Hi so I was away for the weekend but I'm back now and would like to talk about some of the new Pokemon I find to be especially fun/threatening right now.
These include Carvanha, Gabite, Lapras, Guts Machoke, Gourgeist Small, and Scarf Sawsbuck.
Carvanha is super fun to use with the right support. With Spikes and Stealth Rock, it finds cleaning up teams super easy. A mixed set of Waterfall Crunch Blizzard and Protect covers a lot of threats at +1 like Swoobat, Simisear, Simisage, Misdreavous, etc. It can also be used as an awesome lure for Quilladin, 2HKOing it with Blizzard as well as weakening stuff like Metang with Crunch so Clefairy, Fraxure, or Sawsbuck can sweep. In a meta that appears to lean towards hyper offense and bulky offense relying on mons with no leftovers, spikes + Carvanha is terrifying. I suggest you all try it out.
Gabite is a mon I talked about in the beginning of the tier, but sort of lost favor when Vigoroth and Regice became popular due to it being setup fodder for both. However, it now finds itself as one of the premier Offensive Stealth Rock setters in the tier. Adamant Outrage might not be as powerful as Zweilous, but it certainly packs a punch. It also checks Electabuzz, since many are choosing to run something other than HP Ice such as HP Grass for Whiscash. Even with HP Ice, Buzz can't OHKO at full thanks to the bulk Eviolite provides it, which means Electabuzz can't anti-lead against you unless it's Specs HP Ice, which is certainly easy for other Pokemon to set up on like Simisear or Klang. Finally, it has Roar to make sure nothing can set up in its face, as well as causing residual damage with Stealth Rock if you predict a switch.
Lapras is a Pokemon I was interested in trying after I saw Masterclass use it in BW during tour two weeks ago. A set of Curse Rest Rain Dance and Waterfall or Avalanche can be very threatening with the right support. Unfortunately, it doesn't get everlasting rain, which hurts its viability considerably. But that doesn't mean it's completely unusable. Its bulk is amazing, avoiding a 2HKO from Pokemon like Electabuzz, and OHKOing Scarf variants at +1 with Waterfall in the rain or Avalanche outside of it. It sort of reminds me of CM Manaphy in OU, which isn't amazing at the moment, but was a big threat around March of this year when Stall was running rampant. Definitely a Pokemon to watch out for.
Guts Machoke sounds like an inferior No Guard one, but let's face it, you're a jackass if you use Dynamic Punch. That was originally what sparked the idea for my friend
Kushalos who didn't want to use that dumb-ass set. Instead, you have an amazing lure to Pokemon like Misdreavous, which LOVE to burn you, only to get OHKOed with Knock Off on the next turn. And as for STAB, you actually hit harder with Close Combat than Dynamic Punch, making it somewhat more difficult to switch into. This is only made worse if you are statused.
Gourgeist-Small is awesome, there's no two ways about it. It is super fast, outspeeding stuff like Unfeasant, Sawsbuck, Fraxure, Machoke, Whiscash, and others and Will-O-Wisping them before they even know what happened. It also has Leech Seed for added residual damage, making it a royal pain in the ass to face. I've also seen Sub Disable sets, which are also unbelievably annoying to face, since Gourgeist is usually only covered by a single move on Pokemon's movesets (see: Simisear, Machoke, Simipour, Electabuzz, etc.). Very annoying, very veffective, very fun, try it out :]
And finally, this isn't a new threat by any means, but Scarf Sawsbuck is one of my favorites to use right now. Not only does it switch in on Leech Seeds, Sleep Powders, and other Grass type moves, it can actually use Baton Pass to Pass those boosts to a teammate who can use a +1 boost (looking at you, Carvanha). In addition to that, it checks nearly every threat at +1, including Fraxure, Whiscash, Butterfree, and more. Double Edge is so ridiculously powerful, especially if you grab a +1 from a Grass type, Horn Leech is great for recovering HP if you get too low, and Baton Pass also works well for keeping momentum on offensive teams. Easily one of the best Pokemon in the tier.
And these are only a few of the Pokemon that have been recently discovered in the last week or so of FU! The tier is young, and there are so many new and interesting Pokemon to try out. Go challenge your friends or any of the council members, or just ask for a match in the OM room on PS. You might just discover the new Vigoroth or Regice. Only way to find out is by playing!