[1v1] Metagross [QC 3/3] [GP 0/1]

Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Overview

Mega Metagross is a metagame-defining threat in 1v1 thanks to its impressive offensive, defensive and Speed stats, useful pre- and post-Mega Evolution abilities and a good defensive typing in Steel / Psychic. It is also the single most reliable counter to Kyurem-B in the meta, and checks other top-tier threats such as Mega Gyarados and Tapu Koko. A diverse movepool lets it bypass what may be perceived as checks such as using Magnet Rise with Substitute to beat Donphan. Mega Metagross's relative lack of counters leaves you with very little reason to avoid using it, but common weaknesses to Fire- and Ground-type attacks can hold it back to a degree, as those are common offensive types, which can leave it vulnerable to Pokemon such as bulky Mega Charizard X and Blaziken.

Physically Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 28 Def / 20 SpD / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm / Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt / Bullet Punch / Earthquake / Magnet Rise

Moves

Thunder Punch is quintessential, as it allows Mega Metagross to 2HKO the majority of Mega Gyarados most of the time. Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel-type STAB move because of its higher Base Power when compared to Iron Head. It also has a nifty 20% chance to boost Mega Metagross's attack by 1 stage. Hammer Arm is generally the best option for slot three, as it eliminates any rolls against Mega Gyarados. Hammer Arm also has several other notable targets such as Magnezone, Snorlax and non-Counter Chansey. Zen Headbutt is an option that is used primarily to nail Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross and provide a Psychic-type STAB move. Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu as well as other miscellaneous faster Pokemon and priority users such as physical Tapu Koko and Mega Mawile; it is great for surprising Sucker Punch users such as Mega Mawile, as it will cause Sucker Punch to fail provided that Mega Metagross outspeeds. It also lets Metagross reliably pick off weakened foes. Earthquake is another option for the fourth slot that is useful against Magearna and Mega Mawile as it does not rely on rolls and cannot miss. In addition, it is useful against opposing Mega Metagross. Magnet Rise may be used to avoid powerful Ground-type attacks from Pokemon such as Donphan and Landorus-T. Be wary of speedy Landorus-T and Counter Donphan if you choose to use this.

Set Comments

252 HP and 28 Defense EVs with an Impish nature allows Mega Metagross to survive a +1 Crunch from Mega Gyarados. 72 Speed EVs ensure that Metagross will be able to outspeed maximum-Speed base 75s such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross. 20 Special Defense EVs paired with the given HP allows Metagross to survive a Gigavolt Havoc from Magnezone; however, if you're not running Hammer Arm or Earthquake, these EVs may be moved elsewhere. The remaining EVs are put into Attack to pick up various KOs such as the ever-important Gyarados. Clear Body allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop prior to Mega Evolution. After Mega Evolution, Tough Claws post-mega boosts the power of Mega Metagross' contact moves such as Meteor Mash and Thunder Punch.

Usage Tips

Use this set against teams that have Pokemon such as Gyarados, Donphan (if running Magnet Rise), and Mega Venusaur (if running Zen Headbutt), as it can act as a psuedo-lure despite the fact that none of these options deviate from the standard set. When against Magnezone, Metagross should Mega Evolve and use Hammer Arm or Earthquake, and follow with Bullet Punch; however, if Metagross is not running Bullet Punch, use Thunder Punch prior to using Hammer Arm or Earthquake and if you believe they will use Electroweb, don't Mega Evolve on turn 1 to avoid the Speed drop with Clear Body. Against Chansey, don't Mega Evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering Metagross's attack, spam Meteor Mash, and wait for an Attack boost. Avoid missing Meteor Mash and Hammer Arm; if a more accurate move will get the KO, be sure to use that. Against Counter users such as Crustle and Sawk, you should use a weaker attack such as Bullet Punch before going in for the KO to secure the win.

Team Options

Pokemon that can take on Fire types like Charizard, such as Terrakion and Primarina, and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash, such as Mega Gyarados and Jumpluff, are greatly appreciated. Strong special attackers can also be troublesome, so Pokemon with good special bulk like Snorlax have great utility. Teammates that lose to Mega Gyarados are preferable so that this set can act as a proper lure. Chansey and Blissey in particular serve as great Mega Charizard Y, Donphan, Aegislash, and special attacker checks; Blaziken and Tapu Koko can prove to be troublesome for them, however. Donphan and Golem are other great options as they can take on both Mega Charizard X and Y, Blaziken, Aegislash, and Tapu Koko.

Specially Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 232 HP / 72 Atk / 132 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulldoze / Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Magnet Rise / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt / Thunder Punch

Moves

Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head. It also has a nifty 20% chance to boost Mega Metagross' attack by 1 stage. Bulldoze 2HKOs and lowers the speed of Tapu Koko and Magnezone, allowing it to outspeed them on the second turn. Alternatively, Earthquake paired with Bullet Punch gets the same kills, but requires 2 moveslots. Earthquake and Bullet Punch should always be used in conjunction. Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu and priority users like Mega Mawile (as it causes Sucker Punch to fail) as well. Magnet Rise temporarily makes Mega Metagross immune to ground, allowing it to beat pokemon like Donphan and slow Landorus-T. Be wary of speedy Landorus-T and counter Donphan if you use this. Hammer Arm provides valuable coverage against pokemon like Charm Chansey, Snorlax and Kartana among others. Zen Headbutt reliably 2HKOs Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross. Thunder Punch is an option that allows Metagross to beat non-Crunch Mega Gyarados. Substitute may also be used in conjunction with Earthquake, Bullet Punch and Magnet Rise in order to beat Aegislash as well as more reliably deal with Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.


Set Details

228 HP lives physical Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 112 Special Defense with a Careful nature paired with the given HP investment survives special Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross. The remaining EVs are added to HP, Attack and Special Defense to improve rolls, most notably against Magearna. Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop. Though Claws post-mega boosts the power of Mega Metagross' STAB attacks, Thunder Punch and Hammer Arm.

Usage Tips

If your opponent has a Tapu Koko, they don't know what set you are, and the rest of your team loses to Tapu Koko, you should almost always click Mega Metagross. Unless the rest of your team really needs the specific coverage Hammer Arm, Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt and Thunder Punch provides, you can swap up these moves depending on what people are using at the time. Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost. Avoid missing Meteor Mash and Hammer Arm. If a more accurate move will get the KO, be sure to use that. Additionally, always use Thunder Punch to break Mimikyu's Disguise. Bullet Punch is great for surprising Sucker Punch users such as Mega Mawile as it will cause Sucker Punch to fail provided that you outspeed.

Team Options

Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados such as Tapu Koko are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it. Pokemon that can take on Fire types like Charizard, such as Terrakion, and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash, such as Mega Gyarados are greatly appreciated. Teammates that lose to Tapu Koko like Mega Pinsir are ideal so as to make this set an effective lure. Chansey and Blissey make for a good teammates as they can deal with Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados while still losing to Tapu Koko.

Offensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash / Iron Head / Magnet Rise / Ice Punch / Hammer Arm
- Rock Tomb
- Substitute
- Earthquake

Moves

Meteor Mash boasts 90 BP and a 20% chance to boost Mega Metagross' Attack by 1 stage. Iron Head has 80 BP and a 30% chance to flinch. Because of the maximum attack investment, the power difference is less relevant, so pick your poison for the Steel STAB. Rock Tomb is used to hit Mega Charizard Y and Mega Pinsir, and also is helpful against Mega Charizard X that choose to either not mega evolve or to use Dragon Dance. Substitute is used to force Aegislash into blade form and to make Mega Charizard X take Flare Blitz recoil. It can also block status moves from defensive pokemon like Snorlax and Ferrothorn and scout for Z-moves from slower attackers like Magnezone. Earthquake KOs Charizard X after Flare Blitz recoil and Aegislash while in blade form. It also 3HKOs Kartana. Magnet Rise in conjunction with Substitute allows Mega Metagross to reliably take on Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T. Ice Punch is great for nailing Landorus-T, Garchomp, Dragonite, and if Mega Metagross wins the speed tie, Jumpluff. Hammer Arm beats Snorlax and Chansey. These last three options have a very high opportunity cost at they leave you without a steel STAB. This opportunity cost is slightly mitigated, however as Mega Metagross still beats many of Meteor Mash's targets such as Tapu Lele by virtue of typing. Rock Slide may be used in place of Rock Tomb as it OHKOs even the bulkiest variants of Mega Charizard Y, but leads to a less reliable matchup against Mega Charizard X. It is also often not necessary to win against Mega Charizard Y as they will typically use Blast Burn against your Substitute, forcing them into a recharge turn.

Set Details

252 Attack and Speed maximize offensive potential. A Jolly nature is crucial to outspeed pokemon like Charizard, Garchomp, Mimikyu, Kartana and also to speed tie with Jumpluff. Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.

Usage Tips

When facing Charizard, use Substitute immediately. If they are a Mega Charizard Y, use Rock Tomb to KO it. If it turns out to be Mega Charizard X, spam Substitute until you've dropped to 1% and then attack with Earthquake. If Mega Charizard X uses Dragon Dance, use Rock Tomb in return. Similarly, if it doesn't mega evolve, you may have to use Rock Tomb. If the opponent has a Charizard, the rest of your team loses to Charizard, and they don't know what set you are, you should usually pick Mega Metagross. It should be noted that this set cannot beat bulky Mega Charizard X and Flame Charge variants so long as they play correctly.

Team Options

Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados such as Tapu Koko are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it. Pokemon that can take on Ground types like Donphan such as Mega Gyarados are greatly appreciated. This set's niche comes in the form of beating the Charizards, so it's important to have teammates that lose to Charizard like Magearna to make sure your lure works properly. In particular, Shuca Berry Magearna both loses to Charizard and beats problematic Ground types such as Donphan and Golem.

Strategy Comments

Other Options


Ice Punch can be used to nail pokemon like Landorus-T and Dragonite, but this is generally outclassed by Magnet Rise. Substitute is useful for evading status and Z-moves. When paired with Earthquake, it can also let Mega Metagross beat Aegislash. In conjunction with Magnet Rise, it is also able to counter Donphan. Iron Head may be used instead of Meteor Mash for its perfect accuracy and 30% flinch chance, but the drop in power is quite noticeable. Giga Impact hits harder than any of Metagross' other attacks, but due to Metagross' excellent coverage, it's generally not too useful. Custom EV spreads are both viable and recommended. Thanks to Metagross' massive stats, it can be built to do a lot more than is practical to showcase here.

Checks and Counters

Set-Dependant Counters:
The defensive sets lose to Charizard and Aegislash, all but the specially defensive set loses to special Tapu Koko and Primarina and all but the physically defensive loses to Crunch Mega Gyarados. Sets lacking Magnet Rise are also beaten by Groundium Ground types like Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.

Physical Walls: Physical walls are able to simply tank and heal off Mega Metagross' attacks. Mega Slowbro is the most notable of them as there is almost no way Metagross can beat it. Others include Mega Sableye, Celesteela and Mega Aggron.

SubSeeders: Babiri Berry Whimsicott and Leech Seed Celesteela provide reasonable checks to Mega Metagross. In addition, Jumpluff beats most common Mega Metagross variants, but can lose to max speed with Ice Punch provided that either Mega Metagross wins the speed tie or Jumpluff misses Sleep Power.

Fire Types: Bulky Mega Charizard X, Blaziken, Alolan Marowak, Victini, Mega Camerupt and Salazzle are all capable of OHKOing Metagross with ease.
 
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DEG

The night belongs to you
is a Community Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Hello! I know this is still WIP but before continuing please before getting the first 2 QC this needs to be in bullet points. I'd advise you to read this before starting!
 

Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Hello! I know this is still WIP but before continuing please before getting the first 2 QC this needs to be in bullet points. I'd advise you to read this before starting!
Thanks. Implemented bullet points and read the guide.
 

RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.
AM QC
Implement what you agree.


Overview

  • Mega Metagross is a metagame-defining threat in 1v1 thanks to its impressive 700 BST, useful pre and post-mega abilities and a reasonable defensive typing of Steel/Psychic.
  • It is also the single most reliable counter to Kyurem-B in the meta, and checks the other S-rank, Mega Gyarados. I usually don't see VR reference in any analyses due to its tendencies to change, but I will leave this part to QC team.
  • A diverse movepool lets it bypass what inexperienced players might perceive as checks such as using Magnet Rise to beat Donphan. You still need Substitute, gonna talk more about it below
  • Mega Metagross' relative lack of counters leaves you with very little reason to avoid using it, but common weaknesses to Fire and Ground attacks can hold it back to a degree. Mention the most notable examples. You mostly lose to both Charizard without specific preparations, you lose to all Ground-types without Magnet Pull. Also I think Ghost-type weakness is worth a mention due to existence of Aegislash and Chandelure
* Team Options

You mention what the set beats but I think you also have to mention teammates that immensely benefit from it, maybe add stuff that appreciates Metagross beating Tapu Lele / Fini and others.

* Others
- Grass Knot is shit and no one uses it, I would remove it if I were you or move it to the very last bullet.
- Substitute + Magnet Rise is needed to reliably beat Golem & Donphan & Crustle. I think these two can't be separated by any means, or at least say Magnet Rise alone beats Lando-T but struggles with Sturdy users with Counter.

Good stuff.
 
amateur qc back at it again
Overview

  • Mega Metagross is a metagame-defining threat in 1v1 thanks to its impressive 700 BST, useful pre and post-mega abilities and a reasonable defensive typing of Steel/Psychic. (This makes it sounds as if the 700 BST is what makes it good, which isn't the case. mega latias has 700 BST but that mon certainly isn't on fire in the meta. I get what you're trying to say here, though I don't think that you need to mention the BST when the stats of the mon are displayed on the analysis page either way. You should highlight specifically that it has a great speed tier and fantastic natural offensive and defensive capabilities.)
  • It is also the single most reliable counter to Kyurem-B in the meta, and checks the other S-rank, Mega Gyarados. (Replace S-rank with "top tier threats such as Mega-Gyarados". This also covers other top tier threats without having to specifically mention them, and also means that the analysis is still relevant if Mega-Gyarados drops down from S rank.)
  • A diverse movepool lets it bypass what inexperienced players might perceive as checks such as using Magnet Rise to beat Donphan.
  • Mega Metagross' relative lack of counters leaves you with very little reason to avoid using it, but common weaknesses to Fire and Ground attacks can hold it back to a degree.

Physically Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 28 Def / 20 SpD / 72 Spe (I'd hardly call this physically defensive, considering you only have 8 more EVs in Def than you do in Spd. I'd call this set "bulky attacker" or something like that.)
Impish Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Meteor Mash (I would argue that you could slash Iron Head here due to its 100% accuracy and Flinch chance)
- Hammer Arm
- Magnet Rise / Zen Headbutt / Bullet Punch / Earthquake

Set Comments
  • 252 HP and 28 Defense with an Impish nature allows Mega Metagross to survive a +1 Crunch from Mega Gyarados.
  • 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross.
  • 20 Special Defense allows Metagross to survive a Gigavolt Havoc from Magnezone.
  • The remaining EVs are put into Attack to pick up various kills such as the ever-important Gyarados. (Take out "ever-important". You never know if Gyarados will suddenly plummet and drop in usage. It'll still be a relevant mon no matter what, I'm sure, but it's one of those small changes that can make the analysis more relevant for longer.)
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.
  • Metagrossite is necessary to mega evolve Metagross. (You don't need to comment on the mega stone.)

Moves
  • Thunder Punch and Hammer Arm quintessential to the purpose of this set as they allow Mega Metagross to 2HKO Mega Gyarados.
  • Hammer Arm also has several other notable targets such as Magnezone and Chansey.
  • Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head. (Would mention that Iron Head can still be used if willing to swap power for accuracy.)
  • Magnet Rise may be used to avoid powerful Ground attacks from pokemon such as Donphan and Landorus-T.
  • Zen Headbutt is an option that is used primarily to nail Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross.
  • Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu as well as other miscellaneous faster pokemon and priority users.
  • Earthquake is a very niche option for the fourth slot that is useful against Magearna and Mega Mawile as it does not rely on rolls and cannot miss. (Also relevant vs opposing Mega-Metagross that don't have Magnet Rise, though this scenario is rather rare so it's up for debate I suppose.)

Usage Tips
  • Use this set against teams that have pokemon such as Gyarados, Donphan (if running Magnet Rise) or Mega Venusaur (if running Zen Headbutt) as it can act as a psuedo-lure despite the fact that none of these options deviate from the standard.
  • If there are any Jolly Mega Gyarados' on the ladder while you are using this, it is advisable to change your speed tier to 128 EVs. You can take these EVs away from your Attack. (Okay, this is a bit controversial since it actively promotes the concept of a CT. I'd be very sceptical about including this in an analysis personally, but again it's one of those things up for debate. If you do decide to include it, mention why you should change your speed tier.)
  • If you are carrying Bullet Punch, you should mega evolve and use Hammer Arm into Bullet Punch against Magnezone. If you are not, use Thunder Punch prior to using Hammer Arm and if you believe they will use Electroweb, don't mega evolve on turn 1 to avoid the speed drop with Clear Body.
  • Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost. (If not running Meteor Mash, mention that you should spam Iron Head / Zen Headbutt for a flinch.)

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash are greatly appreciated. (Pokemon such as?)
  • Strong special attackers can also be troublesome, so pokemon with good special bulk have great utility. (Pokemon such as?)
  • Teammates that lose to Gyarados are preferable so that this set can act as a proper lure. (Pokemon such as?)
  • Chansey and Blissey in particular serve as great Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and special attacker checks. Blaziken and Tapu Koko can prove to be troublesome for Chansey and Blissey, however. (This is great. Would love to see something similar to this level of detail in the above three points.)
  • Donphan and Golem are other great options as they can take on the Charizards, Blaziken, Aegislash and Tapu Koko. (Same comment as above; good stuff.)

Specially Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 232 HP / 72 Atk / 132 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulldoze / Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Magnet Rise / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt / Thunder Punch

Set Details
  • 228 HP lives physical Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc.
  • 112 Special Defense with a Careful nature paired with the given HP investment survives special Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. (Mesh this with the above point, or mesh the above point with this point. No need to separate them.)
  • 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross.
  • The remaining EVs are added to HP, Attack and Special Defense to improve rolls, most notably against Magearna.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.
  • Metagrossite is necessary to mega evolve Metagross. (Don't need to mention the mega stone.)

Moves
  • Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head.
  • Bulldoze 2HKOs and lowers the speed of Tapu Koko and Magnezone, allowing it to outspeed them on the second turn.
  • Alternatively, Earthquake paired with Bullet Punch gets the same kills, but requires 2 moveslots. Earthquake and Bullet Punch should always be used in conjunction.
  • Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu and priority users like Mega Mawile as well. (Explain that using bullet punch prevents Mega-Mawile from spamming sucker punch.)
  • Magnet Rise temporarily makes Mega Metagross immune to ground, allowing it to beat pokemon like Donphan and slow Landorus-T.
  • Hammer Arm provides valuable coverage against pokemon like Charm Chansey, Snorlax and Kartana among others.
  • Zen Headbutt reliably 2HKOs Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross.
  • Thunder Punch is an option that allows Metagross to beat non-Crunch Mega Gyarados.

Usage Tips
  • If your opponent has a Tapu Koko, they don't know what set you are, and the rest of your team loses to Tapu Koko, you should almost always click Mega Metagross.
  • Unless the rest of your team really needs the specific coverage Hammer Arm, Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt and Thunder Punch provides, you can swap up these moves depending on what people are using at the time.
  • Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost. (If not running Meteor Mash, mention that you should spam Iron Head / Zen Headbutt for a flinch.)

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it.
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash are greatly appreciated.
  • Teammates that lose to Tapu Koko are ideal so as to make this set an effective lure.
  • Chansey and Blissey make for a good teammates as they can deal with Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados while still losing to Tapu Koko. (Same comment as before, would love to see some examples where you didn't mention any.)

Offensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
- Earthquake

Set Details
  • 252 Attack and Speed maximize offensive potential.
  • A Jolly nature is crucial to outspeed pokemon like Charizard, Mega Pinsir and Kartana.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.
  • Metagrossite is necessary to mega evolve Metagross. (No need to mention the mega stone.)

Moves
  • Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head.
  • Rock Slide is used to OHKO Mega Charizard Y and Mega Pinsir.
  • Substitute is used to force Aegislash into blade form and to make Mega Charizard X take Flare Blitz recoil. It can also block status moves from defensive pokemon like Snorlax and Ferrothorn. (Mention that it's fantastic to scout z moves.)
  • Earthquake KOs Charizard X after Flare Blitz recoil and Aegislash while in blade form. It also 3HKOs Kartana.

Usage Tips
  • When facing Charizard, use Substitute immediately. If they are a Mega Charizard Y, use Rock Slide to KO it. If it turns out to be Mega Charizard X, spam Substitute until you've dropped to 1% and then attack with Earthquake. If Charizard X spam Dragon Dance, you may have to make a play and eventually attack. Similarly, if it doesn't mega evolve, you may have to use Rock Slide.
  • If the opponent has a Charizard, the rest of your team loses to Charizard, and they don't know what set you are, you should almost always click Mega Metagross.

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it.
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard and Ground types like Donphan are greatly appreciated.
  • This set's niche comes in the form of beating the Charizards, so it's important to have teammates that lose to Charizard to make sure your lure works properly. (Same comment as the previous two team options, more examples would be great.)

Strategy Comments

Other Options

  • Grass Knot can work as a lure to Mega Swampert and the less relevant Quagsire, but given the rarity of Mega Swampert and Quagsires non-presence, this moveslot is generally better left for something else. It also can help avoid mind games against Counter Donphan if used in conjunction with Magnet Rise.
  • Ice Punch can be used to nail pokemon like Landorus-T and Dragonite, but this is generally outclassed by Magnet Rise.
  • Iron Head may be used instead of Meteor Mash for its perfect accuracy and 30% flinch chance, but the drop in power is quite noticeable.
  • Giga Impact hits harder than any of Mega Metagross' other attacks, but due to Metagross' excellent coverage, it's generally not too useful. (I'd take this point out. Almost always you would want to have the extra coverage, Giga Impact imo is too situational to justify.)
  • Custom EV spreads are both viable and recommended. Thanks to Metagross' massive stats, it can be built to do a lot more than is practical to showcase here.

Checks and Counters
  • Set-Dependant Counters: The defensive sets lose to Charizard and Aegislash, all but the specially defensive set loses to special Tapu Koko and Primarina and all but the physically defensive loses to Crunch Mega Gyarados. Sets lacking Magnet Rise are also beaten by Groundium Ground types like Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.
  • Physical Walls: Physical walls are able to simply tank and heal off Mega Metagross' attacks. Mega Slowbro is the most notable of them as there is absolutely no way Metagross can beat it. Others include Mega Sableye, Celesteela and Umbreon.
  • Jumpluff and Whimsicott: Jumpluff beats every common Metagross set around although max speed with Ice Punch can take it out. Babiri Whimsicott also serves as a reasonable Metagross check. (I'd argue that Babiri Whimsicott is too niche for a mention, up to you.)
  • Fire Types: Blaziken, Alolan Marowak, Victini, Choice Scarf Infernape, Mega Camerupt and Salazzle are all capable of OHKOing Metagross with ease.
really good work, implement what you wish
 

Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
AM QC
Implement what you agree.



* Team Options

You mention what the set beats but I think you also have to mention teammates that immensely benefit from it, maybe add stuff that appreciates Metagross beating Tapu Lele / Fini and others.

* Others
- Grass Knot is shit and no one uses it, I would remove it if I were you or move it to the very last bullet.
- Substitute + Magnet Rise is needed to reliably beat Golem & Donphan & Crustle. I think these two can't be separated by any means, or at least say Magnet Rise alone beats Lando-T but struggles with Sturdy users with Counter.

Good stuff.
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I'll remove Grass Knot haha. Now about your Substitute+Magnet Rise vendetta... No one uses Smack Down on anything but Landorus-T (look at the usage stats, it won't even come up. Only 18% of Landorus-T run it too). Even against the 18% of Landorus that run it, it's possible for either side to outpredict regardless of whether or not you're running Substitute. Changed the "S-Rank" to "top-tier threats such as Mega Gyarados."
E: Briefly mentioned Substitute as an option for Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.
amateur qc back at it again

really good work, implement what you wish
Yay more feedback n_n Removed the mega stone parts. Added more examples for team options. Mentioned that Substitute is good for scouting Z-moves. Meshed the Koko EV points. Changed 700 BST to mention of it's good stats. Not going to implement Iron Head as an option outside of other options except on the offensive set. As someone who handcrafted all of these EVs, I can tell you that the 10 BP increase is a lot more important than it seems when you're not running max attack. Explained the BP vs Mawile part.
 
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Felucia

Robot Empress
is a Battle Simulator Moderator
Overview

  • Mega Metagross is a metagame-defining threat in 1v1 thanks to its impressive offensive and defensive stats, useful pre and post-mega abilities and a reasonable defensive typing of Steel/Psychic.
  • It is also the single most reliable counter to Kyurem-B in the meta, and checks other top-tier threats such as Mega Gyarados.
  • A diverse movepool lets it bypass what inexperienced players might perceive as checks such as using Magnet Rise to beat Donphan.
  • Mega Metagross' relative lack of counters leaves you with very little reason to avoid using it, but common weaknesses to Fire and Ground attacks can hold it back to a degree.

Physically Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 28 Def / 20 SpD / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Magnet Rise / Zen Headbutt / Bullet Punch / Earthquake

Set Comments
  • 252 HP and 28 Defense with an Impish nature allows Mega Metagross to survive a +1 Crunch from Mega Gyarados.
  • 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross.
  • 20 Special Defense allows Metagross to survive a Gigavolt Havoc from Magnezone.
  • The remaining EVs are put into Attack to pick up various kills such as the ever-important Gyarados.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.

Moves
  • Thunder Punch and Hammer Arm quintessential to the purpose of this set as they allow Mega Metagross to 2HKO Mega Gyarados.
  • Hammer Arm also has several other notable targets such as Magnezone and Chansey.
  • Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head.
  • Magnet Rise may be used to avoid powerful Ground attacks from pokemon such as Donphan and Landorus-T.
  • Zen Headbutt is an option that is used primarily to nail Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross.
  • Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu as well as other miscellaneous faster pokemon and priority users.
  • Earthquake is a very niche option for the fourth slot that is useful against Magearna and Mega Mawile as it does not rely on rolls and cannot miss.

Usage Tips
  • Use this set against teams that have pokemon such as Gyarados, Donphan (if running Magnet Rise) or Mega Venusaur (if running Zen Headbutt) as it can act as a psuedo-lure despite the fact that none of these options deviate from the standard.
  • If there are any Jolly Mega Gyarados' on the ladder while you are using this, it is advisable to change your speed tier to 128 EVs. You can take these EVs away from your Attack.
  • If you are carrying Bullet Punch, you should mega evolve and use Hammer Arm into Bullet Punch against Magnezone. If you are not, use Thunder Punch prior to using Hammer Arm and if you believe they will use Electroweb, don't mega evolve on turn 1 to avoid the speed drop with Clear Body.
  • Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost.

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard (such as Dragonite) and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash (such as Mega Gyarados) are greatly appreciated.
  • Strong special attackers can also be troublesome, so pokemon with good special bulk like Snorlax have great utility.
  • Teammates that lose to Gyarados are preferable so that this set can act as a proper lure.
  • Chansey and Blissey in particular serve as great Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and special attacker checks. Blaziken and Tapu Koko can prove to be troublesome for Chansey and Blissey, however.
  • Donphan and Golem are other great options as they can take on the Charizards, Blaziken, Aegislash and Tapu Koko.

Specially Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 232 HP / 72 Atk / 132 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulldoze / Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Magnet Rise / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt / Thunder Punch

Set Details
  • 228 HP lives physical Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 112 Special Defense with a Careful nature paired with the given HP investment survives special Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc.
  • 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross.
  • The remaining EVs are added to HP, Attack and Special Defense to improve rolls, most notably against Magearna.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.

Moves
  • Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head.
  • Bulldoze 2HKOs and lowers the speed of Tapu Koko and Magnezone, allowing it to outspeed them on the second turn.
  • Alternatively, Earthquake paired with Bullet Punch gets the same kills, but requires 2 moveslots. Earthquake and Bullet Punch should always be used in conjunction.
  • Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu and priority users like Mega Mawile (as it causes Sucker Punch to fail) as well.
  • Magnet Rise temporarily makes Mega Metagross immune to ground, allowing it to beat pokemon like Donphan and slow Landorus-T.
  • Hammer Arm provides valuable coverage against pokemon like Charm Chansey, Snorlax and Kartana among others.
  • Zen Headbutt reliably 2HKOs Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross.
  • Thunder Punch is an option that allows Metagross to beat non-Crunch Mega Gyarados.
  • Substitute may also be used in conjunction with Earthquake, Bullet Punch and Magnet Rise in order to beat Aegislash as well as more reliably deal with Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.

Usage Tips
  • If your opponent has a Tapu Koko, they don't know what set you are, and the rest of your team loses to Tapu Koko, you should almost always click Mega Metagross.
  • Unless the rest of your team really needs the specific coverage Hammer Arm, Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt and Thunder Punch provides, you can swap up these moves depending on what people are using at the time.
  • Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost.

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados such as Tapu Koko are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it.
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard (such as Dragonite) and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash (such as Mega Gyarados) are greatly appreciated.
  • Teammates that lose to Tapu Koko like Mega Pinsir are ideal so as to make this set an effective lure.
  • Chansey and Blissey make for a good teammates as they can deal with Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados while still losing to Tapu Koko.

Offensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash / Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
- Earthquake

Set Details
  • 252 Attack and Speed maximize offensive potential.
  • A Jolly nature is crucial to outspeed pokemon like Charizard, Mega Pinsir and Kartana.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.

Moves
  • Meteor Mash boasts 90 BP and a 20% chance to boost Attack by 1. Iron Head has 80 BP and a 30% chance to flinch. Because of the maximum attack investment, the power difference is less relevant, so pick your poison for the Steel STAB.
  • Rock Slide is used to OHKO Mega Charizard Y and Mega Pinsir.
  • Substitute is used to force Aegislash into blade form and to make Mega Charizard X take Flare Blitz recoil. It can also block status moves from defensive pokemon like Snorlax and Ferrothorn and scout for Z-moves from slower attackers like Magnezone.
  • Earthquake KOs Charizard X after Flare Blitz recoil and Aegislash while in blade form. It also 3HKOs Kartana.

Usage Tips
  • When facing Charizard, use Substitute immediately. If they are a Mega Charizard Y, use Rock Slide to KO it. If it turns out to be Mega Charizard X, spam Substitute until you've dropped to 1% and then attack with Earthquake. If Charizard X spam Dragon Dance, you may have to make a play and eventually attack. Similarly, if it doesn't mega evolve, you may have to use Rock Slide.
  • If the opponent has a Charizard, the rest of your team loses to Charizard, and they don't know what set you are, you should almost always click Mega Metagross.

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados like Tapu Koko are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it.
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard (such as Dragonite) and Ground types like Donphan (such as Mega Gyarados) are greatly appreciated.
  • This set's niche comes in the form of beating the Charizards, so it's important to have teammates that lose to Charizard like Magearna to make sure your lure works properly.

Strategy Comments

Other Options

  • Ice Punch can be used to nail pokemon like Landorus-T and Dragonite, but this is generally outclassed by Magnet Rise.
  • Iron Head may be used instead of Meteor Mash for its perfect accuracy and 30% flinch chance, but the drop in power is quite noticeable.
  • Giga Impact hits harder than any of Mega Metagross' other attacks, but due to Metagross' excellent coverage, it's generally not too useful.
  • Custom EV spreads are both viable and recommended. Thanks to Metagross' massive stats, it can be built to do a lot more than is practical to showcase here.

Checks and Counters
  • Set-Dependant Counters: The defensive sets lose to Charizard and Aegislash, all but the specially defensive set loses to special Tapu Koko and Primarina and all but the physically defensive loses to Crunch Mega Gyarados. Sets lacking Magnet Rise are also beaten by Groundium Ground types like Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.
  • Physical Walls: Physical walls are able to simply tank and heal off Mega Metagross' attacks. Mega Slowbro is the most notable of them as there is absolutely no way Metagross can beat it. Others include Mega Sableye, Celesteela and Umbreon.
  • Jumpluff and Whimsicott: Jumpluff beats every common Metagross set around although max speed with Ice Punch can take it out. Babiri Whimsicott also serves as a reasonable Metagross check.
  • Fire Types: Blaziken, Alolan Marowak, Victini, Choice Scarf Infernape, Mega Camerupt and Salazzle are all capable of OHKOing Metagross with ease.
Overview
- Just call the Defensive Typing good imo, reasonable doesn't really do it justice
- Add Koko to the "Top tier threats" that it checks.

Team options (PhysDef)
- Terrakion is a better fire type answer than Dragonite

Strategy comments: Other Options
- Add Substitute (also mention it helps avoid Counter), although it's not an "Other Option" on one of the sets, it's still worth highlighting.
- I feel like this section could be expanded in general, with the amount of options Metagross has.


QC 1/3
 

Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Overview
- Just call the Defensive Typing good imo, reasonable doesn't really do it justice
- Add Koko to the "Top tier threats" that it checks.

Team options (PhysDef)
- Terrakion is a better fire type answer than Dragonite

Strategy comments: Other Options
- Add Substitute (also mention it helps avoid Counter), although it's not an "Other Option" on one of the sets, it's still worth highlighting.
- I feel like this section could be expanded in general, with the amount of options Metagross has.


QC 1/3
Implemented.
 
Overview

  • Mega Metagross is a metagame-defining threat in 1v1 thanks to its impressive offensive and defensive stats, useful pre and post-mega abilities and a good defensive typing of Steel/Psychic.
  • It is also the single most reliable counter to Kyurem-B in the meta, and checks other top-tier threats such as Mega Gyarados and Tapu Koko.
  • A diverse movepool lets it bypass ~~what inexperienced players might perceive as checks~~ (commonly perceived ground type counters) such as using Magnet Rise to beat Donphan.
  • Mega Metagross' relative lack of counters ~~leaves you with very little reason to avoid using it~~(makes it a viably usable Pokemon), but common weaknesses to Fire and Ground attacks can hold it back to a degree.

Physically Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 28 Def / 20 SpD / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Meteor Mash/Iron Head
- Hammer Arm
- Magnet Rise / Zen Headbutt / Bullet Punch / Earthquake

Set Comments
  • 252 HP and 28 Defense with an Impish nature allows Mega Metagross to survive a +1 Crunch from Mega Gyarados.
  • 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross.
  • 20 Special Defense allows Metagross to survive a Gigavolt Havoc from Magnezone.
  • The remaining EVs are put into Attack to pick up various kills such as the ever-important Gyarados.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.
  • ( I'd also add Ice Punch/Magnet Rise here to beat Ground-type Pokemon like Donphan and Landorus-Therian)

Moves
  • Thunder Punch and Hammer Arm (are) quintessential to the purpose of this set as they allow Mega Metagross to 2HKO Mega Gyarados.
  • Hammer Arm also has several other notable targets such as Magnezone , Chansey, (and Snorlax?)
  • Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head. ( Also, drop a line saying how Iron Head, despite having lesser Base Power, has better accuracy and a flinching chance)
  • Magnet Rise may be used to avoid powerful Ground attacks from pokemon such as Donphan and Landorus-T.
  • Zen Headbutt is an (niche STAB??) option that is used primarily to nail Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross.
  • Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu as well as other miscellaneous faster pokemon and priority users( people ask me to add some examples always, so I'll leave it at that here!)
  • Earthquake is a very niche option for the fourth slot that is useful against Magearna and Mega Mawile as it does not rely on rolls and cannot miss.

Usage Tips
  • Use this set against teams that have pokemon such as Gyarados, Donphan (if running Magnet Rise) or Mega Venusaur (if running Zen Headbutt) as it can act as a psuedo-lure despite the fact that none of these options deviate from the standard.
  • If there are any Jolly Mega Gyarados' on the ladder while you are using this, it is advisable to change your speed tier to 128 EVs. You can take these EVs away from your Attack.
  • If you are carrying Bullet Punch, you should mega evolve and use Hammer Arm into Bullet Punch against Magnezone. If you are not, use Thunder Punch prior to using Hammer Arm and if you believe they will use Electroweb, don't mega evolve on turn 1 to avoid the speed drop with Clear Body.
  • Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost.

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard (such as Terrakion) and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash (such as Mega Gyarados) ~~are greatly appreciated~~ (serve as great teammates)
  • Strong special attackers can also be troublesome, so pokemon with good special bulk like Snorlax have great utility.
  • Teammates that lose to Gyarados are preferable so that this set can act as a proper lure.
  • Chansey and Blissey in particular serve as great Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and special attacker checks. Blaziken and Tapu Koko can prove to be troublesome for Chansey and Blissey, however.
  • Donphan and Golem are other great options as they can take on the Charizards, Blaziken, Aegislash and Tapu Koko.

Specially Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 232 HP / 72 Atk / 132 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulldoze / Earthquake
- Meteor Mash(/Iron Head)
- Magnet Rise / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt / Thunder Punch

Set Details
  • 228 HP lives physical Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 112 Special Defense with a Careful nature paired with the given HP investment survives special Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc.
  • 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross.
  • The remaining EVs are added to HP, Attack and Special Defense to improve rolls, most notably against Magearna.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.

Moves
  • Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head.( Again, drop a line about Iron Head)
  • Bulldoze 2HKOs and lowers the speed of Tapu Koko and Magnezone, allowing it to outspeed them on the second turn.
  • Alternatively, Earthquake paired with Bullet Punch gets the same kills, but requires 2 moveslots. Earthquake and Bullet Punch should always be used in conjunction.
  • Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu and priority users like Mega Mawile (as it causes Sucker Punch to fail) as well.
  • Magnet Rise temporarily makes Mega Metagross immune to ground, allowing it to beat pokemon like Donphan and slow Landorus-T.
  • Hammer Arm provides valuable coverage against pokemon like Charm Chansey, Snorlax and Kartana among others.
  • Zen Headbutt reliably 2HKOs Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross.
  • Thunder Punch is an option that allows Metagross to beat non-Crunch Mega Gyarados.
  • Substitute may also be used in conjunction with Earthquake, Bullet Punch and Magnet Rise in order to beat Aegislash as well as more reliably deal with Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.

Usage Tips
  • If your opponent has a Tapu Koko, they don't know what set you are, and the rest of your team loses to Tapu Koko, you should almost always click Mega Metagross.
  • Unless the rest of your team really needs the specific coverage Hammer Arm, Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt and Thunder Punch provides, you can swap up these moves depending on what people are using at the time.
  • Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost. (Or spam Iron Heads to get flinches)

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados such as Tapu Koko are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it.
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard (such as Terrakion) and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash (such as Mega Gyarados) are greatly appreciated.
  • Teammates that lose to Tapu Koko like Mega Pinsir are ideal so as to make this set an effective lure.
  • Chansey and Blissey make for a good teammates as they can deal with Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados while still losing to Tapu Koko.

Offensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash / Iron Head
- Rock Slide(/ Rock Tomb)
- Substitute
- Earthquake

Set Details
  • 252 Attack and Speed maximize offensive potential.
  • A Jolly nature is crucial to outspeed pokemon like Charizard, Mega Pinsir and Kartana.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.

Moves
  • Meteor Mash boasts 90 BP and a 20% chance to boost Attack by 1. Iron Head has 80 BP and a 30% chance to flinch. Because of the maximum attack investment, the power difference is less relevant, so pick your poison for the Steel STAB.
  • Rock Slide is used to OHKO Mega Charizard Y and Mega Pinsir.( Sub/Rock Tomb helps in defeating Mega Charizard X)
  • Substitute is used to force Aegislash into blade form and to make Mega Charizard X take Flare Blitz recoil. It can also block status moves from defensive pokemon like Snorlax and Ferrothorn and scout for Z-moves from slower attackers like Magnezone.
  • Earthquake KOs Charizard X after Flare Blitz recoil and Aegislash while in blade form. It also 3HKOs Kartana.

Usage Tips
  • When facing Charizard, use Substitute immediately. If they are a Mega Charizard Y, use Rock Slide to KO it. If it turns out to be Mega Charizard X, spam Substitute until you've dropped to 1% and then attack with Earthquake. If Charizard X spam Dragon Dance, you may have to make a play and eventually attack. Similarly, if it doesn't mega evolve, you may have to use Rock Slide.
  • If the opponent has a Charizard, the rest of your team loses to Charizard, and they don't know what set you are, you should almost always click Mega Metagross.

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados like Tapu Koko are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it.
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard (such as Dragonite)(WHAAAAAA, I THOUGHT YOU MADE A CHAR KILLER) and Ground types like Donphan (such as Mega Gyarados) are greatly appreciated.
  • This set's niche comes in the form of beating the Charizards, so it's important to have teammates that lose to Charizard like Magearna to make sure your lure works properly.
  • (Since this is weak to Tapu Koko, maybe something for it? )

Strategy Comments

Other Options

  • Ice Punch can be used to nail pokemon like Landorus-T and Dragonite, but this is generally outclassed by Magnet Rise.
  • Substitute is useful for evading status and Z-moves. When paired with Earthquake, it can also let Mega Metagross beat Aegislash.
  • Iron Head may be used instead of Meteor Mash for its perfect accuracy and 30% flinch chance, but the drop in power is quite noticeable.
  • Giga Impact hits harder than any of Metagross' other attacks, but due to Metagross' excellent coverage, it's generally not too useful.
  • Custom EV spreads are both viable and recommended. Thanks to Metagross' massive stats, it can be built to do a lot more than is practical to showcase here.

Checks and Counters
  • Set-Dependant Counters: The defensive sets lose to Charizard and Aegislash, all but the specially defensive set loses to special Tapu Koko and Primarina and all but the physically defensive loses to Crunch Mega Gyarados. Sets lacking Magnet Rise are also beaten by Groundium Ground types like Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.
  • Physical Walls: Physical walls are able to simply tank and heal off Mega Metagross' attacks. Mega Slowbro is the most notable of them as there is absolutely no way Metagross can beat it. Others include Mega Sableye, Celesteela and Umbreon.
  • Jumpluff and Whimsicott: Jumpluff beats every common Metagross set around although max speed with Ice Punch can take it out. Babiri Whimsicott also serves as a reasonable Metagross check.
  • Fire Types: Blaziken, Alolan Marowak, Victini, Choice Scarf Infernape(seriously?) , Mega Camerupt and Salazzle are all capable of OHKOing Metagross with ease.
AM QC(whatever that means!!)
Some analysis you've done there, Mace. Nice one, but a bit of a casual tone here and there....
 

Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
AM QC(whatever that means!!)
Some analysis you've done there, Mace. Nice one, but a bit of a casual tone here and there....
Thanks for the feedback! Implemented what I agree with. Especially appreciate Rock Tomb, never considered that before. I said this above, but if you do the calcs on a spread without max attack, the 10 BP really matters, so I'm not listing Iron Head except on the offensive set.
 
Overview

  • Mega Metagross is a metagame-defining threat in 1v1 thanks to its impressive offensive and defensive stats, useful pre and post-mega abilities and a good defensive typing of Steel/Psychic.
  • It is also the single most reliable counter to Kyurem-B in the meta, and checks other top-tier threats such as Mega Gyarados and Tapu Koko.
  • A diverse movepool lets it bypass what inexperienced players might perceive as checks such as using Magnet Rise to beat Donphan.
  • Mega Metagross' relative lack of counters leaves you with very little reason to avoid using it, but common weaknesses to Fire and Ground attacks can hold it back to a degree.

Physically Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 28 Def / 20 SpD / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Magnet Rise / Zen Headbutt / Bullet Punch / Earthquake
I don’t know why Hammer Arm is not slashed. Bullet Punch and Earthquake are both far more important than Hammer Arm.
Set Comments

  • 252 HP and 28 Defense with an Impish nature allows Mega Metagross to survive a +1 Crunch from Mega Gyarados.
  • 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross. Big fan of this.
  • 20 Special Defense allows Metagross to survive a Gigavolt Havoc from Magnezone.
  • The remaining EVs are put into Attack to pick up various kills such as the ever-important Gyarados.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.

Moves
  • Thunder Punch and Hammer Arm are quintessential to the purpose of this set as they allow Mega Metagross to 2HKO Mega Gyarados. The whole point of this set is being able to beat Mega-Gyara with just Thunder Punch.
  • Hammer Arm also has several other notable targets such as Magnezone and Chansey. I think most Chanseys run Counter. They’d definitely start running it if your Metagross was using Hammer Arm.
  • Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head. It also can raise attack, which is helpful.
  • Magnet Rise may be used to avoid powerful Ground attacks from pokemon such as Donphan and Landorus-T. You’re slower than some Landorus-T, so it’s not that great. Counter from Donphan and Golem is also a problem with this set.
  • Zen Headbutt is an option that is used primarily to nail Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross.
  • Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu as well as other miscellaneous faster pokemon and priority users.
  • Earthquake is a very niche option for the fourth slot that is useful against Magearna and Mega Mawile as it does not rely on rolls and cannot miss. I wouldn’t say it’s niche at all. For me, it’s the standard fourth option.

Usage Tips
  • Use this set against teams that have pokemon such as Gyarados, Donphan (if running Magnet Rise) or Mega Venusaur (if running Zen Headbutt) as it can act as a psuedo-lure despite the fact that none of these options deviate from the standard.
  • If there are any Jolly Mega Gyarados' on the ladder while you are using this, it is advisable to change your speed tier to 128 EVs. You can take these EVs away from your Attack. You can add more def to improve the mirror, if you’re running eq.
  • If you are carrying Bullet Punch, you should mega evolve and use Hammer Arm into Bullet Punch against Magnezone. If you are not, use Thunder Punch prior to using Hammer Arm and if you believe they will use Electroweb, don't mega evolve on turn 1 to avoid the speed drop with Clear Body.
  • Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost.
  • Always Thunder Punch turn 1 against Mimikyu.
  • If Earthquake or Bullet Punch will ko, use them instead of Meteor Mash to avoid missing.
  • You can use Bullet Punch to avoid Sucker Punch, notably against Mega-Mawile.

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard (such as Terrakion) and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash (such as Mega Gyarados) are greatly appreciated.
  • Strong special attackers can also be troublesome, so pokemon with good special bulk like Snorlax have great utility.
  • Teammates that lose to Gyarados are preferable so that this set can act as a proper lure.
  • Chansey and Blissey in particular serve as great Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and special attacker checks. Blaziken and Tapu Koko can prove to be troublesome for Chansey and Blissey, however.
  • Donphan and Golem are other great options as they can take on the Charizards, Blaziken, Aegislash and Tapu Koko.

Specially Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 232 HP / 72 Atk / 132 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulldoze / Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Magnet Rise / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt / Thunder Punch

Set Details
  • 228 HP lives physical Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 112 Special Defense with a Careful nature paired with the given HP investment survives special Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc.
  • 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross.
  • The remaining EVs are added to HP, Attack and Special Defense to improve rolls, most notably against Magearna.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.

Moves
  • Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head.
  • Bulldoze 2HKOs and lowers the speed of Tapu Koko and Magnezone, allowing it to outspeed them on the second turn.
  • Alternatively, Earthquake paired with Bullet Punch gets the same kills, but requires 2 moveslots. Earthquake and Bullet Punch should always be used in conjunction.
  • Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu and priority users like Mega Mawile (as it causes Sucker Punch to fail) as well.
  • Magnet Rise temporarily makes Mega Metagross immune to ground, allowing it to beat pokemon like Donphan and slow Landorus-T.
  • Hammer Arm provides valuable coverage against pokemon like Charm Chansey, Snorlax and Kartana among others.
  • Zen Headbutt reliably 2HKOs Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross.
  • Thunder Punch is an option that allows Metagross to beat non-Crunch Mega Gyarados.
  • Substitute may also be used in conjunction with Earthquake, Bullet Punch and Magnet Rise in order to beat Aegislash as well as more reliably deal with Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.

Usage Tips
  • If your opponent has a Tapu Koko, they don't know what set you are, and the rest of your team loses to Tapu Koko, you should almost always click Mega Metagross.
  • Unless the rest of your team really needs the specific coverage Hammer Arm, Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt and Thunder Punch provides, you can swap up these moves depending on what people are using at the time.
  • Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost.

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados such as Tapu Koko are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it.
  • Pokemon that can take on Fire types such as Charizard (such as Terrakion) and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash (such as Mega Gyarados) are greatly appreciated.
  • Teammates that lose to Tapu Koko like Mega Pinsir are ideal so as to make this set an effective lure.
  • Chansey and Blissey make for a good teammates as they can deal with Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados while still losing to Tapu Koko.

Offensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash / Iron Head
- Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
- Substitute
- Earthquake

Set Details
  • 252 Attack and Speed maximize offensive potential.
  • A Jolly nature is crucial to outspeed pokemon like Charizard, Mega Pinsir and Kartana.
  • Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop.

Moves
  • Meteor Mash boasts 90 BP and a 20% chance to boost Attack by 1. Iron Head has 80 BP and a 30% chance to flinch. Because of the maximum attack investment, the power difference is less relevant, so pick your poison for the Steel STAB.
  • Rock Slide is used to OHKO Mega Charizard Y and Mega Pinsir.
  • Rock Tomb may be used in place of Rock Slide for a more consistent Mega Charizard X matchup, but fails to OHKO bulkier variants of Mega Charizard Y
  • Substitute is used to force Aegislash into blade form and to make Mega Charizard X take Flare Blitz recoil. It can also block status moves from defensive pokemon like Snorlax and Ferrothorn and scout for Z-moves from slower attackers like Magnezone.
  • Earthquake KOs Charizard X after Flare Blitz recoil and Aegislash while in blade form. It also 3HKOs Kartana.
  • You should slash Ice Punch and Hammer Arm somewhere, as I would run them with these Evs most often to help beat Dragonite, Landorus, and Snorlax. Especially Ice Punch as you always outspeed Lando-T.

Usage Tips
  • When facing Charizard, use Substitute immediately. If they are a Mega Charizard Y, use Rock Slide or Rock Tomb to KO it. If it turns out to be Mega Charizard X, spam Substitute until you've dropped to 1% and then attack with Earthquake. If Mega Charizard X spams Dragon Dance and you're not using Rock Tomb, you may have to make a play and eventually attack. Similarly, if it doesn't mega evolve, you may have to use Rock Slide.
  • If the opponent has a Charizard, the rest of your team loses to Charizard, and they don't know what set you are, you should almost always click Mega Metagross.

Team Options
  • Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados like Tapu Koko are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it.
  • Pokemon that can take on Ground types like Donphan such as Mega Gyarados are greatly appreciated.
  • This set's niche comes in the form of beating the Charizards, so it's important to have teammates that lose to Charizard like Magearna to make sure your lure works properly.

Strategy Comments

Other Options

  • Ice Punch can be used to nail pokemon like Landorus-T and Dragonite, but this is generally outclassed by Magnet Rise.
  • Substitute is useful for evading status and Z-moves. When paired with Earthquake, it can also let Mega Metagross beat Aegislash.
  • Iron Head may be used instead of Meteor Mash for its perfect accuracy and 30% flinch chance, but the drop in power is quite noticeable.
  • Giga Impact hits harder than any of Metagross' other attacks, but due to Metagross' excellent coverage, it's generally not too useful.
  • Custom EV spreads are both viable and recommended. Thanks to Metagross' massive stats, it can be built to do a lot more than is practical to showcase here.

Checks and Counters
  • Set-Dependant Counters: The defensive sets lose to Charizard and Aegislash, all but the specially defensive set loses to special Tapu Koko and Primarina and all but the physically defensive loses to Crunch Mega Gyarados. Sets lacking Magnet Rise are also beaten by Groundium Ground types like Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.
  • Physical Walls: Physical walls are able to simply tank and heal off Mega Metagross' attacks. Mega Slowbro is the most notable of them as there is absolutely no way Metagross can beat it. Others include Mega Sableye, Celesteela and Umbreon. Grass knot tho. Aggron-Mega isn’t a bad include. I’m pretty sure Umbreon can lose to Hammer Arm.
  • Jumpluff and Whimsicott: Jumpluff beats every common Metagross set around although max speed with Ice Punch can take it out. Babiri Whimsicott also serves as a reasonable Metagross check. Max speed with Ice Punch can win the speed tie at least. It’s not a counter or anything. If Metagross is faster I’m pretty sure Whimsicott is a bad check.
  • Fire Types: Blaziken, Alolan Marowak, Victini, Choice Scarf Infernape, Mega Camerupt and Salazzle are all capable of OHKOing Metagross with ease.
  • Maybe strong special attackers? Genesect, Prim, Greninja, Hoopa-U, Pidgeot-Mega. Just a thought.
Thanks for such a good analysis.
 

Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Thanks for such a good analysis.
Implemented with the following exceptions:
The offensive set can't really afford to run Hammer Arm or Ice Punch as it needs EdgeQuake+Substitute to beat the Charizards, which is honestly the only good reason to be using it. This means that you would have to give up your steel STAB or the sets niche.
e: Mentioned it under moves without a slash to show that they are usable but have great opportunity cost.
Grass Knot doesn't beat Mega Slowbro
0 SpA Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Grass Knot (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 148 SpD Slowbro-Mega: 198-234 (50.2 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(Then Amnesia, etc)
If you still want me to include this, just tell me and I'll implement it.
 
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Implemented with the following exceptions:
The offensive set can't really afford to run Hammer Arm or Ice Punch as it needs EdgeQuake+Substitute to beat the Charizards, which is honestly the only good reason to be using it. This means that you would have to give up your steel STAB or the sets niche.
e: Mentioned it under moves without a slash to show that they are usable but have great opportunity cost.
Grass Knot doesn't beat Mega Slowbro
0 SpA Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Grass Knot (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 148 SpD Slowbro-Mega: 198-234 (50.2 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(Then Amnesia, etc)
If you still want me to include this, just tell me and I'll implement it.
No Slowbro is going to Amnesia against Mega-Metagross, so you’ll win at least the first time. I’m just saying it’s not impossible.

Why can’t you. You need at least 310 speed to always outspeed Lando-T. You don’t even beat slightly bulky Char X very well. Hammer Arm can help vs Snorlax and other weird things, like p2. Might as well throw them on if you need them. Maybe you don’t need to beat Charizard right that second. Your other spreads lose to jolly Lando, so Ice Punch at least belongs. Jumpluff and Lando-I are hit too. It’s worth a consideration if your Metagross is fast.
 

Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
No Slowbro is going to Amnesia against Mega-Metagross, so you’ll win at least the first time. I’m just saying it’s not impossible.

Why can’t you. You need at least 310 speed to always outspeed Lando-T. You don’t even beat slightly bulky Char X very well. Hammer Arm can help vs Snorlax and other weird things, like p2. Might as well throw them on if you need them. Maybe you don’t need to beat Charizard right that second. Your other spreads lose to jolly Lando, so Ice Punch at least belongs. Jumpluff and Lando-I are hit too. It’s worth a consideration if your Metagross is fast.
Changed the wording about Mega Slowbro. Where would you like me to slash in Ice Punch and Hammer Arm? I'm thinking on the steel STAB slot but not sure.
 

charizard8888

Catch The Wave
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Overview

Mega Metagross is a metagame-defining threat in 1v1 thanks to its impressive offensive and defensive stats, useful pre and post-mega abilities and a good defensive typing of Steel/Psychic. (Also mention its good base Speed stat with which it requires very little investment on the Defensive sets and can outspeed Chomp, Lando, both Zard with max investment) It is also the single most reliable counter to Kyurem-B in the meta, and checks other top-tier threats such as Mega Gyarados and Tapu Koko. A diverse movepool lets it bypass what inexperienced players might may be usually perceived as checks such as using Magnet Rise with Substitute to beat Donphan. Mega Metagross' relative lack of counters leaves you with very little reason to avoid using it, but common weaknesses to Fire and Ground attacks can hold it back to a degree as these are common offensive types which leaves it vulnerable to bulky Mega Charizard X and Blaziken

Physically Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 28 Def / 20 SpD / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm / Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt / Bullet Punch / Earthquake / Magnet Rise

Set Comments

252 HP and 28 Defense with an Impish nature allows Mega Metagross to survive a +1 Crunch from Mega Gyarados. 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross. 20 Special Defense along with the HP investment allows Mega Metagross to survive a Gigavolt Havoc from Magnezone. If you're not running Hammer Arm or Earthquake, these EVs may be moved elsewhere. The remaining EVs are put into Attack to pick up various kills such as the ever-important Gyarados. Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop. Add in a line about how Tough Claws helps it

Moves

Thunder Punch is quintessential to the purpose of this set as it allows Mega Metagross to 2HKO the majority of Mega Gyarados most of the time. Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head. It also has a nifty 20% chance to boost your Mega Metagross' attack by 1 stage. Hammer Arm is generally the best option for slot three as it eliminates any rolls against Mega Gyarados. Hammer Arm also has several other notable targets such as Magnezone, Snorlax and non-Counter Chansey. Zen Headbutt is an option that is used primarily to nail Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross. (Although obvious but just like in Meteor Mash, mention that Zen Headbutt is MGross' Psychic STAB) Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu as well as other miscellaneous faster pokemon and priority users such as physical Tapu Koko and Mega Mawile. Earthquake is another option for the fourth slot that is useful against Magearna and Mega Mawile as it does not rely on rolls and cannot miss. In addition, it is useful against opposing Mega Metagross. Magnet Rise may be used to avoid powerful Ground attacks from pokemon such as Donphan and Landorus-T. Be wary of speedy Landorus-T and Counter Donphan if you choose to use this.

Usage Tips

Use this set against teams that have pokemon such as Gyarados, Donphan (if running Magnet Rise) or Mega Venusaur (if running Zen Headbutt) as it can act as a psuedo-lure despite the fact that none of these options deviate from the standard. If there are any Jolly Mega Gyarados' on the ladder while you are using this, it is advisable to change your speed tier to 128 EVs. You can take these EVs away from your Attack. [Note 1] If you are Mega Metagross is carrying Bullet Punch, you should mega evolve it and use Hammer Arm or Earthquake into Bullet Punch against Magnezone. If you are not, use Thunder Punch prior to using Hammer Arm or Earthquake and if you believe they will use Electroweb, don't mega evolve on turn 1 to avoid the speed drop with Clear Body. Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your its attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost. Avoid missing Meteor Mash and Hammer Arm; if a more accurate move will get the KO, be sure to use that. Additionally, always use Thunder Punch to break Mimikyu's Disguise. Bullet Punch is great for surprising Sucker Punch users such as Mega Mawile as it will cause Sucker Punch to fail provided that you outspeed. It also lets it reliably pick off KOes against weakened foes
Also mention that against potential Counter users like Crustle and Sawk, MegaGross should first use a weaker move and then follow up with the appropriate one to secure the win.


Team Options

Pokemon that can take on Fire types like Charizard, such as Terrakion, and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash, such as Mega Gyarados, are greatly appreciated. Strong special attackers can also be troublesome, so pokemon with good special bulk like Snorlax have great utility. Teammates that lose to Mega Gyarados are preferable so that this set can act as a proper lure. Chansey and Blissey in particular serve as great Charizard (They aren't a great check to Zard X so specify Mega Charizard Y), Donphan, Aegislash and special attacker checks. Blaziken and Tapu Koko can prove to be troublesome for Chansey and Blissey, however. Donphan and Golem are other great options as they can take on both Mega Charizard, Blaziken, Aegislash and Tapu Koko.

Specially Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 232 HP / 72 Atk / 132 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulldoze / Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Magnet Rise / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt / Thunder Punch

Set Details

232 HP investment lets it survive physical Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 132 Special Defense with a Careful nature paired with the given HP investment survives special Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross. The remaining EVs are added to HP, Attack and Special Defense to improve rolls, most notably against Magearna. Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop. Tough Claws as the post mega ability

Moves

Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head. It also has a nifty 20% chance to boost Mega Metagross' attack by 1 stage. Bulldoze 2HKOs and lowers the speed of Tapu Koko and Magnezone, allowing it to outspeed them on the second turn. Alternatively, Earthquake paired with Bullet Punch gets the same kills, but requires 2 moveslots. Earthquake and Bullet Punch should always be used in conjunction. Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu and priority users like Mega Mawile (as it causes Sucker Punch to fail) as well. Magnet Rise temporarily makes Mega Metagross immune to ground, allowing it to beat pokemon like Donphan and slow Landorus-T. Be wary of speedy Landorus-T and counter Donphan if you use this. Hammer Arm provides valuable coverage against pokemon like Charm Chansey, Snorlax and Kartana among others. Zen Headbutt reliably 2HKOs Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross. Thunder Punch is an option that allows Metagross to beat non-Crunch Mega Gyarados. Substitute may also be used in conjunction with Earthquake, Bullet Punch and Magnet Rise in order to beat Aegislash as well as more reliably deal with Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.

Usage Tips

If your opponent has a Tapu Koko, they don't know what set you are, and the rest of your team loses to Tapu Koko, you should almost always click Mega Metagross. Unless the rest of your team really needs the specific coverage Hammer Arm, Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt and Thunder Punch provides, you can swap up these moves depending on what people are using at the time. Against Chansey, don't mega evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your attack. Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost. Avoid missing Meteor Mash and Hammer Arm. If a more accurate move will get the KO, be sure to use that. Additionally, always use Thunder Punch to break Mimikyu's Disguise. Bullet Punch is great for surprising Sucker Punch users such as Mega Mawile as it will cause Sucker Punch to fail provided that you outspeed.

Team Options

Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados such as Tapu Koko are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it. Pokemon that can take on Fire types like Charizard, such as Terrakion, and Ground types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash, such as Mega Gyarados are greatly appreciated. Teammates that lose to Tapu Koko like Mega Pinsir are ideal so as to make this set an effective lure. Chansey and Blissey make for a good teammates as they can deal with Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados while still losing to Tapu Koko. Mega Metagross is one of the best counters to Kyurem-B. Pokemon vulnerable to Kyurem-B such as Mega Venusaur and Porygon-Z highly appreciate having it in the team.

Offensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe 4 HP makes the HP stat even which isnt desirable so place that in either Def or SpD
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash / Iron Head / Magnet Rise / Ice Punch / Hammer Arm
- Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
- Substitute
- Earthquake

I'd say Rock Tomb is simply better. With that it works like the SubRev Mega Lucario set against Speed Setup Sweepers. It cannot OHKO bulky Zard Y but you are going to use Substitute anyway on seeing Charizard so Blast Burn will cause it to recharge and then it's a simple 2HKO. If either of the Zard variants have Flame Charge then you lose anyway. Bulky Zard X wins too.

Set Details

252 Attack and Speed maximize offensive potential. A Jolly nature is crucial to outspeed pokemon like Charizard, Garchomp, Mimikyu, Landorus, and also speed tie with Jumlpuff. Mega Pinsir and Kartana.(Outspeeding Kartana ad Mega Pinsir isnt crucial as it defeats them even if its slower) Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop. Tough Claws

Moves

Meteor Mash boasts 90 BP and a 20% chance to boost Attack by 1 stage. Iron Head has 80 BP and a 30% chance to flinch. Because of the maximum attack investment, the power difference is less relevant, so pick your poison for the Steel STAB. Rock Slide is used to OHKO Mega Charizard Y and Mega Pinsir. Rock Tomb may be used in place of Rock Slide for a more consistent Mega Charizard X matchup, but fails to OHKO bulkier variants of Mega Charizard Y. (Make this just Rock Tomb) Substitute is used to force Aegislash into blade form and to make Mega Charizard X take Flare Blitz recoil. It can also block status moves from defensive pokemon like Snorlax and Ferrothorn and scout for Z-moves from slower attackers like Magnezone. Earthquake KOs Charizard X after Flare Blitz recoil and Aegislash while in blade form. It also 3HKOs Kartana. Magnet Rise in conjunction with Substitute allows Mega Metagross to reliably take on Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T. Ice Punch is great for nailing Landorus-T, Garchomp, Dragonite, and Jumpluff if Mega Metagross wins the speed tie. Hammer Arm beats Snorlax and Chansey. These last three options have a very high opportunity cost at they leave you without a steel STAB. This opportunity cost is slightly mitigated, however as Mega Metagross still beats many of Meteor Mash's targets such as Tapu Lele by virtue of typing.

Usage Tips

When facing Charizard, use Substitute immediately. If they are a Mega Charizard Y, use Rock Slide or Rock Tomb to KO it. If it turns out to be Mega Charizard X, spam Substitute until you've dropped to 1% and then attack with Earthquake. If Mega Charizard X spams Dragon Dance and you're not running Rock Tomb, you may have to make a play and eventually attack. Similarly, if it doesn't mega evolve, you may have to use Rock Slide. Reword it with Rock Tomb being the only option. (Use Sub on the first turn when matched up against Zard. If it turns out to be ZardY Rock Tomb twice to win. Against Zard X, keep using Substitute until MegaGross drops down to 1% HP and then attack with EQ. If MegaZardX uses Dragon Dance, follow it up with Rock Tomb to outpace it on the subsequent turns)
If the opponent has a Charizard, the rest of your team loses to Charizard, and they don't know what set you are, you should usually click pick Mega Metagross.


Team Options

Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados such as Tapu Koko are important as this set is unable to reliably deal with it. Pokemon that can take on Ground types like Donphan such as Mega Gyarados are greatly appreciated. This set's niche comes in the form of beating the Charizards, so it's important to have teammates that lose to Charizard like Magearna to make sure your lure works properly. (Add in Air Balloon / Shuca Berry with Magearna as that'd work as a lure as well as defeat Ground mons like Donphan if MegaGross doesn't have Magnet Rise)

Strategy Comments

Other Options


Ice Punch can be used to nail pokemon like Landorus-T and Dragonite, but this is generally outclassed by Magnet Rise. Substitute is useful for evading status and Z-moves. When paired with Earthquake, it can also let Mega Metagross beat Aegislash. In conjunction with Magnet Rise, it is also able to counter Donphan. Iron Head may be used instead of Meteor Mash for its perfect accuracy and 30% flinch chance, but the drop in power is quite noticeable. Giga Impact hits harder than any of Metagross' other attacks, but due to Metagross' excellent coverage, it's generally not too useful. Custom EV spreads are both viable and recommended. Thanks to Metagross' massive stats, it can be built to do a lot more than is practical to showcase here.

Checks and Counters

Set-Dependant Counters:
The defensive sets lose to Charizard and Aegislash, all but the specially defensive set loses to special Tapu Koko and Primarina and all but the physically defensive loses to Crunch Mega Gyarados. Sets lacking Magnet Rise are also beaten by Groundium Ground types like Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.

Physical Walls: Physical walls are able to simply tank and heal off Mega Metagross' attacks. Mega Slowbro is the most notable of them as there is almost no way Metagross can beat it. Others include Mega Sableye, Celesteela and Mega Aggron.

Jumpluff and Whimsicott SubSeeders: Jumpluff beats every common Metagross set although max speed with Ice Punch can take it out. Babiri Whimsicott also serves as a reasonable Metagross check. (SubSeed Celesteela defeats it too)
I'm not sure if Jumpluff should be in there since the offensive set has a chance of winning


Fire Types: Bulky Mega Charizard X, Blaziken, Alolan Marowak, Victini, Mega Camerupt and Salazzle are all capable of OHKOing Metagross with ease.
This is one good analysis
QC 3/3

I'm not sure if [Note 1] in the Usage Tips should be there so you can let it be there for now. Will let you know about that soon.
Edit: Remove that, confirmed by Dream Eater Gengar
 
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Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
This is one good analysis
QC 3/3

I'm not sure if [Note 1] in the Usage Tips should be there so you can let it be there for now. Will let you know about that soon.
Edit: Remove that, confirmed by Dream Eater Gengar
Implemented, except for one thing. You suggested that I do this...
"232 HP investment lets it survive physical Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 132 Special Defense with a Careful nature paired with the given HP investment survives special Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross. The remaining EVs are added to HP, Attack and Special Defense to improve rolls, most notably against Magearna."
...as opposed to being honest about its EVs. Especially in the case of Mega Metagross in 1v1, I feel that letting them know which benchmarks are necessary to invest are very important as this is something that should be customized per team most of the time. Telling them that you need to run 232 HP and 132+ SpD in order to beat Koko isn't right; you only need 228 HP and 112+ SpD. I'll implement it if you really want me to, but I think that candor is very important here.
 

charizard8888

Catch The Wave
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Implemented, except for one thing. You suggested that I do this...
"232 HP investment lets it survive physical Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 132 Special Defense with a Careful nature paired with the given HP investment survives special Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross. The remaining EVs are added to HP, Attack and Special Defense to improve rolls, most notably against Magearna."
...as opposed to being honest about its EVs. Especially in the case of Mega Metagross in 1v1, I feel that letting them know which benchmarks are necessary to invest are very important as this is something that should be customized per team most of the time. Telling them that you need to run 232 HP and 132+ SpD in order to beat Koko isn't right; you only need 228 HP and 112+ SpD. I'll implement it if you really want me to, but I think that candor is very important here.
Oh that's fine you can keep that. I had changed that to match the EV spread used in the set. Also one more thing, the Moves section comes before Set Details.
 
{} = copy paste, applies to the rest of their instances
Overview

Mega Metagross is a metagame-defining threat in 1v1 thanks to its impressive offensive, defensive and Speed stats, useful pre- (AH) and post-Mega Evolution abilities and a good defensive typing of in Steel_/_Psychic. It is also the single most reliable counter to Kyurem-B in the meta, and checks other top-tier threats such as Mega Gyarados and Tapu Koko. A diverse movepool lets it bypass what may be perceived as checks such as; for example, using Magnet Rise with Substitute to beat Donphan. Mega Metagross's relative lack of counters leaves you with very little reason to avoid using it, but common weaknesses to Fire- (AH) and Ground-type attacks can hold it back to a degree, (AC) as theose are common offensive types, (AC) which can leave it vulnerable to Pokemon such as bulky Mega Charizard X and Blaziken.

Physically Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 28 Def / 20 SpD / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm / Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt / Bullet Punch / Earthquake / Magnet Rise

Moves

Thunder Punch is quintessential to the purpose of this set (fluff), (AC) as it allows Mega Metagross to 2HKO the majority of Mega Gyarados most of the time. Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel-type STAB move because of its higher Base Power as when compared to Iron Head. It also has a nifty 20% chance to boost Mega Metagross's Attack by 1 one stage. Hammer Arm is generally the best option for slot three, (AC) as it eliminates any rolls against Mega Gyarados. Hammer Arm also has several other notable targets such as Magnezone, Snorlax and non-Counter Chansey. Zen Headbutt is an option that is used primarily to nail Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross and provides a Psychic-type STAB move. Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu as well as other miscellaneous faster Pokemon and priority users such as physical Tapu Koko and Mega Mawile; it is great for surprising Sucker Punch users such as Mega Mawile, (AC) as it will cause Sucker Punch to fail provided that Mega Metagross outspeeds. It also lets Metagross reliably pick off weakened foes. (moved from Usage Tips) Earthquake is another option for the fourth slot that is useful against Magearna and Mega Mawile as it does not rely on rolls and cannot miss. In addition, it is useful against opposing Mega Metagross. Magnet Rise may be used to avoid powerful Ground-type attacks from Pokemon such as Donphan and Landorus-T. Be wary of speedy Landorus-T and Counter Donphan if you choose to use this.

Set Comments

252 HP and 28 Defense EVs with an Impish nature allows Mega Metagross to survive a +1 Crunch from Mega Gyarados. 72 Speed EVs insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum-Speed investment base 75s such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross. 20 Special Defense EVs paired with the given 252 HP EVs allows Metagross to survive a Gigavolt Havoc from Magnezone.; (ASC) however, if you're not running Hammer Arm or Earthquake, these EVs may be moved elsewhere. The remaining EVs are put into Attack to pick up various kill KOs such as against the ever-important Gyarados. { Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidate's Attack drop prior to Mega Evolution. After Mega Evolution, Though Claws post-mega boosts the power of Mega Metagross's STAB attacks, Thunder Punch, (AC) and Hammer Arm. } (consider saying that it boosts physical attacks in general, as this can be misleading)

Usage Tips

Use this set against teams that have Pokemon such as Gyarados, Donphan (if running Magnet Rise) or, (AC) and Mega Venusaur (if running Zen Headbutt), (AC) as it can act as a psuedo-lure despite the fact that none of these options deviate from the standard. You can take these EVs away from your Attack. If you are carrying Bullet Punch, you set. (do not reference other sets; reword this. Anyway, by this set's placement, this is the standard set) When against Magnezone, Metagross should mega eMega Evolve and, use Hammer Arm or Earthquake into, and follow Bullet Punch against Magnezone. If you are not; however, if Metagross is not running Bullet Punch, use Thunder Punch prior to using Hammer Arm or Earthquake, and if you believe they will use Electroweb, don't Mega Evolve on turn 1 to avoid the Speed drop with Clear Body. { Against Chansey, don't Mega Evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering its Metagross's attack. (are you done talking about Chansey? Please make a distinction, as your comment about Mimikyu pretty much comes out of nowhere right now) Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an Attack boost. Avoid missing Meteor Mash and Hammer Arm; if a more accurate move will get the KO, be sure to use that. Additionally, always use Thunder Punch to break Mimikyu's Disguise. (why?) Bullet Punch is great for surprising Sucker Punch users such as Mega Mawile as it will cause Sucker Punch to fail provided that you outspeed. It also lets it reliably pick off weakened foes. } Against Counter users such as Crustle and Sawk, you should use a weaker attack such as Bullet Punch before going in for the kill KO to secure the win.

Team Options

Pokemon that can take on Fire-types like Charizard, such as Terrakion, and Ground-types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash, such as Mega Gyarados, are greatly appreciated. (think about adding more examples to each catagory) Strong special attackers can also be troublesome, so Pokemon with good special bulk like Snorlax have great utility. Teammates that lose to Mega Gyarados are preferable so that this set can act as a proper lure. Chansey and Blissey in particular serve as great Mega Charizard Y, Donphan, Aegislash , (AC) and special attacker checks.; Blaziken and Tapu Koko can prove to be troublesome for Chansey and Blissey them, however. Donphan and Golem are other great options, (AC) as they can take on both Mega Charizards X and Y, Blaziken, Aegislash, (AC) and Tapu Koko.

Specially Defensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 232 HP / 72 Atk / 132 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulldoze / Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Magnet Rise / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm / Bullet Punch / Zen Headbutt / Thunder Punch

Moves

{ Meteor Mash is the preferred Steel STAB because of its higher power as compared to Iron Head. It also has a nifty 20% chance to boost Mega Metagross' attack by 1 stage. }(see my edits to the previous instance of this) Bulldoze 2HKOs and lowers the speed of Tapu Koko and Magnezone and lowers their Speed, allowing it Metagross to outspeed them on the second turn. Alternatively, Earthquake paired with Bullet Punch gets the same kills KOs, but requires 2 two moveslots. Earthquake and Bullet Punch should always be used in conjunction.(you pretty much just said that) Bullet Punch is useful against Curse Mimikyu and priority users like Mega Mawile (as well, as it causes Sucker Punch to fail) as well. Magnet Rise temporarily makes Mega Metagross immune to Ground-type, allowing it to beat Pokemon like Donphan and slow Landorus-T. Be wary of speedy Landorus-T and Counter Donphan if you use this. Hammer Arm provides valuable coverage against Pokemon like Charm Chansey, Snorlax and Kartana among others. Zen Headbutt reliably 2HKOs Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross. Thunder Punch is an option that allows Metagross to beat non-Crunch Mega Gyarados. Substitute may also be used in conjunction with Earthquake, Bullet Punch and Magnet Rise in order to beat Aegislash as well as more reliably deal with Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T. Unless the rest of your team really needs the specific coverage Hammer Arm, Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt and Thunder Punch provides, you can swap up these moves depending on what people are using at the time. (moved from Usage Tips)

Set Details
228 HP lives EVs allow Mega Metagross to survive physical Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc., (AC) and 112 Special Defense EVs with a Careful nature paired with the given HP investment allow it to survives special Tapu Koko's Gigavolt Havoc. { 72 Speed insures that Metagross will be able to outspeed base 75s with maximum speed investment such as Smeargle and Mega Heracross. } The remaining EVs are added to HP, Attack and Special Defense to improve rolls, most notably against Magearna. { Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidates Attack drop. Though Claws post-mega boosts the power of Mega Metagross' STAB attacks, Thunder Punch and Hammer Arm. } (take into account the changes I made to the previous set's Set Details)

Usage Tips

If your opponent has a Tapu Koko, they don't know what set you are, and the rest of your team loses to Tapu Koko, you should almost always click Mega Metagross. Unless the rest of your team really needs the specific coverage Hammer Arm, Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt and Thunder Punch provides, you can swap up these moves depending on what people are using at the time. Against Chansey, don't Mega Evolve so as to prevent Charm from lowering your Metagross's attack. { Spam Meteor Mash and wait for an attack boost. Avoid missing Meteor Mash and Hammer Arm. If a more accurate move will get the KO, be sure to use that. Additionally, always use Thunder Punch to break Mimikyu's Disguise. Bullet Punch is great for surprising Sucker Punch users such as Mega Mawile as it will cause Sucker Punch to fail provided that you outspeed. } (note my comments and changes on the Usage Tips from the previous set)

Team Options

Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados, (AC) such as Tapu Koko, (AC) are important, (AC) as this set is unable to reliably deal with it. Pokemon that can take on Fire-types (AH) like Charizard, such as Terrakion, and Ground-types like Donphan (if not running Magnet Rise) as well as Aegislash, such as Mega Gyarados are greatly appreciated. Teammates that lose to Tapu Koko like Mega Pinsir are ideal so as to make this set an effective lure. Chansey and Blissey make for a good teammates, (AC) as they can deal with Charizard, Donphan, Aegislash and non-Taunt Mega Gyarados while still losing to Tapu Koko.

Offensive
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash / Iron Head / Magnet Rise / Ice Punch / Hammer Arm (side note: that is the most moves I have ever seen slashed on a set lol)
- Rock Tomb
- Substitute
- Earthquake

Moves

Meteor Mash boasts 90 Base_Power and a 20% chance to boost Mega Metagross' Attack by 1 stage. Iron Head has 80 Base_Power and a 30% chance to flinch. Because of the maximum Metagross is running 252 Attack investment EVs, the power difference is less relevant, so pick your poison for the Steel-type STAB move. (Please do not state things that you can easily look up; this is an analysis, so actually go through the in-battle benefits of each move. For example, mention a KO that Meteor Mash can get that Iron Head misses out on) Rock Tomb is used to hit Mega Charizard Y and Mega Pinsir, and is also is helpful against Mega Charizard X that choose to either not Mega evolve or to use Dragon Dance. Substitute is used to force Aegislash into Blade form and to make Mega Charizard X take Flare Blitz recoil. It can also block status moves from defensive Pokemon like Snorlax and Ferrothorn and scout for Z-Moves from slower attackers like Magnezone. Earthquake KOes Mega Charizard X after it takes Flare Blitz recoil and Aegislash while in Blade forme. It also 3HKOs Kartana. Magnet Rise in conjunction with Substitute allows Mega Metagross to reliably take on Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T. Ice Punch is great for nailing Landorus-T, Garchomp, Dragonite, and if Mega Metagross wins the Speed tie, Jumpluff. Hammer Arm beats Snorlax and Chansey. These last three options have a very high opportunity cost at, (AC) as they leave you without a Steel-type STAB. (RP) move; this opportunity cost is slightly mitigated, however, (AC) as Mega Metagross still beats many of Meteor Mash's targets such as Tapu Lele by virtue of typing. Rock Slide may be used in place of Rock Tomb, (AC) as it OHKOes even the bulkiest variants of Mega Charizard Y, but leads to a less reliable matchup against Mega Charizard X. It is also often not necessary to win against Mega Charizard Y, (AC) as they will typically use Blast Burn against your Substitute, forcing them into a recharge turn.

Set Details

252 Attack and Speed EVs maximize offensive potential. (elaborate?) A Jolly nature is crucial to outspeed Pokemon like Charizard, Garchomp, Mimikyu, and Kartana and also to well as Speed tie with Jumpluff. Clear Body is the pre-mega ability of choice as it allows Metagross to evade Intimidate's Attack drop prior to Mega Evolution.

Usage Tips

When facing Charizard, use Substitute immediately. If they are a Mega Charizard Y, use Rock Tomb to OHKO it. If it turns out to be Mega Charizard X, spam Substitute until you've Metagross's HP has dropped to 1% and then attack with Earthquake. If Mega Charizard X uses Dragon Dance, use Rock Tomb in return. Similarly, if it doesn't Mega evolve, you may have to use Rock Tomb. If the opponent has a Charizard, the rest of your team loses to Charizard, and they don't know what set you are, you should usually pick Mega Metagross. It should be noted, however, that this set cannot beat bulky Mega Charizard X and Flame Charge variants so long as they play correctly (elaborate more on that).

Team Options

Pokemon that can handle Mega Gyarados, (AC) such as Tapu Koko, (AC) are important, (AC) as this set is unable to reliably deal with it. Pokemon that can take on Ground-types like Donphan such as Mega Gyarados are greatly appreciated. This set's niche comes in the form of beating the Charizards, so it's important to have teammates that lose to Charizard like Magearna to make sure your lure works properly. In particular, Shuca Berry Magearna both loses to Charizard and beats problematic Ground-types such as Donphan and Golem.

Strategy Comments

Other Options


Ice Punch can be used to nail Pokemon like Landorus-T and Dragonite, but this is generally outclassed (are you using that word correctly? you're saying that Magnet Rise is better in every respect than Ice Punch?) by Magnet Rise. Substitute is useful for evading status and Z-Moves. (RC), (AC) and when paired with Earthquake, it can also let Mega Metagross beat Aegislash. Also, in conjunction with Magnet Rise, it is allows Mega Metagross to also be able to counter Donphan. Iron Head may be used instead of Meteor Mash for its perfect accuracy and 30% flinch chance, but the drop in power is quite noticeable. Giga Impact hits harder than any of Metagross's other attacks, but due to Metagross's excellent coverage, it's generally not too useful. Custom EV spreads are both viable and recommended. (elaborate) Thanks to Metagross's massive stats, it can be built to do a lot more than is practical to showcase here.

Checks and Counters

Set-Dependant Counters:
The defensive sets lose to Charizard and Aegislash, all but the specially defensive set loses to special Tapu Koko and Primarina, (AC) and all but the physically defensive loses to Crunch Mega Gyarados. Sets lacking Magnet Rise are also beaten by Groundium-Z-utilizing Ground-types like Donphan, Golem and Landorus-T.

Physical Walls: Physical walls such as Mega Slowbro, Mega Sableye, Celesteela, and Mega Aggron (optional) are able to simply tank and heal off Mega Metagross's attacks. Mega Slowbro is the most notable of them, (AC) as there is almost no way Metagross can beat it. Others include Mega Sableye, Celesteela and Mega Aggron.

SubSeeders: Babiri Berry Whimsicott and Leech Seed Celesteela provide reasonable checks to Mega Metagross. In addition, Jumpluff beats most common Mega Metagross variants, but can lose to max Speed with variants running Ice Punch provided that either Mega Metagross wins the Speed tie or Jumpluff misses Sleep Power.

Fire Types: Bulky Mega Charizard X, Blaziken, Alolan Marowak, Victini, Mega Camerupt, (AC) and Salazzle are all capable of OHKOing Metagross with ease.
 
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