I wanna do some predicts regarding the new winners as well as some deeper analysis on my pre-established meta viability list. Do keep in mind these are just my own takes, I may be proven wrong later and there might be sets here that don't end up all the viable, but hopefully I can get my thought process across so that people can take their own conclusions. So here's what sets and Pokémon I've been looking at lately alongside more or less a review of all of our new winners:
The Fat Stuff
I think the best way to kick off the list is to see what all defensive options we do have to then see what offensive options can break past them. We do, generally, have pretty solid defensive Pokémon, athough Legends mechanics makes some of their usual ways of dealing damage a little crippled, making Defensive mons end up in a weird spot where some of their usual utility is not as great as it used to be. With that said -
If Clefable evades the ban, it's an instant top tier by the simple fact that its our best defensive Fairy. It really does not need any intoduction, although its important to note that Unaware sets may not be as good here as stat boosts are temporary. In any case, Clefable here will do what Clefable always does aside from setting Rocks, just being a generally good Defensive mon who appreciates chip damage immunity, fitting on many balance teams and being a generally good glue. It may also be a pretty decent Calm Mind mon, as that is substantially better in this metagame and coupled with Recovery, Clef could very easily get out of hand. Lastly, Wish may be very helpful in more defensively oriented teams tomake up for this meta's general lack of recovery.
Verdict:
Viable for sure
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Knock Off
- Teleport
Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
Latias is kind of disgustingly good. Probably our main Psychic answer atm, Latias makes her way through CalmMind, Recover and Mystical Fire to take very little damage while dishing out some decently strong hits. Being weak to Bug does make it not that great of a defensive mon, but given what else is currently shaping up to be good in this meta, Latias may be a very good pick. That said though, there's also a lot of viable Dragons right now, so maybe I am overhyping Latias' defensive potential a little.
Verdict:
Viable for sure
Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Mystical Fire
- Psychic
Swampert should be no surprise here. Its excellent defensive type combined with great bulk and Flip Turn make it a very interesting defensive option. Its main set has taken a bit of a hit from Legends' mechanic changes, notably Stealth Rock is no longer a hazard and Scald's Burn is not permanent. Still, Swampert retains its role as a defensive pivot that can dish out some serious damage, and even with temporary statuses, it works well as a wall. Swampert is also most likely the best defensive Ground in the tier. I don't really have much to go in depth here other than noting it forms a nice core with Skarmory, as they can cover one another's weaknesses fairly well and Swampert can really threaten out Magnezone.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Flip Turn
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Toxic
If Skarmory is not your thing, Magcargo is another great defensive steel with recovery and an arguably much better movepool at the cost of being much slower and leaning more towards Sp Def sets instead. Its abilities are also fairly nice, most notably Mirror Armour scaring some Intimidate users. Most notably though, as pointed out in its submission, it is a fantastic check to some Psychics, resting their STAB, being immune to the common Focus Blast and threatening them out with its own Ghost STAB. Its signature move is also pretty good, as it generally gives it a good shot at lowering the opponent's offensive presence, but a bit like Skarmory, Magcargo too is a little passive and short on moves to run.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Magcargo-Hoenn @ Leftovers
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Clear Smog
- Eerie Reflection
Another candidate for our main Bulky Water, Milotic stands out mostly through its access to Recover. Coil is also great here as it is nearly an omniboost, turning Milotic into a very potent mon both defensively and offensively, while also being able to run stuff like Hydro Pump more accurately now. Other than that it gives you pretty standard defensive Water tools in Scald and Flip Turn, and has some interesting other tools in Haze and Dragon Tail.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Coil
- Recover
- Scald
- Ice Beam
I believe our main defensive Fire, Arcanine makes great use of Intimidate and Teleport to become a great defensive pivot. While not great recovery, Morning Sun is still somewhat valuable. Other than that it just generally has good stats, being on the higher end of the speed tier for the metagame and offensive stats that make it not be too passive.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Arcanine @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Teleport
- Flamethrower
- Morning Sun
As mentioned above, Skarmory is a great partner for Swampert and is one of the tier's main candidates for a defensive Steel, with a massive point in its favour being Roost, as Steels with recovery are generally rare here. Body Press is a huge tool in its kit that allows it to not be too passive, while Iron Head helps to ramp up that damage while now also having the bonus of helping with its Special Defense. owever, Skarmory does have a pretty big flaw in that its movepool is rather barren. Other than the must-pick Roost and Body Press, you are rather short on options, lacking many ways to pressure the opponent. Iron Defense is a serviceable tool but the Iron Defense + Body Press combo is relevantly weaker when boosts cap at +1, and it also does not have means of pivotting. The enxt best thing I could suggest would be running something like Spikes or Stealth Rock to at least chip the opponent somewhat.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Spikes
A really weird choice at first, but the change to how Stats work means Intimidate can rewrite a mon's role entirely. With pretty respectable 117 Atk, Krookodile is more or less free to run more defensive investmeants without fearing being passive. Notably, AV with max Sp Def is able to withstand some powerful coverage such as Alakazam's Focus Blast (4HKO if Timid) while also immediately threatening them out and crippling switch-ins with Knock. Notably, it becomes a pretty decent switch-in to Alakazam, Spectrosphere, Girafgiraf, Hoopa and the Latis, and I feel that given the lack of competition, we can make it work as a defensively oriented Dark. Lastly I want to mention Stealth Rock could cripple some Flying or Ice switch-ins as well.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Krookodile @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
Tentacruel is the second to last Water mon that I want to bring up in this detailed section. With pretty high Speed, good Defenses, access to a pretty nifty combination with the buffed Venoshock + Scald, learning Knock Off, having Haze and having some interesting abilities in Liquid Ooze and Clear Body. I am only not entirely sure of its usefulness due to how many great Psychic-types we do have right now, but in any case, Tentacruel's main draws as a defensive mon with great Speed are still worth mentioning. Might want some speed invests to hit stuff like Gardevoir.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Sludge Bomb
- Knock Off
- Venoshock
Going from one jellyfish to the next, Jellicent has its merit as Strength Sap is an amazing move with the new stat mechanics. It is a little lacking in utility otherwise, but has your typical STAB Scald with access to Will-o-wisp if you want to be more consistent and STAB Hex to help it not be too passive either.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Jellicent @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Strength Sap / Recover
- Scald
- Hex
- Toxic
If Clefable does indeed end up banned, meet its replacement right here. With good tools such as Calm Mind, Wish and Mystical Fire, Sylveon is a pretty decent defensive option. Not much else to say that can't just be understood from looking at its main set so I'll be brief here.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Calm Mind
- Mystical Fire
- Hyper Voice
Now for some
honorable mentions, Pokémon who I think have at least some slight form of defensive utility but I have my doubts about them being ran defensively or in OU at all; or their defensive utility is only useful in a specific team archetype:
Registeel's a decent defensive Steel thanks to its raw stats, but has little in the way of actual utility. May be one of the few mons to make use of the new Rest/Drowzy mechanics since it can shrug off hits with relative ease, but I'm unsure of what all it even tries to run to threaten the opponent.
Similar to Registeel, but it has enough offensive stats to not be passive and stuff like Dragon Tail for utility at the cost of much lower special bulk.
Strength Sap is another defensive option greatly buffed by the new mechanics, as it now lowers both offensive stats as well. Not only that, but Drowsy status makes foes have weaker defenses and Venoshock works with every status effect now, as well as status being able to overwrite eachother. All of this means that Vileplume has a decent shot at viability, despite its below average bulk. It's the best Grass with Strength Sap and this metagame is filled with Waters. However, this one is also really dicey given the big amount of Psychics in the meta and its relatively low starting bulk. Not entirely sure if it'll be viable or if it even prefers to be a defensive mon over being a breaker, but felt like it could be interesting to bring up to see if it sparks anyone's creativity.
Alomomola will most likely be a Stall staple, as this is a meta where consistent recovery moves are rather rare and it can pass fat Wishes while also getting a lot of HP back with Regen in the process.
Shedinja can pull off its usual Stall niche here, but now also doesn't have to worry about SR/Spikes.
If you don't want to compromisse between Swampert's type or Milotic's recovery, meet their bootleg offspring. It doesn't have as good stats as either of its competitors, but is still pretty valuable on its own as a Water-Immune Water/Ground with Recover.
One of the mons I'm least sure about, but a Water with Leech Seed has its own merit. Probably not as good as the other defensive Waters though.
Cradily does have a pretty bad typing, but I felt like mentioning as its one of the few Grasses with Recover. Probably not that great though.
Much like Krookodile and Arcanine, Salamence's defensive utility comes entirely from Intimidate. combined with Flying-Type and Roost, it may become a decent defensive option.
Great defensive stats, great abilities, pretty good movepool. Only not sure if it'd be a good defensive mon because of the tier being overrun with Dragons and Psychics.
Great typing and might be one of the only defensive Darks we have, but very little utility in moves.
Good Water on paper with Flip Turn and fat Wishes, but may have a lot of competition as a bulky Water.
The Punchy Stuff
Now that we have an idea of what the defensive mons might be, let's see what's trying to kill them. Legends' new Stat Boost mechanics have helped quite a few mons, and the reduced metagame does make for some pretty interesting power levels at play, some of which might be a bit
too powerful compared to what else we have.
Thanks to the general lack of Darks, Alakazam is in a pretty neat spot in the metagame. Massive Speed, great Sp Atk and access to some pretty nifty moves in Nasty Plot/Calm Mind, Thunder Wave to cripple switches it forces, and decent coverage with Shadow Ball helping out against Magcargo and opposing Psychics. Zam isn't much different in this meta than it is in other metas, just that now it may opt for Calm Mind over Nasty Plot in a few sets (Nasty Plot does last for longer though which is probably more relevantfor a frail mon like this).
Verdict:
Viable for sure
Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Given that out of the three most common types, two are Dragon and Psychic, Hydreigon is in a perfect spot. Dragon Dance now also works for Special sets, making Hydra a massive threat. Draco Meteor is slightly better here as the Sp Atk drops cap out at -1, and other than that, there's a noticeable lack of Fairies in the meta. May be banworthy later on.
Verdict:
Viable for sure
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon / U-turn
We've talked about a very strong Psychic and a very strong Dragon, lets meet in the middle and do one that's both of those. Latios cans witch into the many Psychics of the meta while being able to set up very easily and threaten out common Psychic answers with Shadow Ball. And in the back it still holds a very powerful 130 BP STAB that almost nothing can switch in against. Just generally a really powerful mon that may actually be banworthy.
Verdict:
Viable for sure
Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Dance
- Shadow Ball / Mystical Fire
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
With Intimidate and Dragon Dance both being buffed, Gyarados is great here. Don't need to ramble too much on why it can do good. You can p much just slap its modern set and swap out Moxie for Intim. Hurricane can work as a stab option as well, given Dragon Dance will also boost Sp Atk, but that would require some EV tangling to get more efficient spreads
Verdict:
Viable for sure
Gyarados @ Mystic Water
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang / Hurricane
- Power Whip
Metagross' role is a mix of offense and deffense, having its best utility in switching in against Psychics and Dragons to then hit them hard and remove them from the field. Bullet Punch is also very important for Speed Control and Clear Body helps with all of Strength Sap, Mystical Fire and Intimidate. Overall a very solid mon.
Verdict:
Viable for sure
Metagross @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Ice Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Toxic
Almost 150 Atk, sits at the higher end of the Speed Tier, gets DD, gets First Impression to scare out the many Psychics going around, fairies are rare. Honestly can run either band or DD and still be very good.
Verdict:
Viable for sure
Haxorus @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- First Impression
- Poison Jab
Haxorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Poison Jab
Its conk. I don't need to say much. It is very notable that since status are temporary, it has to keep its Flame Orb if it wants to run Guts sets. Other than that, its your good ol' Conk, may struggle a little with the Psychics but I'm very sure this is gonna be a top tier mon.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
Gardevoir is one of our best offensive Psychics thanks to its Fairy typing giving it some excellent matchups against the tier's various Dragons. Notably, Calm Mind + Mystical Fire makes a return and its main STAB also has a 30% chance to lower Offenses. Solid mon.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Gardevoir @ Leftovers
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Calm Mind
- Mystical Fire
Another pretty good Calm Mind user, Jynx' STAB combo is pretty much only resisted by Water, which it can use Energy Ball to hit. Lovely Kiss is also worth mentioning. Generally a pretty straightforward Ice mon whom I think that with great Speed Tier and pretty good Special Attack will be one of our best Ice options around.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Jynx-Hoenn (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sirene Voice
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Sparkling Aria
- Energy Ball
- Ice Beam
Jynx-Hoenn (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sirene Voice
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Sparkling Aria
- Energy Ball
- Trick
Spectrosphere is one of the tier's fastest mons and its typing offers it a positive matchup against two of three most common types. 100 base Sp Atk might seem a bit mediocre at first but its excellent typing makes up for that, and with a general lack of Darks, Spectro's Ghost STABs are gonna hit hard. It is, in my opinion, the best Ghost we have right now. Its Water coverage also allows it to hit opposing Grounds pretty hard, and it has enough bulk and speed where running Calm Mind may be a viable strategy, potentially with Slack Off even.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Spectrosphere @ Choice Specs
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Storm In
- Trick
Spectrosphere @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Scald / Slack Off
- Calm Mind
Rock/Fire is a pretty cool STAB combo, and its stats allow it to run Dragon Dance pretty neatly. Its signature move is pretty hard to switch into, given the consequential chip damage that comes with it, and thanks to Grassy Surge, Bullet Seed can genuinely threaten Waters from switching in. Grassy Surge also does wonders in halving Earthquake damage, patching up a pretty big weak spot, although that also means Tyranitar itself can't run Earthquake very well.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Tyranitar-Hoenn @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Tephra Burst
- Stone Edge
- Bullet Seed
With access to a temporary Omniboost, Strenght Sap, Sleep Powder and a really good ability in Remaining Hope, Bellossom should be a very decent mon. It is, however, held back by its stats and pretty shallow coverage, as well as having a bit of a 4MSS issue where it needs to run QD, wants to run a lot of its utility moves and still have room for what little coverage it has. Still, though, despite those flaws, its the best QD mon and I would not instantly disregard this mon for its somewhat middling stats.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Bellossom-Hoenn @ Leftovers
Ability: Remaining Hope
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Strength Sap / Sleep Powder
- Fiery Dance / Moonblast
- Petal Dance
Roserade loves the changes that Legends does to its moves. Leaf Storm has less of a penalty, it can run Swords Dance, Spikes effectively becomes coverage, Sleep Powder is great for breaking past walls. Generally just a really good Grass mon in a meta full of fat Waters.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Roserade @ Black Sludge
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Swords Dance
- Sludge Bomb
- Leaf Storm
- Spikes
In a psychic-filled meta, Zoroark sounds like one of the most important mons to have around as it makes your opponent second-guess whether their Psychic mons are safe or not. As for Zoro itself, it sits at a pretty high Speed Tier and has an interesting boosting option in Hone Claws making its Focus Blast more accurate. STAB Sucker Punch is great to rid of faster Psychic threats like Alakazam as well.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Zoroark @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast
- U-turn
Lots of Psychics means lots of opportunities for Crawdaunt to wreck shit. It otherwise runs a pretty standard Crawdaunt set. Not quite sure if it hits OU levels but its definitely a mon to try out
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
Hey do you want a move with 100% accuracy that makes the foe's defenses lower and make it so the foe loses a few turns? Here's the better of two Spore mons. Mach Punch is kind of cool for Speed Control but other than that I am unsure if Breloom will make it to OU.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Breloom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
Critdra is back woooo. Few Fairies means it can pretty reliably just do its thing. Not many set-up opportunities but its a mon worth mentioning.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Kingdra @ Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Focus Energy
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Agility
Girafgiraf has the advantage of being a Psychic with Ghost STAB, threatening Magcargo. Its a fairly customizeable mon too, with three pretty decent abilities and potential to run either Physical (Harder-Hitting Psychic STAB, no Ghost STAB, Crunch hits Magcargo harder) or Special (Less powerful Psychic STAB but has Ghost STAB and Energy Ball for Krookodile). The one big issue I can see with this mon is that it is very similar to Hoopa, but trades Power for Speed and useful abilities.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Girafgiraf @ Life Orb
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Psychic Fangs
- Crunch
- Toxic
- Calm Mind
Girafgiraf @ Life Orb
Ability: Two Headded / Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
Hoopa is the tier's hardest-hitting Pokémon at 150 Sp Atk with pretty good STABs to back it up, as well as means of boosting stats. Its main drawback is 70 Speed, but in a metagame where the Speed Tiers fluctuate more around the 90s than the 100s, that's still relatively usable. None of our defensive mons can really consistently switch in against Specs Hoopa (and even then it can just Trick them) and Hoopa iself has respectable Special bulk, only really being frail out of a poor defensive type. Its similarities to Girafgiraf is the reason why both of them are listed on "Not Sure", as I believe one will take off while the other will fall behind.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Hoopa @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Shadow Ball
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
Now for some
honorable mentions, Pokémon who I think have at least some slight form of offensive utility but I have my doubts about them being ran offensively or in OU at all; or their offensive utility is only useful in a specific team archetype:
Huge Power is still great but Belly Drum is hugely nerfed and the meta is filled with Waters right now.
Ice/Ghost is a really good STAB combo for this meta as very little actually resists the combo, and Froslass can probably find itself some niche usage as a decent Ice mon, but generally has a lacking movepool and still pretty low offensive stats.
Its a very fine mon on paper, but has lots of competition, so I am not sure if it manages to stand out.
The one other QD mon that may be usable thanks to Intimidate facilitating Set Up and getting some coverage, but still a very mediocre mon overall.
A poor man's Mega Swampert.
Good stats for Intimidate and has Sand potential but generally bad offensive movepool.
Another decent Intimidate user, but has pretty poor HP so it may just not end up very good.
Relatively fast for the meta and pretty hard to outspeed after a single turn, Dark STAB is very good in here as well, but it is frail and most likely dies if it fails to KO a foe. No way to boost damage is also pretty sad.
Garchomp is most likely banned, so there's a chance for this to step up for once, although it doesn't really compare to the other viable Dragons that well.
If Conk goes, this is probably our next Fighting option.
Generally decent stats but loses to the two main Steels.
Unburden + Grassy Seed could prove a deadly core with Tyranitar.
The Support Stuff
Lastly, I'll go over Pokémon who are mostly on a team to support other mons or to do one specific role. I feel like this is the bit least influenced by the new mechanics but heavily influenced by the mons we have available to us. As these usually have very specific sets to the roles they're trying to do, I'll only go over the descriptions and the viability prediction.
Jirachi is insanely versatile, being able to run pretty much whatever the hell it wants to. Scarf, Wishpasisng, Setting up stats, it just kind of is its own category. Don't need to go too deep with this one's description, instantly viable mon.
Verdict:
Viable for sure
Pelipper is the tier's main Rain enabler, being paired with Seismitoad for a very bizarre Rain core (You can try to throw in Armaldo or Beartic too, but those I'm not too confident about). Pelipper itself still holds its own as a decently strong mon, hitting Rain-boosted Water STAB and Hurricanes gallore. Really appreciates lack of your typical Stealth Rock since it can now freely run Damp Rock.
Verdict:
Viable for sure
Our only Sand setter. Gigalith is a generally decent Rock mon, having the raw bulk to tank some damage before going down. Its pretty much guaranteed a niche as its the only Sandstorm enabler, but its not like running it on your team makes you play a 5v6. As for Sand itself, Stoutland looks like the main abuser and Sandslash can be a very poor man's excadrill.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Rounding off the Weather Setters, we have Torkoal, who also massively appreciates the lack of Stealth Rock. It does struggle a bit to do much on the field now that it can't spin or set rocks, but it still does its sun-setting role better than ever, probably paired with Bellossom.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
With Spikes and SR being gone, people may start letting down their boots' guard - And that's when the spider sets its trap. While Sticky Web itself is somewhat nerfed given the temporary stat boosts, it's still at a very comfortable position thanks to the general lack of hazards so people prepare less, and Galvantula itself being a pretty neat mon as its STABs threaten two very good typings, Compound Eyes Thunder being a thing and having Energy Ball for the likes of Swampert.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Espeon is a great Screens setter thanks to Magic Bounce preventing Taunt, and Espeon itself is at a fine spot since itt has pretty good stats and Psychic + shadow Ball already covers a lot of what it wants to hit.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Klefki is the other premiere Screens mon, as to be expected. Priority Calm Mind is pretty cool here and its one of the rare viable Fairies around, so I'm sure some teams will find a place for it to fit in.
Verdict:
Almost certainly viable
Jolteon is a decently usable mon to clear out the higher ends of our Speed Tiers. What I'm mostly picturing for it is mostly just cleaning out weakened foes, particularly Psychic, with Shadow Ball, working as a Revenge Killer of sorts.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Same idea, fast mon that can outspeed most of the meta and pick out weakened foes, at cost of lower Atk for stronger STAB and U-Turn chunking the Psychics.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Really weird pick and might be a stretch, but it seems to at least handle some of the Weather mons relatively well. Probably overhyping this one a lot though.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Usually considered the inferior Sun Setter, may have a shot if you really want a secondary setter but Torkoal should always be your primary setter. Does make Sun the only weather to have more than one setter so that's cool.
Verdict:
May be viable, not entirely sure
Whew that was plenty. Can't wait to be proven wrong on like half of these as soon as the meta drops. May have missed a few mons but I hope I could scope out the more relevant stuff