ORAS OU Mega Metagross is here to stay: A Mega Metagross based team

[TheWhiteGas]

Hello! This is my second RMT I have ever posted for feedback, and am wondering how I can improve it. I recently got back into competitive Pokemon, and want to make the best team possible. Here it is!

Metal Face (Metagross) @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake

Ah, Metagross, a Pokemon that I have loved ever since it came out in RS. I chose this Pokemon because it has been a favorite of mine, and decided to build a team based off it after the suspect test (nothing worse than making a team you love only to see its main component banned right?) MegaGross is used to to hit hard and at the same time take hits like a champ. Ice Punch is used to take care of the annoying Landorus-T, while I use Earthquake to hit Excadrill and Heatran. Meteor Mash and Zen Headbutt are used for reliable stabs.

Mountain Dew (Tornadus-Therian) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 232 HP / 36 Atk / 240 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Icy Wind

I was a little skeptical about using Tornadus-T, but this monster has earned the spotlight on this team. As suggested by KratosMana, the inclusion of Tornadus-T allows my team to patch up its weakness to SubCM Keldeo, while at the same time being used to scout without fear thanks to its godly ability in Regenterator. Knock Off is used to pick off switch-ins, Icy Wind can also be used to slow in switch-ins, then allow for a clean U-Turn into one of its counters. Hurricane is there to hit hard, and terrorizes opposing rain teams.

IAMBULLETPROOF (Chesnaught) @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Spiky Shield
- Wood Hammer
- Leech Seed

I was a little skeptical about using Chesnaught, but so far he has done wonders for my team. Chesnaught's main goal is to set Spikes, which makes MegaGross score easy kills thanks to entry hazard damage, and I myself am a huge fan of the F/W/G core. Spiky Shield is used to rack up damage, Leech Seed is used to replinish health, and Wood Hammer is used to get rid of walls such as Tyranitar and Hippowdon.

Cartman (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roar
- Lava Plume

Another very reliable wall included on this team. Playing a similar role to Chesnaught, Heatran's main purpose is to set up hazards and tank hits. You may wonder why I run Will-O-Wisp over Toxic, but at times it catches other players off-guard. I cannot count how many times I have picked off switch-ins such as Azumarill and Mega Lopunny simply because they predicted the common Toxic. Roar pairs well with hazards, as it racks up residential damage, and Lava Plume is used to pick off annoying Steel Types, another bane to MegaGross.

Derp (Slowbro) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Slack Off
- Toxic

Another wall used to complete the F/W/G core. Slowbro pairs well with Chesnaught and Heatran, as instead of setting up hazards, is used to stall out weakened mons. I prefer Ice Beam on Slowbro, as it can be used to hit some of MegaGrosses counters, such as Choice Scarf Garchomp and Hippowdon. Toxic pairs well with multiple hazards, as it racks up a lot of damage, which makes MegaGross kill weakened mons much easier. Scald is used to hit switch-ins and hope for the burn.

Here Comes the Boom (Azumarill) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Superpower
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough

If anything needs to be swapped from this team, I would assume it would be Azumarill. Azumarill was put on this team to pair with Chesnaught and take advantage of belly-drumming in the face of one of Chesnaught's counters. With the help of multiple hazards, sweeping with Belly-Drum seems effortless once threats such as Mega Venusaur are removed, something that MegaGross easily handles. I prefer Superpower over Waterfall, as it allows Steel types to be hit hard.

Well here's the team. I appreciate all the feedback, and hope to make the most out of this team! Thanks for reading!

Replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-219029352 (Solidly played game)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-219025928 (Just shows how dangerous Belly Drum Azumarill can be for unprepared teams)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-219164476 (Match played on my alt with the inclusion of Tornadous-T vs stall)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-219161897 (With the inclusion of TOrnadous-T, this team did a very good job against a solid rain team.)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-219223637

Import Team

Metal Face (Metagross) @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake

Mountain Dew (Tornadus-Therian) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 232 HP / 36 Atk / 240 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Icy Wind

IAMBULLETPROOF (Chesnaught) @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Spiky Shield
- Wood Hammer
- Leech Seed

Cartman (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roar
- Lava Plume

Derp (Slowbro) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Slack Off
- Toxic

Here Comes the Boom (Azumarill) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Superpower
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough

Former Team Members

iTrap (Magnezone) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon

Magnezone, a Pokemon notorious for trapping those annoying steel types. I like to use Magnezone simply to get rid of annoying walls such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory, two Pokemon that heavily wall MegaGross. I gave it Choice Scarf, as my team is slow before MegaGross evolves. Volt Turn is to scout, Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon are for STAB, and HP Fire is to get rid of Ferrothorn. Replaced by Tornadus-T as my team lacked speed.

 

[BlueLobster]

You are extremely weak to the core if Talonflame + Electric type, only Heatran can take them both on, and since this is a balanced team, having a large weakness to a reasonably common core (especially with the rise of Raikou) is pretty big. Your team is also quite slow, your entire team is outsped by base 115's. For this reason, I advise you replace Magnezone with a faster scarf user, so Raikou + Burd doesn't harm your team as much. Lando-T would make a good replacement scarfer.

 

[TheWhiteGas]

You are extremely weak to the core if Talonflame + Electric type, only Heatran can take them both on, and since this is a balanced team, having a large weakness to a reasonably common core (especially with the rise of Raikou) is pretty big. Your team is also quite slow, your entire team is outsped by base 115's. For this reason, I advise you replace Magnezone with a faster scarf user, so Raikou + Burd doesn't harm your team as much. Lando-T would make a good replacement scarfer.

Thing is, if I were to remove Magnezone, I feel as my team would struggle with Ferrothorn. If Heatran is gone, Ferrothorn walls my team, and with Rocky Helmet being as popular as it is, Azumarill would not appreciate taking a lot of damage from it. Also, if I were to remove Magnezone, my team would lack a reliable special attacker.

 

[BlueLobster]

Thing is, if I were to remove Magnezone, I feel as my team would struggle with Ferrothorn. If Heatran is gone, Ferrothorn walls my team, and with Rocky Helmet being as popular as it is, Azumarill would not appreciate taking a lot of damage from it. Also, if I were to remove Magnezone, my team would lack a reliable special attacker.

They are very valid points, especially since Shed Shell is declining in usage. I feel Heatran is put under far too much pressure as your main T-Flame check along with Slowbro, Ferrothorn remover, and your best way to remove setup sweepers (roar). I had overlooked how useful Magnezone was, as EQ variants of Zard Y are a bit problematic without it. ScarfedVictini could really help your team, it checks Ferrothorn, BirdSpam, Zard Y and can beat most non scarfed offense mons. I'm not sure who to replace TBH, especially as you want to keep Zone, so I'm thinking Slowbro, as it seems the least useful mon in your team.

 

[bruno]

Hello, TheWhiteGas! You got quite a fun team here, but i have some suggestions:

First of all, your team has no Landorus-I switch-in. That's definetly not something good for it, since Landorus can come in on some mons and start smashing your team. I honestly don't see much point on running Magnezone on your team, because as long as Metagross runs Hammer Arm, it should be able to deal with Ferrothorn and Skarmory just fine(you also have Heatran which pressures both mon solidly enough). That's why I suggest changing your Magnezone to a Tornadus-T. AV Tornadus-T would help your team dealing some other troublesome Pokémon like Celebi(specially the ones packing Earth Power) and SubCM Keldeo. Here's the set:
Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 232 HP / 36 Atk / 240 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Superpower / Icy Wind / Focus Blast

I also don't see much reason on running Ice Punch. You have Chesnaught which completely stops Landorus-T regardless, and Meteor Mash still does a good ammount of damage. I'd suggest running Grass Knot > Ice Punch with a hasty nature. With that, you can pull through Pokémon such as Slowbro and Hippodown.

Last but not least, I can see your point with using Roar, but Taunt is just so amazing and makes Heatran an amazing stallbreaker. While Roar has its advantages, Taunt is gonna give your team ways to pressure a ton of Pokémon, which forces a lot of switches, and when you couple that with hazards, you're good to go.

tl;dr AV Tornadus-t > Magnezone
Grass Knot > Ice Punch on Metagross
Taunt > Roar on Heatran

 

[TheWhiteGas]

Hello, TheWhiteGas! You got quite a fun team here, but i have some suggestions:

First of all, your team has no Landorus-I switch-in. That's definetly not something good for it, since Landorus can come in on some mons and start smashing your team. I honestly don't see much point on running Magnezone on your team, because as long as Metagross runs Hammer Arm, it should be able to deal with Ferrothorn and Skarmory just fine(you also have Heatran which pressures both mon solidly enough). That's why I suggest changing your Magnezone to a Tornadus-T. AV Tornadus-T would help your team dealing some other troublesome Pokémon like Celebi(specially the ones packing Earth Power) and SubCM Keldeo. Here's the set:
Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 232 HP / 36 Atk / 240 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Hurricane
- Superpower / Icy Wind / Focus Blast

I also don't see much reason on running Ice Punch. You have Chesnaught which completely stops Landorus-T regardless, and Meteor Mash still does a good ammount of damage. I'd suggest running Grass Knot > Ice Punch with a hasty nature. With that, you can pull through Pokémon such as Slowbro and Hippodown.

Last but not least, I can see your point with using Roar, but Taunt is just so amazing and makes Heatran an amazing stallbreaker. While Roar has its advantages, Taunt is gonna give your team ways to pressure a ton of Pokémon, which forces a lot of switches, and when you couple that with hazards, you're good to go.

tl;dr AV Tornadus-t > Magnezone
Grass Knot > Ice Punch on Metagross
Taunt > Roar on Heatran

Never realized that my team had so much trouble with Lando-T (haven't faced one despite how common that thing is xP). I can agree that Tornadous is a good member, although I am a little skeptical about Taunt on Heatran. However, there is no harm in trying it out. I am looking forward to trying these changes out, thanks!

 

[TheWhiteGas]

Guess I will use my bump