Metagross
status: done with the skeleton?
metagross didn't gain much this generation; if anything, it was made less effective. however, it's still a solid choice. note that i chose to not include the lead set as i really haven't the foggiest how the 5th generation lead metagame is going to shape out, but i'll test the lead set as soon as a means of playing 5th generation is made avaliable to me!
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[Overview]
- though metagross no longer has an insanely powerful explosion, it is still a solid pokemon
- metagross's massive attack and above-average defense stats allow it to take damage and dish it back out
- its steel-typing allows it to switch in on many common attacks, namely outrage/draco meteor
- though its below average speed hinders it somewhat, it can remedy this with agility, making it a fearsome boosting sweeper
- even though metagross is weak to common fire-type attacks, it is still a threat to look out for, as its base 135 attack allows it to break through opposing pokemon with relative ease
name: Agility
move 1: Agility
move 2: Meteor Mash
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Ice Punch / ThunderPunch / Zen Headbutt
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Clear Body
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Set Comments:
- the only thing holding metagross back is its mediocre speed; this set allows it to double its speed and become a huge threat
- agility allows metagross to double its speed in one turn, allowing it to outspeed everyone up to and including choice scarf flygon
- meteor mash is a solid STAB move that also comes with the chance to raise metagross's attack. if metagross manages to secure an attack boost on top of a speed boost, the opponent is in for a world of pain
- earthquake lets metagross hurt the numerous common steel-types, such as jirachi and heatran
- ice punch is used to allow metagross to deal heavy damage to the numerous common dragon-types in OU, such as rayquaza, garchomp, salamence, and flygon. however, thunderpunch can be used to hurt bulky water-types, while zen headbutt can be used to deal more damage to the rotom formes
- claw sharpen can be used in the final moveslot as it allows metagross to boost its attack to fearsome levels (along with bringing meteor mash up to perfect accuracy). however, metagross needs the coverage provided by a third attacking move
- adamant nature can be used to grant metagross more power, but jolly allows it to outspeed several key threats after an agility boost, such as agirudaa and choice scarf flygon
- the ev spread allows metagross to outspeed as much as possible. 252 attack evs allow metagross to hit with tons of power.
- life orb is the main item choice as it gives metagross's attacks an important power kick; however, the more conservative player can use leftovers is life orb's recoil is unappealing to you
- if you forgo thunderpunch, metagross will have trouble with bulky-water types; as such, a grass-type like celebi makes a good partner to help deal with them
- rotom-a is an exceptional metagross counter
- to help deal with rotom-a, tyranitar can be employed (heatran also works well); however, both of the aforementioned pokemon must watch out for rotom-w due to STAB hydro pump
- stealth rock support is really helpful for this metagross, so any pokemon who can reliably set it up makes a great teammate
- bulky ground-types like hippowdon and swampert can switch in on metagross while it uses agility and scare it out with STAB earthquake; they can also take a few meteor mashes before going down, making them solid counters
name: Choice Band
move 1: Meteor Mash
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: ThunderPunch / Ice Punch
move 4: Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt / Trick
item: Choice Band
ability: Clear Body
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Set Comments:
- metagross is a great choice band user due to its above-average bulk and titanic attack stat
- meteor mash is powerful STAB, earthquake is used to hit fire-types and opposing steel-types
- thunderpunch is used to hit bulky water-types who otherwise don't take much from metagross's attacks, but ice punch is an excellent option as well to hit dragons like rayquaza and salamence (as well as ground-types like randorosu)
- bullet punch allows metagross to revenge kill some potential threats. zen headbutt is used as a secondary STAB move and a means of hitting rotom-a for solid damage. however, trick can be used to cripple incoming walls like hippowdon and skarmory
- explosion can be used in the final moveslot as a last-ditch move, but note that its power was literally slashed in half during the generation transition, so it isn't as powerful as you may remember
- the ev spread is very simple; 252 HP evs allow metagross to take both physical and special hits well, while 252 attack evs and an adamant nature allow metagross to hit like a ton of bricks. the remaining for evs are dumped into speed to give metagross a tiny boost
- skarmory is a good counter as he isn't dented by any of metagross's attacks (even thunderpunch fails to significantly damage); bronzong also does well
- in order to deal with the aforementioned pokemon, a fire-type like heatran makes a good teammate
- choice band metagross has problems with defensive zapdos and rotom-a, so tyranitar makes a good teammate for disposing of these pokemon
- stealth rock/spikes support is a great help to choice band metagross, as it allows it to obtain several OHKOs/2HKOs that it would otherwise be unable to achieve
- wish support also helps cb gross as metagross has no way to recover its HP, meaning that it will go down sooner than you would like; vaporeon makes a good teammate for this reason as she can sponge fire-type attacks aimed at metagross, and metagross can take grass-type attacks aimed at her
- stealth rock support is very important for metagross, as it allows it to obtain many OHKOs and 2HKOs; any pokemon who can supply stealth rock is an excellent teammate for metagross
- tyranitar and heatran are excellent metagross partners, as they can take care of some of metagross's counters (tyranitar disposes of rotom-a and zapdos, heatran gets rid of opposing steel-types). magnezone can also help get rid of steel-types
- having a pokemon who can easily take on bulky water-types, like celebi, is helpful, as metagross fails to signifigantly damage most bulky water-types without thunderpunch
- wish support helps keep metagross around longer; vaporeon is a good wish passer due to defensive synergy with metagross
- dual screens support makes metagross extremely hard to KO, and can allow it to set up and sweep with agility much more easily
- explosion can be used as a last-ditch move, but it isn't as powerful as it once was, so metagross won't be able to KO the same number of threats whom it could last generation
- a choice scarf set is somewhat viable as metagross can revenge kill pokemon like swords dance rayquaza with relative ease (when using ice punch). however, plenty of pokemon are faster and more effective choice scarf users than metagross is
- a trick + iron ball set can be used to cripple some common metagross switch-ins, but after losing its iron ball metagross is fairly predictable
- icy wind can be used to axe the speed of some switch-ins (as well as hit dragon-types like flygon and garchomp for a good amount of damage), but metagross generally has more useful options at its disposal
- rotom-a is a picture-perfect metagross counter (though it must watch out for trick + iron ball), especially rotom-h. however, a choice band zen headbutt will deal a pretty hefty chunk of damage to offensive rotom-a, so beware
- skarmory has little to no problems switching in on metagross, and can spike in its face; in general, steel-types who resist earthquake (such as bronzong) will have a relatively easy time against metagross
- bulky water- and ground-types can stop most metagross cold, though water-types must watch out for thunderpunch
- zapdos can stop most metagross sets in their tracks with heat wave, but choice band ice punch will hurt
- metagross's dream world ability is light metal, which cuts metagross's weight in half
- this ability is quite literally useless for metagross; clear body is always the better choice
