Empoleon makes a good lead in today's metagame, but a set isn't on the analysis. Yes, there is the joke one in Trou du Cul, but this one is serious, and works well.
[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Aqua Jet
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Grass Knot/Ice Beam
item: Focus Sash
nature: Modest
evs: 156 HP / 252 SpA / 100 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Empoleon's bulk and excellent typing allow it to set up Stealth Rock early in the match while still being capable of beating many of the most common leads.</p>
<p>With the raw power of Hydro Pump coupled with Aqua Jet as a priority attack, Empoleon can defeat a large number of other leads, bulky or frail. Suicide leads like Azelf and Aerodactyl are easily taken out with a Hydro Pump followed by an Aqua Jet, limiting them to only being able to set up rocks, Taunt, or attack. Hydro Pump will KO bulkier leads like Hippowdon, Heatran, and Gliscor, and will deal heavy neutral damage to other leads like Forretress. Against Metagross, Empoleon can set up Stealth Rock while Metagross hits with a Earthquake that brings you to Torrent range. Your 4x resist allows you to take the following Bullet Punch and deal some serious damage with a Torrent boosted Hydro Pump, doing 87% minimum and KOing 16% of the time. If Metagross chooses not to attack, or does not carry Earthquake, your Hydro Pump is still a 2HKO. Torrent boosted Hydro Pump will deal some big damage to just about anything and Empoleon will often find itself in this range thanks to Focus Sash. Grass Knot deals with Swampert, grabbing the KO 60% of the time, and also deals some modest damage against other bulky waters. If you don't mind Swampert setting up Stealth Rock more often, Ice Beam provides an excellent alternative, as it prevents something like Salamence or Latias from setting up in your face, and is a more accurate attack for killing Gliscor and Aerodactyl leads.</p>
<p>Thanks to the power of Hydro Pump, Empoleon doesn't need to invest in Sttack or use an Attack neutral nature to allow Aqua Jet to KO what it needs to. 252 Special Attack EVs and a Modest nature allows Empoleon to hit as hard as possible with Hydro Pump. 100 Speed EVs hits 181 Speed, which outspeeds the many pokemon in the 176-180 Speed range, which includes Metagross, Tyranitar, and Machamp. The remaining EVs are placed in HP for bulk.</p>
<p>Even with Empoleon's excellent defenses and the 152 HP EVs, Empoleon has difficulty surviving the onslaught of powerful Earthquakes, Close Combats, and Thunderbolts. To remedy this, Focus Sash is used to just about guarantee Empoleon's ability to set up Stealth Rocks, or to hit something very hard. Focus Sash is particularly useful in that it will bring Empoleon into Torrent range, meaning that Empoleon can take a hit from a faster, hard-hitting attacker and smash it back with an extremely powerful Torrent boosted Hydro Pump. However, Focus Sash means you lose to a lead like Infernape, who can break your Focus Sash with a Fake Out and finish you with a Close Combat. Combine this with the fact that Empoleon can often survive the Earthquakes from leads like Metagross, Swampert, Hippowdon, and Gliscor, and the Electric attacks from weaker Pokemon like Rotom-A, Chople Berry presents itself as another excellent option. It allows you to beat Infernape leads, and because of the power that Pokemon like Machamp and Lucario have, allow you to still go into Torrent range after being hit by their STAB attack and KO them back with Hydro Pump. If you choose to use Ice Beam, Lum Berry is a very good item to use, as it allows you to 1HKO Breloom leads that try to Spore you, kill Smeargle with Hydro Pump and Aqua Jet, and set up Stealth Rock against Roserade. Without an item to keep Empoleon alive however, you must take greater care when it comes to trying to handle certain attacks. </p>
<p>If the 80% accuracy of Empoleon is an issue for you, you can choose to run Surf. When running Surf, you must run a Rash nature and use an EV spread of 52 Def / 104 Atk / 252 SpA / Spe in order to still KO Azelf with Surf and Aqua Jet. Also, Shuca Berry is the item of choice when using Surf, as without Hydro Pump's power, Empoleon will lose to Metagross just about every time, as it cannot survive Earthquake and Bullet Punch without additional bulk. With Shuca Berry, you have at least a 48% chance of 2HKOing it with Surf.</p>
<p> Though this Empoleon may fare well against the majority of OU leads, there are a few, more obscure leads, as well as some more popular leads that cause Empoleon trouble. Empoleon does very badly against Fake Out Infernape leads, and can only win if it runs a Chople Berry. Faster sleep leads like Breloom, Roserade, and Smeargle will put a stop to you as well, and you can only hope to eliminate the sashes of the latter two. Because of some of these weaknesses, it is best to pair Empoleon with something that can take care of troublesome leads easily, or something that can set up against them. Gyarados can easily come in on Infernape and begin to Dragon Dance, as Close Combat and Fire Blast are not going to do much. Meanwhile, a powerful Dragon like Latias or Salamence can switch into Roserade with little to fear of retaliation and either begin to set up or fire off powerful STAB attacks. The Rotom Appliances is generally a good partner with Empoleon, with immunity to Ground and Fighting and a resistance to Electric, allowing it to come in often without many problems. The Rotom forms also do a good job in blocking Tentacruel, who easily shrugs off your attacks and can either Rapid Spin or set up Toxic Spikes. It is highly recommended that you carry a pokemon that can handle Dragon types like Salamence and Latias if you don't run Ice Beam, as each of them can set up without any real fear of your attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Aqua Jet
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Grass Knot/Ice Beam
item: Focus Sash
nature: Modest
evs: 156 HP / 252 SpA / 100 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Empoleon's bulk and excellent typing allow it to set up Stealth Rock early in the match while still being capable of beating many of the most common leads.</p>
<p>With the raw power of Hydro Pump coupled with Aqua Jet as a priority attack, Empoleon can defeat a large number of other leads, bulky or frail. Suicide leads like Azelf and Aerodactyl are easily taken out with a Hydro Pump followed by an Aqua Jet, limiting them to only being able to set up rocks, Taunt, or attack. Hydro Pump will KO bulkier leads like Hippowdon, Heatran, and Gliscor, and will deal heavy neutral damage to other leads like Forretress. Against Metagross, Empoleon can set up Stealth Rock while Metagross hits with a Earthquake that brings you to Torrent range. Your 4x resist allows you to take the following Bullet Punch and deal some serious damage with a Torrent boosted Hydro Pump, doing 87% minimum and KOing 16% of the time. If Metagross chooses not to attack, or does not carry Earthquake, your Hydro Pump is still a 2HKO. Torrent boosted Hydro Pump will deal some big damage to just about anything and Empoleon will often find itself in this range thanks to Focus Sash. Grass Knot deals with Swampert, grabbing the KO 60% of the time, and also deals some modest damage against other bulky waters. If you don't mind Swampert setting up Stealth Rock more often, Ice Beam provides an excellent alternative, as it prevents something like Salamence or Latias from setting up in your face, and is a more accurate attack for killing Gliscor and Aerodactyl leads.</p>
<p>Thanks to the power of Hydro Pump, Empoleon doesn't need to invest in Sttack or use an Attack neutral nature to allow Aqua Jet to KO what it needs to. 252 Special Attack EVs and a Modest nature allows Empoleon to hit as hard as possible with Hydro Pump. 100 Speed EVs hits 181 Speed, which outspeeds the many pokemon in the 176-180 Speed range, which includes Metagross, Tyranitar, and Machamp. The remaining EVs are placed in HP for bulk.</p>
<p>Even with Empoleon's excellent defenses and the 152 HP EVs, Empoleon has difficulty surviving the onslaught of powerful Earthquakes, Close Combats, and Thunderbolts. To remedy this, Focus Sash is used to just about guarantee Empoleon's ability to set up Stealth Rocks, or to hit something very hard. Focus Sash is particularly useful in that it will bring Empoleon into Torrent range, meaning that Empoleon can take a hit from a faster, hard-hitting attacker and smash it back with an extremely powerful Torrent boosted Hydro Pump. However, Focus Sash means you lose to a lead like Infernape, who can break your Focus Sash with a Fake Out and finish you with a Close Combat. Combine this with the fact that Empoleon can often survive the Earthquakes from leads like Metagross, Swampert, Hippowdon, and Gliscor, and the Electric attacks from weaker Pokemon like Rotom-A, Chople Berry presents itself as another excellent option. It allows you to beat Infernape leads, and because of the power that Pokemon like Machamp and Lucario have, allow you to still go into Torrent range after being hit by their STAB attack and KO them back with Hydro Pump. If you choose to use Ice Beam, Lum Berry is a very good item to use, as it allows you to 1HKO Breloom leads that try to Spore you, kill Smeargle with Hydro Pump and Aqua Jet, and set up Stealth Rock against Roserade. Without an item to keep Empoleon alive however, you must take greater care when it comes to trying to handle certain attacks. </p>
<p>If the 80% accuracy of Empoleon is an issue for you, you can choose to run Surf. When running Surf, you must run a Rash nature and use an EV spread of 52 Def / 104 Atk / 252 SpA / Spe in order to still KO Azelf with Surf and Aqua Jet. Also, Shuca Berry is the item of choice when using Surf, as without Hydro Pump's power, Empoleon will lose to Metagross just about every time, as it cannot survive Earthquake and Bullet Punch without additional bulk. With Shuca Berry, you have at least a 48% chance of 2HKOing it with Surf.</p>
<p> Though this Empoleon may fare well against the majority of OU leads, there are a few, more obscure leads, as well as some more popular leads that cause Empoleon trouble. Empoleon does very badly against Fake Out Infernape leads, and can only win if it runs a Chople Berry. Faster sleep leads like Breloom, Roserade, and Smeargle will put a stop to you as well, and you can only hope to eliminate the sashes of the latter two. Because of some of these weaknesses, it is best to pair Empoleon with something that can take care of troublesome leads easily, or something that can set up against them. Gyarados can easily come in on Infernape and begin to Dragon Dance, as Close Combat and Fire Blast are not going to do much. Meanwhile, a powerful Dragon like Latias or Salamence can switch into Roserade with little to fear of retaliation and either begin to set up or fire off powerful STAB attacks. The Rotom Appliances is generally a good partner with Empoleon, with immunity to Ground and Fighting and a resistance to Electric, allowing it to come in often without many problems. The Rotom forms also do a good job in blocking Tentacruel, who easily shrugs off your attacks and can either Rapid Spin or set up Toxic Spikes. It is highly recommended that you carry a pokemon that can handle Dragon types like Salamence and Latias if you don't run Ice Beam, as each of them can set up without any real fear of your attacks.</p>
