As with other sets that use Choice items, prediction is key. Meteor Mash usually does tons of damage, resisted or not. Earthquake works well on many Pokémon that resist Meteor Mash, like Fire-types and other grounded Steel-types. Explosion is capable of defeating all but the toughest Pokémon in one blow; even Skarmory loses around 85% of its HP. The fourth attack in the set is up to preference. ThunderPunch will down Pokémon like Milotic and Skarmory in two hits and will be a quick kill upon foes like Gyarados and Starmie, but will leave you in a very bad position if your opponent sends out a Dugtrio, Garchomp, or Electivire. In the case of Dugtrio, your Metagross is trapped and stuck using an attack that the opponent is immune to. In other words, the Metagross is dead. Pursuit works well against many Pokémon that will try to switch out against Metagross. Alakazam, Gengar, and other weak enemies will go down in one hit. Bullet Punch can work here as an answer to speedy Pokémon like Aerodactyl, Azelf, Weavile, or Gengar. Aerodactyl and Weavile will go down in one blow without being able to touch Metagross. If you want two attacks from the choices in the last slot, then Explosion can be dropped, but it is difficult to give up the incredible power it has when backed with Choice Band. Ice Punch is also an option if you want Metagross to be able to reliably revenge kill a Garchomp that is stuck on Outrage. In addition to that, Ice Punch also smacks around Zapdos and Gliscor. For Uber battles, Pursuit is a must so Metagross can hammer the many Psychics you will find there, especially Deoxys-A, Latias, and Latios. Ice Punch is also handy for killing Outrage Rayquaza. Earthquake has fewer targets in Ubers (Dialga, Heatran, other Metagross), so you can afford to drop it in favor of another attack. However, in addition to offering coverage against the aforementioned enemies, a Choice Band Earthquake does plenty of damage to both Palkia and Kyogre, so it remains a good option.
The basic idea of this strategy is to use Agility to make Metagross faster than just about everything, then beat things into submission. Choice Scarf is a major obstacle to this strategy. A Pokémon like Garchomp holding a Choice Scarf will outrun Metagross even after one Agility and hits hard with Earthquake. Metagross's last attack should either be ThunderPunch or Explosion. ThunderPunch allows Metagross to combat Water-types and Skarmory. Meteor Mash, ThunderPunch, and Earthquake can nail all Pokémon for at least neutral damage except Rotom and Shedinja. Explosion can be used instead of ThunderPunch as a last resort. This Metagross will usually be faster than its opponent so you can get Explosion off exactly when you want to. Ice Punch is also an option for Gliscor and Garchomp, but ThunderPunch and Explosion are generally more useful. Life Orb exchanges survivability for power, Shuca Berry allows Metagross to survive an Earthquake, and Leftovers is always a usable option. 104 Speed EVs allows Metagross to outrun Pokémon with 269 Speed or less that hold a Choice Scarf, Heracross being the most obvious example. If you want more Speed, you can aim for a initial stat of 228 (208 EVs). After an Agility, this makes Metagross faster than Choice Scarf Adamant Garchomp.
This takes advantage of Metagross's excellent defensive abilities moreso than the previous sets. Meteor Mash and Earthquake provide the best type coverage available to Metagross with just two attacks. Leftovers is the obvious choice when your primary purpose is tanking, but Life Orb is a great alternative as Rest makes up for losing 10% of Metagross's HP with each attack. Shed Shell is also viable so Metagross won't be trapped by Dugtrio or Magnezone.
A somewhat gimmicky option, but Hidden Power Fire and Grass Knot are a nasty surprise for several of Metagross's common switch-ins. Hidden Power Fire hits Bronzong, Forretress, and Skarmory, while Grass Knot takes out the bulky Ground-types like Donphan, Hippowdon, and especially Swampert. Explosion is a great choice as always, or you can use Earthquake to stop Heatran getting in for free and also cover Infernape. Psychic is another option to do big damage to Weezing and OHKO Infernape, but you'll usually find Earthquake to be the better choice thanks to Weezing's rarity compared to Heatran's popularity. Other OptionsRock Slide covers Charizard, Gyarados, Moltres, Zapdos, and Ho-oh in one move. Zen Headbutt is a STAB move that can also do a decent amount of damage to several switch-ins, such as Gyarados, Swampert, Zapdos and others, primarily assorted Water-types and Fire-types, but you'll almost always find your other moves can do more damage. STAB Zen Headbutt is only slightly more power than neutral Earthquake when you account for Zen Headbutt's accuracy. Icy Wind may sound stupid, but works surprisingly well against Dragon-type Pokémon and Gliscor. Gyro Ball may seem tempting, but Meteor Mash is more reliable, particularly as many of Metagross' common switch-ins are very slow. Hammer Arm may seem redundant when Earthquake and Meteor Mash are on offer, but it has its uses. It hits Magnet Rise Magnezone, and is Metagross' best physical attack against Bronzong. It also helps to wear down Skarmory. As it lowers Speed, Metagross will be slower than Skarmory after one use. This means if Skarmory tries to Roost, it gets hit for super effective damage. You can abuse Hammer Arm with Gyro Ball on a Rest + Sleep Talk set. Hammer Arm lowers your own Speed, which increases the power of Gyro Ball. Psych Up can be used to copy power ups, like Curse from Snorlax or Regirock. Magnet Rise can be used to dodge Earthquakes, although it is rarely worth giving up type coverage for. Metagross can support with Stealth Rock, Reflect, and Light Screen, although there are better Pokémon for this role, namely Bronzong and Jirachi. Choice Scarf can work in place of the Choice Band, but you'll have to add a lot more Speed EVs. Occa Berry can also be used as a hold item if Fire-type attacks are a problem. Lum Berry is a great choice on a leading Metagross to absorb Hypnosis, Sleep Powder, and Spore. EVsEmphasize Metagross's HP and Attack. You may want to add a bit into its defenses. 152 HP EVs will allow guaranteed survival against an Adamant Garchomp or Mamoswine's Earthquake if they are not using any items to strengthen the Attack. 252 HP and 12 Defense EVs will allow guaranteed survival against Earthquake from an Adamant Dugtrio holding a Choice Band. On the Choice Band set, you might want to invest a few (4-16) EVs in Speed. This will let you come out on top against enemy Metagross, and also let you ThunderPunch Skarmory before it can Roost. If you are slower than Skarmory, you'll have to predict Roosts with Earthquake, a nearly impossible task on a Choice Bander. You want at least 202 Speed for the Agility set as it will allow Metagross to have 404 Speed allowing it to outrun 269 Speed Choice Scarf users like Heracross. 222 Speed (184 EVs) will outrun Adamant Tyranitar, and 228 Speed (208 EVs) outruns most Gliscor (both of these are before you use Agility). 228 Speed also guarantees Metagross will be faster than Adamant Choice Scarf Garchomp after an Agility. If you want to be faster than Jolly Choice Scarf Garchomp, you will need to get to 250 Speed, which requires a massive investment of 208 EVs with a Jolly nature. OpinionMetagross is a solid attacking force. Its Steel / Psychic-type combo leaves few weaknesses to hit upon, and its Clear Body ability prevents Pokémon like Gyarados and Salamence from slashing its attack power with Intimidate. It can withstand attacks from many Pokémon and hit back hard with its amazing 135 base Attack stat. Such durability allows it to easily switch in against a number of Pokémon. Even though there are a lot of new hard hitting Earthquake users, like Garchomp, Mamoswine, and Rhyperior, Metagross can usually survive their attacks and answer accordingly. Metagross is probably not going to be sweeping entire teams, but with things like Bullet Punch, Pursuit, and Explosion, it is almost guaranteed to take out one or two opponents before it goes down. CountersSkarmory can come in on most of Metagross's attacks with ease. Choice Band ThunderPunch hurts, as will Hidden Power Fire. But usually Skarmory will get in safely, set up Spikes, and Whirlwind Metagross away. Bronzong handles most attacks with ease, and unlike Skarmory it can hurt Metagross directly with Earthquake. Forretress also does well if it has Earthquake, but out of the this group, it has the most to fear from Hidden Power Fire. It won't enjoy repeatedly switching into Choice Band Earthquakes, either. Sturdy Ground-types such as Donphan, Gliscor, and Hippowdon can handle Metagross's attacks, but beware of Attack boosts when switching into Meteor Mash, particularly from the Choice Band set. Swampert is less at risk from this as it resists Steel. For Donphan, Hippowdon, and especially Swampert, beware of Grass Knot. Gliscor should be careful not to get hit with Ice Punch. Although it is primarily an offensive Pokémon, Garchomp can scare off Metagross, and survives any attack, barring Ice Punch. Garchomp's Earthquake, if backed up with a Choice Band or Life Orb, will OHKO Metagross. Choice Scarf versions will outrun most Metagross, including some of the slower Agility variants. Magnezone terrorizes any kind of Metagross that cannot Earthquake it before it uses Magnet Rise. Magnet Pull prevents Metagross from running, so if Magnezone is faster and Metagross is low enough on HP to be OHKOed, Metagross is a goner. Should Metagross be locked into any attack besides Earthquake or Hammer Arm, Magnezone will also come out on top. Dugtrio can also trap and kill, but can't switch in directly on attack that isn't ThunderPunch. For the most part, keep it away from Fire-type Pokémon. The vast majority will die to a well predicted Earthquake, although their immunity to Ground attacks means Charizard and Moltres can usually get in safely and force Metagross out. Beware of ThunderPunch and the rare Rock Slide, and switching in when Stealth Rock is on the field will also be problematic. In Uber battles, Groudon, Kyogre and Palkia are fine counters. Ho-oh works in much the same way as Moltres and Charizard. |
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