|
-
Clear Body
- Stops the enemy from lowering this Pokémon's stats.
|
Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
80
|
- |
301 |
364 |
- |
| Atk |
135
|
275 |
306 |
369 |
405 |
| Def |
130
|
266 |
296 |
359 |
394 |
| SpA |
95
|
203 |
226 |
289 |
317 |
| SpD |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| Spe |
70
|
158 |
176 |
239 |
262 |
This thing is seriously such a monster. The thing is, like most Choice Banders, it needs a lot of prediction to work, especially since Magneton can walk all over this if it switches in on the Meteor Mash. If you eliminate their physical wall(s), then this thing will plow down their team with its monster Attack and nice defensive capabilities. Sludge Bomb is good to open up against Waters and such, as a Poisoned enemy is much easier to take down (Milotic is only occasionally an exception), as well as a good 100% accurate move, but Rock Slide does a lot more to Zapdos, possibly OHKOing, as well as OHKOing Moltres and Charizard, and doing some major damage to Gyarados. Hidden Power Fire takes care of Skarmory and Forretress, the other common switch-ins to Metagross, but it's a 3HKO on the former, rather than Choice Band Salamence's Flamethrower's 2HKO, which is why it's almost never seen. Finally, Explosion is the ultimate last resort move. It is so powerful that it nearly OHKOs Skarmory even though Skarmory is resistant to it.
Send it in on Snorlax / Choice Band Normals / Psychics / etc. and Meteor Mash away. You will probably be met with a defensive wall straight up, so Meteor Mash first. Only Agility towards the end of the match when your counters have either been eliminated or weakened. Explode when you are through. If your opponent has a Ghost-type, be sure it has been fainted before you Explode. Since Metagross is such a common Pokémon, many experienced battlers have gotten used to fighting it and can predict when it will use Explosion. Metagross should kill at least two Pokémon if you used it correctly. Rock Slide over Explosion isn't a bad idea if you'd rather do a load of damage to Zapdos instead of suiciding.
Destroys physical walls, explodes on other jerks. Psychic Weezing and friends, Hidden Power Fire stops Skarmory and Forretress, and Meteor Mash destroys any Blissey that comes in to stop you. Thunderpunch still hits Skarmory (slightly harder than Hidden Power Fire, in fact), and also takes care of Gyarados. Psychic is somewhat effective for Waters that concentrate primarily on Defense and not Special Defense. Explosion for a last resort against Suicune, or whatever you may need to explode on.
A set for those that want something with this many resistances to remain alive throughout the battle. This thing can be recklessly brought into things like Weezing Will-O-Wisp, can be used to scout Gengar's moveset, stalls Skarmory, and makes Jynx utterly useless.
Most people who try to play 200 after playing 386 for so long will be disappointed, since you no longer are able to put the fear of Explosion into your opponent, so you probably want to go with Toxic to take down the otherwise 100% walls Swampert and Milotic. Ludicolo use is pretty high in 200, so you'll like Sludge Bomb a lot.
Other Options
Metagross can come into Snorlax anytime and beat it with Psych Up by copying its boosts from Curse. Dynamicpunch puts a dent into Skarmory and can confuse it, if you are lucky. Pursuit takes care of Gengar very nicely if you catch it switching out. It's great when fighting ubers, to beat Shedinja and Deoxys-A. Iron Defense and Rest work wonderfully with Special Defense EVs to make a tank that won't leave the scene. Watch out for Roar, though. Hidden Power Grass is a pretty cool option on the elemental Metagross if you're looking to counter those Swampert switch-ins.
EVs
When using Agility, at least 198 Speed is recommended. If you want to survive all Dugtrio Earthquakes: Metagross needs max HP (252 EVs) and 299 Defense (12 EVs) to survive Adamant Dugtrio, as demonstrated in the Choice Band set. You usually won't need too much Special Attack EVs: it's nice with Psychic, but ThunderPunch will still 3HKO Skarmory with Adamant and 0 Special Attack EVs. You need to max your Special Attack to 2HKO Skarmory guaranteed, and you need about 96 Special Attack EVs to have a shot at 2HKOing 252 HP / 0 Special Defense Skarmory.
For the rest, feel free to stack that awesome Attack stat for maximum power.
Opinion
A high-tier Pokémon for sure. Metagross has beastly stats, great defensive typing and can sweep well if given the chance, or blow up something crucial with Explosion. Unlike Salamence, Dragonite and Tyranitar it has no 4x weaknesses, so it's hard to take out in one hit. However, it is walled pretty easily by most standard teams, because Steel as a main attacking type is pretty bad. Meteor Mash is a good move though aside from its typing.
Counters
Swampert, Milotic, Vaporeon, and Suicune are all bulky Waters that don't fear much from Metagross. These four have high Defenses and since they are Water-types, resist Meteor Mash and won't take too much damage from its other attacks (with the exception of Explosion). Ludicolo is a less popular Water-type counter, but it effectively resists Meteor Mash and Earthquake and can be a nuisance to Metagross. Skarmory resists Meteor Mash too, and is immune to Earthquake, but watch out for a surprise ThunderPunch or Hidden Power Fire. It also can't really do much back except Spike up the field and Whirlwind Metagross away, so if Skarmory lacks Rest, it can't stop Metagross at the end, unless it has Hidden Power Ground. Zapdos and Moltres are two other birds that resist Metagross' two most powerful attacks, but Rock Slide is commonly seen on some versions. Donphan, while it does not resist Meteor Mash, can defend quite well against its physical attacks and destroys it with Earthquake, but cannot switch into Choice Banded Meteor Mashes. Charizard is a threat to those that aren't using Rock Slide, as it may launch a Belly Drum and go for the sweep. Dugtrio can trap it after the initial kill, but max HP and a few Defense EVs guarantees survival even against Adamant Dugtrio. Magneton is walking on eggshells against Metagross but has a chance. If Metagross has no Earthquake (OHKO) or Hidden Power Fire (usually a 2HKO), Magneton has a nearly guaranteed win. Even if Metagross has Earthquake, there are scenarios where Magneton wins. For example, when Magneton is faster than Metagross and Metagross is at ~40% health or below, Magneton should be able to KO Metagross with Thunderbolt before Metagross gets to Earthquake back. Choice Band Metagross locked into anything except Earthquake will always die to Magneton too, unless it gets really lucky with critical hits and / or Attack boosts.