion or EQ Venusaur. With all due respect, that set just looks like a strange hybrid of Offensive Balloon Heatran and Specially Defensive, and it doesn't do either role that well. Without Roar you lose to Calm Mind Latias with Sub and without Rest Sun Teams can break through you if hazards are up. I'm also not understanding the use of Hidden Power [Ice] on this set, especially when Heatran is not carrying Air Balloon. You are slower than pretty much every Dragon that commonly carries Earthquake and without Air Balloon you lose the ability to check opposing Dragons. Salamence, Haxorus, Dragonite, Mix Hydreigon and even Gliscor still beats you. IMO, you'd be better off running either Offensive Air Balloon or plain Specially Defensive. The two perform very different roles and by combining the sets you compound your weaknesses further.

Keeping on topic of the thread, this is something I've used extensively.

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch
- Fire Punch / Trick

Classic Scarf Jirachi is just as good as ever. With the increasing usage of Genesect and Sheer Force Landorus, Scarf Jirachi has a great niche in this metagame. It is one of the few Scarfers who can switch in on stray Draco Meteors, and the bulk on Jirachi as a scarfer is really notable. Being able to take priority better than most scarfers is also great, as you can shrug off Bullet Punch and Extremespeed and revenge Scizor and Dragonite respectively. Iron Head also hits Mamoswine nicely, who usually stays in vs Jirachi thinking it is faster. Trick is an option to cripple things like Chansey and Ferrothorn who often switch into Jirachi, which would be better suited on an offensive team for momentum's sake. Overall, it's just a fun set to use, and being able to revenge Dragons and Landorus is great, as they don't expect it.

As for the argument of using a Scarfer as a lead is a bad idea, I'd respectfully disagree. Of course it is all team specific, Stall Teams are less likely to lead with Scarfers due to their more defensively inclined playstyle, while it is common for balanced / offensive teams to use them as leads for instant momentum, and forcing switches often prevents your opponent from getting hazards up early game. On the contrary, I still see why it can be a bad idea. In some situations, it can be easy hazards for your opponent, when the Scarfer in question cannot force the hazard setter out. Gaining momentum is good and all, but when you have no hazards yourself it can be detrimental. You should choose your lead based on what your opponent has on their team, but usually a scarfer is a good choice. Of course Scarf users with Trick are also good for leads, as you can easily cripple opposing hazard setters, and render them useless for the rest of the match. Most of the time this decision is down to team matchup and team composition, as offense can have a difficult time breaking through stall if you lead with the wrong Pokemon, which guarantees hazards, and you don't want to be at an immediate disadvantage right from the start.

[Latiass]

Mew @ Life Orb
252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 SpD
Timid nature
- Shadow Ball
- Aura Sphere
- Stealth Rock
- Magic Coat

This is a lead mew I've been trying out lately. I used this Mew in Ubers, and to be honest I had good success. So I thought why not OU. Lots of people are surprised by Magic Coat. It bypasses random things like hypnosis politoed and none of the people see it coming. It reflects things like Deoxys-D's taunt right back at him (anything that uses taunt in fact, Magic Coat has +4 priority. Prank the Pranksters.) which pretty much nulls it, and Seismic Toss is a 3HKO.
I know this may not seem the best, but really this set can be some good trolling.

[Asek]

You can never go past a pokemon leads discussion without a mention of Azelf

Azelf @ Life Orb
Nature: Naive
Trait: Levitate
EV's: 160Atk/ 98SpA/ 252Spe
Stealth Rock/ Fire Blast/ U-Turn/ Explosion

This set is one of the coolest leads I've used in OU, it brings the old Stealth Rock Azelf set back from DPP OU and it really works well in the current meta. Ferrothorn and Forretress who like to set up hazards and spin away my own respectively, get roasted by Fire Blast, a move that many people forget Azelf will commonly carry as it is often forgotten for Ice Punch or taunt. U-Turn lets Azelf switch out of unfavorable match ups, most noticeably Deo-D, Politoed and T-tar that doesn't carry pursuit. Stealth Rock is really easy for this guy to get up, as he can switch back in throughout the match and with his blazing speed get rocks back up quickly and efficiently. Once his job is over, Explosion leaves gaping holes in anything it hits, and anything that tries to set up on Azelf will find itself damaged too much for the opponent to salvage. Although his bigger cousin Deo-D is often chosen over him, Azelf has far greater speed and offenses, and is something that will keep the opponents wary throughout the match, unlike Deo-D who takes multiple turns to get up all of its hazards, and is a lot less of an offensive presence than the powerful azelf.

[BlankZero]

Originally Posted by Fat Asek

You can never go past a pokemon leads discussion without a mention of Azelf

Azelf @ Life Orb
Nature: Naive
Trait: Levitate
EV's: 160Atk/ 98SpA/ 252Spe
Stealth Rock/ Fire Blast/ U-Turn/ Explosion

This set is one of the coolest leads I've used in OU, it brings the old Stealth Rock Azelf set back from DPP OU and it really works well in the current meta. Ferrothorn and Forretress who like to set up hazards and spin away my own respectively, get roasted by Fire Blast, a move that many people forget Azelf will commonly carry as it is often forgotten for Ice Punch or taunt. U-Turn lets Azelf switch out of unfavorable match ups, most noticeably Deo-D, Politoed and T-tar that doesn't carry pursuit. Stealth Rock is really easy for this guy to get up, as he can switch back in throughout the match and with his blazing speed get rocks back up quickly and efficiently. Once his job is over, Explosion leaves gaping holes in anything it hits, and anything that tries to set up on Azelf will find itself damaged too much for the opponent to salvage. Although his bigger cousin Deo-D is often chosen over him, Azelf has far greater speed and offenses, and is something that will keep the opponents wary throughout the match, unlike Deo-D who takes multiple turns to get up all of its hazards, and is a lot less of an offensive presence than the powerful azelf.

I have a very similar Azelf setup, but with Sash instead of LO. Mainly, I want to set up rocks, get down to Sash, then Explode out. But this set might be better. I haven't seen a lot of Ferry/Forry leads of late, but this would be a fun way to remove them.

The cool thing is, now, I can throw this onto my UU team also! :D

[Alexander.]

Originally Posted by Fat explosivedot

This guy is really killer:



Infernape @Choice Band
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Jolly/Adamant
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Stone Edge/ Mach Punch
- U-turn

Banded Nape is a monster. With choice band, and adamant, he hits 505 atk, and can take a significant dent out of anything that comes at him. U-turn is also very convenient. I usually run Jolly, to get as many 2hkos as possible on the switch from the original lead, as nape is pretty frail. Stone edge is great for coverage, but if you lack good priority, a banded stab mach punch will do the job just fine.

Close Combat vs. 252/0 Politoed
90-107% (44% to OHKO)

Close Combat vs. 252/0 Ninetails
99-117% (98% to OHKO)

Flare Blitz vs. 252/4 Deoxys-D
60-71% (Guaranteed 2HKO)

Stone Edge vs. 0/0 Salamence
111-131% (Guaranteed OHKO)

Also easily dispatches with t-tar, Forretress, Mamoswine, and Roserade, which I see a reasonable amount. Overall an awesome lead.

CBNape is cool but in my honest opinion a set with fake out, stealth rock, close combat and fire blast in dpp-style is better for infernape lead.

Nice set however

[Hammdog]

I use Donphan as a lead:

Donphan @ Leftovers
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk

- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

The strategy is simple: Set up rocks, spin away hazards and throw your attacking moves in the opponent's face.

[Ithilanor]

Originally Posted by Fat Hammdog

I use Donphan as a lead:

Donphan @ Leftovers
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk

- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

The strategy is simple: Set up rocks, spin away hazards and throw your attacking moves in the opponent's face.

The biggest issue with this set is that uninvested Ice Shard doesn't exactly hit hard. It might seem good against Tornadus-T and the like, but it doesn't do all that much damage. Toxic or Roar, as suggested on-site, are probably better.

[lmitchell0012]

Originally Posted by Fat Dark Fallen Angel

I know that it's unconventional, but I use Celebi in the lead position and it does well here:


Celebi @ Life Orb Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]

The reason why I chose Celebi as lead is because many common leads, such as Politoed, Hippowdon, Rotom-W, Scizor, Ferrothorn and Forretress are weak to it's moves, and this is not even having to make a dedicated anti-lead set. Also, the opponent is never going to know if this is another set. Their Politoed, for example, is risking taking a Leaf Storm in the face and instantly dying, letting me win the weather war. Ah if I had this move... But it has bad synergy with Nasty Plot. Regardless, if Politoed stays, Celebi is more than capable of nabbing a Nasty Plot boost, tanking an Ice Beam, and OHKOing Politoed with Giga Drain or the switch-in with the appropriate coverage move.

Celebi may be very rare and questionable as a good lead, but I can guarantee, it does well in that position.

You might consider using HP ice instead. If not then Hydreigon walls you all day. Also heatran is an issue, but that's as easy as earth power.

[Jimbon]

Nasty Plot Celebi is a very good late game sweeper, but I'm not sure how effective it is in the lead position. While Celebi can set up against the 'mons you mentioned, it's not like every team will carry all of those, and Celebi has very little chances to set up in this metagame. All the Pokemon you listed as setup fodder for Celebi are also commonly used in Rain Teams. Rain Teams also include things such as Tornadus-T and Genesect, who both revenge Celebi easily regardless of how many stat boosts you have. This means you essentially wasted all your setup to be easily revenged the next turn. I'm not being critical of the set, I've used Nasty Plot Celebi before and had much success but as a lead it doesn't really have a good matchup against a lot. It loses to Taunt leads, anything with U-Turn, and generally anything that poses some sort of offensive presence. Not to mention it's pretty slow in this metagame meaning you're easily dealt with regardless of the stat boosts. The same generally applies to any stat boosting lead, as you have to play it very recklessly. The only reason you'd lead with a setup sweeper is if you are sure you can sweep your opponents team. Given Celebi's comparatively low offensive stats with other stat boosters, you have a very hard time actually sweeping. Often you'll find yourself killing one 'mon at most and being killed on the next turn. This is why I'd rather use something that performs well as a lead, as I can get Stealth Rock and not have 5 Pokemon by turn 4.

I'm sorry if this sounds disrespectful to your set, there are very few Pokemon who can actually perform sweeps from turn 2/3, and these are all Pokemon that every team should have some answer to. Some examples are Cloyster and Volcarona, and you can clearly see the difference in how threatening they are. You can't let Cloyster or Volcarona get a free turn of setup, while Nasty Plot Celebi is not something a team needs to prepare for, as any well built team should be able to deal with it to some extent. The only type of team that should use a stat booster as a lead is Hyper Offense, as you have to play recklessly to win. In other team archetypes such as balance or stall, you don't want to lose your lead early on due to trying to sweep. Celebi generally has a bad matchup with a lot of leads given the prevalence of Deoxys-D Hyper Offensive and Genesect leads. It also has much trouble breaking through Dragons and flat out loses to faster 'mons. Running a Celebi lead means you might lack hazards when Dragonite switches in, ending your sweep instantaneously. Overall, I'd think Scarf 'mons or those with hazards make good leads, as they actually provide the team with something, whether it be momentum or overall residual damage on an opponent's team. Stat boosting leads generally do not favour most team archetypes and can be detrimental in a lot of common scenarios.

[ClubbingSealCub]

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SDef / 8 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Calm Nature
- Magma Storm
- Protect
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock

I find myself leading with this Heatran on my sand team most of the time. U-turn+Dugtrio gets smashed by Magma Storm because the residual damage will ensure the Nigletts go down (unless it misses ._.). Trap + Toxic lets you fuck pink blobs over if they decide to switch into you, or at least force them to burn some Aromatherapy PPs. Protect to scout moves and SR because it's SR, I find that Heatran can reliably set it up.

Magma Storm has the added benefit of hitting like a bajillion trucks in the sun, especially with Flash Fire (Sunny Day Ninetales gets 3HKOed, 2HKO with Flash Fire, and it really can't do much to you). And if something gets hit by it, it's not getting away.

[Dark Fallen Angel]

Originally Posted by Fat Jimbon

Nasty Plot Celebi is a very good late game sweeper, but I'm not sure how effective it is in the lead position. While Celebi can set up against the 'mons you mentioned, it's not like every team will carry all of those, and Celebi has very little chances to set up in this metagame. All the Pokemon you listed as setup fodder for Celebi are also commonly used in Rain Teams. Rain Teams also include things such as Tornadus-T and Genesect, who both revenge Celebi easily regardless of how many stat boosts you have. This means you essentially wasted all your setup to be easily revenged the next turn. I'm not being critical of the set, I've used Nasty Plot Celebi before and had much success but as a lead it doesn't really have a good matchup against a lot. It loses to Taunt leads, anything with U-Turn, and generally anything that poses some sort of offensive presence. Not to mention it's pretty slow in this metagame meaning you're easily dealt with regardless of the stat boosts. The same generally applies to any stat boosting lead, as you have to play it very recklessly. The only reason you'd lead with a setup sweeper is if you are sure you can sweep your opponents team. Given Celebi's comparatively low offensive stats with other stat boosters, you have a very hard time actually sweeping. Often you'll find yourself killing one 'mon at most and being killed on the next turn. This is why I'd rather use something that performs well as a lead, as I can get Stealth Rock and not have 5 Pokemon by turn 4.

I'm sorry if this sounds disrespectful to your set, there are very few Pokemon who can actually perform sweeps from turn 2/3, and these are all Pokemon that every team should have some answer to. Some examples are Cloyster and Volcarona, and you can clearly see the difference in how threatening they are. You can't let Cloyster or Volcarona get a free turn of setup, while Nasty Plot Celebi is not something a team needs to prepare for, as any well built team should be able to deal with it to some extent. The only type of team that should use a stat booster as a lead is Hyper Offense, as you have to play recklessly to win. In other team archetypes such as balance or stall, you don't want to lose your lead early on due to trying to sweep. Celebi generally has a bad matchup with a lot of leads given the prevalence of Deoxys-D Hyper Offensive and Genesect leads. It also has much trouble breaking through Dragons and flat out loses to faster 'mons. Running a Celebi lead means you might lack hazards when Dragonite switches in, ending your sweep instantaneously. Overall, I'd think Scarf 'mons or those with hazards make good leads, as they actually provide the team with something, whether it be momentum or overall residual damage on an opponent's team. Stat boosting leads generally do not favour most team archetypes and can be detrimental in a lot of common scenarios.

Guy, I've posted this set lots of time ago, before everyone decided to use Scarf Genesect as a lead... it's now obsolete :(

Even I am running Scarf Genesect by myself:


Genesect @ Choice Scarf Trait: Download
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt

As many common leads are weak to at least one of its attacks. If that isn't the case or if I predict a switch-in, U-Turn is there to gain momentum. But everyone knows this set, no news here - although I've seen on the Lavos sun team thread, that he was using an EV spread that used only enough speed to outpace +1 Dragonite and that put the rest of EVs in attack to power up U-Turn.

[Electrolyte]

Here's a great lead:


Landorus-T @ Leftovers
Adamant nature, 244 HP / 64 Atk / 200 Def
Stealth Rock / U-Turn / Earthquake / Stone Edge

This guy has better physical bulk than even Gliscor. Stealth Rock lets you get hazards up early. After that, just U-Turn to a partner and go to work. EQ+Stone Edge hits most things neutrally, most notably Volcorona, Salamence, and other set up sweepers. U-Turn hits Starmie as well, dealing a nice chunk to even defensive variants.