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Name: Togekiss
Current Tier: S
Desired Tier: A+
Reason:
Whether in its Stallbreaker, Wallbreaker, or Choice Scarf set, Togekiss is definitely a meta-defining pokemon. Truly ubiquitous. If you were to fight 5 opponents, 4 likely use one. But the prevalence of some of its counters makes this pokemon not so difficult to plan around. The rationale behind my desire to move it down a tier is, there exist counters for togekiss that can reliably handle it in either of the more commonly used sets and force it out.
Chansey/Blissey: These pokemon are on nearly every team and absolutely wall togekiss, usually attempting to toxic as soon as they switch in (if not a choice kiss) or stall (if choice locked). Togekiss would switch - even if it had aura sphere. Attempting to flinch such bulky pokemon while toxic'd isn't advisable, and many people have tried this to no avail at some point in their PVP career. These pokemon aren't hard to obtain, and have much utility outside of countering togekiss. They aren't some niche counter. They're everywhere, and they're a problem for any togekiss set.
Heatran: Offensive heatran 2 hits the usual togekiss sets and only fears aura sphere. Togekiss often doesn't want to be locked into that move, and wouldn't use it on the switch unless it was sure Heatran was coming, giving the opponent the advantage. No other moves from Togekiss scare heatran, and momentum often goes goes to the opponent in this matchup. Worse of all, Offensive Heatran often has a choice scarf itself, and has a very close speed to that of Togekiss (77 vs 80 base), meaning only the choice scarf togekiss would outpace it.
Magnezone: Similar to heatran, magnezone heavily damages togekiss, but must watch out if flamethrower or aura sphere would be used. Either way, the opponent is forcing you to predict according to their whims, leaving you easily baitable. If choice locked, Togekiss is taken advantage of with the threat of Magnezone. If not, Togekiss isn't fast enough to stop Magnezone, which commonly is scarfed. It risks the low chance of getting OHKO'd, as well, and steel/electric moves magnezone might use aren't too bad getting trapped into. Magnezone is more of a check than a counter like the above, but it's so common that it's worth mentioning.
Assault Vest Users: While less common than the above, any non-fighting type using an assault vest can switch in on Togekiss and scare it. While they're usually not fast, Togekiss ususally isn't hitting them hard enough to avoid taking a hit back. Consider the common choice scarf set vs the common assault vest goodra set. If predicting the switch correctly, you get
252 SpA Togekiss Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Goodra: 102-120 (26.5 - 31.2%)
meaning it'll take 4 hits to beat a pokemon with a super effective move. As you won't get those 4 hits, you have to switch. Assault vest Goodra isn't something you want to regularly switch on, either, as its movepool is expansive. It knows you need to switch, so it puts you in an awkard place. Additionally, Togekiss is likely in your core as a defensive dragon counter, meaning the average team is suddenly in a disadvantage. That doesn't sound like the type of situation an S ranked pokemon would put you in. Also, only the choice sets have the move versitility to deal with assault vest or specially defensive pokemon in general, making a large portion of the meta a counter. Everyone knows this, and everyone has this planned in their team anyway as that works for many other pokemon too.
In conclusion, what team doesn't run a specially defensive wall or a steel type? Choice togekiss doesn't want to play that game and get forced out. Clefable, the other S ranked pokemon, isn't forced out nearly as easily as togekiss.
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I really like the work put into the rankings. Seems pretty accurate. Good job. I just want to mention, Snorlax has a very viable Choice Band set. May be worth mentioning in its analysis. It is also an effective user of facade on any set, as status setting walls are ubiquitous in this meta. Facade from a snorlax gets the STAB boost as well, turning that 70 power move into a potentially 210 power move. At +1 (from curse or choice band), snorlax 2hits physically defensive mandibuzz with facade.
