Personally my gut intuition says that Zoroark GX is going to see a bit of reduced play because the loss of Brigette actually affects the deck's ability to build up damage, not just its ability to get set up. Pokemon Fan Club is a sore replacement for Brigette, and spamming Nest Ball in the deck consumes a bit of space. In some ways, I feel that Naganadel GX has power crept the function of Zoraork GX as an attacker, not only because of hitting for Psychic weakness (such as Buzzwole), but also because it has the benefit of Ultra Space to feed Pokemon onto the bench that gives it more consistency than Zoroark GX in a Brigette-less format. I think instead of 4/4 Zoroark GX with a 3/2 partner, it'll be flipped around to see a 4/3 main attacker with a 2/2 to 3/3 Zoroark GX line for Trade's consistency. Zoroark GX/Magcargo GX is one such upcoming deck that I think this applies to. Perhaps Alolan Ninetales GX (fairy) with Zoroark GX to Beacon for Pokemon and Item search for Nest/Ultra Ball while giving you Dragon type coverage (UNGX/Ray) and instant UB OHKOs is also not a half bad idea.
That being said, there will still be plenty of Zoroark GX to Guzma up and OHKO, but if Zoroark GX is not going to be the one applying pressure directly as the main attacker, then there may be less value in doing that, just like how people don't really just swing at Leles for 2 "free prizes" since it doesn't interupt your opponent at all.
On the flip side, Parallel City is going away, so that could be seen as a huge green light for Zoroark GX to take the stage.
We'll see, really. The upcoming format is pretty interesting to me. I think there are a lot of good options, and honestly my favorite part of a meta is when it's still being figured out. I think all of the major current rotation decks stand a reasonable chance and there is a lot of room for upcoming decks to compete.
I agree with you, for the most part.
Though, I feel Zoroark's ability will still make it a top tier deck.
Mainly, because in a meta with less draw supporters, Zoroark's ability becomes an even greater asset.
Getting one Zoroark-GX, can often times snowball into getting the others set-up; especially with Mallow.
While Pokemon Fan Club is one less Pokemon, it has the added benefit of being able to grab Lele.
Though, the absence of Brigette is also the reason why I feel Buzzwole will stay relevant; since it can OHKO Zorua easily.
At this point, It's hard to make an accurate guess.
I remember a lot of people speculating how bad our non-Trainer Mail/VS Seeker meta would be...
and it turned out better than expected.
Just have to wait, and play it~
EDIT:
Beadt ring and Beast Energy aren’t replacements. Beast energy is 1 per deck. And Beast Ring removes all the early game pressure that you can have. Which was Buzzy’s greatest strength
Buzzwole still has early game.
Don't underestimate 30/60(CB) damage + 30 to the bench.
That's what made it so good in the first place.
GX Pokemon need to evolve.
Buzzwole will always exploit low-hp basics.
I remember when people were saying "ban beast ring," and now I'm hearing Buzzwole's a bad deck... What a world.
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