Much of the viable pokemon in ADV LC can, to at least some extent, function effectively as a dedicated lead. The choice of leads help dictate the tempo of the match, and your choice for your team can make or break the team. However, this resource has compiled the most common and most effective leads in ADV LC in order to help players start the match off right with the correct lead for your team.
Common Leads:
@
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 200 Def / 160 SpD
Impish Nature
- Hidden Power [Ghost]
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin / Protect
- Explosion
Pineco is the premier lead Spikes setter in the tier; HP Ghost allows for Gastly to not completely shut down the set, however this can be submitted for HP Grass in order to not be Larvitar bait. Rapid Spin helps versus opposing Spikers though has little utility outside of this and can be used for Protect if Meowth pesters your team. Explosion allows for Pineco to trade after a setting up hazards though is predictable.
@
Ability: Sand Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 36 Def / 76 SpA / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Spikes
- Encore
- Destiny Bond
Cacnea is another Spike setter in ADV LC, and has moderate utility in Encore. Encore allows for Cacnea to prevent Pineco from removing Spikes and makes it far easier to play around. Cacnea is decently easy to switch into however, though well timed Encores can lock pokemon into Substitute which plays to Cacnea's advantage. Additionally, Cacnea can often trade favorable with Destiny Bond, and punish most pokemon who try to play around it.
@
Ability: Static
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 36 Atk / 236 SpA / 196 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Explosion
- Rain Dance
- Thunder
- Taunt
Voltorb excels at getting up rain for rain sweepers, and then promptly exploding. However with Thunder, Voltorb can hit rather hard though this often allows for Trapinch or even Diglett to switch in. This can be fixed with Hidden Power [Water] over Taunt, though this does force Voltorb to allow for lead Spikers to achieve their aim, or explode on these pokemon and fail to get up Rain. Due to Voltorb's speed, the only thing that can prevent Rain from going up is Diglett, though Diglett can only do so by winning a Speed tie.
@
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 244 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Rock Slide
- Sludge Bomb
Diglett has the ability to outspeed all but 3 pokemon in the tier, 1 of which is itself and all of which are a speed tie. With a Choice Band attached, Diglett hits super hard allowing for it to OHKO Meowth, Ponyta, opposing Diglett, Gastly (who isn't trapped), Elekid, Voltorb, and a variety of other pokemon. Diglett's strength is not that it outright beats many pokemon, but instead that Diglett forces certain plays from most leads, and allows for the player to switch to the approtate pokemon. Diglett can then come back in later and trap and kill irksome threats, as well as weak its own counters. Additionally, Diglett has the ability to run Soft Sand, and while this is noticeably weaker, allows for Diglett to surprise Earthquake resist with the appropriate move.
@
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 156 HP / 196 Atk / 76 Def / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Quick Attack
Trapinch counterleads Diglett and Elekid and forces Voltorb to chose between Rain Dance or Explosion. Trapinch can also 1v1 most Salac Berry leads, however Trapinch does lose to less common leads such as Wailmer. Pineco also trades favorably versus Trapinch, but this can be augmented with proper team support.
@
Ability: Trace
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 236 SpA / 156 SpD / 36 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Recycle
- Ice Beam
Porygon counter leads Diglett, Trapinch, and Elekid with great effectivity however it is often Explosion bait and therefore should often be paired with Ghosts. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam have great neutral coverage, and help secure important KOes against non-Explosion Wailmer and the Ground-types. However these moves can be substituted for a variety of other options depending on what your team requires. Thief can be ran as well, allowing for Porygon to not be crippled by lead Elekid.
@ itemless
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 36 Def / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Thief
- Sludge Bomb
- Explosion
Gastly is able to prevent lead Pineco from setting up spikes while usually trading well against fast though not extremely strong pokemon. Sludge Bomb in tandem with Thief will often allow Gastly to trade with a weaker and slower pokemon such as Pineco. Additionally, Explosion allows for Gastly to frequently often take out another pokemon with it, usually leading to a double down. Gastly struggles against faster leads such as Ponyta and Meowth, however it can be EVed to anti-lead Ponyta and Elekid though this can worsen matchups against Pineco or other Ghosts.
@
/
Ability: Pickup
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 236 Atk / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hypnosis
- Double-Edge
- Shadow Ball
- Fake Out / Taunt
This is a pretty straight-forward lead; Meowth hits a good speed tier at 19 and has a threatening move in Double-edge. Most ghost types such as Gastly cannot switch in safely thanks to its speed and moderately powerful Shadow Ball. Fake Out is useful for getting opposing leads such as Voltorb into Double-Edge range whereas Taunt shuts down any Spiker (even if it only lasts for a single turn). Silk Scarf helps secure a few KOs whereas Sitrus Berry allows it to go for another Double-edge, assuming you didn't put yourself into KO range with the first one. Meowth does get trapped by Diglett even when Meowth is at full health though, meaning Silk Scarf is almost always the more effective option.
@
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 116 Def / 36 SpA / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Endure
- Ice Beam
- Safeguard / Sing / Anything
Being perhaps the most unique of the Spikers in the tier, Snorunt is able to be mildly threatening even while setting hazards. Almost always, Snorunt is able to get up at least a Spike, though Sleep leads and incorrect prediction can cause this to be untrue. Endure can also mean that Snorunt can take an Explosion from say Ice Beam hits hard enough and has good enough coverage that Snorunt is able to effectively win some lead matchups. Unfortunately, Snorunt has very little to run in the last slot due to being a combination of weak and possessing a shallow movepool, though this rarely matters because Snorunt's job is to get up spikes.
@
Ability: Run Away
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Def / 236 SpA / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Hypnosis
- Substitute / Sunny Day
Ponyta is another fast lead, hitting 19 speed. Fire Blast and Hidden Power Grass have good coverage and hit very hard. Substitute is used to dodge status from sleep leads as well as gain an advantage versus spike leads. Hypnosis puts opposing leads or potential switch-ins to sleep. Run Away is used so you aren't walled by Porygon. A trapper such as Diglett or Trapinch is likely coming in to revenge Ponyta, making it an excellent lead for teams relying on Porygon to counter trap and remove these, allowing Pokémon such as Abra or Elekid more breathing room later on in the game. Substitute is used mostly as pokemon switch in to Ponyta, however Sunny Day can be used to great affect powering up Ponyta's Fire Blast. Solar Beam can also be ran in tandem with Sunny Day, though this does worsen Ponyta's ability to KO threats such as the odd Baltoy immediately.
@
Ability: Water Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 196 SpA / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
- Water Spout
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Self-Destruct
Wailmer can be used as a great anti-lead as it will at worse 1v1 other opposing leads, the Electric-types being an exception. Wailmer can open up holes right away in opposing teams abusing Water Spout while preventing Spikers from getting up layers with the appropriate coverage. Wailmer can also perform its functions of weakening Porygon and otherwise trading favorably early, allowing many strong pokemon that appreciate Porygon or Water-type resists missing, such as Horsea or Elekid, to have an early advantage. However, Wailmer is also extremely effective mid and late game making lead Wailmer potentially under perform compared to its most common role.
There are a variety of pokemon which will abuse stat boosting berries, such as Salac or Petaya Berry, often in tandem with Substitute. These pinch berries allow pokemon like Elekid to win versus Trapinch as it comes in to revenge kill, while also causing Elekid to abuse Pineco's passive nature. Additionally, pokemon such as Magnemite can abuse Endure and a Salac Berry to trade against Diglett and Wailmer while still beating lead Gastly and Earthquake-less Pinecos. Doduo, Houndour, occasionally Gastly and Voltorb, and even Abra can all run variation of their normal sets using pinch berries to gain quick KOes or lure in priority pokemon for removal to aid future sweepers.
An example of a fairly common Pinch Berry lead would be:
@
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 200 SpA / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Crunch
- Endure
- Fire Blast
- Overheat / Hidden Power [Grass]
Houndour is already threatening to many common lead with just its STABs (Fire/Dark) as these hit the entire tier for at least neutrally damage. EndureSalac makes Houndour less weak to Diglett, which can either try to revenge kill Houndour after a KO or try to pick up a quick KO in lead matchup. Overheat is a clean OHKO on the standard Trapinch set though this does make Houndour forced to switch out. Hidden Power Grass can be used to be less setup fooder to Larvitar if your team doesn't have many answers to it.
