Flygon

Flygon is a decent Pokemon thanks to its offensive and defensive traits that suit the metagame well. For one, its incredible typing and ability provide a resistance to Rock and immunities to sand, Spikes, and Electric- and Ground-type attacks. These traits improve longevity and make it one of, if not the, best counter to Dragon Dance Tyranitar in the entire tier and a good check to Hidden Power Grass Zapdos lacking Toxic, Jolteon, and Aerodactyl. Its offenses are also quite good, as its Earthquake is strong enough to hit offensive Pokemon quite hard, and its coverage makes the majority of the offensive metagame think twice before coming in. This offensive prowess is furthered by Flygon's very good base 100 Speed, which lets it outspeed common Pokemon like Heracross, Metagross, some Zapdos variants, and bulky Dragon Dance Tyranitar at +1. However, Flygon has some major shortcomings that prevent it from being considered a top-tier threat. While it has great defensive merit, its typing leaves it vulnerable to Ice-type coverage from the likes of Gengar, Zapdos, Jolteon, Blissey, and offensive Water-types. It also often relies on trapping support from Magneton and Pursuit Tyranitar, as Skarmory and Gengar are unfazed by Flygon and can use it to generate free turns. While it's quite strong, Pokemon like defensive Swampert, Skarmory, and Milotic are able to take Flygon's attacks and recover them off. Its matchup against most common Toxic + Sandstorm + Spikes teams featuring SkarmBliss cores requires quite a bit of support from Spikes and trapping due to those teams being able to take Flygon's hits easily and even use it for free turns. Flygon also faces stiff competition from Swampert; despite Flygon being Spikes immune and not having to worry about being lured in and removed by sets like Hidden Power Grass Zapdos and Jolteon, Swampert's typing and greater bulk let it answer a lot more of the overall metagame and make it easier to fit on teams. As a result, Flygon is a more specialized, matchup-based pick in comparison.