Pokémon Steelix

[Politoad]

Approved by Alexwolf

--> (Steelixite)

Typing: Steel / Ground --> Steel / Ground
Ability: Rock Head / Sturdy / Sheer Force (Hidden) --> Sand Force
Stats: 75 HP / 85 Atk / 200 Def / 55 SpA / 65 SpD / 30 Spe
Mega Stats: 75 HP / 125 Atk / 230 Def / 55 SpA / 95 SpD / 30 Spe

Notable moves: (STABs in Bold)

Curse
Gyro Ball
Heavy Slam
Earthquake
Dragon Tail
Stealth Rock
Roar
Aqua Tail
Toxic
Fire Fang
Ice Fang
Crunch

Overview:

Steelix may seem outclassed by Mega-Aggron in OU because of its superior Attack and ability. Though, Steelix has quite its niches over it, such as a STAB Earthquake and the fact that it fits better on Sand teams because of Sand Force. It has a terrifying Defense stat and an average movepool, meaning it can fill out different roles in the metagame. It also is a great answer to common physical Attackers, such as Bisharp and Metagross-Mega.

Pro's:

- Great Defense on the physical side, as well as a good Special Defense.
- Powerful STABs in Heavy Slam and Earthquake.
- Good Attack stat that allows it to hit like a truck.

Cons:

- Faces competition from Mega-Aggron as a tank.
- One of the slowest usable Pokemon in the metagame.
- Somewhat bad ability which is only useful along Sand.
- No reliable recovery.

Possible Sets:

Curse Attacker
Steelix @ Steelixite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Curse
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake / Rest
- Dragon Tail / Roar / Sleep Talk

This set allows it to function as a physical tank, as well as it hits quite hard after Curse. Gyro Ball is used over Heavy Slam for superior power as Curse lowers Speed. Earthquake can be used as a second STAB attack and helps to hit Pokemon such as Heatran, but Rest can provide as recovery, yet Rest only should be used along Sleep Talk. Dragon Tail forces the opponent out, disallowing it to set up while doing some damage, but Roar can be used instead for 100% accuracy.

Physical Tank
Steelix @ Steelixite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic / Earthquake
- Roar / Dragon Tail
- Heavy Slam

This set somewhat faces competition from Mega-Aggron, but is really useful for stopping very common physical Attackers. (includes Pokemon such as Mega-Metagross, Mega-Scizor and Dragonite) Stealth Rock is to punish switches, as well as it does a good amount of damage against Fire-types that can be troublesome for Steelix. Toxic is for wearing down other tanks that it has a hard time against, though Earthquake can be used over it as it grants high power and helps to beat Fire-types that resist Heavy Slam. Roar or Dragon Tail can be used here to force out setup sweepers, and punishes opponents with Stealth Rock damage. Heavy Slam prevents it from being completely helpless against Taunt.

Good teammates:

Trick Room setters, such as Porygon2 and Cofagrigus, are good as they allow Steelix to move first in most situations because of its low Speed. Pokemon with Wish support, such as Chansey are also good; As Steelix lacks reliable recovery, a move such as Wish is excellent. Pokemon that take care of threatening Fire- and Water-types, such as Latios, make good teammates too. And last, but not least, Defog absorbers that take advantage from the evasiveness drop, such as Bisharp, are good teammates as Defog will be a pretty common answer to Stealth Rock.

suggestions? Please comment!

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[Lazyboy0337]

Should probaby go Earthquake on the physical tank set, since one of MSteelix's perk over MAggron is the STAB Earthquake.

 

[vyomov]

I think it is worth mentioning that Sand Force, while not great, makes M-Steelix a great asset against Sand teams, since it can comfortably take a hit from Excadrill and KO with EQ(which hits like a truck with Sand Force in play):
4 Atk Sand Force M-Steelix Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Excadrill in Sand: 510-602 (141.2 - 166.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

I personally don't see the point of the Curse Set, since Steelix really doesn't need to boost its Defense - it is in fact SpD it needs to invest in to be able to take some special hits, as even uninvested M-Steelix has 496 Def. Idk about exact EVs, but a set that fully invests in Special Bulk can actually become a good wall - a 252 HP/252 SpD spread with a Sassy Nature hits 354/496/317 bulk, which is nothing to scoff at:
252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD M-Steelix: 296-351 (83.6 - 99.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

That's right, with no prior damage, it lives a Greninja Hydro Pump (though that situation is unlikely,
252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Steelix: 296-351 (83.6 - 99.1%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock shows that M-Steelix has a good chance of taking a Hydro Pump if needed and retaliating).

 

[Politoad]

I think it is worth mentioning that Sand Force, while not great, makes M-Steelix a great asset against Sand teams, since it can comfortably take a hit from Excadrill and KO with EQ(which hits like a truck with Sand Force in play):
4 Atk Sand Force M-Steelix Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Excadrill in Sand: 510-602 (141.2 - 166.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

I personally don't see the point of the Curse Set, since Steelix really doesn't need to boost its Defense - it is in fact SpD it needs to invest in to be able to take some special hits, as even uninvested M-Steelix has 496 Def. Idk about exact EVs, but a set that fully invests in Special Bulk can actually become a good wall - a 252 HP/252 SpD spread with a Sassy Nature hits 354/496/317 bulk, which is nothing to scoff at:
252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD M-Steelix: 296-351 (83.6 - 99.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

That's right, with no prior damage, it lives a Greninja Hydro Pump (though that situation is unlikely,
252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Steelix: 296-351 (83.6 - 99.1%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock shows that M-Steelix has a good chance of taking a Hydro Pump if needed and retaliating).

Edited stuff, about the second part I only changed the EVs; In order to let Gyro Ball actually do more than Heavy Slam, it needs Speed drop, and Curse helps with that. Not only it helps its physically Defensive presence, it also lets it hit quite hard.

 

[DaAwesomeDude1]

I think iron head should be an option on the curse set since gyro ball has pretty low PP.

 

[jbtc10]

I think iron head should be an option on the curse set since gyro ball has pretty low PP.

You're realistically never going to use up all your Gyro Ball PP when using Steelix, and regardless, nearly doubling the base power of one of your STABs should never be passed up for such a minor thing as PP.

 

[DaAwesomeDude1]

You're realistically never going to use up all your Gyro Ball PP when using Steelix, and regardless, nearly doubling the base power of one of your STABs should never be passed up for such a minor thing as PP.

Yeah that's true...

 

[Red King]

I mean, Mega Steelix isn't the worst thing ever. I guess it could pull off curse sweeps once the opposing team's water types are all dead. Its definitely usable to some extent, but i don't know if it'll ever truly justify using your mega slot on this thing. This thing would be laughably terrifying if it got some move that boosted it's special defense and attack while lowering speed. Oh well.

 

[ssjjynx]

For good teammates, you could put a bunch of Trick Room pokemon, as if you're looking for a M-Steelix sweep, tr is realistically your only shot.
e.g. Slowbro/king, Cofagrigus, Porygon 2 and so on.

 

[Karxrida]

I'm not sure if a Curse Sweeper build would be viable, as you would need pretty much every Special Attacker in the tier gone before you can go to town. A Tank set or bulky SR setter are probably the way to go.

 

[VKW]

Something I've tried in the lower tiers with mixed success is Baton Passing to Steelix after a couple of Amnesias which allows Steelix to set up Curse/Rest with impunity.

The only issue with it is that you are extremely vulnerable to criticals, as if you use rest then you're just increasing the probability that the opponents hits on you while sleeping end up being crits.

 

[Politoad]

Thanks for all suggestions, I implemented stuff people told me. Actually, Curse sweeper is a pretty great answer to physical attackers. In fact, if you manage to get a Curse off before the opponent switches into a powerful Special Attacker, you are in most situations able to quickly wipe them out with Gyro Ball (except things such as Keldeo, that resist Gyro Ball)

 

[Red King]

I wish gamefreak had dumped those 30 defense evs into sp def, it would let it tank dracos and what not more comfortably, setting up on the super common lati@s.

 

[ssjjynx]

I wish gamefreak had dumped those 30 defense evs into sp def, it would let it tank dracos and what not more comfortably, setting up on the super common lati@s.

Not really, Surf lati is fairly common right now.

 

[Thunderorange]

Mega Steelix is pretty meh. Still it can run some cool sets and it has an awesome design. Imo the only time it has justified use in OU (and this is really really stiff) is a phaser slapped onto a stall team which lacks a mega (which is really rare since we have mega eye, bro and saur). It will be decent in lower tiers doe. Probably end up in RU.

 

[Cogito]

Mega Steelix is pretty meh. Still it can run some cool sets and it has an awesome design. Imo the only time it has justified use in OU (and this is really really stiff) is a phaser slapped onto a stall team which lacks a mega (which is really rare since we have mega eye, bro and saur). It will be decent in lower tiers doe. Probably end up in RU.

It is not even viable enough for RU. The problem with M-Steelix is that there are simply better mega pokemon to choose from. Want it to be a stealth rocker? Bronzong can do it and it can set up screens, Cobalion can set up and be a viable offensive threat, as well as Dugtrio which can trap unsuspecting pokemon. Want it to be a tank? Though it has amazing defence, it has decent special defence. Which means fire, water, ground and fighting will be a problem. Are there any pokemon in RU with those typings that can run a SPA set? Accelgor with focus blast, Slowking with Scald, Clawitzer with aura pulse, Meloetta with focus blast and Moltres with Fire Blast. It's speed is only 30 and so everything will outspeed it and will 2 OHKO. Want it to be a toxic stall pokemon? Doesn't have a recovery move and with a mega stone, it can't have items so you will be whittled down in HP quite quickly. Throw in the fact that it's attacking stat doesn't hit hard enough and you have a pokemon that doesn't warrant a spot on your team. Oh did I mention the lack of recovery moves? Ya another problem as well.

I want to like Steelix I really do but it doesn't have a spot in RU and is right where it should be at NU.

 

[Martin]

Mega Steelix is pretty meh. Still it can run some cool sets and it has an awesome design. Imo the only time it has justified use in OU (and this is really really stiff) is a phaser slapped onto a stall team which lacks a mega (which is really rare since we have mega eye, bro and saur). It will be decent in lower tiers doe. Probably end up in RU.

It is not even viable enough for RU. The problem with M-Steelix is that there are simply better mega pokemon to choose from. Want it to be a stealth rocker? Bronzong can do it and it can set up screens, Cobalion can set up and be a viable offensive threat, as well as Dugtrio which can trap unsuspecting pokemon. Want it to be a tank? Though it has amazing defence, it has decent special defence. Which means fire, water, ground and fighting will be a problem. Are there any pokemon in RU with those typings that can run a SPA set? Accelgor with focus blast, Slowking with Scald, Clawitzer with aura pulse, Meloetta with focus blast and Moltres with Fire Blast. It's speed is only 30 and so everything will outspeed it and will 2 OHKO. Want it to be a toxic stall pokemon? Doesn't have a recovery move and with a mega stone, it can't have items so you will be whittled down in HP quite quickly. Throw in the fact that it's attacking stat doesn't hit hard enough and you have a pokemon that doesn't warrant a spot on your team. Oh did I mention the lack of recovery moves? Ya another problem as well.

I want to like Steelix I really do but it doesn't have a spot in RU and is right where it should be at NU.

Steelix is a poor tank... until you consider that it can happily invest 252 into SpD without giving a f*ck about its defense. It is still going to be laughing at any physical hit thrown at it, and its not like you will keep it in on a powerful or super effective special hit anyway.

I personally expect Steelix to end up UU as it has its niches over Aggron, namely its immunity to Electric-type attacks and better offensive capabilities courtesy of Sand Force and STAB Earthquake. The fact is that, contrary to popular belief, M-Steelix isn't literally an outclassed M-Aggron as it works far better on different teams and it plays a different role to it due to the glaring differences in its capabilities. M-Aggron works better as an all-out defender courtesy of Filter, while Steelix works in a more offensive or specialized defensive role due to its typing and Sand Force. Also think about the effect it will have on bulky offensive teams in a core with SpD Hippowdon in UU. The fact is that the metagames are still in their early stages of development, and people are still trying to work out how to use Pokemon like Mega Steelix to their greatest effect. Expect to see more certainty about where all the new mega evolutions are heading in the coming months.

 

[Kurona]

I personally expect Steelix to end up UU as it has its niches over Aggron, namely its immunity to Electric-type attacks and better offensive capabilities courtesy of Sand Force and STAB Earthquake. The fact is that, contrary to popular belief, M-Steelix isn't literally an outclassed M-Aggron as it works far better on different teams and it plays a different role to it due to the glaring differences in its capabilities. M-Aggron works better as an all-out defender courtesy of Filter, while Steelix works in a more offensive or specialized defensive role due to its typing and Sand Force. Also think about the effect it will have on bulky offensive teams in a core with SpD Hippowdon in UU. The fact is that the metagames are still in their early stages of development, and people are still trying to work out how to use Pokemon like Mega Steelix to their greatest effect. Expect to see more certainty about where all the new mega evolutions are heading in the coming months.

Can you give me an example in which Mega Steelix would be an effective team member? Because... I'm honestly not seeing it. That T-wave immunity is a very, VERY big double-edged sword as it also gives you a weakness to Water which is so common, not to mention due to not having filter Fire, Fighting and Ground are hitting it so much harder. It's offensive presence is really, REALLY moot point when you consider even Aggron has a bigger attack stat, and 125 attack is... very mediocre for an offensive mon; never mind a Mega one. And frankly if I'm going to go to the trouble to get up sand for a Mega, I'm going to use Mega Garchomp which has so many more good qualities and completely outclasses it in every sense of the word. Not to mention other Megas that are good for sand's playstyle like Zard Y for resetting it and even T-tar for being a massive tanky behemoth.
I mean hell, Megacham was put to C+ for being completely outclassed by Megalade and even the few niches Cham has over Lade are much, much more relevant and impressive than the niches Steelix holds over Aggron. Not to mention we're talking about Steelix being outclassed by a Pokémon that, unlike Gallade, is in the C rankings. If that doesn't scream outclassed and niche I don't know what does.
If you can find me any way, any one way in which Mega Steelix can be effective in the OU metagame without being outclassed at everything it tries to do -- and really, Electric immunity does not matter that much at all and it's STAB Earthquake isn't hitting that hard -- then please, enlighten me, because I love Steelix and I would love to find a way to use something with such a cool design. But right now, I don't even think it deserves it's current D ranking. GF fucked up.

 

[Martin]

Can you give me an example in which Mega Steelix would be an effective team member? Because... I'm honestly not seeing it. That T-wave immunity is a very, VERY big double-edged sword as it also gives you a weakness to Water which is so common, not to mention due to not having filter Fire, Fighting and Ground are hitting it so much harder. It's offensive presence is really, REALLY moot point when you consider even Aggron has a bigger attack stat, and 125 attack is... very mediocre for an offensive mon; never mind a Mega one. And frankly if I'm going to go to the trouble to get up sand for a Mega, I'm going to use Mega Garchomp which has so many more good qualities and completely outclasses it in every sense of the word. Not to mention other Megas that are good for sand's playstyle like Zard Y for resetting it and even T-tar for being a massive tanky behemoth.
I mean hell, Megacham was put to C+ for being completely outclassed by Megalade and even the few niches Cham has over Lade are much, much more relevant and impressive than the niches Steelix holds over Aggron. Not to mention we're talking about Steelix being outclassed by a Pokémon that, unlike Gallade, is in the C rankings. If that doesn't scream outclassed and niche I don't know what does.
If you can find me any way, any one way in which Mega Steelix can be effective in the OU metagame without being outclassed at everything it tries to do -- and really, Electric immunity does not matter that much at all and it's STAB Earthquake isn't hitting that hard -- then please, enlighten me, because I love Steelix and I would love to find a way to use something with such a cool design. But right now, I don't even think it deserves it's current D ranking. GF fucked up.

I was referring to its niches in UU when I was speaking. I know that it is eclipsed/bad in OU, but it has its niches in UU which I think will keep it there. It is like Avalugg in the sense that it has a monstrous defense stat and a terrible special defense stat, but it exchanges Recover and Rapid Spin for usable defensive typing (pretty much the only reason that Avalugg deserves to be PU) and access to Sand Force, which makes it a complete powerhouse in UU. You would only ever use it to pivot through Electric-type moves anyway, you wouldn't keep it in vs special attackers - especially if they carry a super effective hit. It has a pretty big niche in the UU tier as it has a sky high defense stat in conjunction with great physically defensive typing and the ability to check a variety of big threats - most notably Raikou - courtesy of its typing resisting/being immune to most of the moves that it carries, or being able to take them because they are piss-weal (see: HP Grass).

I was simply replying to your point about expecting to see it in NU and not talking about the impact that it would have in the OU tier. Like I said in the last paragraph, it is garbage and outclassed by things like Mega Garchomp in OU. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Kurona]

I was referring to its niches in UU when I was speaking. I know that it is eclipsed/bad in OU, but it has its niches in UU which I think will keep it there. It is like Avalugg in the sense that it has a monstrous defense stat and a terrible special defense stat, but it exchanges Recover and Rapid Spin for usable defensive typing (pretty much the only reason that Avalugg deserves to be PU) and access to Sand Force, which makes it a complete powerhouse in UU. You would only ever use it to pivot through Electric-type moves anyway, you wouldn't keep it in vs special attackers - especially if they carry a super effective hit. It has a pretty big niche in the UU tier as it has a sky high defense stat in conjunction with great physically defensive typing and the ability to check a variety of big threats - most notably Raikou - courtesy of its typing resisting/being immune to most of the moves that it carries, or being able to take them because they are piss-weal (see: HP Grass).

I was simply replying to your point about expecting to see it in NU and not talking about the impact that it would have in the OU tier. Like I said in the last paragraph, it is garbage and outclassed by things like Mega Garchomp in OU. Sorry for the confusion.

Right.
It's just, well... this is the OU thread, and since you only mentioned "expect it to be UU" in passing, I read the rest of it as OU.

 

[heritage]

Right.
It's just, well... this is the OU thread, and since you only mentioned "expect it to be UU" in passing, I read the rest of it as OU.

I guess it's good for checking Mega Metagross lacking EQ (Even then it doesn't do a whole lot), so if your team really hates Meta then you can use Steelix.
Then again there are much better things to use. I wanted to talk a whole lot about this thing, since it looked so promising and it's design is really sweet, but you're right. It's really outclassed in OU, and barely has a niche tbh. It probably deserves D rank, but certainly nothing higher. At least it's better than Audino.

 

[Kurona]

I guess it's good for checking Mega Metagross lacking EQ (Even then it doesn't do a whole lot), so if your team really hates Meta then you can use Steelix.
Then again there are much better things to use. I wanted to talk a whole lot about this thing, since it looked so promising and it's design is really sweet, but you're right. It's really outclassed in OU, and barely has a niche tbh. It probably deserves D rank, but certainly nothing higher. At least it's better than Audino.

I'm really not sure it even deserves D rank for just that one 'niche'. There are far more effective Megameta checks.

 

[Agent Gibbs]

Even when it comes to checking Mega Metagross, I'd rather use Mega Aggron. You need a little bit of Atk investment to 2HKO with Earthquake after Stealth Rock (48 EVs vs 4/0 Mega Metagross), but Filter causes Mega Aggron to take significantly less damage from Earthquake and Hammer Arm.

I just wish that Mega Steelix had a better ability. Sand Force is so situational that most of the time it'll be like having no ability at all. Even if you built a team around abusing Sand Force with Smooth Rock Tyranitar or something, you'd then have to ask yourself why you're not instead utilizing the insane power of Mega Garchomp. I think Mega Steelix would have a lot of potential if it just had an ability that could set it apart. Its extra special bulk would give it a defensive edge over Mega Aggron, and Ground-typing offers some nice perks. You get a much more powerful Earthquake, you're immune to Electric moves, and you basically ignore Stealth Rock. All Mega Steelix really needs is a nice ability like Mega Aggron has (honestly, I doubt Mega Aggron would be anywhere near as successful as it is now if not for Filter). Bulletproof would be a good example. It would make Mega Steelix immune to Focus Blast, which lets it shut down and beat Thundurus (you'll need Stone Edge or something to do it, though). It would also make Mega Steelix virtually immune to everything Gengar could throw at it bar Will-O-Wisp. Intimidate would certainly fit flavor-wise while giving Mega Steelix out-of-this-world physical bulk. It would be so physically bulky with Intimidate that it could run a fully specially defensive spread and still not be 2HKOed by Life Orb Garchomp's Earthquake after Stealth Rock, and the big advantage over Mega Aggron's Filter in this case is that the boost applies to more than just super effective moves.

Sadly, I really don't see much of a reason to use Mega Steelix at all in OU. In theory it looks like Mega Steelix would make a great answer to the Electrics given its immunity to their STAB moves and the fact that isn't weak to either HP Grass nor HP Ice. However, most of the top Electrics in OU have some kind of STAB or coverage move that hits it extremely hard (Thundurus's Focus Blast, Rotom-W's Hydro Pump, Mega Manectric's Flamethrower/Overheat, Zapdos's Heat Wave, etc.), so even that's shaky. As is, it'd be best to just use Mega Steelix in lower tiers where it won't have to deal with all the competition that it has right now.