What does it mean for something to be viable in competive battling?

Question

For example: Eviolite Scraggy is Viable in LC. What does that mean? Or is something being viable just a phrase for something?

Comments

viable = being a useful pokemon
Example a PU mon on an Ubers tier usually isn't viable.

Answer 1

In the simplest of terms, it means is a certain Pokemon a half decent choice or usable in a specific tier. This usually means that said Pokemon has a quality or niche that lets it stands out from the competition so it is not completely outclassed by other ones that can perform similar roles. In your specific question, it would mean that would eviolite Scraggy be a good idea in lc, or are there other Pokemon who are better at using eviolite

The more concrete example I could think of at the moment is Gliscor. It stands out from fellow ground types Garchomp and Landorus because unlike those two, it can actually be a full defensive Pokemon thanks to reliable recovery which the other two doesn't have other than leftovers

Someone could probably come up with a better answer but that's just my thoughts on it

Answer 2

Viable – Able to be used in a competitive team in a tier environment, i.e. not unviable. Viability is how much it can (ideally) be used.

Viability Ranking – A tool that ranks the perceived viabilities of Pokémon in a tier environment, and ideally aids the player base in team building and preparing for battle in the tier. Importantly, the first few ranks should contain Pokémon banned from lower tiers if for a balanced tier, whilst the lower ranks mostly (or only) contain Pokémon allowed in lower tiers.

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I think something (Pokemon, move, item, ability, EV spread, or strategy) is viable if there are a lot of situations where that thing is the best thing to use. For example, double-edge is viable in gen 2 OU. When you have a Snorlax and the opponent has a Zapdos, which is a very common situation, double-edge is the strongest attack that still lets your Snorlax move next turn. Tackle is not viable because double-edge is better in almost every situation, so there are no good reasons to use tackle.

Also Drednaw is a PU Pokemon that's viable in Ubers.