[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Meteor Mash
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Trick / Pursuit
nature: Jolly
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Scarf is rather uncommon
, due to Metagross's low Speed stat, but that doesn't mean it isn't effective. Because it is so unexpected, it
allows Metagross to function as for a great revenge killer. With a Choice Scarf, Metagross can outspeed Choice Scarf Tyranitar, as well as Pokemon with 115 base Speed
such as Starmie and Raikou. Meteor Mash is Metagross's primary attack, due to its high power, STAB, and the chance to raise
Metagross's Attack stat one stage. Earthquake compliments Meteor Mash nicely, as it
allows Metagross to hit Fire- and Steel-type Pokemon for massive damage. Ice Punch is primarily for Gliscor, which likes to switch in against Metagross. Metagross can KO Gliscor, if it hits it with Ice Punch as it switches in. Ice Punch also hits common Dragon-type Pokemon such as Latios, Latias, and Dragonite hard. Trick rounds off the set, allowing Metagross to cripple Pokemon that switch in to wall it—
namely Skarmory, Forretress, and Ferrothorn—by giving them a Choice Scarf
, whereas Pursuit can be used to trap and kill Latios, Latias, and Ghost-types
such as Gengar.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Scarf Metagross outspeeds Choice Scarf Tyranitar as well as base 115 Speed Pokemon with 184 EVs in Speed and a Jolly nature. 252 EVs in Attack
allow Metagross to hit hard, while the remainder of the EVs are put into HP to make it bulkier. Although it lowers its Speed by one stage, Hammer Arm is still an option which
will hit Pokemon that escape the KO from Earthquake with Air Balloon, namely Excadrill and Heatran. lets Metagross hit Pokemon like Excadrill and Heatran for a KO who would normally avoid it with Air Balloon. The Speed drop is worth the KO, as Metagross will most likely switch out afterwards. ThunderPunch can be used to hit Water-type Pokemon hard, as most of them will have an easy time switching in against Metagross's other attacks. Zen Headbutt can also be used for
a form of secondary STAB, and
hitting KOing Conkeldurr. Skarmory, Forretress
, and Ferrothorn can switch in on any of
Metagross's attacks, and set up entry hazards
, however, none of these Pokemon will enjoy being crippled by a
Tricked Choice Scarf
though. Excadrill can outspeed Metagross while sandstorm is in effect, and KO it with Earthquake, although it has to be wary of Trick or Hammer Arm while switching in. Strong special attackers
such as Rotom-W and Heatran can be annoying for Metagross, making Blissey an excellent partner. Blissey can keep Metagross healthy with Wish too.</p>
[SET]
name: Mixed
move 1: Meteor Mash
move 2: Hidden Power Fire
move 3: Grass Knot / Psychic
move 4: Ice Punch
nature: Brave
item: Expert Belt / Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 148 SpA / 108 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Mixed Metagross may seem ridiculous at first because of its much higher Attack stat, but it actually has a very usable base 95 Special Attack. This set aims to lure in counters to standard physical Metagross and catch them off guard with special attacks. Meteor Mash is still Metagross's primary attack, due to its high base power and STAB. It has good neutral coverage, and can smash Pokemon such as Blissey, which can take any special attack with ease. It also helps Metagross feign being purely physical, and lures in common counters. Metagross can OHKO Scizor and Specially Defensive Forretress with Hidden Power Fire after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes damage, and 2HKO Ferrothorn and Skarmory. All of these Pokemon are normally solid
switch-ins to Metagross, and are easily disposed of by mixed variants. Grass Knot can 2HKO most bulky Water-type Pokemon, which normally laugh at Metagross. Notable examples are Jellicent, Suicune, Slowbro, and Milotic. However, Rotom-W and Vaporeon take pathetic damage from Grass Knot,
due to their lower weights. because it is light. Grass Knot can also hit Hippowdon and Swampert for around 80% damage. Psychic can be used instead of Grass Knot, allowing Metagross to 2HKO Rotom-W and OHKO Conkeldurr. Grass Knot is the preferred option though, as it hits a wider range of Pokemon. Ice Punch nails Gliscor, which can otherwise switch in safely against mixed Metagross. Gliscor is KOed by any of Metagross's other attacks, followed by Ice Punch. It also provides super effective coverage against Dragon-type Pokemon, which can take a Hidden Power Fire or Grass Knot with ease. An Expert Belt is used to provide a power boost on super effective attacks. It also helps to fake a Choiced set, and lure in Pokemon which Metagross can surprise kill. A Life Orb can be used for a damage boost on all attacks, regardless of whether they are super effective or not, but the 10% recoil is a drawback
worth noting.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>252 Attack
with a Brave nature allows Metagross to KO Gliscor with Ice Punch after it has been hit by any other attack. 148 EVs in Special Attack
grant Metagross
the OHKO Scizor and Forretress after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes damage with Hidden Power Fire, while 2HKOing Ferrothorn and Ferrothorn. 108 EVs in Speed
allows Metagross
to outspeed maximum Speed Wobbuffet. An Air Balloon is viable, allowing Metagross to avoid Ground-type attacks temporarily, but the damage boost from Expert Belt or Life Orb is signifigant, making them the preferred options. Hammer Arm is an option, but it is outclassed by Hidden Power Fire because it can hit the likes of Forretress and Skarmory for massive damage. The only advantage that Hammer Arm has over Hidden Power Fire is OHKOing Heatran. Earthquake can be used to hit Fire-type Pokemon
such as Heatran and Volcarona hard, as Metagross is OHKOed by them, and can't touch them with its other attacks. Bullet Punch can be used if your team needs priority, but is generally too weak, and Metagross prefers having as much coverage as it can.</p>
<p>Because mixed Metagross aims to lure standard Metagross's counters, it has fewer counters than purely physical Metagross has. Strong special attackers still pose a threat.
Even though most of them will have trouble switching in, as Metagross will likely have a super effective attack for them, but if they switch in safely, they can hit Metagross for massive damage. Rotom-W is an example of this. It can almost
OHKO Metagross with Hydro Pump, but
it is 2HKOed by Psychic. Heatran can switch in on any of
Metagross's attacks barring an Earthquake or Hammer Arm and OHKO it with Fire Blast. Volcarona is in the same boat as Heatran as it can take any attack Metagross throws at it and set up with Quiver Dance. Excadrill OHKOes Metagross with Earthquake, but has trouble switching in, fearing attacks such as Hidden Power Fire, Hammer Arm
, and Earthquake. Good teammates are ones that can handle strong special attackers
such as Rotom-W, and ones that can check Fire-type Pokemon
such as Heatran and Volcarona. Blissey can take basically any special attack, and can wear them down with Seismic Toss and Toxic. Blissey can also provide Wish support and Aromatherapy support for Metagross, which greatly benefits it. Gliscor makes a good teammate to counter Excadrill, which troubles Metagross.
Other good teammates are Pokemon that appreciate the elimination of standard Metagross's counters, such as Skarmory, Forretress, and Gliscor. Skarmory, Forretress, and Gliscor are some of the Pokemon that make Metagross's life difficult, and Pokemon that can really benefit from their removal also make good teammates. Strong physical attackers are a good example. Conkeldurr can set up with Bulk Up and sweep when Pokemon that normally wall it are eliminated. Choice Band Haxorus can hit extremely hard right off the bat, without being stopped by Skarmory or Gliscor.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>ThunderPunch can be utilized to hit bulky Water-types hard. Gyarados and Jellicent are notable examples, both of which can be problematic otherwise. Hone Claws is Metagross's only method of boosting its already massive Attack stat to even higher levels. It also boosts its Accuracy, which is great for Metagross because it compensates for the low accuracy of Meteor Mash, its primary attack. While it does sound promising, it boosts too slowly, and Metagross generally isn't fast enough to sweep. Bulldoze is an interesting new attack that lowers a Pokemon's Speed stat when it is hit by it. This could be useful to slow down Pokemon that switch
into Metagross, and allow it to outspeed them when it normally wouldn't. However, this is outclassed by Agility, because it gives Metagross a permanent Speed advantage. It could be useful for luring in a troublesome Pokemon, and then switching to something that can beat it with its Speed stat lowered. Refresh can be used to rid Metagross of any status and prevents it from being crippled. Magnet Rise makes Metagross immune to Ground-type attacks for 5 turns, and could assist it in beating Excadrill and Gliscor, providing it carries Hammer Arm and Ice Punch respectively. A
Dual Screens set is viable thanks to Metagross's tremendous physical bulk, but its average Special Defense lets it down. Deoxys-S outclasses Metagross because of its blazing Speed and access to Spikes as well as Stealth Rock. Toxic can be used to cripple
the bulky Water-types
, which that Metagross lures in, such as Jellicent, Gyarados, and Politoed.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Heatran can switch to any of Metagross's attacks barring Hammer Arm (and Earthquake if its Air Balloon isn't intact) and roast it with its powerful Fire-type attacks, which Metagross can't stomach due to its average Special Defense stat. Rotom-W acts similarly to Heatran, with a 4x resistance to Meteor Mash and immunity to Earthquake (no Air Balloon required). It targets Metagross's weaker Special Defense stat with its powerful
Special attacks, and is even more of a threat in the rain. Many other
special attackers pose a threat to Metagross. Thundurus can zap Metagross with its Nasty Plot boosted STAB Electric-type attacks. Politoed induces permanent rain, meaning its STAB attacks are boosted, and deals massive damage to Metagross. Although Metagross resists Latios' STAB attacks, it can still hit Metagross with hard with attacks such as Hidden Power Fire, Surf
, and Thunder. Life Orb variants will be more threatening than Choice-locked variants, because Metagross will usually switch into Latios on a predicted Dragon-type attack, which it resists.</p>
<p>Ninetales can be problematic. It induces Drought, which exposes Metagross's Fire-type weakness. This is a great boon for Fire-type Pokemon in general. Jellicent resists Meteor Mash and can burn Metagross with Will-O-Wisp. Skarmory stops Metagross cold with its amazing Defense
, and typing
., as it is On top of this, Skarmory is resistant to Metagross's dual STABs and immune to Earthquake. It can also use Metagross as set-up bait for entry hazards.
Despite having to be wary of Ice Punch, Gliscor can easily switch in
on Metagross with its high Defense stat, heal off any damage it recieves with Poison Heal, and hit Metagross with a super effective Earthquake.
It has to watch out for Ice Punch though. Excadrill can stop Metagross with STAB Earthquake,
incredible Speed in the sand,and an amazing Attack stat. However, it is fragile, and cannot switch into many of Metagross's attacks.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Metagross's Dream World ability is Light Metal, which reduces the damage Metagross suffers from Grass Knot and Low Kick. This is generally useless and should never be considered over Clear Body.</p>
