Since everyone else is focused on Houndoom's departure, I'd like to give my initial thoughts on the suspect at hand, Weavile. Be aware that these are just my first thoughts about Weavile before getting to build some teams and play matches with him, so feel free to disagree with my sentiment.



I'll start with going over Weavile's basic strengths and weaknesses. Weavile is blessed with high speed and attack, as well as a killer offensive typing and a movepool that, while somewhat barren, still gives him enough to work with in order to become a dangerous offensive threat. He also comes with Pursuit, giving him some offensive utility and making him a great teammate for pokemon who appreciate Weavile's prey being removed. On the flip side, the same typing that makes him an offensive powerhouse also makes him a defensive liability, and, coupled with his laughable bulk, forces him to either be brought in via volt-turn, doubles, or sacks. Furthermore, said defensive typing saddles Weavile with a weakness to rocks, which, coupled with life orb recoil (Weavile's most commonly run item), makes him easy to wear down, and forces you to run hazard control if you wish to use Weavile to his fullest extent, restricting teambuilding.



On to his place in the meta, it feels like Weavile is being thrust into a meta that isn't as kind to him as it once was. While he has few viable switch-ins, those that do exist (Buzzwole, Cobalion, Scizor, etc.) are already extremely good and are common sights in UU, meaning that most teams will usually, in some fashion, be prepared for Weavile as is. Furthermore, while Weavile is fast, he's nowhere near the speed demon he used to be, being humbled by Sceptile, Beedrill, and Aero, all of which possess a means to ohko Weavile from full and take advantage of him being choice-locked into koff or icicle crash, if banded (As for LO, Bee and Aero can eat a Ice Shard in a pinch, taking around 60-70% each and killing back, though this will definitely be a niche situation and not a very appealing one for Weavile's opponent). Lastly, priority is another obstacle for Weavile, since he is weak to the two most common forms of it (Bullet Punch and Mach Punch), allowing the opponent to keep him in check even if they have nothing to outspeed him.



All of this is not to say Weavile won't be good. He comes with a stellar offensive typing, great offensive utility through pursuit trapping, and is overall a force to be reckoned with. However, I feel like the counterplay available, including defensive and offensive checks, keep Weavile in check, and, as such, make him a balanced pokemon in UU. I'll make a more in-depth post on Weavile once I have the time to really play with him.