QC: Sweep / Fireburn / Shrang
GP: Lemonade / P Squared
= Metang^3
(Original Skeleton by Recreant, takeover approved by Sweep)
Overview
########
The addition of a Mega Evolution in ORAS has once again given Metagross a place in the Ubers tier. Upon Mega Evolving, Metagross's Speed sees vast improvement to base 110, allowing it to outpace several common Pokemon in the tier. Tough Claws and a slight buff in Attack further complement Mega Metagross's offensive capability along with the raise in Speed. Its typing combined with a movepool consisting of moves such as Bullet Punch, Pursuit, and Meteor Mash allow Mega Metagross to function as an effective check to prominent threats such as Xerneas, Latias, and Latios. Mega Metagross also has solid defenses; however, due to its lack of recovery, passive or instant, it is fairly weak to stall. This prevents Mega Metagross from doing any long-term walling, and thus, the bulk is only useful for aiding it to behave as a temporary tank. Although Meteor Mash is a powerful STAB move that can even raise Mega Metagross's Attack stat, Steel in general is a poor offensive type outside of being able to trump Fairy-types. Because of this, big threats including Ho-Oh, Primal Groudon, and Primal Kyogre can come into Mega Metagross at little cost unless Mega Metagross can nail them with appropriate coverage as they switch in. Its typing isn't that great defensively either, sporting weaknesses to common Ground-, Ghost-, and Dark-types. While Metagross has a wide range of coverage options available, it has little room for them and winds up being bait to some big threats. Lastly, Mega Metagross has vast opportunity cost, as it uses up the team's Mega Evolution slot, which could be used for a Pokemon with more offensive presence, walling capabilities, or different utility. Despite these faults, Mega Metagross has a unique combination of base stats, movepool, and typing that sets it apart from its competitors.
X-Wing
########
name: X-Wing
move 1: Meteor Mash
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Pursuit / Thunder Punch
ability: Clear Body
item: Metagrossite
evs: 136 HP / 196 Atk / 176 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
========
Meteor Mash is Mega Metagross's strongest STAB move, made stronger by Tough Claws, and has a clutch chance to raise Metagross's Attack stat. Furthermore, it gives a method to blast through Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Clefable. Bullet Punch is handy for revenge killing a variety of weakened threats; the main one is Xerneas. Earthquake is a mandatory coverage move for nailing Fire- and Steel-types such as Primal Groudon, Dialga, Aegislash, and Jirachi. Pursuit has excellent utility in trapping Latias and Latios while also being useful against Mega Gengar variants that lack Shadow Ball or want to avoid being finished by Bullet Punch. Thunder Punch is a solid coverage option that can be run over Pursuit, as it is also boosted by Tough Claws and hits top threats such as Primal Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and Yveltal. Lastly, Rock Slide is an alternative coverage option which trades hitting Primal Kyogre for hitting Ho-Oh a bit harder while still retaining a method for hitting Yveltal switch-ins.
Set Details
========
136 HP EVs are to ensure that Mega Metagross will always survive a +2 Focus Blast from Geomancy Xerneas. 176 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature allow Mega Metagross to outspeed all Pokemon with base 100 Speed and lower. The remaining investment is funneled into Attack to further Mega Metagross's offensive presence. An Adamant nature is an option to further increase Mega Metagross's sheer power; however, note that the Speed investment should be altered as a result, such as running 136 Speed EVs to still outpace Adamant Rayquaza while contributing the remainder to the Attack stat. An alternative spread of 248 HP / 124 Atk / 136 Spe with an Adamant nature allows Mega Metagross to always survive a +1 Adamant Mega Salamence's Earthquake while still outspeeding up to Adamant Rayquaza and retaining some offensive power. Clear Body is preferred as the ability prior to Mega Evolution in order to block Attack drops from Intimidate.
Usage Tips
========
This set is primarily used to check Xerneas, Latias, and Latios. Mega Metagross can directly switch into Xerneas and win one-on-one assuming it is healthy, because it can stomach any of +2 Xerneas's attacks and retaliate with Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch. If for whatever reason Metagross has been damaged, it can still function as a Xerneas check due to Bullet Punch's revenge killing capabilities; however, it should be noted that Bullet Punch will not OHKO a healthy Xerneas. Latias and Latios are checked via Metagross's typing in combination with Meteor Mash and Pursuit. The Eon Twins occasionally carry Hidden Power Fire, although this is not enough to deal significant damage to Metagross, and it can hit back hard with Meteor Mash. Pursuit in particular can ensure that Latias and Latios cannot simply escape by switching out, as Tough Claws-boosted Pursuit outright OHKOes a fleeing Latios and nearly OHKOes Latias. Mega Metagross can function as a Mega Salamence check if it is healthy; however, Adamant Mega Salamence at +1 can OHKO the standard spread with Earthquake almost half the time. With the combination of Pursuit and Bullet Punch, Mega Metagross can be used to trap or revenge kill Mega Gengar, but Shadow Ball variants can deal significant damage to it.
It must be stated that how Mega Metagross is played has a large impact on its longevity and capability of checking threats. The lack of any type of recovery means that unless a team has Wish support, Mega Metagross will only be able to switch in a few times. This can be further impacted by entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes, which punish Mega Metagross every time it comes in. This is significant because a damaged Mega Metagross can fail to check Latios, as Draco Meteor can deal upwards of 45%, and standard Mega Metagross is slower, so it will not be able to strike with an attack. Despite having appropriate coverage for threats such as Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, Mega Metagross does not want to go toe-to-toe with them unless they are weakened. As a general rule, how Mega Metagross should be played is dependent on how your opponent plays what it is intended to check. This is to avoid a situation where Mega Metagross is beaten down because of aggressive play early in the match, allowing the opponent to break through it later in the match with a healthy Latios. Mega Metagross also struggles with support Arceus even if it has a type advantage, such as against Arceus-Rock and Arceus-Fairy, which can outspeed and burn Metagross with Will-O-Wisp.
Team Options
========
Due to Mega Metagross's weakness to Ground-type attacks, Pokemon immune to Ground typically make for effective partners. Latias, Latios, Yveltal, Giratina-O, Rayquaza, Lugia, Landorus-T, and Shaymin-S can all make for effective partners. Latias and Latios further serve as Primal Groudon checks, Primal Kyogre checks, and much-needed Defog support. Yveltal can check Primal Groudon as well and can smash Ghost-types that threaten Mega Metagross, such as Arceus-Ghost and Giratina-O. Giratina-O also makes for a good Primal Groudon check and can use Defog, although it does stack a weakness to Dark- and Ghost-types. Rayquaza and Shaymin-S can offensively check both Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, while Lugia is an excellent Primal Groudon check that Metagross can Toxic absorb for in return. Landorus-T can help mitigate Mega Metagross's weakness to Ho-Oh to an extent and provides Stealth Rock support.
Arceus-Rock can be used to provide a more solid answer to Ho-Oh, and also serves as a check to Yveltal. Other checks to Dark-types, such as Xerneas, Arceus-Fairy, and Tyranitar, can make for effective partners; Tyranitar in particular can check Ho-Oh and benefits from Mega Metagross's ability to check Fairy- and Steel-types. Secondary Kyogre checks are also great assets for Mega Metagross, as the ones listed above can become overwhelmed if used alone. Palkia in particular is an excellent Kyogre check that benefits from Metagross's ability to check Fairy-types, Latias, and Latios. Zekrom can offensively check both Kyogre and Ho-Oh while benefiting from Metagross's ability to check Fairy-types; however, this does stack a weakness to Primal Groudon that must be accounted for. Lastly, Wish support can be used to help give Mega Metagross some longevity.
Other Options
########
Toxic is an option to help Mega Metagross combat support Arceus and can nail Yveltal, Lugia, and Ho-Oh on the switch. Rock Polish can be used to increase Mega Metagross's Speed to be able to outpace several common Choice Scarf users and to potentially clean. Ice Punch takes advantage of Mega Metagross's ability Tough Claws and hits Landorus-T along with Gliscor; however, other coverage options generally have more relevant targets. Zen Headbutt can be used as a secondary STAB move, although it doesn't hit anything particularly well. Iron Head can potentially be used over Meteor Mash with the advantages of accuracy and flinch rate, but the significant drop in power and loss of chance for an Attack boost is typically not worth it. Lastly, Mega Metagross has access to Stealth Rock and can serve as an entry hazard setter for the team, but its lack of moveslots and tendency to be bait for Ho-Oh and Yveltal don't make it the best choice.
Checks & Counters
########
**Bulky Water-types**: Kyogre, Palkia, and Arceus-Water all resist Mega Metagross's Steel-type STAB moves and can retaliate back with powerful, neutral Water-type attacks.
**Ho-Oh**: While Ho-Oh won't like switching into Rock Slide and takes significant damage from Thunder Punch, it can come into any of Mega Metagross's other attacks comfortably and outright OHKO it.
**Dark- and Ghost-types**: Yveltal variants can usually afford to come into Mega Metagross and can hit back hard with Dark Aura-boosted attacks. Darkrai cannot necessarily afford to switch into Mega Metagross, but Dark Pulse is still a significant offensive threat. Arceus-Dark can absolutely crush Mega Metagross with Judgment and set up Calm Mind, while Arceus-Ghost can do the same and even burn with Will-O-Wisp. Mega Sableye can hit hard with Foul Play and burn with Will-O-Wisp, and Giratina-O can deal significant damage to Mega Metagross with Shadow Force.
**Primal Groudon**: Although Mega Metagross is faster and deals respectable damage with Earthquake to Primal Groudon, in general Mega Metagross fears Lava Plume and Ground-type STAB moves, while Primal Groudon can switch into Metagross's Steel-type STAB attacks.
**Other Ground-types**: Other Ground-types such as Arceus-Ground, Landorus-T, Gliscor, Excadrill, and Hippowdon can check Mega Metagross through strong Ground-type moves, while Metagross cannot do as much in return.
**Other Fire-types**: While Fire-types such as Mega Blaziken, Reshiram, and Victini won't like switching into Earthquake, their sheer power combined with a type advantage means that they can easily burn though Mega Metagross.
**Support Arceus**: Support Arceus are typically faster than Mega Metagross and carry Will-O-Wisp, meaning that they can burn Mega Metagross before it can land Meteor Mash. From this point they can stall out Mega Metagross with Recover.
**Ferrothorn**: Outside of running Hammer Arm, Mega Metagross has no good method of inflicting significant damage to Ferrothorn. Through the use of Leech Seed, Ferrothorn can stall out Mega Metagross and even lay Spikes as it does so while Metagross struggles to break through.
**Zekrom**: Zekrom resists Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch and can hit hard with Bolt Strike; however, Mega Metagross's Earthquake deals quite a bit of damage to this threat.
GP: Lemonade / P Squared
= Metang^3
(Original Skeleton by Recreant, takeover approved by Sweep)
Overview
########
The addition of a Mega Evolution in ORAS has once again given Metagross a place in the Ubers tier. Upon Mega Evolving, Metagross's Speed sees vast improvement to base 110, allowing it to outpace several common Pokemon in the tier. Tough Claws and a slight buff in Attack further complement Mega Metagross's offensive capability along with the raise in Speed. Its typing combined with a movepool consisting of moves such as Bullet Punch, Pursuit, and Meteor Mash allow Mega Metagross to function as an effective check to prominent threats such as Xerneas, Latias, and Latios. Mega Metagross also has solid defenses; however, due to its lack of recovery, passive or instant, it is fairly weak to stall. This prevents Mega Metagross from doing any long-term walling, and thus, the bulk is only useful for aiding it to behave as a temporary tank. Although Meteor Mash is a powerful STAB move that can even raise Mega Metagross's Attack stat, Steel in general is a poor offensive type outside of being able to trump Fairy-types. Because of this, big threats including Ho-Oh, Primal Groudon, and Primal Kyogre can come into Mega Metagross at little cost unless Mega Metagross can nail them with appropriate coverage as they switch in. Its typing isn't that great defensively either, sporting weaknesses to common Ground-, Ghost-, and Dark-types. While Metagross has a wide range of coverage options available, it has little room for them and winds up being bait to some big threats. Lastly, Mega Metagross has vast opportunity cost, as it uses up the team's Mega Evolution slot, which could be used for a Pokemon with more offensive presence, walling capabilities, or different utility. Despite these faults, Mega Metagross has a unique combination of base stats, movepool, and typing that sets it apart from its competitors.
X-Wing
########
name: X-Wing
move 1: Meteor Mash
move 2: Bullet Punch
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Pursuit / Thunder Punch
ability: Clear Body
item: Metagrossite
evs: 136 HP / 196 Atk / 176 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
Moves
========
Meteor Mash is Mega Metagross's strongest STAB move, made stronger by Tough Claws, and has a clutch chance to raise Metagross's Attack stat. Furthermore, it gives a method to blast through Fairy-types such as Xerneas and Clefable. Bullet Punch is handy for revenge killing a variety of weakened threats; the main one is Xerneas. Earthquake is a mandatory coverage move for nailing Fire- and Steel-types such as Primal Groudon, Dialga, Aegislash, and Jirachi. Pursuit has excellent utility in trapping Latias and Latios while also being useful against Mega Gengar variants that lack Shadow Ball or want to avoid being finished by Bullet Punch. Thunder Punch is a solid coverage option that can be run over Pursuit, as it is also boosted by Tough Claws and hits top threats such as Primal Kyogre, Ho-Oh, and Yveltal. Lastly, Rock Slide is an alternative coverage option which trades hitting Primal Kyogre for hitting Ho-Oh a bit harder while still retaining a method for hitting Yveltal switch-ins.
Set Details
========
136 HP EVs are to ensure that Mega Metagross will always survive a +2 Focus Blast from Geomancy Xerneas. 176 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature allow Mega Metagross to outspeed all Pokemon with base 100 Speed and lower. The remaining investment is funneled into Attack to further Mega Metagross's offensive presence. An Adamant nature is an option to further increase Mega Metagross's sheer power; however, note that the Speed investment should be altered as a result, such as running 136 Speed EVs to still outpace Adamant Rayquaza while contributing the remainder to the Attack stat. An alternative spread of 248 HP / 124 Atk / 136 Spe with an Adamant nature allows Mega Metagross to always survive a +1 Adamant Mega Salamence's Earthquake while still outspeeding up to Adamant Rayquaza and retaining some offensive power. Clear Body is preferred as the ability prior to Mega Evolution in order to block Attack drops from Intimidate.
Usage Tips
========
This set is primarily used to check Xerneas, Latias, and Latios. Mega Metagross can directly switch into Xerneas and win one-on-one assuming it is healthy, because it can stomach any of +2 Xerneas's attacks and retaliate with Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch. If for whatever reason Metagross has been damaged, it can still function as a Xerneas check due to Bullet Punch's revenge killing capabilities; however, it should be noted that Bullet Punch will not OHKO a healthy Xerneas. Latias and Latios are checked via Metagross's typing in combination with Meteor Mash and Pursuit. The Eon Twins occasionally carry Hidden Power Fire, although this is not enough to deal significant damage to Metagross, and it can hit back hard with Meteor Mash. Pursuit in particular can ensure that Latias and Latios cannot simply escape by switching out, as Tough Claws-boosted Pursuit outright OHKOes a fleeing Latios and nearly OHKOes Latias. Mega Metagross can function as a Mega Salamence check if it is healthy; however, Adamant Mega Salamence at +1 can OHKO the standard spread with Earthquake almost half the time. With the combination of Pursuit and Bullet Punch, Mega Metagross can be used to trap or revenge kill Mega Gengar, but Shadow Ball variants can deal significant damage to it.
It must be stated that how Mega Metagross is played has a large impact on its longevity and capability of checking threats. The lack of any type of recovery means that unless a team has Wish support, Mega Metagross will only be able to switch in a few times. This can be further impacted by entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes, which punish Mega Metagross every time it comes in. This is significant because a damaged Mega Metagross can fail to check Latios, as Draco Meteor can deal upwards of 45%, and standard Mega Metagross is slower, so it will not be able to strike with an attack. Despite having appropriate coverage for threats such as Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, Mega Metagross does not want to go toe-to-toe with them unless they are weakened. As a general rule, how Mega Metagross should be played is dependent on how your opponent plays what it is intended to check. This is to avoid a situation where Mega Metagross is beaten down because of aggressive play early in the match, allowing the opponent to break through it later in the match with a healthy Latios. Mega Metagross also struggles with support Arceus even if it has a type advantage, such as against Arceus-Rock and Arceus-Fairy, which can outspeed and burn Metagross with Will-O-Wisp.
Team Options
========
Due to Mega Metagross's weakness to Ground-type attacks, Pokemon immune to Ground typically make for effective partners. Latias, Latios, Yveltal, Giratina-O, Rayquaza, Lugia, Landorus-T, and Shaymin-S can all make for effective partners. Latias and Latios further serve as Primal Groudon checks, Primal Kyogre checks, and much-needed Defog support. Yveltal can check Primal Groudon as well and can smash Ghost-types that threaten Mega Metagross, such as Arceus-Ghost and Giratina-O. Giratina-O also makes for a good Primal Groudon check and can use Defog, although it does stack a weakness to Dark- and Ghost-types. Rayquaza and Shaymin-S can offensively check both Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, while Lugia is an excellent Primal Groudon check that Metagross can Toxic absorb for in return. Landorus-T can help mitigate Mega Metagross's weakness to Ho-Oh to an extent and provides Stealth Rock support.
Arceus-Rock can be used to provide a more solid answer to Ho-Oh, and also serves as a check to Yveltal. Other checks to Dark-types, such as Xerneas, Arceus-Fairy, and Tyranitar, can make for effective partners; Tyranitar in particular can check Ho-Oh and benefits from Mega Metagross's ability to check Fairy- and Steel-types. Secondary Kyogre checks are also great assets for Mega Metagross, as the ones listed above can become overwhelmed if used alone. Palkia in particular is an excellent Kyogre check that benefits from Metagross's ability to check Fairy-types, Latias, and Latios. Zekrom can offensively check both Kyogre and Ho-Oh while benefiting from Metagross's ability to check Fairy-types; however, this does stack a weakness to Primal Groudon that must be accounted for. Lastly, Wish support can be used to help give Mega Metagross some longevity.
Other Options
########
Toxic is an option to help Mega Metagross combat support Arceus and can nail Yveltal, Lugia, and Ho-Oh on the switch. Rock Polish can be used to increase Mega Metagross's Speed to be able to outpace several common Choice Scarf users and to potentially clean. Ice Punch takes advantage of Mega Metagross's ability Tough Claws and hits Landorus-T along with Gliscor; however, other coverage options generally have more relevant targets. Zen Headbutt can be used as a secondary STAB move, although it doesn't hit anything particularly well. Iron Head can potentially be used over Meteor Mash with the advantages of accuracy and flinch rate, but the significant drop in power and loss of chance for an Attack boost is typically not worth it. Lastly, Mega Metagross has access to Stealth Rock and can serve as an entry hazard setter for the team, but its lack of moveslots and tendency to be bait for Ho-Oh and Yveltal don't make it the best choice.
Checks & Counters
########
**Bulky Water-types**: Kyogre, Palkia, and Arceus-Water all resist Mega Metagross's Steel-type STAB moves and can retaliate back with powerful, neutral Water-type attacks.
**Ho-Oh**: While Ho-Oh won't like switching into Rock Slide and takes significant damage from Thunder Punch, it can come into any of Mega Metagross's other attacks comfortably and outright OHKO it.
**Dark- and Ghost-types**: Yveltal variants can usually afford to come into Mega Metagross and can hit back hard with Dark Aura-boosted attacks. Darkrai cannot necessarily afford to switch into Mega Metagross, but Dark Pulse is still a significant offensive threat. Arceus-Dark can absolutely crush Mega Metagross with Judgment and set up Calm Mind, while Arceus-Ghost can do the same and even burn with Will-O-Wisp. Mega Sableye can hit hard with Foul Play and burn with Will-O-Wisp, and Giratina-O can deal significant damage to Mega Metagross with Shadow Force.
**Primal Groudon**: Although Mega Metagross is faster and deals respectable damage with Earthquake to Primal Groudon, in general Mega Metagross fears Lava Plume and Ground-type STAB moves, while Primal Groudon can switch into Metagross's Steel-type STAB attacks.
**Other Ground-types**: Other Ground-types such as Arceus-Ground, Landorus-T, Gliscor, Excadrill, and Hippowdon can check Mega Metagross through strong Ground-type moves, while Metagross cannot do as much in return.
**Other Fire-types**: While Fire-types such as Mega Blaziken, Reshiram, and Victini won't like switching into Earthquake, their sheer power combined with a type advantage means that they can easily burn though Mega Metagross.
**Support Arceus**: Support Arceus are typically faster than Mega Metagross and carry Will-O-Wisp, meaning that they can burn Mega Metagross before it can land Meteor Mash. From this point they can stall out Mega Metagross with Recover.
**Ferrothorn**: Outside of running Hammer Arm, Mega Metagross has no good method of inflicting significant damage to Ferrothorn. Through the use of Leech Seed, Ferrothorn can stall out Mega Metagross and even lay Spikes as it does so while Metagross struggles to break through.
**Zekrom**: Zekrom resists Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch and can hit hard with Bolt Strike; however, Mega Metagross's Earthquake deals quite a bit of damage to this threat.
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