Gligar
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Atk / 76 Def / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Roost
Itemless SD Gligar is really nice because you can spam base 110 Acrobatics from turn 1, which isn't something a lot of people expect. By running Roost and no item, you also get a pretty good Pawniard check compared to SubSD or SD+3 Atks. It's just as much a threatening sweeper as any other Gligar variant, if not moreso thanks to full Acro power from turn 1 and provides more defensive utility thanks to Roost. I'm surprised no one else has used this before.
Archen @ Eviolite
Ability: Defeatist
Level: 5
EVs: 236 HP / 160 Def / 76 SpD / 36 Spe
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
Impish Nature
- Rock Tomb / Rock Slide
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock / U-Turn / ...
- Roost
Archen is another pokemon that has really low usage in TangMa (I used it 3 times; the only other person to use it was Kingmidas) despite being really amazing in the metagame. This set provides a quality check to Gligar, Murkrow, Yanma, and Fletchling, all relatively threatening pokemon in the metagame. It has the longevity to last all match and sets SR, which is always nice. If you run Defog or Tomb, just watch out for Pawn switch ins.
Porygon @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
Level: 5
EVs: 236 HP / 196 Def / 76 SpD
Calm Nature
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
I've never seen someone else use a Porygon in TangMa, let alone this set. Most people would tell you that Porygon is outclassed by Munchlax, who is a better answer to Sun Tang, Yanma, etc. However, Porygon provides a niche that Lax cannot fill; it checks Gligar and stops Chinchou from pivoting all over the place while still checking a large chunk of what Munchlax does, just not as well. It also has a way to punish switch ins more effectively in T-Wave. Very underrated mon imo.
Honorable Mentions:
CM Spritzee: Again not really innovative but it's a nice wincon/Yanma/fighting check and most importantly, is a hard stop to CM/CG Swirlix, who it beats 100% of the time.
Evio Growth Chloro Tangela: Most people choose LO Tangela for Sun teams, but oml is this set good. +2 Giga Drain hits like a truck and between the bulk Evio provides and recovery from Drain, it never really dies. You also have a +2 Tangela even when sun runs out. I've only seen Apt-get use this but its really good.
Endure+BJ Magnemite: A set from later metagames that works splendidly in Tangma. It checks Belly Drum Swirlix and LO Yanma even when hazards are up while providing standard Magnemite pivoting duties.