Mamp I like donkeys I thought the whole reason, or a big one really, Deo-A was being hyped up as a great Protean was its inherent Anti-Imposter resistance, allowing it to deal with them on its own via Focus Sash. Doesn't needing a priority/Pursuit abuser to check an Imposter of your Deo-A defeat the purpose of that?
I mean, from what I'm gathering, to use Deo-A effectively, you need...
-Focus Sash, to survive a hit, particularly from Imposters
-A way to safely and reliably switch after the opponent has moved, since Deo-A can't switch into anything at all. This means at least one slow Parting Shot/Volturn user.
-Removal of priority damage on the opposing side, particularly bulky priority.
-Removal of priority or bulky status, particularly Spore/Dark Voice, since Deo-A has no way to deal with that.
-Removal of hazards, since even 1 HP of damage means Deo-A will drop as soon as Weedle switches in safely.
-Weakening or removal of pretty much anything that can take a hit, since Deo-A can only take two hits period. Or one if its Sash is removed or negated somehow.
-Removal of at least one Imposter since two is risky.
-A Pokemon that can reliably check and revenge kill an Imposter just in case.
-Shedinja removal, if not running an anti-Sheddy move.
That's... a hell of a lot of support required for one Pokemon to get into a specific situation to get going. Especially when there's other nukes in the meta that require less support in general to function, let alone get in.
Compare to Kyurem-W at B-, who needs...
-A good switch-in opportunity, such as into a weak attack, a resisted attack, or into a status move it doesn't care about, the latter of which is easier with a Lum Berry or Safety Goggles. A slow Volturn is helpful, but not necessary.
-Removal of hazards is handy since its weak to Rocks, but not entirely necessary since it still has reasonable bulk
-Removal or weakening of faster or bulky priority. Less necessary if Kyu-W has its own priority.
-Removal or weakening of priority or bulky status. Less necessary if Kyu-W has Lum Berry, Safety Goggles, or its a burn and Kyu-W isn't using Fakespeed.
-Weakening of checks so they can't switch in to check. There isn't much that can switch into Fridge Boomburst, however, and Kyu-W can remove its own checks with the right coverage, usually Earth Power or Bolt Strike.
-Removal of Imposter or an Imposter Counter. Imposter cannot repeatedly switch into Boomburst, so Kyu-W can take its own down over time.
-Removal of Sheddy, if not running an anti-Sheddy move or Rocky Helmet.
It looks like similar support, but most of the support needed is situational to Kyu-W's moves and item selection and isn't always necessary and, in fact, if the right team synergy is in place, it doesn't need specific support and, against some teams (noob teams don't count), it can even operate virtually independently. In contrast, Deo-A NEEDS support against nearly any competitive team (or maybe all of them) just by the virtue of it not being able to switch in on anything or if hazards are up.
Again, I'm not opposed to Deo-A moving up at all. I just feel even B- would be too high just by virtue of the amount of support needed. Oddly, the fact that it has bulk on par with Sheddy but more HP is what makes it so, so much harder to use than the undead bug.
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As for Sceptile, I think it might have untapped potential, but being weak to all -ate priority really stings. It has a pretty good Contrary typing, but I think its Sheer Force set is better and more reliable since it can hit like a truck without needing to "get going". A Quick Feet set with Ice Beam can also counter Imposters nearly every time (burned, poisoned, and Scarfed Imposters notwithstanding) and can tear through a team quite easily once the stage is set. However, until the metagame shifts in its favor or a new, effective set or two is discovered for it, I don't really see it moving up. And even then, no higher than the C-ranks.
