Gallade (Anti-Lead)

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Accipender

http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/gallade

[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Shadow Sneak
move 4: Ice Punch / Leaf Blade
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant
evs: 56 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Def

Why this set deserves to be on-site:
-Works well, as it is unexpected
-(In my experience) Reliably beats 8 / 10 of the top leads as of June 2010.
-Current “Anti-Lead” set seems to be from when Gallade was UU (where it could compete speed-wise)
-Great move coverage

Additional Comments:
-Looking for, perhaps, a set that outspeeds ALL Machamps and Ttars (this set doesn’t outspeed all)

Teammates and Counters:
-Works better with faster, offensive teammates
-Lead Jirachi gives it problems
-Most sleep leads outspeed
-Problems with Trick Leads (its speed is too low to be helped by a CScarf; works well with other Choice pokes to take a trick)
 

Towelie

Hi. I've been using an anti lead gallade but this is my set:

Gallade @ Lum Berry
252 Atk/248 Hp/8 Spe
Close Combat
Stone Edge
Shadow Sneak
Swords Dance

8 spe outspeeds lead dragonite. azelf dies to se + shadow sneak usually. machamp gets beat by SD + CC. pert gets extremely crippled by sd + cc. if it rocks first turn, use sd again for garunteed ko without the first def drop. heatran doesnt ko with anything bar boom and you obviously ko. metagross usually dies to sd + cc and always survives mm. i celebi dies to sd + stone edge + ss and leaf storm never 2hkos. aerodactyl dies to SE + ss. jirachi beats you. rade dies to stone edge + ss (it does 100 % minimum!) hippo beats you, but doesnt like a + 2 cc. you beat starmie and d nite.
 

firecape

This is the end...
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This actually does seem like a good anti-lead as it deals with most leads pretty reliably, by limiting them to 1 move, I just suggest removing the "works well because unexpected" because if it goes on the site it will hardly be unexpected.
 

Accipender

Towelie said:
Hi. I've been using an anti lead gallade but this is my set:

Gallade @ Lum Berry
252 Atk/248 Hp/8 Spe
Close Combat
Stone Edge
Shadow Sneak
Swords Dance

8 spe outspeeds lead dragonite. azelf dies to se + shadow sneak usually. machamp gets beat by SD + CC. pert gets extremely crippled by sd + cc. if it rocks first turn, use sd again for garunteed ko without the first def drop. heatran doesnt ko with anything bar boom and you obviously ko. metagross usually dies to sd + cc and always survives mm. i celebi dies to sd + stone edge + ss and leaf storm never 2hkos. aerodactyl dies to SE + ss. jirachi beats you. rade dies to stone edge + ss (it does 100 % minimum!) hippo beats you, but doesnt like a + 2 cc. you beat starmie and d nite.
Click to expand...
With LO, SS has never failed to 2HKO Azelf for me, SD + CC is a 100% OHKO on even the most defensive perts, I've never had a problem with outspeeding DNites, and Aero dies to CC + SS.
 
Setsuna

Setsuna

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Rejecting. This set doesn't prevent any of the common leads from setting up a respective hazard, or switching out once they have done their job. If you opt for using Leaf Blade in the last slot, you'll be able to deal with Swampert, but then Gliscor will have nothing to worry about, and vice versa; Shadow Sneak is a 2HKO, and Azelf can just set up the rocks and switch out with no problems; Gallade loses to Roserade and Smeargle leads, etcétera. Furthermore, "Works well, as it is unexpected" is not a competitive thought, and we don't use this type of things here.
Anti-leading is not just about starting the match by hitting as hard as possible, or something like that, it's about preventing other leads from setting up SR / Spikes / TS y/o kill them before they can do anything. Good examples of Anti-lead Pokemon are Machamp, Starmie, and Dragonite, for instance.
 
remlabmez

remlabmez

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Rejecting, I prefer the gallade lead currently on the analysis more compared to this one, also it is outclassed anyways by other good fighting anti leads
 
shrang

shrang

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I don't see the point of SD on this set, it's not like Gallade has the defenses to tank hits and kill things. Close Combat/Shadow Sneak/Ice Punch/Leaf Blade is fine, in my opinion.
 

AbsolDeath

Agreeing with shrang here. SD doesn't really seem necessary here as you can get Taunted as well as start the match off by wasting a turn, leading to your opponent setting up Stealth Rocks. Instead, using Leaf Blade over it gives great coverage against things like Swampert, and can help against things anywhere throughout the match such as Vaporeon and other water/ground/rock types. In terms of what is being held, I feel that Lum Berry would be better because of status leads such as Roserade. Also try to explain your EV spread as I'm not sure why you chose those specific EV's. Is it to prevent a OHKO/2HKO from certain leads? Try to elaborate on it. At the moment, I don't think this is a great lead. With Leaf Blade added to the move set and perhaps an EV change, things could easily change as Gallade has a nice Sp.Def stat as well as a useful move pool.
 
yond

yond

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is a Three-Time Past WCoP Champion
agreeing with shrang.
You could try running a similar ev spread,(enough to outspeed pert / metagross / machamp and put the rest in hp) but instead have the four primary moves being close combat, shadow sneak, ice punch, and leaf blade which will make it function like the current machamp anti-lead with better defensive typing(not as vulnerable to azelf.) with some better speed. You aren't going to be resisted by any of the common leads and If we assume you run a LO:

pert gets 2hko by leaf blade
metagross gets 2hko by cc
gliscor is ohko by ice punch
machamp gets 2hko by cc + shadow sneak always and is rarely ohko'd by cc.
aerodactyl is 2hko by cc + shadow sneak
azelf is 2hko by shadow sneak
skarmory is 2hko by cc.

None of these pokemon can ohko gallade back (except the rare bb skarmory or an azelf/metagross that explodes turn 1.)

ill note without life orb you lose alot of 2hkos.
 

Towelie

Stathakis said:
This is really more of a quick suggestion for you to test than one of those super sound rates, but I noticed you didn't like machamp, so let me suggest to you a change that doesn't really actually change much. Why not try SD gallade in the lead spot? I know it sounds kinda gimmicky, but hear me out on this. By investing heavily in hp, you have enough bulk (especially special bulk) to carry a lum berry. With a set of swords dance, ice punch, close combat, and shadow sneak, you can basically do machamp's job. Ice punch+shadow sneak always kos aerodactyl and roserade, and cc always kos heatran (lol) while also taking less from fire blast than machamp (and also i once lived lo overheat but I'm not sure if that's guaranteed, i'll calc it and get back to you on that). Against bulkier leads, you can set up swords dance on them and proceed to ohko with +2 cc. Among these are machamp (against whom you fare very well, due to almost always outspeeding him, resisting dynamicpunch, having a lum berry, and being able to ohko with your +2 cc), metagross, and swampert (i think they have a chance to survive but still take HUGE dmg, i'll calc this one too and get back to ya). Hippowdon also takes huge damage and has no choice but to roar you out after taking 75%+ dmg (slack off ensures that he dies next turn to cc), and every single member of your team can do 25% to hippowdon off the bat, so he's essentially dead (and he's also a big threat to aero). the only lead you don't really beat any better is colbur azelf, as they run enough bulk to not be 2hkod by shadow sneak, but you don't do much better with machamp on that really so I don't see why it matters. gaining the ability to be absolutely fearsome to stall, as well as handily beating swampert, metagross, machamp, and stronger heatran, seems to me a good exchange for the confusion rate, which while threatening, is also unreliable. It may not be the huge revolutionary change you're looking for, but I think it's worth testing!

p.s. if you want you can run stone edge over ice punch. you still beat aerodactyl and roserade, so you basically exchange the ability to beat gliscor (as well as beating aero/roserade without getting -def) for the ability to do more dmg to bulky azelf (SE+shadow sneak > shadow sneak + shadow sneak) and the ability to really make gyarados think twice about switching in, not that he likes taking +1 ccs but stone edging him is better.

good luck with the team, and I love the concept by the way
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