Metagross (Trick + Iron Ball) [GP 2/2]

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[SET]
name: Trick + Iron Ball
move 1: Trick
move 2: Meteor Mash
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stealth Rock / Ice Punch
item: Iron Ball
nature: Adamant
evs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spd

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set is Metagross's best shot at smashing through its main counters, specifically Rotom-A, Bronzong, and Skarmory. Metagross will almost always lure these Pokemon out when it shows its ugly face, and can utilize Trick in order to cripple them with an Iron Ball. A Pokemon that would normally be immune to Ground-type moves becomes susceptible to them when tricked an Iron Ball, and their Speed is cut in half. Metagross can abuse this by using Earthquake on a tricked Rotom-A and Bronzong, which will OHKO the former and deal massive damage to the latter, completely crippling it. Skarmory will retain a neutrality to Earthquake however, courtesy of its Flying-typing. The goal of this set is to reliably remove the aforementioned Pokemon from battle, so sweepers that have difficulty with them can run through your opponent's team uninterrupted. Trick is obviously the main move for this set, and means that Metagross can also Trick around Choice items, should Rotom-A be carrying one, further crippling the opponent. Meteor Mash is Metagross's most powerful move, and will dent all Pokemon that don't resist it, thanks to Metagross's colossal Attack. Earthquake provides excellent coverage with Meteor Mash, and is the move that Metagross relies on to bring down Rotom-A and Bronzong. The last slot can be used to set up Stealth Rock, should your team lack another Pokemon to set it up. Ice Punch is another option for additional coverage, and is Metagross's best move against Gliscor and the Dragon-types with a quadruple weakness to Ice. Since Metagross can easily sponge Outrage from Dragon-types, it's a nifty move to snipe them down while they're locked into it.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The Speed EVs allow Metagross to outrun Pokemon with a base Speed of 115 , such as Starmie. They also let Metagross outspeed the standard Ferrothorn when it is still holding its Iron Ball. Metagross's Attack is maximized in order to deal as much damage as possible, and the rest of the EVs are dumped into HP to provide bulk. The last moveslot is very flexible, and can be tailored to bring the most utility to your team. Hammer Arm is Metagross's best move against Ferrothorn, since it's one of the few Pokemon that can wall Metagross without being crippled by Iron Ball. Bullet Punch lets Metagross bypass its awful Speed while it still holds Iron Ball, and lets it pick off threats such as Terrakion and Gengar. Pursuit can be used to trap fleeing Ghost- or Psychic-types, such as Gengar or Latios, and ThunderPunch can be used solely for Gyarados, who resists Meteor Mash and is immune to Earthquake.</p>

<p>As far as teammates go, it's obvious that the best Pokemon to pair with Metagross are those that benefit from the removal of Rotom-A and Bronzong, and the crippling of Skarmory. Gyarados is an excellent example, since it can freely set up Dragon Dances without worrying about being revenge killed by Rotom-A. Mamoswine is another example, as it is walled by both Rotom-A and Bronzong, who resist its STAB combination. Haxorus and Landorus both benefit from Skarmory being crippled, and can proceed to heavily damage it with Earthquakes of their own. However, there are certain Pokemon that Metagross is unable to handle. Bulky Steel-types such as Ferrothorn (should Metagross lack Hammer Arm), Forretress, and Scizor can come in on Metagross and begin to set up. Bulky Water-types, such as Gastrodon or Jellicent, can shrug off Earthquake, heal themselves with Recover, and proceed to burn Metagross and wear it down. An offensive Rotom-A of your own with Hidden Power Fire can take down many of these Pokemon, and has excellent defensive synergy with Metagross. A Tinkerbell Celebi set (again with Hidden Power Fire) can accomplish the same thing.</p>
 
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Hey. I haven't had the chance to test this set out yet this generation, but the obnoxious popularity of Skarmory and Rotom-W might get this on-site at least. I would mention Pursuit in the last slot of the set; although it's situational and weak without a Choice Band, Iron Ball targets tend to just set up on Metagross, thinking it's a Choiced variant after something is hit by Pursuit.
 
Hey... you probably didn't read it, but there is a trick room with iron ball Metagross right below you on the OU analysis main page. Might want to do something about that...
 
@JosefFuzzy - Hey... you probably didn't read it, but the Trick+Iron Ball and Trick Room+Iron Ball are two totally different sets with totally different strategies, hence the two threads. Might wanna do something about that... Like read em'.
 
Yeah, the other set attempts to slow Metagross itself down through Iron Ball, my one attempts to cripple and eliminate its counters. You probably got confused with Trick and Trick Room, lol
 
I have used this set and it is really great. Haxorus and Landorus are imo the best partners for this set and abosolutley need to get a mention.
The most difficult decision is propably what to do with the last move slot when your team already got SR support. Pursuit is cool, but Substitute, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Bullet Punch and toxic are also great options depending on what your team needs the most.
 
Great stuff Cherub Agent :d. You could mention Hammer Arm in the AC. Ferrothorn is among the few mons that is not affected badly by Iron Ball that can also wall Metagross. Hammer Arm dissuades Ferrothorn from switching-in.
 
Mention that Tricking an Iron Ball to Skarmory makes it neutral, not weak, to Earthquake, so there is some nerf from the previous gen. Because of that, Skarmory can still tank this Metagross, Haxorus, and non Taunt Gyaras.

However, Rotom-W takes SE damage.
 
To avoid major slashitis, I'd keep Stealth Rock, Ice Punch, and Pursuit in slashes (Stealth Rock provides great utility, Ice Punch provides coverage against the popular Gliscor and Dragonite, and Pursuit because it works with on any lure Metagross, but maybe AC), while the other options can go in AC (specific options for specific threats, and lol Hone Claws).

EDIT @ Jibaku: oh...
 
oh man that sucks. Bronzong will be hit super effectively though right? I didn't realize that skarmory was neutral. I used this extensively last gen, when it was super effective; i assumed it still was.
 
The Ground type neutrality only applies to Flying types holding an Iron Ball (it will completely disregard the other type). Bronzong will still be hit super-effectively by Ground-type attacks.
 
To avoid major slashitis, I'd keep Stealth Rock, Ice Punch, and Pursuit in slashes (Stealth Rock provides great utility, Ice Punch provides coverage against the popular Gliscor and Dragonite, and Pursuit because it works with on any lure Metagross, but maybe AC), while the other options can go in AC (specific options for specific threats, and lol Hone Claws).

EDIT @ Jibaku: oh...

Hmm, I feel like if Pursuit is slashed, then Bullet Punch deserved to be slashed as well, since a decently strong priority never hurts :d. Perhaps just slash Ice Punch next to Stealth Rock, since taking out Dragonite locked into Outrage is one of the most important role of viable Steel-types.
 
oh, so this may still get approved? Excellent. I'll ask a QC member how the last slot should be slashed. Thanks for all your input everyone!
 
Great set, used it quite often on my older teams and it works well especially if you are looking to render some tanks useless to pave the way for a sweeper to set up and wreck. Hope QC approves this, GL. Oh and also to the people above who said that it doesn't really render the likes of skarm useless, it still makes it a burden for the trainer since being locked into one move is annoying. Not to mention that whenever it roosts you can set up on it as it will be forced to at some stage if it wants to keep phasing away the opponent's Pokemon.
 
Good set, i remember using it w/ SDS on a pretty decent team. Though the Iron Ball nerf regarding flying types is really disheartening (what the fuck gf??)

QC APPROVED (1/3)
 
thanks. I have a theory regarding the nerf: because of the introduction of tornadus. Tornadus would have become ??? typing if given an iron ball
 
I'm wondering how a variant of this would do. It's a bit gimmicky, but on paper it looks like it forms a good set.

[pimg]376[/pimg]

Mr. Comp (Metagross) @ Iron Ball
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def (0 Spe IV's)
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball
- Hammer Arm
- Earthquake / Bullet Punch
- Trick

Since Iron Ball cuts your speed in half, Gyro Ball has slightly more power than Meteor Mash (has 100% accuracy). Hammer Arm compliments Gyro Ball by giving it good coverage as well as giving gyro ball a boost with the speed drop. Earthquake was just filler since Iron Ball brings down a Ground-immune poke. Bullet Punch was another filler that just incase you need to counteract the speed drop.

Maybe this Metagross could forgo trick altogether?
 
im not sure about that set as a whole, thepillsburydoughboy, but i definitely advise against forgoing trick. without trick, all you have is an extremely slow metagross with a move that has better accuracy than meteor mash but the inability to boost attack, so it's not really a set worth running if youre not gonna be crippling something with iron ball.
 
im not sure about that set as a whole, thepillsburydoughboy, but i definitely advise against forgoing trick. without trick, all you have is an extremely slow metagross with a move that has better accuracy than meteor mash but the inability to boost attack, so it's not really a set worth running if youre not gonna be crippling something with iron ball.

Yeah, you're right. The boost from my Hammer Arm to Gyro Ball could never be utilized :( However, during my gimmicky testing I've discovered this (Mr. Comp=Meagross, Mr. DarKnight=Haxorus) :

Start of turn 4
Mr. Comp used Trick!
Mr. Comp switched items with the foe's Skarmory!
Mr. Comp obtained one Leftovers!
The foe's Skarmory obtained one Iron Ball!

The foe's Skarmory used Whirlwind!
Mr.DarKnight is hurt by spikes!
Mr.DarKnight was dragged out!

The sandstorm rages!
Mr.DarKnight is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Mr.DarKnight restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 5
Mr.DarKnight used Earthquake!
It's super effective!
The foe's Skarmory lost 61% of its health!

The foe's Skarmory used Brave Bird!
Mr.DarKnight lost 118 HP! (40% of its health)
The foe's Skarmory is hit with recoil!

The sandstorm rages!
Mr.DarKnight is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Mr.DarKnight restored a little HP using its Leftovers!

Start of turn 6
Mr.DarKnight used Earthquake!
It's super effective!
The foe's Skarmory lost 11% of its health!
The foe's Skarmory fainted!

The sandstorm rages!
Mr.DarKnight is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Mr.DarKnight restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Crucial Decisions sent out Landorus!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Landorus!

So it seems according to PO, Iron Ball retains the effect of hitting against the secondary typing of the Iron Ball'ed poke. A bit of comfort to this otherwise offbeat set :) Also, Hammer Arm I assume would hit Skarmory super effectively according to this piece of information.
 
that sure is an interesting piece of information. just out of curiosity, your haxorus didn't have a CB did it? I'll be sure to mention that. Here's to hoping coyotte doesn't fix it lol

EDIT: Bulbapedia confirms that when Skarmory is given an Iron Ball, the effectiveness of Ground-type moves is 2x. There may yet be hope
 
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