Daily Red Metagross set and strategy
Metagross is B-tier on our Daily Red tier list (#18 of 30) — a solid, situational answer to Red. On paper it wins 3 of 6 one-on-one matchups against Red (Pikachu, Espeon, Venusaur). Play Daily Red ↗
The Metagross set in Daily Red
Metagross
- Steel Meteor Mash Physical · 100
- Ground Earthquake Physical · 100
- Psychic Psychic Special · 90
- Rock Rock Slide Physical · 75
Every player gets this exact set when Metagross is in the daily six: level 100, Serious nature, perfect IVs, holding Leftovers with Clear Body. The set never changes from day to day.
Metagross vs each of Red's Pokémon
Estimated damage at level 100 with these exact stats (Gen 3 formula, no crits, no boosts). “Wins” means it should take the one-on-one trade, counting who moves first.
| Red's Pokémon | Metagross's best hit | Red's best hit back | Moves first | 1v1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pikachu |
Earthquake 259–306% (super effective) | Thunderbolt 63–74% | Pikachu | ✅ wins |
 Espeon |
Meteor Mash 94–110% | Bite 24–28% | Espeon | ✅ wins |
 Snorlax |
Meteor Mash 46–54% | Earthquake 52–61% (super effective) | Metagross | ❌ loses |
 Venusaur |
Psychic 52–61% (super effective) | Earthquake 32–38% (super effective) | Metagross | ✅ wins |
 Charizard |
Rock Slide 140–165% (4× super effective) | Flamethrower 110–129% (super effective) | Charizard | ❌ loses |
 Blastoise |
Earthquake 31–37% | Surf 46–55% | Metagross | ❌ loses |
How to use Metagross against Red
- Save Metagross for Pikachu, Espeon, Venusaur — those are the one-on-one trades it wins on paper.
- Avoid leaving it in against Snorlax, Charizard, Blastoise; switch to a teammate that covers them (see below).
- Snorlax's Earthquake is super effective on Metagross (52–61%), so don't switch it in on that attack.
- Venusaur's Earthquake is super effective on Metagross (32–38%), so don't switch it in on that attack.
- Charizard's Flamethrower is super effective on Metagross (110–129%), so don't switch it in on that attack.
- It beats Red's Pikachu lead: Earthquake does 259–306%.
- Leftovers heals 1/16 of max HP each turn, so it gets a bit more value the longer it stays in.
Best partners for Metagross
If these show up on the same day, they cover the matchups Metagross loses:
How often Metagross shows up
Each day's six are drawn from a fixed pool of 30 sets, so any one set appears on about 1 in 5 days. Over the first 365 days, Metagross is in the team on 71 days (19%), and it is our suggested lead on 14 of those (20%). Its most common job in our counter plans is handling Espeon.
Days it has appeared so far:
- Daily Red #2 — Tue, Oct 13, 2026
Other Daily Red Pokémon
Gyarados · Jolteon · Flygon · Breloom · Slowbro · Houndoom · Arcanine · Alakazam · Machamp · Gengar · Rhydon · Starmie · Scizor · Heracross · Kingdra · Donphan · Tyranitar · Sceptile · Blaziken · Swampert · Ludicolo · Shiftry · Gardevoir · Aggron · Medicham · Manectric · Camerupt · Milotic · Salamence