ORAS OU RMT Mega-Metagross Balance

[LucarioOfLegends]

Hey guys, LucarioOfLegends here, and I present to you, my first serious competitive team for the OU metagame. As stated in the title, this is meant to be a balanced team with its focus being Mega-Metagross;although the team may actually be leaning more on the offensive side. But, without further ado, lets begin.

EQ-2521 (Metagross) @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake

I've always wanted to use a Metagross, and it fits perfectly as my main Sweeper with its impressive attack stat and a whole load of resistances. It's made to smash through everything that doesn't resist it, but can also take a fair amount of punishment. Meteor Mash is my main STAB, OHKOing or THKOing most Mons I've faced. Bullet Punch is used to pick off weakened foes who may outspeed Metagross such as M-Lopunny, M-Manetric, and Weavile. Ice Punch is Metagross' main coverage move, used to deal with Dragons, Flying types, and Gliscor. While not getting a Tough Claws bonus, Earthquake fills the last slot to hit things that the previous three cant hit neutrally.

Aries (Whimsicott) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Encore
- Stun Spore

Serving as my Pivot and usual Lead, Cott is an annoying Pokemon. Thanks to Prankster, Cott is able to switch in and cripple setup sweepers and Dragons with Encore and Stun Spore while also being able to do damage with Moonblast and retreat safely with U-turn via its enourmous Speed. This set is specifically made to stop setup and Dragons by forcing them out or Struggling them.

Godzilla (Hydreigon) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
- Dark Pulse
- Flamethrower

Hydreigon is used as my main damage dealer, and he does a pretty good job at it. He breaks down the Pokemon that would otherwise be hard to digest, and can check a multitude of Pokemon with its two immunities and numerous resistances. Draco Meteor is the main damage dealer, but has to be used sparingly due to the stat drops. Flash Cannon is in the second slot to deal with Fairies, who would otherwise block it. Dark Pulse is the alternative STAB, and can be used to stop Gengar and M-Sableye. Finally, Flamethrower is used to deal with Steel types such as Skarmory, Magnezone, Klefki, and Scizor.

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Originally this spot was for Talonflame, but I put Heatran here instead to set Stealth Rocks. Heatran also has immunity to common status ailments like poison and burn. Fire Blast is used as the main Stab once Rocks are up, and stops opposing Steel types. Earth Power breaks through Electric types such as Magnezone and Raikou. Stone Edge takes care of most birds, but is especially effective against M-Pinsir and Talonflame.

Slippy (Not) (Toxicroak) @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch

Realizing the lack of water type coverage, I put in Toxicroak to act as a revenge killer and late game cleaner. Using Swords Dance, Toxicroak is able to stop what the others cannot (hey that rhymed)and clean up if Mega Metagross is down. Gunk Shot is used as the main STAB move and deals with the ever present Azumarill. Drain Punch also gets STAB and heals back damage from Life Orb and enemy attacks. Sucker Punch is used as my main revenge killing tool for especially aggressive Pokemon. With the Water and Toxic immunity, Toxicroak can cleanly take a lot of threats.

Arthur (Slowking) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Thunder Wave
- Psyshock

Originally in the form of a Suicune, Arthur the Slowking serves the role of the Specially Defensive Tank. With its hefty special defense and good special attack, it is able to take a fair amount of punishment, and retaliate against it. Slowking also compliments Toxicroak well, because Slowking covers Toxicroak's problem with Fire. Scald is the main STAB, with the ability to burn foes as well. Slack Off can help keep Slowking healthy along side Regenerator. Thunder Wave is used to annoy anyone with a decent speed stat and can cripple Pokemon who need to be without status conditions. Psyshock is used to deal with pesky Fighting types like Keldeo and Breloom.

Issues:

Status
Status is a somewhat large problem for those who are not immune to it. While Metagross, Toxicroak and Heatran may not get poisoned, Toxic greatly shortens the life of Hydreigon. Burns also limit the effectiveness of Metagross and Toxicroak. Finally, Paralysis greatly affects everyone's capabilities, especially the attackers and Whimsicott.

No Hazard Control
While I don't have anyone who is especially weak to Stealth Rocks, and multiple team members can remove Toxic Spikes, the damage does add up.

Chansey
While they can be beaten with brute force, facing a Chansey can be extremely difficult due to the lack of Knock Off or strong Fighting type moves.

Other Bulky Pokemon
While not to the same degree as Chansey, Pokemon like Mega Venasaur can be quite hard to beat.

Many suggestions are welcome and I appreciate the help in advance.

 

[Millionsunz]

Hey there Lucario! That's quite a cool team you have there! Mega Metagross is easily one of the best Megas in the OU metagame being able to handle all sorts of top-tier threats such as Clefable and Tornadus-T (as long as it doesn't carry Heat Wave). Your Metagross set is fine and I wound not change a thing about it. I also love to use Whimsicott, but I find your EV spread and the purpose of it on the team to be a little strange. Mega Metagross and Heatran both resist Dragon-type STAB and can dish out tons of damage, although they may struggle to handle Charizard X who Whimsicott loses to anyway. What is the purpose behind running 136 Spe EVs with a Timid Nature? Is there a certain Pokemon you are wishing to outspeed? Down below I've recommended a different set that may work well with your team. Hydreigon looks fine, but running Assault Vest is a little strange. Hydreigon has a decent amount of natural bulk, so you may be better off running Life Orb, Choice Specs, or Choice Scarf Hydreigon to either increase your damage output or outspeed certain threats. I dislike your Heatran set because I feel that Air Balloon is a very situational item and should almost never be run. Instead of Fire Blast, Lava Plume is more reliable and has a 30% Burn chance. Stone Edge should not be run on Heatran, especially with a Timid Nature. Instead, Flash Cannon or Taunt can be used to either hit Fairies or make Heatran a stallbreaker, a form of team that you seem to struggle with. Toxicroak is an extremely underrated Pokemon I think, and is very useful in the current metagame. Instead of running Gunk Shot, I would recommend Poison Jab because of its higher reliability. This is one change that you can sorta decide if you want more power, or more reliability. Slowking is a decent Pokemon on your team, but I think that Vaporeon can be a little better, as it can WishPass health back to Metagross, Heatran, and Hydreigon, your three most offensive Pokemon. If you do decide to make this switch, I would change Metagross' Ice Punch to Thunder Punch to handle Keldeo much better. Down below I have the new sets that I would recommend for your team. Overall, a wonderful build.

Recommended Sets

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch / Thunder Punch (for handling Keldeo better)
- Earthquake

Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Stun Spore
- Encore

Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Poison Jab
- Sucker Punch
- Drain Punch

Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Scald
- Toxic

If you have any questions about the sets I've provide, or any questions at all, just ask me anytime and I'll reply as soon as I can. Have fun battling! :)

 

[zbr]

ooo nice team you've got here. hydragross is a great core to work around and i see that you've done quite a good job at building around it. i've noticed that you've identified a few problems that you've encountered on this team and i noticed that you also have some additional issues that your team may face. nonetheless, i have some suggestions that i can provide you with to help improve your team.

right off the bat you've noted that you have issues with chansey. to augment this issue without reducing the effectiveness of your current team, i suggest running specs keldeo over toxicroak. this right off the bat gives you a powerful scald spammer that helps you deal with things like mvenu (2hkoed after burn with hydro pump) , chansey , msab (forced out) as well as act as a deterrent to typical rockers in the game because they are all either water weak or fight weak or they dont want to end up being burnt. your team is primarily offensive in nature so it is of the essence that you play against status well. it's pretty much impossible to randomly slap on a cleric to deal with your status issues without reducing the effectiveness of your team however, the next change should reduce a bit of this problem.

whimsicott is an amazingly annoying mon that generates aids, encourages aids, destroy lives and families, incite war amongst countries and even causes you to randomly alt+f4 during games. i dont think its particularly useful in this team since you want to be able to blow past your opponents with ease or have an alternate win con against stallier builds. hence i suggest running twave cm clef over whimsicott. this change allows you to retain your ability to force out dragons as well as being able to forcefully neuter common switch ins like mvenu , tran , talonflame , all of which are able to come in and force your team mates out.

next, you are in dire need of a hazard controller. since you need something to deal with waterspam as well as potentially deal with mvenu, i suggest the best offensive defogger of the tier with a bit of a twist to help push your team's ability to break past offensive and defensive teams alike and that is scarf trick defog latios over slowking. now this has to be the oddest change you'll see but it helps since one, it ensures that you are able to catch some faster mons like torn-t and zam which are all potentially destructive to your team. with access to psyshock, you gain the ability to deal with fighting types as well as random mvenus and amoongs that you've been having problems with and finally, trick + defog allows you to lure in some threats to your team like chansey since typical LO latios 3hkos chans and trick allows you to potentially neuter two of your opponent's mons.

lastly, i have some minor ev changes for you: heatran should opt for a bit of bulk and survivability by running taunt / toxic / stealth rock / lava plume with 252 hp 252 spe and 4 def. this spread allows you to set fast rocks as well as having to not lose to offensive teams with fastzor. this change gives you another option against stall since taunt helps force stall into submission since clef / chans / quag / talon all cannot stay in without getting taunt toxic'd. your godzilla also needs a bit changing around. Hydreigon excels in breaking down defensive cores so running lo hydreigon over av is much more beneficial since offensive hydreigon allows you to break past a lot of metagross' common switch ins like slowbro and annoying physically defensive water types , allowing mega meta to push right through the opponent's team. metagross should also opt to run zen headbutt and hammer arm over bullet punch and eq. this is because hammer arm also helps deal with Steel-types such as ferro and tran as well as random rock types like ttar for super effective damage and zen headbutt helps deal with mvenu and amoong. hopefully my suggestions help you climb up the ladder more and improve your team so that it rectifies some of the weaknesses that are present. good luck and have fun in the game! /cheers/

sets

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Calm Mind

Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Trick

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Lava Plume
- Toxic

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Roost
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast

 

[LucarioOfLegends]

This is quite the late reply, but here I go.

Millionsunz, Thank you so much for the suggestions! Vaporeon works miles better than Slowking. I've also reverted back multiple pokemon seets to thier previous forms before a change I made. The only thing that hasn't changed is Ice Punch. Ice Punch has a lot more coverage than Thunder Punch, and I can use Toxicroak and Vaporeon to switch into both Hydro Pump and Aqua Jet.

zbr, I really appreciate the suggestions, but for some reason they didn't work in practice. Maybe they don't have good synergy, or it doesn't fit my playstyle. I still really like your critiques.