Awesome thread. :) Here in this post are my thoughts on the new additions in their entirety.
Pancham @ Eviolite
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 5
EVs: 180 Atk / 100 Def / 212 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Gunk Shot / Zen Headbutt
- Bulk Up / Zen Headbutt / Circle Throw / Parting Shot
This set is going to be very popular after ORAS comes out. Timburr's advantage over Pancham is Mach Punch, but other than that, Pancham is superior. It's faster, it can 2HKO Eviolite Spritzee, it has access to Parting Shot and Circle Throw, and it will also be the only Pokemon in Little Cup that can remove Trubbish's Berry Juice via Mold Breaker Knock Off. Zen Headbutt is an option for punishing Croagunk, a notable threat that will otherwise 100% win against Pancham. Unfortunately, this is the only Pokemon I see REALLY climbing the viability rankings as a result of these new moves being added in ORAS.
My thoughts on everything else:
Amaura: Earth Power is probably the best possible coverage move Amaura could have gotten, as Steel-types pretty much auto-win against it in just about any scenario. Stealth Rock has much better users and Water Pulse is completely unneeded if Amaura has Ice + Ground coverage. Hyper Voice is an interesting new option to use with Refrigerate, but it has to compete with Nature Power (Tri Attack). Hyper Voice has slightly higher power and can hit through Substitute, but Nature Power (Tri Attack) has a nice 20% chance to inflict paralysis/burn/freeze and also bypasses Sucker Punch, making it fail, due to Nature Power being listed as a non-attacking move even though it converts into one. Even with the addition of Earth Power, I don't expect Amaura to increase a whole lot in viability, but it will definitely be a better Pokemon than it was.
Archen: Zen Headbutt is a cool addition for Archen but is totally useless for it because it already has Acrobatics for Fighting-types and Earthquake for Poison-types.
Binacle: There is absolutely no reason to run Stealth Rock on Binacle when Support Tirtouga exists.
Bunnelby: Last Resort from Huge Power Bunnelby is an absolute nightmare that comes with a few much-needed limitations; it would be totally broken if it could use this move with Choice Scarf, but fortunately, it cannot. Also, using Last Resort without a second Normal-type attack would leave Bunnelby unable to hit as hard as it wants at first, and it also means that it can't use U-turn on the same set, which is a huge drawback. Maybe a set with just Return and Last Resort can be used, in which Bunnelby is designed to finish off something with Return and then sweep with Last Resort, but the fact that Normal resists and especially Ghost-types like Gastly exist will make this a waste a lot of the time and will absolutely require Sticky Web and Pursuit support from the likes of Pawniard or Stunky. Iron Head is a much better option in Bunnelby's fourth slot than Wild Charge, as it still OHKOes Archen and Gastly, but with no recoil. The flinch chance is also nice.
Carvanha: Poison Fang is an instant OHKO on Cottonee, a Pokemon that previously could beat Carvanha easily. Unfortunately, it will have a hard time finding a moveslot for this move and it has absolutely no viable use outside of hitting Cottonee. Waterfall hits all other Fairy-types harder.
Chespin: Chespin is one of my favorite Pokemon in the current metagame, and I'm excited that it will be getting some new options, but Drain Punch is the only thing that's really worth talking about. To be honest, the Bulk Up + Synthesis combo lets Chespin set up on Pawniard and beat it with Seed Bomb anyway (unless Pawniard gets a LOT of hax), but Drain Punch is an easier way to take it down and will find more viable use on Chespin sets that do not include Bulk Up, as Seed Bomb and Rock Slide are all that set really needs and Ponyta 100% beats it no matter what. Thunder Punch is totally redundant when Chespin already has Grass + Rock coverage, and Super Fang is unneeded because Chespin needs setup, recovery, and two attacks. There is no reason to use Superpower and lower its physical stats when Chespin gets Drain Punch.
Clauncher: Dragon Pulse gets the boost from Mega Launcher but is totally useless, because it is only super effective on one type that's extremely uncommon and bad in general in Little Cup. Furthermore, Clauncher has access to Ice Beam, which hits Dragon-types as well as 3 other types for super effective damage. Nothing gained here, really.
Ferroseed: If you thought this thing was annoying before, that's nothing compared to how annoying it's going to be. KNOCK OFF FERROSEED? REALLY? Sure, it's going to be good, but it's going to be probably the most annoying thing Little Cup as ever seen. It has way too many disruptive options already and now it has arguably the best move in the game in its arsenal. I'm rather disappointed because of how overdone Ferroseed will be with Knock Off. It's too much... not unmanageable but yea, insert "I am disgusted" face here. Eww.
Fletchling: Heat Wave's only advantage over Overheat is that it's spammable, but Fletchling has no need to spam a special Fire-type move. Additionally, Heat Wave never OHKOes Ferroseed. This isn't a very good addition.
Gastly: I don't see Knock Off being used on a Gastly set at all. It's not a physical attacker and it doesn't have the bulk the put up with being hit after removing an item. The most it can do is use Knock Off on a predicted switch, but it's risky, it clogs up the moveset, and it's just better off attacking.
Goomy: Lol
Gothita: Trick is now compatible with Shadow Tag. This will make Gothita able to cripple enemies with its Choice Scarf set, which is a great addition for it.
Honedge: Magnet Rise temporarily removes Honedge's Ground weakness but is not nearly enough to salvage its nonviable standing in the tier.
Inkay: Knock Off is probably the best addition Inkay could have gotten, but even with it, I don't expect it to be that much more viable.
Noibat: Dragon Pulse is a spammable Dragon-type STAB attack as opposed to Draco Meteor, but has horrible coverage and doesn't hurt enough. Heat Wave lets Noibat finally be able to hit Steel-types for super effective damage, but it won't be able to run that as well as two STAB attacks, Switcheroo, and U-turn on one set. This is a fun thing to play with, and it's going to be better than what it was, but it's not going to be that much more impressive with Heat Wave.
Pancham: As outlined in my above set, Drain Punch and Knock Off are highly significant for Pancham. However, of all the other new moves it gets, I don't think any of the other ones will have any use outside of Focus Punch, which can be used in tandem with Substitute and will hit extremely hard with STAB and Iron Fist.
Pumpkaboo: It doesn't have much use for Foul Play, but Synthesis is a very good addition for Pumpkaboo. Synthesis + Will-O-Wisp will let it easily wall a ton of physically inclined Pokemon, especially Drilbur, which Pumpkaboo only fails to counter if it has both Life Orb and Shadow Claw. Pumpkaboo is probably the best switch-in to Drilbur in the game, especially if hazards are used, because it blocks Drilbur's Rapid Spin and then forces it out. Pumpkaboo still has to be wary of a handful of important threats, though, including Fletchling, Pawniard, and especially Ponyta.
Skrelp: Gunk Shot is a cool STAB addition for Skrelp, but even after it gets Adaptability, it will still prefer a special set because Scald is very important and it will also want Hidden Power Fire to hit Ferroseed. Therefore, Gunk Shot won't be very useful for it, ever.
Tyrunt: Iron Head is a good coverage option against Fairy-types, but it doesn't do much more than what Strong Jaw-boosted Poison Fang already does. Superpower is a guaranteed OHKO against Pawniard but is a poor coverage choice outside of that when it has Earthquake, and the stat drops are unappealing as well.
Binacle - New moves: Stealth Rock
