Hey everybody, the OU tiering council has decided to test Metagrossite.
Mega-Metagross has been a common threat in the Overused metagame dating back to the start of generation six, even receiving a suspect during the middle of last generation. While it was not deemed broken in XY, many people believe that it has improved significantly during SM due to the new mechanics for mega evolving and the state of the current metagame. Mega-Metagross has an incredible offensive presence in the current metagame, with high attack and a plethora of viable coverage options and strong STABs. Mega-Metagross is not a one-trick-pony, either, as it has superb bulk on the physical side and respectable special bulk while weilding base 110 speed, allowing it to comfortably tank hits and outspeed a majority of the metagame despite the generational speed creep. Moreover, Mega-Metagross has shot to the forefront of the SM OU metagame and is viewed as a controversial threat for the aforementioned reasons.
At the start of the generation, Mega-Metagross immediately became better due to it automatically receiving the mega speed boost and the various terrains powering up moves that it commonly uses, such as Thunder Punch in Electric Terrain and Zen Headbutt in Psychic Terrain. The surplus of Fairy types and new Pokemon that happened to be in slower speed tiers also played into the increased viability and effectiveness of Mega-Metagross. Eventually, people started to think that Mega-Metagross was potentially banworthy and as the metagame developed, people wondered if the amount of counterplay in the tier was sufficient or not. Mega-Scizor became a bit more popular as a countermeasure to Mega-Metagross, but Mega-Metagross still found itself threatening to almost every team lacking Mega-Scizor and it occasionally elected to utilize Hidden Power Fire in order to adapt to the metagame trends. As more time elapsed, Mega-Metagross maintained its position among the best Pokemon in the metagame. With that said, some may think that Mega-Metagross finds itself spread quite thin in terms of moves it can use and view this as a limiting factor. Every Pokemon can only use four moves at the end of the day and there are ways to scout Mega-Metagross and sometimes team structure gives away the moves it might be carrying.
Going off of this note, Mega-Metagross almost always runs Meteor Mash and one of Hammer Arm or Earthquake. It can also utilize coverage or utility moves such as Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Zen Headbutt, Pursuit, Hidden Power Fire, Rock Polish/Agility, and Stealth Rock. As to how strong of an asset this versatility is, that is in the eye of the beholder. Keep in mind that prediction is generally a two-way-street in the context of a suspect, so you cannot assume that the Mega-Metagross user will always predict corretly or that the opponent will always pivot safely when discussing the impact of the aforementioned coverage. With this said, Mega-Metagross still can only use four moves at a time and the moveset is often predictable based on teammates, so there still is an element of predictability and, in certain match-ups, it makes Mega-Metagross much less threatening offensively. Mega-Metagross using mostly consistent coverage essentially means that pokemon such as Skarmory, Physically Defensive Tangrowth, and Mega-Slowbro check/counter most Mega-Metagross variants. Additionally, common choice scarf users like Garchomp and fast offensive threats like Greninja can revenge kill or consistently force out Mega-Metagross, making it hard to consistently threaten offensive teams. Therefore, each common archetype of team has means of dealing with Mega-Metagross to varying degrees depending on what they elect to use and Mega-Metagross elects to use itself.
Ultimately, these are the pros and cons of Mega-Metagross in the SM OU metagame, so weighing out those variables and determining if there is satisfactory counterplay in the metagame will lead to individuals coming to an ultimate conclusion as to if they deem Mega-Metagross banworthy or not.
Due to the fact that Mega-Metagross has been a consistently controversial Pokemon since the dawn of the generation, and that there are legitimate claims to it being a broken force in the metagame, the OU tiering council has decided that it is time for a suspect test.
Mega-Metagross has been a common threat in the Overused metagame dating back to the start of generation six, even receiving a suspect during the middle of last generation. While it was not deemed broken in XY, many people believe that it has improved significantly during SM due to the new mechanics for mega evolving and the state of the current metagame. Mega-Metagross has an incredible offensive presence in the current metagame, with high attack and a plethora of viable coverage options and strong STABs. Mega-Metagross is not a one-trick-pony, either, as it has superb bulk on the physical side and respectable special bulk while weilding base 110 speed, allowing it to comfortably tank hits and outspeed a majority of the metagame despite the generational speed creep. Moreover, Mega-Metagross has shot to the forefront of the SM OU metagame and is viewed as a controversial threat for the aforementioned reasons.
At the start of the generation, Mega-Metagross immediately became better due to it automatically receiving the mega speed boost and the various terrains powering up moves that it commonly uses, such as Thunder Punch in Electric Terrain and Zen Headbutt in Psychic Terrain. The surplus of Fairy types and new Pokemon that happened to be in slower speed tiers also played into the increased viability and effectiveness of Mega-Metagross. Eventually, people started to think that Mega-Metagross was potentially banworthy and as the metagame developed, people wondered if the amount of counterplay in the tier was sufficient or not. Mega-Scizor became a bit more popular as a countermeasure to Mega-Metagross, but Mega-Metagross still found itself threatening to almost every team lacking Mega-Scizor and it occasionally elected to utilize Hidden Power Fire in order to adapt to the metagame trends. As more time elapsed, Mega-Metagross maintained its position among the best Pokemon in the metagame. With that said, some may think that Mega-Metagross finds itself spread quite thin in terms of moves it can use and view this as a limiting factor. Every Pokemon can only use four moves at the end of the day and there are ways to scout Mega-Metagross and sometimes team structure gives away the moves it might be carrying.
Going off of this note, Mega-Metagross almost always runs Meteor Mash and one of Hammer Arm or Earthquake. It can also utilize coverage or utility moves such as Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Zen Headbutt, Pursuit, Hidden Power Fire, Rock Polish/Agility, and Stealth Rock. As to how strong of an asset this versatility is, that is in the eye of the beholder. Keep in mind that prediction is generally a two-way-street in the context of a suspect, so you cannot assume that the Mega-Metagross user will always predict corretly or that the opponent will always pivot safely when discussing the impact of the aforementioned coverage. With this said, Mega-Metagross still can only use four moves at a time and the moveset is often predictable based on teammates, so there still is an element of predictability and, in certain match-ups, it makes Mega-Metagross much less threatening offensively. Mega-Metagross using mostly consistent coverage essentially means that pokemon such as Skarmory, Physically Defensive Tangrowth, and Mega-Slowbro check/counter most Mega-Metagross variants. Additionally, common choice scarf users like Garchomp and fast offensive threats like Greninja can revenge kill or consistently force out Mega-Metagross, making it hard to consistently threaten offensive teams. Therefore, each common archetype of team has means of dealing with Mega-Metagross to varying degrees depending on what they elect to use and Mega-Metagross elects to use itself.
Ultimately, these are the pros and cons of Mega-Metagross in the SM OU metagame, so weighing out those variables and determining if there is satisfactory counterplay in the metagame will lead to individuals coming to an ultimate conclusion as to if they deem Mega-Metagross banworthy or not.
Due to the fact that Mega-Metagross has been a consistently controversial Pokemon since the dawn of the generation, and that there are legitimate claims to it being a broken force in the metagame, the OU tiering council has decided that it is time for a suspect test.
