Colonel M
I COULD BE BORED!
I'm adding my three to edit later.
Anti-Leads
Role: Roughly describing this role is difficult. Anti-Leads have one goal in mind: to counter the most used leads in the current metagame. With this set in mind they carry niche items as well as movesets that aren't normally considered normally.
How to use: These types of leads aren't as simple on the field as they are on paper. An Anti-Lead's goal is to either eliminate the opponent or shut it down. There are many ways to do this strategy by using moves such as Taunt, Trick, or a status move. There are niche items such as Lum Berry that is also considered. Other moves such as Brick Break, priority moves, Explosion, and Pursuit also are commonly used as well.
How to counter: It can be very difficult to counter such type of leads because their movesets differ with ones normally used. The best way to counter an Anti-Lead is to attempt to guess what moves it could possibly have. For example Bronzong will almost always carry Gyro Ball and usually Stealth Rock. From there it's considering the movesets that are used.
Common Examples:
Metagross: A Pokemon that is capable of taking on many leads. Faster, frailer leads suffer from a combination of Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch. Stealth Rock is also a considered move for his movepool, allowing him to take advantage of the field on turn one. Trick and Reflect are moves that are also acceptable with his support movepool. Finally a lot of Metagross leads finish off with a big bang by Explosion.
Crobat: Hypnosis and Taunt is an awesome combination with Crobat as well as boasting U-Turn with him as well. 130 Speed also gives Crobat the capability of using the fast Hypnosis and Taunt to his advantage.
Weavile: A very useful lead when used correctly. The combination of Fake Out and either Pursuit or Ice Shard is very useful as many leads are usually fragile. Weavile can use Taunt, Brick Break, or Counter to take advantage of the situation if necessary. Counter is a rather risky strategy but can be rewarding since the vast majority of leads usually are physically oriented.
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Lightning Speed Leads
Role: The main goal is to outpace as many opponents as possible and being able to do enough damage to most leads.
How to use: To use this is quite simple really. Most Pokemon that have a higher base Speed of 100 or at least wield a Choice Scarf are perfect examples of this. These Pokemon attempt a sweep straight-forward when they enter most of the time or threaten a switch.
How to counter: A lot of bulky leads usually have a role of putting a lot of these Pokemon into submission. Bronzong is a likely candidate due to STAB Gyro Ball gaining a lot of power thanks to the Speed difference among the two Pokemon. Hippowdon can make a mention, despite being mostly a Weather Lead, to shrug off most physically oriented Pokemon with Slack Off and his own STAB Earthquake as well as Ice Fang. Also anything that is faster than the usual Lightning Speed lead gets a mention of having a higher chance of eliminating the opponent.
Common Examples:
Weavile: A Pokemon with 120 Attack and 125 Speed as well as decent STABs to back him up. His moves lack the base power sometimes to take on some threats; however, the help of either Choice Band or Swords Dance makes all the difference. Be weary if you're lead is a Ghost-type and is slower than Weavile because chances are the Choice Band variants commonly carry Pursuit for that reason.
Infernape: Base 108 Speed backed up with 104 attack stats for each spectrum is a force to be reckoned with. Carrying STAB Fire Blast as well as Close Combat manages to make Infernape the perfect candidate to carry moves such as Grass Knot and Hidden Power Ice. He has the niche to use Focus Sash and Nasty Plot and still pull off a good sweep if necessary.
Choice Scarf: Not a Pokemon but a good item example. A lot of Pokemon have an excellent movepool but rather average Speed. The solution? Choice Scarf compliments these and is capable of catching many leads off-guard. There are also many possibilities of making the said Pokemon a mixed sweeper with the ability of having no gains other than Speed. There's also many Pokemon that can commonly carry Trick alongside Choice Scarf to not only outpace many leads but also cripple other leads with shock and awe.
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Dual Screen Leads
Role: The main goal of a Dual Screen lead is to set-up both Reflect and Light Screen.
How to use: Algonside the Light Clay item, you simply use Reflect and then Light Screen. With these in play, the teammates behind the lead can bask in success as the opponent tries to thwart them off with the opponent's attacks doing half damage. Eight turns on the field also makes it really scary. Support from Safeguard, Taunt, or Explosion are good options to consider.
How to counter: Brick Break and Taunt are the only counters to this strategy unfortunately. Brick Break users are limited; however, Weavile and Scizor tend to be the best ones. Taunt users are also sparse, especially those that tend to be faster than some Pokemon. Crobat and Aerodactyl are the fastest Taunt users that exist in the OU environment and they can easily Taunt with little problems.
Common Examples:
Bronzong: A Pokemon that can "do everything and then some", Bronzong can easily use Reflect and Light Screen. On top of that, Bronzong has Hypnosis, Safeguard, and Explosion for extra protection. Stealth Rock is also common on some of these Bronzong.
Azelf: A faster lead than Bronzong, Azelf can quickly use Reflect and Light Screen. Usually Taunt and Stealth Rock follow; however, Explosion can be a surprise use for Azelf. U-Turn also has its generic use of easing prediction.
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Anti-Leads
Role: Roughly describing this role is difficult. Anti-Leads have one goal in mind: to counter the most used leads in the current metagame. With this set in mind they carry niche items as well as movesets that aren't normally considered normally.
How to use: These types of leads aren't as simple on the field as they are on paper. An Anti-Lead's goal is to either eliminate the opponent or shut it down. There are many ways to do this strategy by using moves such as Taunt, Trick, or a status move. There are niche items such as Lum Berry that is also considered. Other moves such as Brick Break, priority moves, Explosion, and Pursuit also are commonly used as well.
How to counter: It can be very difficult to counter such type of leads because their movesets differ with ones normally used. The best way to counter an Anti-Lead is to attempt to guess what moves it could possibly have. For example Bronzong will almost always carry Gyro Ball and usually Stealth Rock. From there it's considering the movesets that are used.
Common Examples:
Metagross: A Pokemon that is capable of taking on many leads. Faster, frailer leads suffer from a combination of Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch. Stealth Rock is also a considered move for his movepool, allowing him to take advantage of the field on turn one. Trick and Reflect are moves that are also acceptable with his support movepool. Finally a lot of Metagross leads finish off with a big bang by Explosion.
Crobat: Hypnosis and Taunt is an awesome combination with Crobat as well as boasting U-Turn with him as well. 130 Speed also gives Crobat the capability of using the fast Hypnosis and Taunt to his advantage.
Weavile: A very useful lead when used correctly. The combination of Fake Out and either Pursuit or Ice Shard is very useful as many leads are usually fragile. Weavile can use Taunt, Brick Break, or Counter to take advantage of the situation if necessary. Counter is a rather risky strategy but can be rewarding since the vast majority of leads usually are physically oriented.
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Lightning Speed Leads
Role: The main goal is to outpace as many opponents as possible and being able to do enough damage to most leads.
How to use: To use this is quite simple really. Most Pokemon that have a higher base Speed of 100 or at least wield a Choice Scarf are perfect examples of this. These Pokemon attempt a sweep straight-forward when they enter most of the time or threaten a switch.
How to counter: A lot of bulky leads usually have a role of putting a lot of these Pokemon into submission. Bronzong is a likely candidate due to STAB Gyro Ball gaining a lot of power thanks to the Speed difference among the two Pokemon. Hippowdon can make a mention, despite being mostly a Weather Lead, to shrug off most physically oriented Pokemon with Slack Off and his own STAB Earthquake as well as Ice Fang. Also anything that is faster than the usual Lightning Speed lead gets a mention of having a higher chance of eliminating the opponent.
Common Examples:
Weavile: A Pokemon with 120 Attack and 125 Speed as well as decent STABs to back him up. His moves lack the base power sometimes to take on some threats; however, the help of either Choice Band or Swords Dance makes all the difference. Be weary if you're lead is a Ghost-type and is slower than Weavile because chances are the Choice Band variants commonly carry Pursuit for that reason.
Infernape: Base 108 Speed backed up with 104 attack stats for each spectrum is a force to be reckoned with. Carrying STAB Fire Blast as well as Close Combat manages to make Infernape the perfect candidate to carry moves such as Grass Knot and Hidden Power Ice. He has the niche to use Focus Sash and Nasty Plot and still pull off a good sweep if necessary.
Choice Scarf: Not a Pokemon but a good item example. A lot of Pokemon have an excellent movepool but rather average Speed. The solution? Choice Scarf compliments these and is capable of catching many leads off-guard. There are also many possibilities of making the said Pokemon a mixed sweeper with the ability of having no gains other than Speed. There's also many Pokemon that can commonly carry Trick alongside Choice Scarf to not only outpace many leads but also cripple other leads with shock and awe.
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Dual Screen Leads
Role: The main goal of a Dual Screen lead is to set-up both Reflect and Light Screen.
How to use: Algonside the Light Clay item, you simply use Reflect and then Light Screen. With these in play, the teammates behind the lead can bask in success as the opponent tries to thwart them off with the opponent's attacks doing half damage. Eight turns on the field also makes it really scary. Support from Safeguard, Taunt, or Explosion are good options to consider.
How to counter: Brick Break and Taunt are the only counters to this strategy unfortunately. Brick Break users are limited; however, Weavile and Scizor tend to be the best ones. Taunt users are also sparse, especially those that tend to be faster than some Pokemon. Crobat and Aerodactyl are the fastest Taunt users that exist in the OU environment and they can easily Taunt with little problems.
Common Examples:
Bronzong: A Pokemon that can "do everything and then some", Bronzong can easily use Reflect and Light Screen. On top of that, Bronzong has Hypnosis, Safeguard, and Explosion for extra protection. Stealth Rock is also common on some of these Bronzong.
Azelf: A faster lead than Bronzong, Azelf can quickly use Reflect and Light Screen. Usually Taunt and Stealth Rock follow; however, Explosion can be a surprise use for Azelf. U-Turn also has its generic use of easing prediction.
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