The basic walling set returns for another round in the Underused tier. Its great resistances can cause many switches to occur, all of which it can exploit by laying down Stealth Rock. With a low 206 Attack stat, the indirect damage will probably do more harm than any direct physical attacking Steelix can dish out, so you'll want them setup as soon as possible. STAB Earthquake deals respectable damage, and no Steelix should walk out the door without it. The third slot depends on whether you want coverage (Stone Edge) or STAB and accuracy (Gyro Ball). Both hit Flying-types and frail Ghosts, Stone Edge doing better against Moltres, and Gyro Ball doing better against Roserade and Mismagius. Use Stone Edge with a Careful nature and Gyro Ball with a Sassy Nature and a 0 Speed IV. The fourth slot provides additional support. Toxic can wear down Steelix's usual counters indirectly while it escapes, making it harder to start any stalling strategies. Explosion can leave a lasting dent on its counters or even OHKO them outright, but then Steelix can no longer supply its resistances to the team. Roar works well after you've eliminated the opponent's Taunt user, scouting switches and racking up Stealth Rock damage. It's also your only option against Spiritomb and other bulky Pokémon, who usually survive Explosion and can setup on you by stalling out your weak attacks. Slowking makes an excellent partner for Steelix in many respects. While Slowbro provides the same Water-, Fire-, and Fighting-type resistances that Slowking does, Slowking is better suited as a partner for Steelix since it has a much higher Special Defense stat than its sibling, meaning it makes up for Steelix's lower one much better. Slowking provides a great switch in for the varied threats that like to switch into Steelix - anything from Moltres and Milotic to Hitmontop and Hariyama - and can support Steelix with paralysis support to make up for its low Speed. It's well worth noting that running Thunder Wave on Slowking and Gyro Ball on Steelix is a conflicting strategy; much better to run a neutral Speed nature on Steelix and use Iron Head to make the most of its flinch chance. Steelix's resistances help keep a team together, especially those that rely on a powerful special attacker to clean up. With Stealth Rock weakening the opponent's team and priority sweepers somewhat kept at bay, Pokemon such as Ludicolo and Ninetails can breathe easier and do their job more reliably. Since there are only two really useable Steel-types available for play in UU, Steelix fills a very important niche in the tier.
With Fire-types rising in dominance, Steelix's role as a Normal-type resister is constantly put into question. This offensive set will help mitigate its inherent weaknesses, so that you're not using an inferior Registeel. It takes advantage of the two things Registeel doesn't have: a superior attack stat, and STAB Earthquake. The purpose of this set is to lure in some of its usual counters - mostly bulky waters like Azumarill, Milotic, and Slowbro - and explode on them, clearing the path for a sweeper, such as Dragon Dance Feraligatr or Agility Blaziken. The EVs are geared to give Steelix a good amount of Special Defense, while also giving its Explosion the power to significantly damage or take out most foes. Importantly, Steelix can survive a Life Orb Milotic's Hydro Pump or a Blaziken's Fire Blast with the EV investment, provided it's holding the right resist Berry, and then Explode or use Earthquake to take the foe out. Stealth Rock is viable during the early-game while your opponent is still playing conservatively with weak attacks such as Fake Out and U-turn. The last slot is up to preference. Stone Edge hits Flying-types the hardest and allows you to check Moltres and Charizard, in case they try to come in on Stealth Rock. Iron Head is more reliable and does OK damage to anything that would resist or is immune to your Earthquake, including Ghost- and mono-Grass-types. Roar can scout for counters so you can better assess who you need to eliminate. Passho Berry is specifically for Azumarill and offensive Milotic - common switch-ins to Steelix who can heal any damage dealt and seriously harm their checks with the correct move. Occa Berry allows Steelix to survive Fire Blasts from powerful Fire-types such as Blaziken, Houndoom, and Arcanine, and retaliate with a powerful STAB Earthquake. The resist Berry you choose is specific to your team's needs - if you want to clear the path for a sweeper that appreciates bulky Water-types out the way, for example Dragon Dance Feraligatr or Altaria, then Passho is the way to go; if instead you plan on attempting a sweep with something along the lines of Swords Dance Venusaur or Leafeon, then you might appreciate reliably taking out Fire-types by utilizing an Occa Berry. Be wary of trying to use BaitLix as you would a standard Steelix - the relative lack of investment in its defenses can often lead to it not fulfilling its commonly perceived role of physical wall as well as one might expect. It is often a good idea to have some other physically bulky Pokemon in reserve if you're running this Steelix set.
Choice Band resolves some of the issues with Steelix's below average Attack stat, turning it into a decent (albeit limited) physical tank. The Physical Wall set tends to create a glaring vulnerability whenever the need arises to lay down Stealth Rock, but this set turns that weakness into its biggest strength. Plenty of pokemon want to take advantage of Steelix as it tries to support the team, and a good number of them can be OHKOed on the switch by this set, especially Fire types like Magmortar and Blaziken. As always with Choice sets, prediction is key, but Steelix is in a good position to make a few mistakes thanks to its great resistances. The dual STAB of Earthquake and Gyro Ball are its main attacking options and show the finer points of this set. Earthquake packs reliable damage output and delivers punishment to a large number of targets - a little more than 3/4 of the entire tier. Gyro Ball clears out the remaining selection of threats nicely, and reaches its peak potential (150 Base Power) when fighting opponents with at least 348 speed, increasing its value against fast but frail sweepers such as Espeon, Mismagius, and Swellow. It outright OHKOs the lot of them, leaving you with some valuable HP to spare so Steelix can continue to come in with its resistances and take shots at incoming counters. Charizard and Moltres still pose a considerable threat, since they resist both STAB attacks, so Stone Edge is here to provide further coverage. It's pretty much overkill on them, and gives you an okay attack move to throw out when you're not sure what's going to come in on you. If you need to hit Claydol, Slowbro, Uxie, and Mesprit harder in particular, then you can replace Gyro Ball with Payback and put the 31 Speed IVs back. Your speed will still be low enough to consistently go second, so the Base Power is a non-issue. It goes without saying that Explosion is at its strongest here; when you know it can't go on much longer, or your teammates have every other threat covered for you, use Explosion to take one for the team, bringing Steelix's counter down with it. With its defensive capabilities reduced and Choice Band limiting its attack choices, this Steelix is more hit-and-run than the others and is forced out very easily, although it usually takes a chunk of the opponent's health with it on the way out. It can use assistance from largely the same teammates as mentioned in the Physical Wall set; if it can prevent pokemon from coming in on Earthquake for free, it's definitely a friend of Steelix. Altaria gets a mention for potentially checking Fire-, Grass-, and Water-types all on its own, making it a huge help for getting the threats out the way that Steelix doesn't really want to see (or doesn't want to Explode on).
This set is a lot harder to use than the other sets, as the pokemon that can interrupt your sweep attempt are numerous. The benefits cannot be ignored in comparison to the Choice Band set, though. By using Curse, you have the advantage of powering up all of your moves, while strengthening your already massive Defense, and although you wield less damage capacity than the Choice Band set initially, (due to the lack of Attack EVs) with a couple of Curses you can surpass it easily. Naturally, you'll want to start your sweep during the late game, when all the Fire-, Water-, and Grass-types have been taken care of. Gyro Ball is the main attack this time, as the synergy between it and Curse is amazing. As your speed lowers, the number of targets Gyro Ball can hit at peak damage increases as well as its damage output. With just two Curses, your Speed becomes 29, and you're hitting foes with at least 174 speed with full-powered Gyro Balls at +2 Attack. Earthquake is still your most reliable STAB, though, and can get rid of some last-minute threats in a pinch. Either of these attacks can be replaced with Stone Edge if you want Steelix to take on Charizard and Moltres, but it may be better for another teammate to handle them so that Steelix has an easier time cleaning up. Explosion lets you take your hard-earned boosts and go out with a bang, but Chesto Berry and Rest give you greater survivability and prevent status from getting in the way of your sweep. You can also use type-resist Berries, such as a Passho Berry, to protect you against specific threats the rest of your team may not be able to remove for Steelix. The EVs are designed to reinforce Steelix's vulnerable Special Defense, and works well with Chesto/Rest or a Type-resist berry in assuring that most non-boosted special attacks won't OHKO you as you Curse up. These quirks would serve Steelix well in a more supportive role, but unfortunately this set isn't much of a team player and can could use a lot of support itself. Stealth Rock works wonders for its sweeping potential, keeping Charizard and Moltres off its back if its not running Stone Edge. Clefable and Chansey can absorb the special attacks aimed at Steelix, lay down the rocks, and even provide Wish support so that Steelix can attempt a sweep multiple times. Roserade and Venusaur stop bulky waters from entering while you Curse and forcing you out, the former of which can also provide Spikes support to wear down switch-ins. Claydol and Uxie partner up well with this Steelix set in numerous ways: they resist or are immune to Steelix's Ground and Fighting weaknesses, can set up Stealth Rock to hinder Moltres and Charizard, and provide Light Screen support to give Steelix a much easier time as it Curses up. Team OptionsSteelix has trouble with powerful special attacks, as it doesn't have recovery or good Special Defense to constantly come in on them. Ambipom can use U-turn to bring Milotic and Azumarill safely into Gyro Balls, leaving you helpless to stop them. Steelix also hates when its Stealth Rocks are spun away, and when Pokémon use support moves like Substitute, Protect, or Will-O-Wisp to block its Explosion. Bulky waters such as Milotic and Azumarill can be cleared by a strong Grass-type such as Venusaur or Roserade. For opposing Fire-types, your own bulky water helps, although all of them have to be careful about playing around Blaziken and Magmortar. Milotic makes the best choice for addressing most of them, but Azumarill can be used to provide additional assistance with a powerful priority attack. Slowking has slightly lower stats than Milotic in almost every stat, but still serves as an excellent special wall and also provides a valuable Fighting resist for Steelix. For Spin Blocking, Rotom has the Special Attack and Speed to stop most Spinners in UU before they can even respond to it, and makes a decent check to Moltres and Charizard. It can also setup Reflect and Light Screen, further aiding Steelix in resisting special attacks so it can reliably Explode on its counters. The frail sweepers that Steelix can beat often rely on Steelix for taking down rival Steels that stand in their way, as well as certain special walls lacking the physical defense to withstand Steelix's assaults. Espeon, Mismagius, and Yanmega are not only beat by Steelix, but they also appreciate it getting Registeel, Regirock, and Ambipom out of the way for them. The BaitLix set lures out many unsuspecting Fire-, Grass-, and Water-types to be Exploded on, so the Pokémon that benefit from this vary depending on who you want to eliminate among those types. Azumarill can be annoying to pinch sweepers like SD Drapion and Belly Drum Charizard, Blaziken tears through walls like Chansey and Slowbro, and Roserade can stop most Choice Band sweepers by putting them to sleep with a Choice Scarf. None of them are safe to Explosion, so lots of sweeping opportunities can be opened up by it. Other OptionsThunder Fang and Ice Fang have a low chance of causing status effects, but their utility is otherwise limited compared to Stone Edge and even Crunch. Iron Tail is stronger than Iron Head and can lower defense, but is less accurate. Steelix gets Taunted a lot, so Chesto-Rest outside of the Cursing set is not a good idea. Its attacking stats are not good enough to take advantage of Rock Polish, so don't even try it. It's too slow to use Screech effectively, as well. You can put an Iron Ball on Steelix, and the 50% speed reduction with give you nearly the same attacking potential as the Curse set after 2 Curses, which can be useful for the Physical Wall set. Take caution, though, as the lack of recovery makes it harder to sponge special attacks. Shed Shell allows Steelix to escape trappers such as Magneton and Dugtrio, but is useless against anything else, and you can usually get away with just using Roar. EVsSteelix's Physical Defense is already impressive, so any defensive set will want to maximize its HP and Special Defense and use a Special Defense boosting nature to take advantage of it. You need as much special defense as possible to survive unboosted Special Attacks without a type-resist Berry; if you want your Steelix to pose a threat offensively, switch the HP EVs with Attack EVs, but still keep the +SpD nature. Without it, you're helpless to any special attack you don't resist, which is why the Choice Band set does not even bother. OpinionSteelix has come a long way from the titan it once was back in GSC. Huge physical defense and 11 resistances, including immunity to Poison and Electric, make Steelix a safe user of Stealth Rock. Its rivals Regirock and Registeel have better support options, but what Steelix lacks in support, it makes up for with brute force. It has great typing both offensively and defensively, and just enough attack to make its counters think twice about coming in. It is also one of the handful of Pokemon that are immune to both poison and the common forms of paralysis, meaning it doesn't really need to worry whether Chansey is running Thunder Wave or Toxic as it switches in. Steelix's shortcomings are its low Special Defense and Speed, as well as a really shallow movepool. Steelix has very little to defend itself with once its counters have made it into the fray, and Taunt easily removes any meaningful support it can lend to the team by preying on how slow it is, but it's not hopeless. Its attacks are good enough for stopping the things it resists, especially fast frail sweepers who usually can't afford to setup more than once. Mismagius, Espeon, Drapion, Yanmega, and Ambipom are just a handful of sweepers that can give teams trouble, and Steelix has just the right moves to put them in their place. With STAB Earthquake and a powerful Explosion at its side, one should not underestimate a well-placed Steelix on a team.Counters The way to go when handling Steelix is to come in on Stealth Rock and fire off powerful Fire-, Water-, or Fighting-type attacks. Steelix's Explosion and a proper type-resist Berry can reduce the number of effective counters, but even then some Pokémon are just too powerful to be stopped with such a low special defense stat. This includes Specs Magmortar, Ninetails, and Houndoom after a Nasty Plot, and Specs Roserade. The offensive sets have to predict perfectly to catch these Pokémon in the act, or Steelix will be forced out for certain. Milotic and Lapras generally take pitiful damage from Steelix and can break it down with STAB Surf. Defensive Venusaur and Shaymin don't fear anything Steelix can throw at it, and can KO it with STAB Grass attacks. Charizard and Moltres have been mentioned multiple times and with good reason: they threaten any Steelix without Stone Edge with strong Fire STAB (even those with it, due to the low accuracy), and can use this knowledge to start their own devastating strategies as you switch out. Spiritomb is immune to Explosion and takes little damage from anything Steelix can dish out; it can cripple Steelix with Will-O-Wisp or just set up for a Calm Mind sweep in its face. Claydol, Donphan, and Blastoise also take very little damage, can remove its Stealth Rock from the field, and threaten it with super effective STAB attacks. Specs Mismagius can surprise Steelix as it comes in and 2HKO it with Hidden Power Fighting. Hitmontop reduces Steelix's offense with Intimidate and can fire powerful super effective STAB Close Combats straight at it; the attack reduction also gives it a chance at surviving Explosion. Hariyama can Force Palm or just Whirlwind it out if it tries to Curse up. Hitmonlee can't come in on Gyro Ball, but once its in, Steelix will not survive. Magneton and Probopass trap Steelix lacking Roar with Magnet Pull, can negate Earthquake with Magnet Rise, and proceed to destroy it with Hidden Power Fire and Earth Power, respectively. Steelix is too slow to retaliate more than once against these threats, so a few special attacks will eventually bring it down. Pack multiple checks in case of Explosion, and you'll be fine. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
