It’s Community Day Classic time again, our second of this season and the last one on the horizon since there are seemingly none planned for next season. Good thing it’s a true classic that folks have been waiting for since 2018… METAGROSS makes its long-awaited return to Community Day! Let’s cover the basics in our Bottom Line Up Front and then get to the breakdown, including even a few words on PvE applications later on. Here we go!
B.L.U.F.
- While it’s not the monster it once was in Master League, Metagross is still worth the grind for Premier, at the very least. Shadow or regular both work on roughly the same level.
- Metagross has very limited utility outside of Master League, offering only dodgy spice potential in certain Limited metas. Great and Ultra League Metagross are certainly worth having, but FAR less of a priority than Master League.
- Metagross remains a monster in PvE and is pretty future proof. All these years later, and only Dusk Mane Necrozma has surpassed it, and that may never happen again. Metagross is fantastic for PvE and likely always will be.
- Wherever you plan to use it, Metagross NEEDS Meteor Mash to work, and this may be our last chance to get it without Elite TMs. Don’t miss out!
Alright, let’s do some analysis on this thing in PvP, shall we?
METAGROSS Stats and Moves

Great League Stats
Attack | Defense | HP |
---|---|---|
133 (132 High Stat Product) | 124 (124 High Stat Product) | 102 (104 High Stat Product) |
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 2-15-15, 1495 CP, Level 14.5)
Ultra League Stats
Attack | Defense | HP |
---|---|---|
172 (170 High Stat Product) | 156 (161 High Stat Product) | 134 (134 High Stat Product) |
(Highest Stat Product IVs: 0-15-13, 2495 CP, Level 24.5)
Master League Stats
Attack | Defense | HP |
---|---|---|
229 | 204 | 172 |
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; 4286 CP at Level 50)
The good news first: Steel is always a good defensive typing, and Psychic pairs pretty nicely with it. Psychic negates the standard Steel weakness to Fighting, and Steel wipes out Psychic’s usual weakness to Bug. In the end, that leaves a Steel/Psychic type like Metagross with only four single-level vulnerabilities (Fire and Ground on the Steel side, and Ghost and Dark on the Psychic side) balanced out by ten resistances (Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel, and 2x Poison and 2x Psychic). That’s really good, especially (as we’ll see later) in Master League where Dragon, Fairy, Ice, and Steel attacks are commonplace.
But there’s also an obvious downside to Metagross. Despite having the look of being built like a tank, the reality is quite the opposite: Metagross is actually really glassy in terms of stats, down below Charizard and Typhlosion in Great and Ultra League (Shiftry and Eelektross territory… yuck!), and trailing things like Melmetal, Heatran, Yveltal, and even Zygrade’s 50% Forme in Master League. None of that is great.
So how does that all balance out? Let’s start putting it all together and see!
FAST MOVES
- Bullet Punch – Steel type, 3.0 DPT, 3.5 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown
- Zen Headbutt – Psychic type, 2.66 DPT, 2.0 EPT, 1.5 CD
These analyses I’ve done over the last five and a half years often require detailed breakdowns and side by side comparisons of multiple avenues — multiple movesets — that can work out for you.
…But then there are some like this.
Bullet Punch is an above average move, dealing middle of the road damage but above average energy generation. Zen Headbutt has below average damage AND energy gains.
If you don’t immediately see the clear preference for Bullet Punch and need me to further analyze beyond that, then I don’t think I can help you, sorry. it’s Bullet Punch all day, every day, and twice on Community Day.
ᴱ – Exclusive (Community Day) Move
CHARGE MOVES
- Meteor Mashᴱ – Steel type, 100 damage, 50 energy
- Psychic – Psychic type, 75 damage, 55 energy
- Earthquake – Ground type, 110 damage, 65 energy
- Flash Cannon – Steel type, 110 damage, 70 energy
You know, it’s actually kind of amazing that Metagross has lasted so long without any other move tweaks. It started out with Psychic (the move) being its cheapest charge move, and then closing with either Earthquake or Flash Cannon. In short, it was a clumsy nothingburger, for the most part.
Then along came Meteor Mash in October of 2018, and suddenly Metagross was so powerful and just so perfect that it’s never needed any updates since. Six years of no tweaks! (Other than the nerfs over time to Psychic {the move}, that is.) Meteor Mash applies tons of pressure, and Earthquake provides great coverage versus Steel and Fire types that wail on Metagross for super effective damage and resist Steel in return, actually hitting all types that resist Steel for at least neutral damage (super effective in the case of Electrics, Fires, and opposing Steels). As just one shining example of the usefulness of Quake, in Master League, Earthquake is what’s needed to beat things Metagross cannot otherwise overcome like Melmetal, Dialga (including Origin), and the mirror match.
But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Let’s dive in a bit deeper on the sims, starting right there with Master League.
MASTER LEAGUE
If you’ve encountered or used Metagross in PvP, it has almost certainly been in Master League, where it can best mask its downsides (low bulk and vulnerability to Fire, Dark, and even Fighting types despite that last group usually dealing only neutral damage). There is a little super effective Ghost damage around to worry about (looking at you, Giratina), and yes, a little Fire as well (Ho-Oh, mostly), but generally the only thing Metagross has to truly fear in Master League is Ground types that remain popular for their ability to take down other big name Steels like Dialga, Solgaleo, and of course now Dusk Mane Necrozma. But this is also where the downside of Metagross’ Psychic subtyping comes in. While it beats Steels like Melmetal and Dialga as stated before thanks to the equalizer of Earthquake, that Pyschic type weakness to Dark and Ghost dooms it against Necrozma, and it fails to overcome Solgaleo or Excadrill as well, since they simply outrace it. (Though in fairness, MOST Steels lose to that pair anyway.)
That all said, even at its best, Metagross is less potent in Open Master League these days than it once was. It’s not that Metagross has gotten worse, per se, but other Steels have just risen past it. Dialga and now Origin Dialga can match everything Metagross can do except beating Mewtwo, Xerneas, and Melmetal (thanks to Metagross’ extra resistances), and beats a slew of things Metagross can’t like Palkia, Kyogre, Zygarde, Zekrom, Yveltal, Reshiram, Ursaluna, and the Giratinas. it’s even worse with Dusk Mane, which can do basically all of that (except Zygarde, Yveltal, and Ursaluna) AND cuts in on Metagross’ special wins versus Melmetal, Mewtwo, and Origin Dialga AND beats Metagross in the head to head. You seeing why Metagross has slipped over time?
Shadow Metagross coming along added a new wrinkle, but it is not markedly better. It really just represents a sidegrade, overpowering Palkia, Snorlax, Ursaluna, and Mamoswine but now losing out to Mewtwo, Zarude, and Lugia due to its further slashed bulk.
The upside for Metagross in Master League these days is in the format where it goes and those others cannot: Premier. That format tends to have you facing more Fairy, Dragon, Ice, and even some Grass types that Metagross chews through, and often more effectively and efficiently than other viable Steels in the format like Melmetal and the occasional Gholdengo. (Shadow may be a tad worse here, though, beating out Mamoswine and Ursaluna as previously mentioned, but dropping MLP threats like Magnezone, Gliscor, Haxorus, and Kommo-O in the process. Yuck.) Master League Premier is still a place where Metagross runs wild and free, and you will still see it everywhere whenever that format comes around. Somebody at Niantic has been pushing Premier again in recent seasons after a long gap, so if nothing else, yes, it is well worth building up a maxed out Metagross for MLP.
it’s ALSO worth maxing out for PvE, but more on that in a short bit. First, we need to take a brief look at Metagross elsewhere in PvP….
ULTRA and GREAT LEAGUES
The story gets progressively worse the lower you go. You may have seen Metagross (particularly the Shadow version) make a token appearance here or there in certain Limited metas, but it’s purely in spice territory even then, and very subpar in the Open meta in both Leagues. Its bad bulk is a big culprit, but also there’s just a lot more around that threatens it (Fires, Grounds, Ghosts, and Darks, mostly), as well as generally less Dragons to abuse, and even those that are can turn the tables (Dragonair, Guzzlord, Dragonite, Giratinas).
If you don’t currently have one for those formats, it wouldn’t hurt to evolve now. We’ve had several chances over the years and I imagine those chances have to be running out. (October and December 2018 Community Days, December 2019 Community Day, Hoenn Celebration Event and Steel/Psychic Incense Day in 2021, World Championships in 2022, and Global GOFest in 2023.) This may be the last hurrah without bringing Elite TMs into the equation, so yeah, go for it. You never know what the future may hold! Just make sure you’re all set for Master League first.
And for raids….
PvE
I have never been and will never claim to be a PvE expert… that’s not my bag, baby! However, I’m certainly not blind to the added benefit of maxing Metagross (ideally in multiples) for use outside of PvP too. By almost any measure, and according to the calculi (calculuses?) of multiple big name sites, Meteor Mash Metagross is surpassed only by Dusk Mane Necrozma (with its not-as-preferred-in-PvP full Steel moveset) among Steel type raid/gym attackers, with Shadow Metagross obviously having a leg up on regular. And obviously Mega Metagross (which many suspect is coming shortly after this Community Day Classic) will be right up there as well, sandwiched between Shadow and non-ShadowGross. And I imagine Mega Metagross would be pretty sweet in Mega Master League too, whenever that returns in the future.
So yeah… all the more reason to grind for those hundo Beldums to evolve up and max out. Grind those XLs, folks!
For a full PvE analysis, check out this article by KikitheTiki.
IN SUMMATION
So no big surprises today, I guess… everybody already knows that Meteor Mash Metagross is hype, but perhaps you know HOW hyped to be when it comes to PvP. In short: less flashy than it used to be, but still solid, and still a top option in Premier then, now, and likely continuing into the future. This could be your last last chance to get both the Legacy move and the XLs needed to max them out, so don’t miss out. This CDC is well worth the revisit. Enjoy!
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular Pokémon GO analysis nuggets, or Patreon if you like.
Good hunting, folks. Do stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!