Is shadow Metagross good in Pokémon Go?

Shadow Pokémon are risky to use in Pokémon Go. Their stats are slightly different than the original Pokémon, increasing their attack and lowering their defenses. While this is a huge risk, these Pokémon also have a set charged move called frustration. They can only unlearn this during specific Team Rocket events, or you can purify them, which changes the stats back to normal. Depending on the stats, the increased attack is more desirable. Metagross is one of the Pokémon that has a shadow version. Should you go with shadow Metagross, or is it better to stick with the regular version?

Metagross is a Psychic and Steel-type Pokémon. It’s weak to Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground-type moves, but it’s resistant to Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock, and Steel-type attacks. For PvP, it has a maximum CP of 3,791, an attack of 214, a defense of 192, and a stamina of 162. For Pve, Metagross has an attack of 257, an attack of 228, and a stamina of 190. With a shadow Metagross for PvP, the attack increases to 257, but the defenses go down to 160.

Because Metagross has a high CP, you typically want to use it in the Master League when battling other trainers. It does have some use for the Ultra League, but because of XL candy, you’re going to encounter a handful of other choices generally seen in the Great League being used by Ultra League players. You’re better off using Metagross to its full potential in the Master League, where it can withstand plenty of damage and dish out a lot of punishment.

You want to use Metagross against Melmetal, Togekiss, Dragonite, Lugia, Mewtwo, Mamoswine, Kyurem, Dialga, Palkia, and several others. It’s worst against Kyogre, Reshiram, Zekrom, Swampert, Giratina (Origin), Gyarados, Snorlax, Garchomp, Chandelure, Magnezone, and a handful of others. If you can coordinate a strong team to consider its primary weaknesses, you’ll be able to utilize Metagross to its full potential.

It’s important to observe Metagross’ stats when considering using its shadow version. Normally, a Metagross has 214 attack, 192 defense, and 162 stamina. The shadow version has 257 attack, and the defenses go down to 160. Metagross’ stamina remains the same in both instances, and because it’s so low, you need to make sure it can be durable in combat. Lowering its already decent defenses does make it worse than the original. While a shadow Metagross is still a good choice, the normal version is better, and you’ll succeed more in the Master League with it.

Metagross already starts with some suitable attack power, and increasing it feels like a good choice. But if you consider what it’s weak to and how to utilize it in combat, you’re better keeping the original. You’ll blow more shields attempting to keep it alive than you would be beating your opponent.