Pokemon GO: Exploring Metagross' weaknesses

With over 900 Pokemon in the franchise, some are bound to be superior in the main series or Pokemon GO. Metagross is one of these Pokemon that some players would even go as far as saying is one of the best Pokemon throughout the franchise's history.

Making its debut in the third generation of Pokemon games as the ace Pokemon on Champion Steven's team, Metagross has been a Pokemon many players have dreamed about adding to their team since the early 2000s. The addition of Mega Metagross to the franchise with the release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire on the 3DS only escalated the infatuation with this fan-favorite Steel type.

With all the hype surrounding Metagross in Pokemon GO, players are bound to use it in Pokemon GO's Battle League. How can players take down this massive powerhouse?

---

Shattering Steel: Countering Metagross in Pokemon GO

Metagross as it appears in the Pokemon Adventures Manga. (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The first thing to know about Metagross is its typing. Metagross is a Steel and Psychic-type Pokemon, which gives it not only great defenses and resistances but also a power boost to its already devastating Steel and Psychic-type attacks. Metagross is weak to Ghost, Fire, Ground, and Dark-type attacks while resisting Normal, Flying, Rock, Grass, Ice, Dragon, Fairy, Poison, and other Steel and Psychic-type attacks.

Metagross is seen as one of the most powerful Pokemon for a reason. With a crushing attack stat of 257 and a bulky defense stat of 228 paired with a stamina stat of 190, Metagross can seem unbreakable to unprepared players. However, with the right strategy, Metagross can be easily countered.

Metagross' biggest weakness is its weakness to Ground and Fire-type attacks, which are very common attacking types in Pokemon GO. A charged attack from a Fire-type Pokemon like Infernape or Charizard will almost always bait out the use of a shield at the very least. When dealing with powerful Pokemon like Metagross or Tyranitar, the opposing trainer will want to keep them protected and healthy at all costs. As a result, even the threat of their powerful "carry" Pokemon having devastating damage dealt to them will guarantee them using a shield.

The best counter for Metagross in Pokemon GO would be a Pokemon that can continuously spam super effective charged attacks. Chandelure with Shadow Ball or Blaziken with Blaze Kick are great counters for Metagross as they can always fire off charged attacks while also having fast attacks that can deal super effective damage.

While Metagross is a very powerful and threatening Pokemon in Pokemon GO, it is best used by trainers that know its limits which is not very many. Many trainers will end up being overcautious with their Metagross, which will either burn shields or just keep it out of combat long enough for you to build up charged attacks on the other Pokemon to blow Metagross away the second it comes out. Fire, Ground, and some Ghost-type Pokemon are the best Pokemon to use against Metagross in Pokemon GO.