Other than the obvious 3 rising (Cobalion, MGlalie, Scrafty) I'm going to discuss some other trends I think will start taking place without Reuniclus and Noivern around:
RISES:
Flygon: This was already alluded to (too lazy to go back and check, so whoever mentioned this first can sue me :p) but Flygon is going to be the main Dragon in the tier without Noivern around. The Scarf set also loses a check in Reuniclus (seriously, this thing could set up on fucking Adamant Outrage o.o) and is a fairly reliable way to revenge Cobalion. On the subject of Cobalion, Flygon's defensive set does a p. good job of keeping it in check if you can get Flygon in on quickly enough. Mixed sets might also see a rise considering I don't think the other RU Dragons (Tyrantrum and Druddigon) are going to be able to use Special Attacks any time soon and Flygon's base 80 Special Attack is at least passable thanks to Draco Meteor.
Double Fighting cores: This is something I have experienced with already before the ban. It was good then and it only gets better with Noivern gone. In particular, I can see a core of two Fighting mons + Houndoom becoming very potent considering Houndoom checkmates a lot of the faster Ghost and Psychic mons. Oh, and it doesn't have to go full physical anymore to try and revenge Noivern earlier, thus allowing it to run Dark Pulse over Crunch (I'd still run 40-80 Attack EVs to let Sucker and Pursuit have some power to them) Top Fighting mon choices for such a core would be Gallade, Medicham, Scrafty, and even Sawk. I'd include Cobalion, but such a core generally wants to smash stuff hard right off the bat, but I guess it could work with Coba too.
Uxie: Seriously, why the fuck has nobody mentioned this thing? It was literal bait for Reuniclus to set up on. With 75 / 130 / 130 defenses, access to Calm Mind, and the ability to use a plethora of support moves, Uxie is looking really nice right now. Base 95 Speed is also pretty solid for a defensive Pokemon and it beats a lot of the Fighting-types in the tier 1v1, tho it does obviously lose to Scrafty if it lacks Dazzling Gleam. Although it does need Wish support to fully function with its defensive set, one of its best partners, Aromatisse, happens to cover this and provide an answer to Scrafty.
Meloetta: With fast Fighting-types bound to be popular, a fast Psychic-type isn't going to be a bad investment by any means. Although Meloetta will struggle with the pursuit support most Fighting-types will be given, it isn't like Meloetta is defenseless against them. SubCM just got a ton better with Reuniclus gone and offensive sets (Specs and LO especially) are very difficult to switch into thanks to Meloetta's high Special Attack and great coverage.
DROPS:
Shiftry: While it was already sort of dropping due to Flygon, it just lost the ability to soft check Reuniclus and make most Noiverns think twice about firing off a Hurricane thanks to STAB Sucker Punch. The imminent rise of Fighting-types is also not going to help its cause, and Flygon only got better with Noivern's banning.
Mega Steelix: With the banishment of Noivern and Reuniclus, Fighting-types and Flygon got a lot better. This is compounded by the fact that Cobalion and Scrafty, 2 of the best Pokemon in the meta right now, can deal a ton of damage to Mega Lix quickly. Add to this the fact that Meloetta, a Psychic-type with a powerful coverage option to hit Mega Lix with, is also likely going to see increased usage and this amounts to Mega Lix's usage likely seeing a decline. Most balance teams are probably going to start looking for Rocks users that can at least handle a couple of hits from Fighting mons, such as Uxie, Seismitoad, and even Mesprit. It also helps that these Pokemon can handle some hits from Flygon, Houndoom, or both.
Drapion: While Spiritomb is saved by the fact that it can check some of the Fighting-types (Medicham, Hitmonlee, Gallade to an extent) Drapion has no such luck. While it was one of the more reliable answers to Reuniclus on teams that couldn't afford the use of Spiritomb, it is unable to handle most of the Fighting-types in the tier. While it can also be a decent answer to Uxie and Meloetta, 2 Psychic-types likely on the rise, one must remember that Spiritomb can do the same thing while still checking some Fighting-types reliably. While Spiritomb's usage may drop some due to the rise in Cobalion and Scrafty, it at least redeems itself by being able to check Uxie, Meloetta, and a lot of the secondary Fighters, something Drapion simply can't do as reliably.
DARK HORSES:
Delphox: While Meloetta will overall likely be better, Delphox's high Speed tier will be nice to hit non-Scarf Flygon. Fire STAB also gives Delphox an easier time vs. more defensive teams that are likely to have resistances / immunities to Normal-type moves for Meloetta. Delphox will still struggle with the fact that its frailer than Meloetta and its even more Houndoom bait than Melo is, but being faster than most Fighting-types and having the ability to carry Dazzling Gleam to catch Spiritomb and Scrafty off guard will be nice perks for it at least.
Braviary: With Flygon likely rising further (Defog user) and Fighting-types on the rise as well (weak to Flying) Braviary has a chance to be the most relevant it has been probably since Sticky Web meta. (yay, the way back machine) Scarf sets will be able to outspeed most Fighting-types in the tier while Life Orb sets will be absolute nukes that offensive teams will have very, very limited switch-ins for. Braviary's main issues will lie in the fact that it's prone to getting worn down really quickly, and still takes neutral damage from Fighting-type moves
Mesprit: This is an interesting case, and another one that I'm surprised nobody has brought up. Mesprit has solid overall stats, a Fighting resistance, and access to a lot of solid support moves, not the least of which is Healing Wish. Healing Wish has the potential to be deadly in this metagame when you have shit like Cobalion, Scrafty, MGlalie, and Gallade roaming around, all of which having very limited switch-ins atm. And Mesprit happens to be the most viable user of the move. Outside of its Scarf Healing Wish set, Mesprit is going to have a very hard time standing out from Uxie and Meloetta, but it can function as a bit of a middle ground between the two (a Rocks setter with some of Uxie's bulk and some of Meloetta's power)
Fletchinder: Do I really need to explain this? Super frail, can't take many hits, but Gale Wings Acrobatics is going to be fierce with all of the Fighting-types roaming around. It needs hazard control support, but it's not like that won't be hard to come by with the likes of Flygon and Hitmonlee around. It may not be able to sweep entire teams, but being able to clean them up is certainly a possibility. Just watch out for Sucker Punch mind games from opposing Houndooms.
I may be missing some things, but I think that covers it at a base... lol
RISES:
Flygon: This was already alluded to (too lazy to go back and check, so whoever mentioned this first can sue me :p) but Flygon is going to be the main Dragon in the tier without Noivern around. The Scarf set also loses a check in Reuniclus (seriously, this thing could set up on fucking Adamant Outrage o.o) and is a fairly reliable way to revenge Cobalion. On the subject of Cobalion, Flygon's defensive set does a p. good job of keeping it in check if you can get Flygon in on quickly enough. Mixed sets might also see a rise considering I don't think the other RU Dragons (Tyrantrum and Druddigon) are going to be able to use Special Attacks any time soon and Flygon's base 80 Special Attack is at least passable thanks to Draco Meteor.
Double Fighting cores: This is something I have experienced with already before the ban. It was good then and it only gets better with Noivern gone. In particular, I can see a core of two Fighting mons + Houndoom becoming very potent considering Houndoom checkmates a lot of the faster Ghost and Psychic mons. Oh, and it doesn't have to go full physical anymore to try and revenge Noivern earlier, thus allowing it to run Dark Pulse over Crunch (I'd still run 40-80 Attack EVs to let Sucker and Pursuit have some power to them) Top Fighting mon choices for such a core would be Gallade, Medicham, Scrafty, and even Sawk. I'd include Cobalion, but such a core generally wants to smash stuff hard right off the bat, but I guess it could work with Coba too.
Uxie: Seriously, why the fuck has nobody mentioned this thing? It was literal bait for Reuniclus to set up on. With 75 / 130 / 130 defenses, access to Calm Mind, and the ability to use a plethora of support moves, Uxie is looking really nice right now. Base 95 Speed is also pretty solid for a defensive Pokemon and it beats a lot of the Fighting-types in the tier 1v1, tho it does obviously lose to Scrafty if it lacks Dazzling Gleam. Although it does need Wish support to fully function with its defensive set, one of its best partners, Aromatisse, happens to cover this and provide an answer to Scrafty.
Meloetta: With fast Fighting-types bound to be popular, a fast Psychic-type isn't going to be a bad investment by any means. Although Meloetta will struggle with the pursuit support most Fighting-types will be given, it isn't like Meloetta is defenseless against them. SubCM just got a ton better with Reuniclus gone and offensive sets (Specs and LO especially) are very difficult to switch into thanks to Meloetta's high Special Attack and great coverage.
DROPS:
Shiftry: While it was already sort of dropping due to Flygon, it just lost the ability to soft check Reuniclus and make most Noiverns think twice about firing off a Hurricane thanks to STAB Sucker Punch. The imminent rise of Fighting-types is also not going to help its cause, and Flygon only got better with Noivern's banning.
Mega Steelix: With the banishment of Noivern and Reuniclus, Fighting-types and Flygon got a lot better. This is compounded by the fact that Cobalion and Scrafty, 2 of the best Pokemon in the meta right now, can deal a ton of damage to Mega Lix quickly. Add to this the fact that Meloetta, a Psychic-type with a powerful coverage option to hit Mega Lix with, is also likely going to see increased usage and this amounts to Mega Lix's usage likely seeing a decline. Most balance teams are probably going to start looking for Rocks users that can at least handle a couple of hits from Fighting mons, such as Uxie, Seismitoad, and even Mesprit. It also helps that these Pokemon can handle some hits from Flygon, Houndoom, or both.
Drapion: While Spiritomb is saved by the fact that it can check some of the Fighting-types (Medicham, Hitmonlee, Gallade to an extent) Drapion has no such luck. While it was one of the more reliable answers to Reuniclus on teams that couldn't afford the use of Spiritomb, it is unable to handle most of the Fighting-types in the tier. While it can also be a decent answer to Uxie and Meloetta, 2 Psychic-types likely on the rise, one must remember that Spiritomb can do the same thing while still checking some Fighting-types reliably. While Spiritomb's usage may drop some due to the rise in Cobalion and Scrafty, it at least redeems itself by being able to check Uxie, Meloetta, and a lot of the secondary Fighters, something Drapion simply can't do as reliably.
DARK HORSES:
Delphox: While Meloetta will overall likely be better, Delphox's high Speed tier will be nice to hit non-Scarf Flygon. Fire STAB also gives Delphox an easier time vs. more defensive teams that are likely to have resistances / immunities to Normal-type moves for Meloetta. Delphox will still struggle with the fact that its frailer than Meloetta and its even more Houndoom bait than Melo is, but being faster than most Fighting-types and having the ability to carry Dazzling Gleam to catch Spiritomb and Scrafty off guard will be nice perks for it at least.
Braviary: With Flygon likely rising further (Defog user) and Fighting-types on the rise as well (weak to Flying) Braviary has a chance to be the most relevant it has been probably since Sticky Web meta. (yay, the way back machine) Scarf sets will be able to outspeed most Fighting-types in the tier while Life Orb sets will be absolute nukes that offensive teams will have very, very limited switch-ins for. Braviary's main issues will lie in the fact that it's prone to getting worn down really quickly, and still takes neutral damage from Fighting-type moves
Mesprit: This is an interesting case, and another one that I'm surprised nobody has brought up. Mesprit has solid overall stats, a Fighting resistance, and access to a lot of solid support moves, not the least of which is Healing Wish. Healing Wish has the potential to be deadly in this metagame when you have shit like Cobalion, Scrafty, MGlalie, and Gallade roaming around, all of which having very limited switch-ins atm. And Mesprit happens to be the most viable user of the move. Outside of its Scarf Healing Wish set, Mesprit is going to have a very hard time standing out from Uxie and Meloetta, but it can function as a bit of a middle ground between the two (a Rocks setter with some of Uxie's bulk and some of Meloetta's power)
Fletchinder: Do I really need to explain this? Super frail, can't take many hits, but Gale Wings Acrobatics is going to be fierce with all of the Fighting-types roaming around. It needs hazard control support, but it's not like that won't be hard to come by with the likes of Flygon and Hitmonlee around. It may not be able to sweep entire teams, but being able to clean them up is certainly a possibility. Just watch out for Sucker Punch mind games from opposing Houndooms.
I may be missing some things, but I think that covers it at a base... lol
