With interest in ADV 200 growing and a new tournament beginning, I wanted to share my thoughts on the lead meta in ADV 200 in its current state. With the influx of games, there will be even more development, but here is how I view things currently.
I look at the lead meta in terms of progress-making and denial. I'll sort out the 12 Pokémon I identified as the lead meta into the categories of Progress Makers and Anti-Leads, ordered by significance and viability. Please share your thoughts and let me know if I missed anything you would consider a part of the lead metagame!
Progress Makers
In ADV 200, there is no sand to set and limited utility, like sub pass, leaving spikes, status, and damage as the primary methods of making progress.
1. 
Skarmory
Is a write-up on lead Skarmory even necessary? Obnoxious bird lives a hit from everything that’s not stab fire or electric and gets a spike down. It also shuts down any CB mons and forces the mag question immediately, allowing for decisive and proactive gameplay for anti-trap strategies.
2. 
Salamence
Salamence is the benchmark to which the entire lead meta warps. Every lead mon seeks to either outspeed and threaten Salamence, or survive its Roladex of damage options to threaten with supereffective damage or utility. Suffice to say, few Pokémon meet these qualifications, making Salamence one of the most effective lead mons in ADV 200.
Mixed Salamence uses its coverage to threaten nearly every lead. Choice band Salamence uses its incomparable power to threaten big damage. Unrevealed, both sets use the threat of the other, further increasing Salamence’s potential as a lead Pokémon.
Notes: Charcoal for Metagross. Hydro Pump is valuable coverage and sometimes justifies a full special Salamence.
3. 
Metagross
Choice Band Metagross and Mixed Metagross offer exceptional value in the lead slot. Although band sets must be wary of magneton traps, Metagross uses its incredible bulk and typing, alongside its game-breaking Meteor Mash, to begin matches with unparalleled power hits. Mixed sets, benefiting from the threat of CB sets, are excellent at landing powerful hits onto steels and waters that switch in to tank Metagross’ moves.
Notes: Pursuit for Alakazam, HP Electric for Gyarados & Skarmory, Sludge Bomb for Ludicolo.
4. 
Milotic
Milotic’s capacity as a lead Pokémon is often understated. With extraordinary defences, recovery, status cure, special attack, ice coverage,
and a variety of double status options in toxic, hypnosis, and dragon breath, Milotic is a superb lead Pokémon. Even its anti-leads, such as Manectric, must respect its mirror coat.
5. 
Regirock
Much like Metagross, Regirock offers immediate power and trading capacity with a few unique differences: Focus Punch, Superpower, and Explosion. Unlike Metagross, Regirock matches positively in to Salamence and Gyarados. Although its boom does not OHKO Skarmory, the threat of a Houdini boom or super-effective rock/fighting damage forces big damage on Skarmory early in the early game.
6. 
Registeel
While lead CB Registeel must be respected, lead Registeel is most effective at denying powerful threats their ohkos
and spreading toxic and paralysis.
Anti-Leads
Anti-leads are pokemon that deny progress and force switches through a combination of mixed damage, utility, speed, and high power.
1. 
Starmie
Starmie is the number one anti-lead, so superior in this role it could be considered a progress maker itself. Starmie has one of the highest lead usage rates. It possesses nearly all the desirable traits of a perfect lead. Starmie’s coverage allows it to immediately threaten everything slower than it. Its natural bulk and ability allow it to take hits and status from most threats. It limits early spikes gameplans, outspeeds major threats, and tanks crucial hits, making it one of ADV 200’s most prominent leads.
Notes: Modest nature.
2. 
Alakazam
Similar to Starmie, Alakazam uses its speed and coverage to threaten standard leads. Interestingly, Alakazam benefits most from the threat of its coverage, allowing it to run powerful utility sets, like Trick or Knock Off.
Notes: Modest nature if coverage-based, 304 HP benchmark.
3. 
Gyarados
While lead Gyarados could be considered a progress maker for its effectiveness at spreading toxic and paralysis, Gyarados’ flexibility, utility, and power make it a unique jack-of-all-trades anti-lead. It can deny spikes and status outright through taunt
and threaten massive damage or status with mixed and CB sets.
Notes: Thunder for Skarmory, Gyarados, Starmie.
4. 
Manectric
With no Zapdos or Jolteon, Manectric rose as the best lead electric Pokémon. Threatening Skarmory, Salamence, and water leads, Manectric uses its speed and power to force early damage and paralysis onto special walls.
Notes: Nevermeltice for lead Salamence OHKO.
5. 
Gorebyss
Who thought giving a fish performance enhancers was a good idea? Gorebyss has the natural bulk to set rain for itself and begin a match with 4 turns of rain steroid. This lead has horrifyingly positive matchups, which forces Milotic in early, or wears down anything else foolish enough to come in on its torrential damage output.
Notes: Mystic Water for Metagross, Skarmory and Swampert.
6. 
Slaking
Big damage oonga boonga. Not much more to it really. Lead Slaking is excellent on mixed offence, magneton offence, and probably even spikes stack.
Notes: Hyperbeam Milotic OHKO.
Honourable Mentions & Notable Trends
With no Tyranitar or Snorlax and a plethora of peck Skarmory, fighting-type leads have mostly lost their edge. However, some notable exceptions to this include Breloom, which
does have lead spore targets, Medicham, which can use BP to magtrap Skarmory and trade with a handful of others, and lastly, Blaziken, which matches well into the abundance of steel leads.
Stab fire and electric Pokémon have exceptional lead matchups, making them effective anti-leads. Most notable of these is Minun, which has a variety of strategies it can employ in the lead, whether status or baton pass. Ninetales, with 100 base speed, fire stab and double status, acts as an effective progress maker and denier. Electrode, with top speed, stab electric, taunt and boom, is an excellent anti-lead for offensive structures and rain. Magneton, although fishing Skarmory, also effectively scouts unrevealed sets with Protect.
Similarly, Glalie, although fishing Skarmory, has a positive matchup against several common leads, allowing it to advance and deny hazard strategies. And lastly, Gardevoir threatens surprising bulk and power and a utility belt of useful moves to deny or advance progress.
Ludicolo: Rain Dish Ludicolo is a supreme anti-rain tool and a useful special wall. With a movepool to die for, its only limitation is its dependence on Rest to shrug off status.
Gardevoir: With the ability Trace, Calm Mind, Wish and Thunderbolt, Gardevoir is a massive threat to rain teams.
Wailord: With extraordinary bulk, water resistance and Roar, Wailord is a useful anti-rain tool.
Kingdra: With a 4x resistance to water, Dragon Dance Kingdra is doubly empowered to dance to infinity on all rain threats, excluding Leech Seed Ludicolo.
Shedinja: What? Yes, it’s a meme. And yes, it answers all rain threats lacking toxic or leech seed. Use it, coward.
Claydol: Claydol, with either Rest or Explosion makes obvious sense. Its only real flaw is its weakness to Sceptile.
Donphan: Donphan has surprising tools: Odeur Sleuth, Roar, and Counter. Although it has 4MSS, its a valuable asset to stall.
Sceptile: 
Dusclops: Dusclops is the best spinblocker in ADV 200, with multiple viable sets. A mon you should use almost absolutely on stall. Sorry, Sableye.
Regice: Rest, Explosion, or Focus Punch Regice are all fantastic special walls in varying degrees of longevity.
Ninetales: Some may disagree with my take here, but Ninetales slots in excellently on so many balance teams with a variety of powerful tools.
Magneton: Removing either Skarmory or Magneton can be essential to a gameplan.
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