Viability Doesn't Always Run in The Family - Part 3

Meowth

At first glance, Meowth may seem like a very weak and simple creature, with its somewhat limited movepool and poor stats. However, a closer look at the way it functions yields that there is certainly more to Meowth than meets the eye. It reaches the 19 speed tier, which is highly significant in Little Cup, and it also gets Fake Out, which is boosted by its Technician ability; this adds up to be quite a chunk of damage after factoring in STAB as well, which is boosted even further if Life Orb is equipped. The fact that so many boosts can be stacked into one attack that has +3 priority and a 100% flinch rate makes Meowth the greatest abuser of chip damage in the tier, and the opponent doesn't even get to hit back while this is being carried out. Another approach Meowth can take is with Normal Gem, which activates when Fake Out is used and then frees up Meowth's item slot so that it can use Covet, which also benefits from STAB and Technician, to steal what its opponent is holding.

Being the Normal-type attack that Fake Out is, there are obviously targets that aren't affected by it or don't mind it very much (those being Ghost-, Rock-, and Steel-types), but Meowth is gifted with other things that let it get around them. Knock Off is a nasty surprise for any Ghost-type hoping to avoid damage from Meowth's STAB attacks, and its access to U-turn combined with 19 Speed lets Meowth easily pivot out of anything it can't take advantage of, while bringing in a teammate more suited for the situation. Meowth's ability to take hits is absolutely horrible, but that isn't what it's designed for. It's designed to get a huge chunk of free damage with Fake Out, use its high Speed to U-turn out so it can avoid damage and improve one's matchup, and come back in later to continue the process. Its access to Knock Off to remove items and punish Ghost-types is just icing on the cake. Meowth isn't a top-tier threat, but it's good enough at what it does to let it make a great impact if used properly, at least until it evolves...

Ponyta

Ponyta is easily the most reliable and self-sufficient offensive Fire-type in Little Cup, boasting a godly 19 Speed stat and carrying a nuke in Flare Blitz that hits every bit as hard as Murkrow's Brave Bird did, down to the decimal. It can make conventional use of Will-O-Wisp to cripple physically inclined enemies, and it definitely has the Speed to get it off before the foe can move in the vast majority of cases. It has reliable coverage in Wild Charge for giving Water-types a nice shock, and it also has Morning Sun as reliable recovery to help it take hits as well as deal with Stealth Rock damage.

In addition to Ponyta's already impressive offensive prowess, it can use Sunny Day to make its Flare Blitz even more dangerous while also aiding it with its weakness to Water. Morning Sun also recovers more health in harsh sunlight. Even though Ponyta's specially offensive potential is subpar compared with what it can do physically, it can also run an effective Solar Beam set with Sunny Day, giving it a powerful Grass-type coverage attack that obliterates all three types that give Fire-types problems. With great Speed, offensive power, and recovery, Ponyta is one of the all-around best Pokémon in Little Cup, and it is also the Pokémon with the highest base stat total of all Pokémon in the tier as of Misdreavus's somewhat recent ban.

Archen

Despite what might appear at first glance to be a bad Pokémon with a horrible ability and a subpar typing, Archen is actually quite the commodity in Little Cup. With a colossal base 112 Attack and a Speed stat that maxes out at 17, it poses a certain offensive threat to the majority of the metagame. Berry Juice is a very handy item for Archen that accomplishes three things: it restores its health, pulls Archen out of Defeatist range after being taken to below half its maximum HP, and it doubles the power of its Acrobatics after consumption, which then allows it to steamroll through many important Pokémon such as Mienfoo and Foongus and deal heavy damage to others. Earthquake as offensive coverage crushes most Pokémon that resist Acrobatics, and Archen even has access to U-turn to maintain momentum as it forces switches with its great offensive presence. Last but not least, Archen is a good controller of entry hazards, having access to both Defog and Stealth Rock. Eviolite sets can utilize Roost to maintain health and to keep Defeatist from getting the best of Archen.

Fletchling and Diglett form a highly potent offensive core that can really mess with players; the idea is that Fletchling's offensive presence and its Gale Wings-assisted Acrobatics threat lures in Flying-resistant Pokémon, and all Flying-resistant types are weak to Ground. Fletchling uses U-turn as they switch in, and then pivots out to Diglett, which traps and kills them with a super effective Earthquake, thereby removing the team's Fletchling answer so that it can freely sweep. What makes Archen's typing so great is that it resists Flying but is also immune to Diglett's Earthquake and Arena Trap, being able to handle the core single-handedly in the vast majority of cases. Archen's Rock typing also warrants it a use on teams for new reasons as well: the ban of Misdreavus from the tier has given rise to Normal-type hard-hitters in Bunnelby and Zigzagoon, and having a Normal resist around is definitely handy to check those.

Cleffa

Azurill and Igglybuff are horrible, but at least they have abilities that are helpful to them and a unique immunity to Shadow Ball. To put it bluntly, Cleffa is by far the worst Fairy-type in Little Cup and is outclassed in every way possible by better Pokémon in the tier. Cleffa's stats are absolutely horrendous; its bulk is not that great, its Speed is literally equal to that of Slowpoke, and its offensive capabilities don't go far beyond a good special movepool that it can't make good use of. Even Flabebe, a Fairy that's totally outclassed by Spritzee, is a better choice as a Fairy-type than Cleffa, and both of its abilities are useless outside of Double battles.

Magic Guard is a great ability that makes all indirect damage have no effect on its bearer. However, it's not nearly enough to salvage Cleffa when just about every decently powered attack in the tier easily 2HKOes it; it doesn't have the Speed or power to dish out decent enough damage in retaliation. Cute Charm is never good to rely on in serious battles and Friend Guard has no use in singles. Sadly, Cleffa's stake in the pit of forgotten Little Cup Pokémon is going to be there for a long time.

Happiny

Happiny has great special bulk and a handful of support options, which might initially make it seem like a solid choice for a Little Cup team. However, it's totally nonviable for a long list of reasons. Happiny's role as a cleric is hindered by the fact that it doesn't have access to Wish, whereas many Little Cup clerics do. Additionally, Happiny is totally outclassed as a bulky Normal-type by both Lickitung and Munchlax. Lickitung has Wish, much greater overall bulk, and Knock Off, while Munchlax's stats are all higher than Happiny's with the exception of Speed, which it doesn't mind being without; Munchlax is also a commendable offensive force with a nice base 85 Attack. Spritzee also largely outclasses Happiny as a bulky cleric, having Wish, better allocated stats, and a better defensive typing. As a result, Happiny is not recommended for use on a Little Cup team at all... it just has nothing going for it that other things don't already do notably better, and there's not much else to be said about it as far as its viability in Little Cup.

Swinub

Swinub is a very unfortunate case. It's common knowledge that Ice-types have always been defensively poor, and in Little Cup there is no exception. To be honest, Ice-type coverage isn't that great in the tier either. You know Ice is a bad offensive type in LC when the most viable user of STAB Ice-type moves is Protean Froakie, which isn't even an Ice-type. The only other remotely viable Ice-type in the metagame is Choice Scarf Snover, which lost most of its relevance when XY's auto-weather nerf made sand much less threatening, meaning the latter no longer needs to be checked so closely. If you're reading this and wondering why Swinub isn't being talked about here, it's because that's about how relevant it is. Ice-types in general are that horrible here.

A unique immunity to both Sandstorm and Hail granted by its typing hardly helps when both weathers have become very uncommon in this generation of Little Cup. Access to dual screens is pretty cool for it, but it doesn't have the stats or defensive typing to make reliable use of this tactic. The only meaningful things Swinub can lay claim to are its access to Stealth Rock, neutrality to Rock due to its Ground typing, and Thick Fat to make it also take neutral damage from Fire-type attacks, but none of these attributes are enough to save it from its horrible reality of being a typical Ice-type in Little Cup.