Gonna just post some more cool mons and sets that I haven't seen talked about very much as of late.
Combusken @ Life Orb / Fightinium Z
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 8 Def / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Protect
Combusken is a really big threat in Middle Cup, boasting the ability Speed Boost which allows it to outspeed the unboosted metagame at +1, and allows it to gain even more Speed Boosts to outspeed pretty much every Scarfer at +2 or +3. Combusken is also really damn powerful, with the amazing offensive typing of Fire/Fighting that is basically unresisted in this tier, and having access to high-powered STAB moves to crush the opponent with. It's very easy to just clean up a weakened team with Combusken late-game thanks to Speed Boost, and because of how hard it is to check naturally because of how strong it is. The item choice is basically up to preference. LO gives Busken the most power in it's moves, but Fightinium Z is an option I've found to be pretty viable, giving a one-time STAB nuke that also doesn't miss, which can be quite nice. I've also seen SD variants of Combusken that can put in some crazy work once set up. Overall, I think Combusken is a top threat in MC because of how powerful Speed Boost is in a frail offensive metagame like this, and I can easily see how it could become overwhelming to deal with in the near future.
Frogadier @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Dark Pulse
- U-turn
Frogadier is normally seen using an AoA set with Life Orb, using its amazing coverage moves that become STAB thanks to Protean to break down opposing teams and sometimes clean up late-game with Frogadier's great speed stat. However, I think a really underrated set has to be Choice Scarf Frogadier, inspired by the Scarf Greninja sets up in OU. It's actually a pretty good revenge killer, outspeeding threats such as +1 DD Fraxure, +2 Rhydon, and even +2 Combusken is outsped by this set. Frogadier's great speed tier also comes into play, as with a Choice Scarf equipped, it outspeeds pretty much every other Scarf user, namely mons such as Trumbeak, Haunter, and Monferno. While this set does lack the power of the LO sets, it makes up for it by being a great revenge killer and a potential late-game cleaner that can also surprise the opponent due to being so unexpected. I think this set has the potential to become one of Frogadier's best sets, and one of the best Scarfers in the meta.
Fletchinder
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Roost / Will-O-Wisp
- Overheat
Now, I won't lie and say that Fletchinder hasn't gotten worse in the transition between ORAS to SM, because it definitely has gotten worse with the Gale Wings nerf. However, I still think that Fletch can be a viable option with the right support. Fletchinder actually has a pretty okay natural speed stat of 84, which lets it outspeed all non-Scarf sets of Monferno even without Gale Wings, which is a pretty decent benchmark that also lets it outspeed mons like Fraxure w/o Gale Wings. This lets Fletch be a decent revenge killer to these mons, as Acro still hits pretty hard because of how frail the meta is. However, it is still important to try and keep the Gale Wings intact, as having a strong priority option is amazing for RKing threats such as Kadabra (Sash broken) and Choice Scarf users. Another niche Fletch has is in it's Fire typing, which allows Fletch to become a Flying-type that also threatens Doublade, one of the common checks to other Flying-types such as Trumbeak. Doublade is not a problem for Fletchinder, as STAB Overheat does massive damage to it.
4 SpA Fletchinder Overheat vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Doublade: 164-194 (98.7 - 116.8%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
This alone is very helpful to Fletch, allowing it to bypass a normal Flying check. However, Fletch is still walled by Rhydon unless you use Wisp, which means losing Roost which helps in keeping the Gale Wings intact. However, that only makes Trumbeak an even better partner to Fletch, as they both share similar checks that the other can break through. (Fletch breaks Steel-types, Trumbeak has Bullet Seed to bypass Rock-types). This makes for a pretty cool BirdSpam core that can break past their checks and pave the way for one of them to sweep late-game. Overall, while Fletchinder is worse off than in ORAS for sure, and does require a lot of support to work properly, I still find that it can be a relatively decent set-up sweeper and an okay revenge killer when given the right support.
Dartrix @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Overgrow
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Leaf Blade
- Brave Bird
After seeing the discussion on it earlier in this thread, I decided to try out Dartrix to try and find a niche for it in the meta. And while I can say that it isn't a very good mon in the tier, it does hold a small niche in being a Flying-type that can break most typical Flying checks (Rhydon, Doublade, Metang) in one set. Dartrix can pull off a SD set pretty well, acting as both a wallbreaker and a potential sweeper with Sucker Punch. Grass/Flying/Dark coverage is surprisingly really good, and having a strong Brave Bird is a nice thing to have, especially when boosted, breaking through pretty much any wall that isn't resistant to Flying. Leaf Blade busts through Rock-types, Ground-types, and Water-types and is also a nice secondary STAB that doesn't have recoil. Sucker Punch gives Dartrix some much-needed hope against faster offense teams because it's so slow, and at +2 it's pretty strong, although I'd advise to have good hazard support because sometimes it just isn't enough to kill some threats. Darkinium Z is probably what makes this set work, as +2 Black-Hole Eclipse (Z-Sucker Punch) busts through Doublade and Metang, who could otherwise give this set some trouble by playing around Sucker Punch. This gives Dartrix it's niche of being a Flying-type that breaks through pretty much every Flying check bar Magneton. However, Dartrix still has plenty of problems, such as being really slow, making it rely on Sucker Punch a lot, which doesn't help because Sucker is sorta weak without the SD boost. It also faces severe competition from Trumbeak as a Flying-type, who has Bullet Seed to break through Rhydon and while it can't break through Doublade as easily, Trumbeak is faster, meaning it doesn't have to rely on priority as Dartrix has to do. Dartrix can still be a useful but very niche option as an effective wallbreaker against defensive core that can also support other Flying-types by breaking down their checks, but it's still very niche and is usually outdone by other options.
I'm also working on a Role Compendium as of late, so stay tuned for that! And if you have any discussions or opinions to share, don't be shy, since this thread does need some activity ^.^