Suspecting Mega Sableye is dumb. It's pretty much the only check for Stall to Deoxys spam teams, especially specs swellow. Mega Sableye is necessary in the metagame, it makes Deoxys spam handleable outside of spamming priority. Removing it means removing Stall entirely, which i completely don't agree with. If netherless Mega Sableye gets banned, quickbanning Deoxys from spreading its stats will be a necessity (and all forms so that the complex ban is avoided, despite only one form being truely used)
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Metagame Godly Gift
- Thread starter Chessking345
- Start date
Funbot28
Banned deucer.
Firstly, as part of Smogon banning philosophy, we do not adhere to the mindset of broken checking broken (assuming that Deo-A as a god is broken in the first place, where I am on the fence about as well). So in this instance, if Deoxys-A becomes too much of an issue after the potential banning of Mega Sableye, then we will likely address this issue accordingly.
Secondly, Mega Sableye is not the sole threat that makes stall viable. While it is a huge proponent to it by means of it blocking hazards on top of its incredible defensive typing, other threats such as Toxapex, Skarmory, Dugtrio, and Clefable all make the playstyle still usable when paired with gods such as Giratina and Lugia. I emplore others to test these playstyles during the suspect ladder in order to help them when it comes time to voting. Also, Mega Sableye is by no means a check to Swellow in the slightest.
iLlama
Nothing personal, I protect my people
This was an argument that appeared last generation during the previous Mega Sableye suspect test and subsequent banning of Sablenite. Mega Sableye is the best counter to Deoxys-A, there is no doubt about this; however, this does not mean that an unhealthy/broken Pokémon is allowed to remain in the metagame without at least being put out as an object for discussion and a possibility for banning. Mega Sableye is inherently centralizing in Godly Gift as it forces people to run incredibly specific Pokémon in order to have a chance of beating it. It has incredible team support options as well in Pokémon such as Toxapex, Skarmory, Dugtrio, Clefable, and many other Pokémon that can allow it to stall out any Pokémon that do not present an immediate threat to it, meaning teams can have little to no drawbacks in relying on Mega Sableye to completely shut down opposing teams. I'm going to utilize my arguments from the previous iteration of Godly Gift (Gifts of the Gods) as to why it not only deserves a suspect, but also a ban.
"My short points on Mega Sableye:
- It's far too constricting for teambuilds. Sure the metagame is still developing, but when utilized to its full potential and on a great teambuild, especially Stall, it is nearly impossible to beat.
- Its utility options paired with Magic Bounce are simply too great to ignore; Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, Recover, Knock Off, Foul Play, Calm Mind, Snarl, Dark Pulse, Night Shade, Fake Out, Metal Burst, and Taunt give it multiple viable sets to use and each can dismantle opposing team comps.
- It is simply one of the best possible options for the HP slot on Stall teams and acts as a blanket check to most of the metagame.
- Although Mega Sableye has legitimate counters and checks in Fairy-types and some specialized stallbreakers and wallbreakers, it is extremely easy to manage these threats thanks to incredible team options and different stat boosts.
Broken Pokemon checking/countering/anything other Pokemon that could potentially become broken is not a reason for the original to not be banned, i.e. 'If Mega Sableye is banned then Deoxys-A will be broken, so we can't ban Mega Sableye.' So that you are aware, just because something that is broken beats something else that is really good and potentially broken doesn't mean that the original Pokemon is not broken. If Deoxys-A and other Pokemon have the potential to be broken if Mega Sableye is banned, then they will be suspected accordingly. That is how metagames develop and change."
There have been some comments as to when the VR for both God Pokémon and stat receivers will be updated, and the council has decided to wait until after the Mega Sableye suspect has concluded so that our list reflects the present metagame.
Lcass4919
The Xatu Warrior
if anything im baffled sableye is being suspected before toxapex or deoxys A. honestly, not only is it rarely seen from what i've noticed being at ~top 5 (fluctuating up and down), both are significantly harder to take down and impact the match WAY more then sableye does this generation.
the main issue with sableye, is that you lose your hp slot...which tbh, stall NEEDS toxapex in hp. toxapex's utility and tankyness alongside pseudo setup resistance is a godsend for stall. i know sableye is a problem. but toxapex and deoxys A are both WAY more significant due to their overall utility. sure, sableye forces offense to run nukes to hope to beat it. but toxapex you just have to endure its presence until toxapex's teammates are down, as regenerator, haze, scald burns, and toxic spikes slowly takes its toll on your team. not to mention, that taking sable away only makes toxapex MORE of a problem. as it will be run MORE and although broken checking broken shouldnt apply, your basically removing something slightly broken which allows the biggest threat in the meta to rampage even more then it did already by removing the one thing that can currently stop its shenanigans. not to mention toxapex's utility isnt just good on stall, but balance and even offense tend to use it just because of how great it is. sable is a staple on stall, but toxapex is moreso a staple on EVERY playstyle but hyper offense. i don't get this decision, and it honestly shocks me.
the main issue with sableye, is that you lose your hp slot...which tbh, stall NEEDS toxapex in hp. toxapex's utility and tankyness alongside pseudo setup resistance is a godsend for stall. i know sableye is a problem. but toxapex and deoxys A are both WAY more significant due to their overall utility. sure, sableye forces offense to run nukes to hope to beat it. but toxapex you just have to endure its presence until toxapex's teammates are down, as regenerator, haze, scald burns, and toxic spikes slowly takes its toll on your team. not to mention, that taking sable away only makes toxapex MORE of a problem. as it will be run MORE and although broken checking broken shouldnt apply, your basically removing something slightly broken which allows the biggest threat in the meta to rampage even more then it did already by removing the one thing that can currently stop its shenanigans. not to mention toxapex's utility isnt just good on stall, but balance and even offense tend to use it just because of how great it is. sable is a staple on stall, but toxapex is moreso a staple on EVERY playstyle but hyper offense. i don't get this decision, and it honestly shocks me.
sin(pi)
lucky n bad
Sableye is not a swellow check. On the other hand:
252 SpA Choice Specs Swellow (180 SpA) Boomburst vs. 8 HP / 4 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 145-171 (42.2 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Tyranitar Pursuit vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Swellow: 222-262 (85 - 100.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Adamant Scarftar needs only base 80 speed (which pretty much everything in Ubers can donate, and it's not like you have any other use for the speed stat on stall).
252 SpA Choice Specs Swellow (180 SpA) Boomburst vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey: 255-301 (39.1 - 46.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery (Blissey is probably inheriting a good defense stat so Calm is a viable nature)
252 SpA Choice Specs Swellow (180 SpA) Boomburst vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 223-264 (34.7 - 41.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
edit: apparently blobs are banned rip
If Deoxys is only checked by MSab (and I'm not saying it is), then that's a pretty clear indication that Deo needs to go. But this suspect is for MSab.
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I hope Smeargle is on you guys' radar as well. The pressure that thing puts on offensive and even bulkier arceus-based teams is completely disgusting. I don't know that real counterplay exists given how customizable this mon is.
iLlama
Nothing personal, I protect my people
There are much better options to check Swellow than saving Mega Sableye to use Metal Burst and then be rendered useless in the rest of the match. Tyranitar and Rhyperior are both good answers to it and are both good on stall teams, specially band ttar.
Smeargle loses to quite a bit of Pokémon, such as Tapu Lele, faster priority (Deoxys-A, Arceus, Pikachu, etc.), and it runs into the issue of 4 moveslot syndrome, where it can't cover every defensive option if you are running FakeSpeed. It's definitely a threat in the metagame, but it's not suspect worthy.
RegenVest Tangrowth in Ho-oh's or Lugia's SpDef slot is what I call a Swellow check, as it survives two Boombursts so that it can knock the specs off, allowing other team members like Sab or Toxapex to take Swellow's Boombursts much better. Thanks to Regenerator it gets its health back when switching out.
Ambipom's base speed is far better, so can fire off STAB Returns against Psychic spam. But I take the point.
Ambipom lacks coverage Smeargle has, but yeah it can be faster than non scarf Tapu Lele which means it can knock it out with Return and then let its teammates stall out the psychic terrain turns for him.
Tangrowth is a good check, but Swellow gets Air Slash which can do a number on Tangrowth, and since i mentioned 120 HP, it's pretty much Arceus teams (120 sPd then). Of course with 154 spD you can wall Swellow (anything here with decent HP can actually), that's not the point, especially cause Lugia and Ho-oh aren't so much used, except on stall, where usually Giratina is sometimes preffered due to its better HP and offenses than Lugia (even if Ho-oh gets a higher Attack, it gets shitty Defense for a stall team). Btw Ho-oh also walls Swellow and can ko it back with anything but Earthquake, given how much frail Swellow is. SpD Doublade can also wall Swellow to an extant, as it doesn't like Heat Wave, but Gyro Ball is a guaranteed KO back.
More in the gimmick options (but fun), Corsola in either SpD or HP can wall Swellow lacking Hidden Power Grass or Fighting, and also gets Regenerator alongside rocks, Scald and reliable recovery. I think Corsola is underrated in this meta. Could be worth a try.
Tangrowth is a good check, but Swellow gets Air Slash which can do a number on Tangrowth, and since i mentioned 120 HP, it's pretty much Arceus teams (120 sPd then). Of course with 154 spD you can wall Swellow (anything here with decent HP can actually), that's not the point, especially cause Lugia and Ho-oh aren't so much used, except on stall, where usually Giratina is sometimes preffered due to its better HP and offenses than Lugia (even if Ho-oh gets a higher Attack, it gets shitty Defense for a stall team). Btw Ho-oh also walls Swellow and can ko it back with anything but Earthquake, given how much frail Swellow is. SpD Doublade can also wall Swellow to an extant, as it doesn't like Heat Wave, but Gyro Ball is a guaranteed KO back.
More in the gimmick options (but fun), Corsola in either SpD or HP can wall Swellow lacking Hidden Power Grass or Fighting, and also gets Regenerator alongside rocks, Scald and reliable recovery. I think Corsola is underrated in this meta. Could be worth a try.
Air Slash does actually nearly the same damage as boomburst to Tangrowth (225 vs 210), so that should not be a problem for the spaghetti monster.
iLlama
Nothing personal, I protect my people
It's actually 215 for Air Slash
sin(pi)
lucky n bad
75 (BP) * 2 (SE) * 3/2 (STAB) = 225
Swellow does get Hurricane, but you have to pass up on Heat Wave which probably isn't worth it.
iLlama
Nothing personal, I protect my people
I've been calcing things incorrectly for years, dang.
In other news, I have posted rough editions of Viability Rankings for both God Pokémon and stat receivers. I also understand that Mega Sableye has not been taken off of the ladder yet (hopefully it will be soon), but you may still ladder for the suspect as the deadline will not be changing.
SaturnZelda
formerly TylerWithNumbers
Nomming Golem-Alola in Speed for C-. In an Electric Terrain team, it hits very hard with Galvanize under Terrain. For example, here's a calc on Tangrowth (Vanilla, because it most commonly runs SpD).
252+ Atk Choice Band Galvanize Golem-Alola Return vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tangrowth in Electric Terrain: 191-225 (47.2 - 55.6%) -- 78.5% chance to 2HKO
More often than not, it's not allowed to switch in, especially with rocks up. And Explosion OHKOs it, if you're inclined to use that.
252+ Atk Choice Band Galvanize Golem-Alola Return vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tangrowth in Electric Terrain: 191-225 (47.2 - 55.6%) -- 78.5% chance to 2HKO
More often than not, it's not allowed to switch in, especially with rocks up. And Explosion OHKOs it, if you're inclined to use that.
I found a little bug in the teambuilder: Shadow Tag Wobbuffet, which is a regular Uber due to its ability, cannot be used (should be the god in my team) - when trying to battle with my team consisting of toxapex/magearna/tapu koko/ttar/ass-greninja/wobbufet, it says that wobbufet's ability Shadow Tag is banned - altough Shadow Tag Wobbufet is the only Uber in my team.
iLlama
Nothing personal, I protect my people
Shadow Tag as an ability is banned in Godly Gift.
yes, it is good that non-gods cannot use it, but ubers should be able to use it (as there are mons which are only uber because of an ability like said Wobbuffet), as they're ubers and Shadow Tag is legal in Ubers. Because Shadow Tag is banned as an ability in OU, a shadow tag pokemon should be considered the god and thus donating its stat (or making the team illegal if it includes another Uber).
It's also a very different casehuge/pure power, because they aren't banned in regular OU, no pokemon with huge power/pure power is an Uber and so huge/pure power mons are capable of receiving stat boosts from the god, making them really broken.
It's also a very different casehuge/pure power, because they aren't banned in regular OU, no pokemon with huge power/pure power is an Uber and so huge/pure power mons are capable of receiving stat boosts from the god, making them really broken.
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iLlama
Nothing personal, I protect my people
That would then go against the meta's rules as we follow OU Clauses. Besides that, we banned Shadow Tag independently of that decision as it's an inherently broken ability, especially in this metagame.
Why is it an inherently broken ability? Pokemon are hitting much harder than usual in this meta, so that it becomes much more difficult for Gengar to perish trap or for Gothitelle to set up with CM, as they're Ubers due to their ability and thus cannot receive HP/defensive gifts from other gods.
And why is Duggy with Arena Trap still allowed? Unlike STag users which are all Uber, Duggy is OU and can receive gifts to get much higher attack stat, so that it seems to be much better than Gengar or Gothitelle in this meta.
And why is Duggy with Arena Trap still allowed? Unlike STag users which are all Uber, Duggy is OU and can receive gifts to get much higher attack stat, so that it seems to be much better than Gengar or Gothitelle in this meta.
Just gunna post these in the thread as well, a few placements that I disagree with:
Linoone in B+:
This mon directly competes with Smeargle, its bulk improvement does not justify its stats thanks to not running any investment (plus the bulk is still horrid, and it wont run focus sash like smeargle can), and there are very few times when someone will need a linoone on their team more than a smeargle. Its only selling point is that with gluttony and a speed berry it can out-espeed deoxys- but its still a wet noodle that cant break through steel types no matter how much attack stat you give it, and a reliance on belly drumming and a one-time berry in no way lands it in the B tier. Seed bomb is a plus, stil underwhelming and outsped by the relevant rock types like scarftar that it would otherwise be effective against. Should be D tier
Lanturn in B:
Im sure it has some obscure use, probably as a Electerrain counter? This mon is crippled by having bad offenses and no recovery, along with a huge hp stat that makes it a challenge to even be wishpassed to. Easily worn down and really not a competitive mon, should be D tier
Azumarill in D:
This is a mistake, Azumarill is a very reliable Serperior answer and deserves to be higher up as an Atk inheriter. Just because it does not have Huge Power does not take away from the fact that Water/Fairy is a fine STAB combo, plus the additional sap sipper allows it to boost its attack even higher than Huge Power Azumarill and provides your team a clean answer to one of the most threatening mons in the tier. The only sentiment I keep hearing against this mon is that it doesnt have huge power which is honestly just really thoughtless and illogical, considering the meta allows you to boost its attack through the attack slot and also grant it an additional ability. Cant break toxapex, but neither can most mons in the A and B rank. Should be B+
Nidoqueen unranked:
This makes no sense to me, Nidoqueen is a better alternative to Nidoking in every situation except when you lay webs against a Deoxys-A team (in which case, all of your other mons will also be able to tackle their 150 speed mon just as well, and deoxys-a is going to get knocked out by anything- so Nidoking only has a superior matchup vs one pokemon on the opposing side). Nidos are excellent in this meta because they are the best wallbreakers. Nidoqueen offers more bulk and less speed, but running 76 speed maxed will still outspeed all walls, whilst also granting you a lot more bulk to not make you deadweight vs offense. For instance Nidoqueen will survive LO hp ice from tapu koko with 180 spa, and LO espeed from smeargle, both of which will be ohkoing Nidoking. This really helps you gain another teamslot vs offense, instead of playing 5v6. Nidoking even struggles immensely with things its supposed to check with its typing- itll risk getting ohkod by a +1 hp fire vs comfey after SR and 1 spike. It also cant risk trying to switch into toxapex on a predicted toxic when it'll get 2hkod by scald, unlike nidoqueen who can take the chance and threaten it out + start destroying stall teams. In almost every situation, Nidoqueen is going to outperform Nidoking at the role that both will be picked for (wallbreaker.. not sweeper), and deserved to be ranked, also deserving to be placed higher than King. Should be A tier
Golduck in D:
I think this mon that holds the role of swift swim sweeper should be removed and replaced with Ludicolo, who is a far superior alternative that still outspeeds all the relevant targets, but also has the huge boon of having bullet seed which will break through the sashes of HO mons like deo-a in order to take them out in one hit. Its coverage is all-round better on both atk and special atk slots, and having the additional STAB option is helpful. Its electric/grass neutrality will be helpful when paired with Pelipper and Kyogre.
Should be unranked
hopefully those will get changed, the tier list is mostly in the right place (altho the other thing i can think of would be putting zekrom higher in uber rankings too considering how omnipresent toxtina cores are right now) but these things really stand out as wrong imo. theres a few mons that could be added and a few mons that prob dont need a rank, but for the most part its ok
Linoone in B+:
This mon directly competes with Smeargle, its bulk improvement does not justify its stats thanks to not running any investment (plus the bulk is still horrid, and it wont run focus sash like smeargle can), and there are very few times when someone will need a linoone on their team more than a smeargle. Its only selling point is that with gluttony and a speed berry it can out-espeed deoxys- but its still a wet noodle that cant break through steel types no matter how much attack stat you give it, and a reliance on belly drumming and a one-time berry in no way lands it in the B tier. Seed bomb is a plus, stil underwhelming and outsped by the relevant rock types like scarftar that it would otherwise be effective against. Should be D tier
Lanturn in B:
Im sure it has some obscure use, probably as a Electerrain counter? This mon is crippled by having bad offenses and no recovery, along with a huge hp stat that makes it a challenge to even be wishpassed to. Easily worn down and really not a competitive mon, should be D tier
Azumarill in D:
This is a mistake, Azumarill is a very reliable Serperior answer and deserves to be higher up as an Atk inheriter. Just because it does not have Huge Power does not take away from the fact that Water/Fairy is a fine STAB combo, plus the additional sap sipper allows it to boost its attack even higher than Huge Power Azumarill and provides your team a clean answer to one of the most threatening mons in the tier. The only sentiment I keep hearing against this mon is that it doesnt have huge power which is honestly just really thoughtless and illogical, considering the meta allows you to boost its attack through the attack slot and also grant it an additional ability. Cant break toxapex, but neither can most mons in the A and B rank. Should be B+
Nidoqueen unranked:
This makes no sense to me, Nidoqueen is a better alternative to Nidoking in every situation except when you lay webs against a Deoxys-A team (in which case, all of your other mons will also be able to tackle their 150 speed mon just as well, and deoxys-a is going to get knocked out by anything- so Nidoking only has a superior matchup vs one pokemon on the opposing side). Nidos are excellent in this meta because they are the best wallbreakers. Nidoqueen offers more bulk and less speed, but running 76 speed maxed will still outspeed all walls, whilst also granting you a lot more bulk to not make you deadweight vs offense. For instance Nidoqueen will survive LO hp ice from tapu koko with 180 spa, and LO espeed from smeargle, both of which will be ohkoing Nidoking. This really helps you gain another teamslot vs offense, instead of playing 5v6. Nidoking even struggles immensely with things its supposed to check with its typing- itll risk getting ohkod by a +1 hp fire vs comfey after SR and 1 spike. It also cant risk trying to switch into toxapex on a predicted toxic when it'll get 2hkod by scald, unlike nidoqueen who can take the chance and threaten it out + start destroying stall teams. In almost every situation, Nidoqueen is going to outperform Nidoking at the role that both will be picked for (wallbreaker.. not sweeper), and deserved to be ranked, also deserving to be placed higher than King. Should be A tier
Golduck in D:
I think this mon that holds the role of swift swim sweeper should be removed and replaced with Ludicolo, who is a far superior alternative that still outspeeds all the relevant targets, but also has the huge boon of having bullet seed which will break through the sashes of HO mons like deo-a in order to take them out in one hit. Its coverage is all-round better on both atk and special atk slots, and having the additional STAB option is helpful. Its electric/grass neutrality will be helpful when paired with Pelipper and Kyogre.
Should be unranked
hopefully those will get changed, the tier list is mostly in the right place (altho the other thing i can think of would be putting zekrom higher in uber rankings too considering how omnipresent toxtina cores are right now) but these things really stand out as wrong imo. theres a few mons that could be added and a few mons that prob dont need a rank, but for the most part its ok
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Funbot28
Banned deucer.
While its true that mons hit harder and are more bulky, the thing with Shadow Tag that pushed it over the edge is how threats such as Gothitelle and Mega Gar can trap and eliminate stallbreakers such as Manaphy and Pikachu through TrickChoice item and Destiny Bond/Perish Trap respectively. This aided stall teams too much and was deemed unhealthy regardless of how much stronger and how much bulkier threats became thanks to the mechanics of the metagame.
Have you ever played godly gift?
Sorry that I'm getting angry now, but when you have played it you should know how crazy high the damage output of Stallbreakers like the mentioned Pikachu is.
Here the calc with 150 Attack (Groudon, Deoxys-N, Zekrom...), assuming Gothitelle tricked Pikachu a choice scarf before it could attack:
252 Atk Pikachu Volt Tackle vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gothitelle: 228-268 (66.2 - 77.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Gothitelle weakened Pikachu by removing its light ball, but Pikachu is still alive, has only taken recoil damage from Volt Tackle, while Gothitelle has to switch out (but is severely crippled) or die. Gengar-Mega is easily OHKOed, even without a Light Ball.
Also, do you really want to run Gengar-Mega or Gothitelle just for potentially taking out one opposing mon (and even that isn't sure), when other gods like Deo-A, Arceus, Ho-ho/Lugia or Kyu-W giving your team much better stat boosts? Don't forget that Gengar-Mega gives you the stats of regular Gengar, so that running STagmeans that you are stuck with a very bad god.
(the only reason I want to be able to use STag Wobbufet is to be able to use 190 HP Toxapex and Shuckle, because it is fun, just like using Shuckle as a god :D)
Sorry that I'm getting angry now, but when you have played it you should know how crazy high the damage output of Stallbreakers like the mentioned Pikachu is.
Here the calc with 150 Attack (Groudon, Deoxys-N, Zekrom...), assuming Gothitelle tricked Pikachu a choice scarf before it could attack:
252 Atk Pikachu Volt Tackle vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gothitelle: 228-268 (66.2 - 77.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Gothitelle weakened Pikachu by removing its light ball, but Pikachu is still alive, has only taken recoil damage from Volt Tackle, while Gothitelle has to switch out (but is severely crippled) or die. Gengar-Mega is easily OHKOed, even without a Light Ball.
Also, do you really want to run Gengar-Mega or Gothitelle just for potentially taking out one opposing mon (and even that isn't sure), when other gods like Deo-A, Arceus, Ho-ho/Lugia or Kyu-W giving your team much better stat boosts? Don't forget that Gengar-Mega gives you the stats of regular Gengar, so that running STagmeans that you are stuck with a very bad god.
(the only reason I want to be able to use STag Wobbufet is to be able to use 190 HP Toxapex and Shuckle, because it is fun, just like using Shuckle as a god :D)
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iLlama
Nothing personal, I protect my people
Already discussed all of these in chat, so I'll just reiterate key points. Smeargle and Linoone can both run the same items so the point on Focus Sash isn't relevant. Linoone, for one, has better bulk than Smeargle no matter how poor it is and also has a 100 base speed stat, making it more useful outside of e speed (or with e speed and a speed boost berry as you suggested) than smeargle simply being able to hit more threats without relying as much on priority. As you stated yourself, Belly Drum is a significant part of Linoone's kit, which when paired with a better speed stat and gluttony, can be more useful than running smeargle in various situations, such as when webs are on your side, when psychic terrain is up, etc. I agree that on the priority side, Smeargle is far better than Linoone as well as with type coverage, but does that mean that Linoone is not a good secondary option with its own benefits? No, which is why it's ranked as B+. It's still a very effective attack-receiving Pokémon and thus it's ranking is justified. Also, Scarf Tyranitar is not even remotely relevant in the current metagame as it doesn't outpace anything the is relatively significant as far as I know. Plus, Band Tyranitar is simply better. Anyways, it's rank is not changing.
I'm not sure how it being difficult to wish pass to, which it isn't, justifies a drop to D tier. Lanturn is able to check Elec Terrain teams, Rain teams, Pikachu, Mega Blastoise, Tapu Fini, Suicune, Araquanid, etc. I'd say that more than gives it its place in rank B.
I can see Azumarill being higher on the list, although a slow priority user isn't exactly the best option in this tier, especially when it can get walled by PDon, one of the best gods currently, and can be shutdown by extremely common Pokémon such as Tangrowth, Smeargle, Unaware mons, etc. I don't think B+ is a good place for it, but B- should be fine.
First, Nidoqueen's bulk is barely better than Nidoking's and calcs utilizing extremely specific scenarios, such as +1 Comfey HP Fire with Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes isn't going to help your case. Adamant Smeargle with Life Orb cannot OHKO Nidoking without hazards and since every Smeargle runs Fake Out, this point isn't significant in most situations. Earth Power ohkoes Toxapex so the fact that Nidoking is 2hkoed by Scald (with high rolls mind you) is not significant. Nidoking is however faster than Nidoqueen, with a base 85 speed stat in a generation and meta that has a high focus on speed. Unlike Nidoqueen, Nidoking naturally outspeeds Pokemon such as Buzzwole, Dragonite, Gyarados, Heatran, Hoopa-U, Mamoswine, and Xurkitree, all of which have at least some, if not a good presence in the meta. Although I am willing to give Nidoqueen a spot in B-, anything higher seems a little much. So Nidoqueen being outright better than Nidoking and deserving of A rank seems a little ridiculous
Golduck's role is not through swift swim, but through cloud nine, which beats PDon for rain teams. This is also an incredibly niche role and only works in certain scenarios, which is exactly why it is rank D. Zekrom can beat Giratina and Toxapex, but loses to extremely common teammates in Clefable and Mega Sableye, so although it can beat part of a decently common core, it is still very limited.