OU Spotlight: Mega Metagross

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Introduction

Metagross's history as a competitive Pokémon is quite interesting to say the least. It knows the joy of being on the throne, the sadness of being knocked off it, and the indescribable satisfaction of then claiming an even greater throne. For the first two generations that Metagross was in, it was not to be taken lightly, as it was extraordinarily flexible with a multitude of threatening sets. Whether it was being used offensively or defensively, Metagross was always a reliable and consistent teammate to turn to in times of need. But BW came around and many new threats, such as Ferrothorn, Landorus-T, Volcarona, and a whole ocean of weather-based Pokémon, were introduced to make its life in OU miserable. XY was no better, as even though auto-weather was no longer permanent, Metagross suffered greatly from suddenly finding itself weak to Dark- and Ghost-type moves, leaving it easily taken care of by the likes of Bisharp and Gengar, as well as new threats such as Talonflame, Mega Gyarados, and Diggersby. It seemed like Metagross was going to be yet another terrible Pokémon for life. But ORAS came around, and then it happened: Mega Metagross was born, and it made itself known to the world. What was once thought to be a Pokémon doomed to mediocrity, Metagross has pulled what I will call a Mawile Reversal (which is when a Pokémon that has no place in a tier suddenly becomes a top-tier threat in it), and established itself as one of the most dominant forces in OU.

Mega Metagross's Qualities

Mega Metagross is an almost perfect Pokémon, as everything it has can be useful, from its stats, to movepool, to ability, and even all the way to typing. When it comes to Mega Metagross, its stats are truly amazing, as no base stat it has bar HP is below 100, with a massive base 145 Attack, a usable base 105 Special Attack, great 80 / 150 / 110 defenses, and even a key base 110 Speed. These stats are complemented greatly by its wide movepool, as it can use powerful moves such as Meteor Mash, Zen Headbutt, Earthquake, Ice Punch, Bullet Punch, Hammer Arm, Grass Knot, and more. Being a Steel / Psychic type, Mega Metagross has numerous resistances, including a Stealth Rock resistance and a Poison immunity, so combined with its great 80 / 150 / 110 defenses, Mega Metagross is more than capable of taking a hit or two. Even some super effective attacks, such as Mega Gyarados's Crunch and Mega Diancie's Earth Power, will fail to OHKO a healthy Mega Metagross, so switching into the likes of non-Hidden Power Fire Latios, Latias, non-Will-O-Wisp Mega Gardevoir, Clefable, and Sylveon is an easy task. As if these high points of Mega Metagross weren't enough, the ability that Game Freak decided to give Mega Metagross was none other than Tough Claws, giving its STABs and some coverage moves a not-so-needed buff to Mega Metagross's already impressive power. So, with all this, Mega Metagross is a significant threat that every team must have an answer to.

Playing with Mega Metagross

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Naive Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch / Bullet Punch / Grass Knot
- Hammer Arm / Earthquake

When thinking of Mega Metagross, this set should always come to mind, and for good reason. This set is designed to be an immediate threat that's best used early- and mid-game, as Mega Metagross can take advantage of its great typing and excellent defenses to take a hit if needed and then significantly damage the foe. Meteor Mash is Mega Metagross's strongest attack, resting at a fearsome effective 180 Base Power after factoring in STAB and Tough Claws, and Mega Metagross not only threatens most Fairy-types, such as Clefable and Mega Altaria, but also has a neat 20% chance to raise its Attack stat. Zen Headbutt is Mega Metagross's second strongest attack, sitting at an effective 160 Base Power, and its Psychic-type coverage allows Mega Metagross to threaten Poison- and Fighting-types, such as Mega Venusaur and Keldeo. Adamant variants of Mega Metagross can also 2HKO Rotom-W with Zen Headbutt after Stealth Rock damage, which would otherwise be very problematic to Mega Metagross. Thanks to its wide movepool, Mega Metagross has a large selection of moves to choose from for the third moveslot, all of which are powered up by Tough Claws. Ice Punch allows Mega Metagross to nail Gliscor and Landorus-T where it hurts. Bullet Punch lets Mega Metagross bypass its poor Speed the turn it Mega Evolves and get the jump on faster Pokémon in general, and Grass Knot threatens most bulky Water- and Ground-types, such as Mega Slowbro, Quagsire, and Hippowdon. The final moveslot goes to either Earthquake or Hammer Arm; the former cleanly OHKOes Heatran and Magnezone and 2HKOes Mega Charizard X and Jirachi, and the latter is powered up by Tough Claws, OHKOes Tyranitar, and 2HKOes Ferrothorn, Heatran, and even Skarmory. Mega Metagross can defeat Skarmory because Hammer Arm lowers Mega Metagross's Speed. Eventually, Mega Metagross will become slower than Skarmory, which is weak to Hammer Arm after it uses Roost; however, Counter Skarmory can pose a problem to this strategy. As for less common moves, Thunder Punch can be used if hitting Gyarados and Mandibuzz is important for your team, but it's usually a better idea to just let a teammate handle them instead. Pursuit is a handy tool that can be used to checkmate Latios and Latias, and nail physically frail Pokémon that don't want to take a hit, such as Mega Gardevoir and Mega Sceptile. Finally, while this will sacrifice coverage, Stealth Rock is a good move for supporting the team, as foes usually don't see it coming and not many hazard removers want to remove hazards at the cost of taking a hit from Mega Metagross. A Jolly nature and 252 Speed EVs are used here to maximize Mega Metagross's Speed, allowing it to, at worst, Speed tie with other Pokémon that have base 110 Speed, and 252 Attack EVs are to maximize damage output.

Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm / Ice Punch / Earthquake

Quite contrary to the above set, this set is designed to be a late-game sweeper, with Mega Metagross boosting its Speed to incredible levels and cleaning up weakened teams. Agility is what makes this set what it is, as one turn of setup means that not even Adamant Sand Rush Excadrill can revenge kill Mega Metagross. However, as Mega Metagross mashes and headbutts people's faces in constantly, you'll find that it gets a little messy as time passes, if you know what I mean. To remedy this, simply use Rock Polish, as it not only doubles its Speed like Agility, but also makes Mega Metagross squeaky clean. That way, it will look more dignified as it mashes and headbutts people's faces in. Back to being serious, Meteor Mash and Zen Headbutt are the mandatory attacks of choice here, as their raw power is critical for this set to function. Since Mega Metagross only has one more moveslot left, deciding what the fourth move will be becomes more important now. Despite the fact that it lowers Speed with each use, Hammer Arm is still an excellent attack because of its excellent ability to threaten Dark- and Steel-types, such as Mega Gyarados, Bisharp, and Ferrothorn, and because Agility can negate the Speed drop, it usually doesn't matter anyways, as even a +1 Mega Metagross can still outrun most of the unboosted metagame. Ice Punch allows Mega Metagross to easily OHKO Choice Scarf Landorus-T and 2HKO Gliscor and Dragonite at worst. Finally, Earthquake is there if Mega Metagross needs to hit the likes of Heatran and Jirachi hard.

Playing Against Mega Metagross

As a Pokémon that has a good typing, a great movepool, and amazing stats, Mega Metagross is indeed a Pokémon that can be hard to approach at times. But if there was any flaw to Mega Metagross, it would be four-moveslot syndrome. Despite having a wide variety of moves at Mega Metagross's disposal to handle a majority of the metagame, it'll often find that having only four moveslots is never enough, especially because two of them are designated for STAB attacks. As such, most of the Pokémon that can check and counter Mega Metagross are dependent on the move that it lacks. Without Ice Punch, Landorus-T can switch into and take any hit from Mega Metagross and then proceed to potentially OHKO it with Earthquake, and any variant of Gliscor can either heal up with Roost to negate the damage of all its other attacks or almost always 2HKO with Earthquake. If Mega Metagross lacks Earthquake, Jirachi can avoid a 2HKO from any of its other attacks, but it can't do very much back. Mega Charizard X also works as a great check when Mega Metagross isn't' using Earthquake, as it can either burn Mega Metagross with Will-O-Wisp and then stall with Roost or OHKO it with Flare Blitz. Excluding Grass Knot, Hippowdon and Quagsire can endure Mega Metagross's attacks, with Hippowdon threatening it out with Earthquake, Quagsire threatening with Scald, and both of them being capable of healing the damage off. Heatran has a good chance of living any attack from Mega Metagross bar Earthquake—even Hammer Arm—and can fire off Lava Plume to significantly damage and possibly burn Mega Metagross, and bulkier variants of Magnezone can live Hammer Arm and 2HKO with Thunderbolt. If Mega Metagross lacks Hammer Arm, Ferrothorn becomes a hard counter that can easily stall it out with Leech Seed and paralyze it with Thunder Wave. Defensive Starmie is also a good answer to Mega Metagross that lack Grass Knot and Thunder Punch, thanks to its resistances to Mega Metagross's STABs and access to Scald for burns and Recover to keep its health up. The Agility set might be a bit tricky for offensive teams to approach, but balanced and defensive teams usually have an answer or two to it, as even though Mega Metagross can get to +2 Speed and runs an Adamant nature, the fact that it has only a single free moveslot for coverage means that it can be easier to find the appropriate wall.

Universal checks and counters can be hard to find, and while they might not be perfect, they do exist. Bulky variants of Mega Scizor can avoid the 2HKO from an Adamant Hammer Arm, heal off the damage with Roost, and 3HKO Mega Metagross with Knock Off. Before Mega Evolving, Sableye acts as a good check, as it can burn Mega Metagross with Will-O-Wisp, then proceed to set up with Calm Mind and KO Mega Metagross with Dark Pulse. However, before getting burned, Mega Metagross has a small chance—one which becomes much higher when using an Adamant nature—to 2HKO Mega Sableye with Meteor Mash. Mega Slowbro can endure any attack from Mega Metagross, even Grass Knot, after a single Calm Mind boost, and can proceed to spam Scald. Choice Band Talonflame is also a big problem for Mega Metagross, as even though Mega Metagross's Thunder Punch OHKOes Talonflame, its Zen Headbutt can only OHKO Talonflame with some prior recoil damage, and Mega Metagross needs an Agility boost to get a hit in before being OHKOed by Flare Blitz.

Fitting Mega Metagross Onto Your Team

Magnezone makes for a great partner for Mega Metagross, as it can trap and either OHKO or 2HKO Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Skarmory; beat Mandibuzz and most Water-types; and use Volt Switch to provide a safe switch in for Mega Metagross and slightly damage the foe in the process. Keldeo provides good offensive synergy with Mega Metagross, as it can take on Bisharp, Mandibuzz, and Mega Scizor, while Mega Metagross can take on most Fairy-types, Latios, Latias, and Mega Venusaur. Having a Pokémon to take on Mega Sableye and Mega Slowbro is essential for Mega Metagross to take on stall teams, so Clefable works as an excellent partner in this regard. Clefable's Magic Guard negates burn damage, and Clefable can take their boosted attacks and boost alongside them with its own Calm Mind. Rotom-W is great for taking out Talonflame, and it can use Volt Switch to provide a safe switch . Stealth Rock support is also greatly appreciated for entry hazard damage on the opponent's team. Good users include Landorus-T, which can switch into Ground-type moves, fire off powerful Earthquakes to threaten Steel-types, and U-turn out to maintain offensive momentum and possibly provide a safe switch for Mega Metagross, and Ferrothorn, which can take on most Water-types and provide some helpful Thunder Wave support, making Mega Metagross's late-game sweep significantly easier.

Get Out There!

Life was hard for the old supercomputer during XY because it had so many things going against it, but it's funny how in ORAS, what was once a complete joke of a Pokémon has become one of the driving forces of OU. What once barely had enough to get by now has all that it could ever need to solidify itself as a top-tier threat. From amazing stats to a great ability, and even to a great movepool, Mega Metagross is easily one of the most significant additions to OU and is a threat that must be properly prepared for, unless you don't care much for winning.

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