Metagross
Attack
Defense
Stamina
Dynamax
Best Movesets
Analysis
Metagross is one of the two Dragonite/Tyranitars of the third generation, boasting high stats across the board. With a weak movepool, it took some time for this generation's pseudo legendary to shine. But thanks to the October 2018 Community Day, Metagross finally became the powerhouse it's stats wanted it to be. Meteor Mash, a near-clone of Frenzy Plant, is an insanely strong charge move that absolutely crushes everything that's weak to Steel. These factors together make Metagross an absolute staple raider. On top of this, Metagross can also run a Psychic Type moveset very effectively, giving it a lot of utility for players with a second charged move unlocked.
Offense
- Meteor Mash is a great move with similar stats to Frenzy Plant, and it should be paired with Bullet Punch for maximum Steel Type DPS.
- Psychic makes Metagross a worthwhile Psychic Type attacker, and should be paired with Zen Headbutt.
- Fury Cutter is an outstanding Fast Move that can potentially perform on a par with Bullet Punch, and can be an optimal move in the rare occurrences where it's Super Effective alongside other moves.
- Shadow Claw is great, but not for Metagross.
- Flash Cannon is a sub-optimal move.
- Earthquake lacks STAB and type synergy.
Defense
- Zen Headbutt has the higher power and is better than Bullet Punch, Shadow Claw, and Fury Cutter on defense as a result.
- Meteor Mash is powerful enough that it bests all of Metagross's other charge moves.
- Psychic is a good, 2-bar move that can work well.
- Flash Cannon is off type with Zen Headbutt and doesn’t leave Metagross toothless against Dark-types. However, it is very sow and not very powerful.
- Earthquake has the same power and arguably more useful typing, but is super easy to dodge.
When it comes right down to it, Metagross has two worthwhile Fast Moves to consider: first up is Bullet Punch, with its high average performance with above-average DPE and DPT. The other is Shadow Claw, with lower raw damage thanks to lower base power and a lack of STAB, but higher energy generation. However, when it comes right down to it, Shadow Claw tends to pull ahead due to Metagross' most common job of countering specific Pokemon that fear its Charged Moves more than its Fast Move pressure, though it will definitely still threaten Fast Move damage with its solid stats and Ghost's outstanding neutral coverage. Avoid Zen Headbutt at all costs.
Meteor Mash is an incredibly powerful, if somewhat expensive move, and is core on any Metagross set. Sadly, if you’re missing Meteor Mash, maybe leave this metal menace out of your matches. Because Flash Cannon isn't very good and offers nothing offensively, we round out this set with Earthquake, which gives Metagross the tools to deal with fellow Steel-types and many Pokemon that would love to come in and wall out Metagross' Steel Type moves, making it an unorthodox but very effective counter to several top Pokemon in the Master League in particular. Metagross at last has a second set worth consideration. While it may not provide the valuable coverage of Earthquake, Psychic is cheaper and provides a second powerful STAB move for neutral damage against some Pokemon that resist Meteor Mash... but the lack of Earthquake's counter-performance makes it a sub-optimal pick unless you're specifically trying to counter something.
Metagross, like many other PvE top tiers, fails to perform well in Great League due to its monstrous attack stat. That said, it still has a collection of powerful moves, so it can absolutely put in work if you evolved one all the way down here.
