[shiranai]

Very well, let's go by parts here.

Originally Posted by Fat MedicineBalls

I am also in the process of making a steel team.

One thing I'm considering is the weakness to fire which is why I feel Empoleon makes a wise choice. Most dragons can learn Fire Blast which is why Ice Beam is an obvious choice. Surf or Hydro Pump hits those unexpected fire types with the latter being a very powerful STAB. Grass Knot takes care of bulky waters. Not sure about the exact stats but with a Modest nature and EV investment in speed and special attack, Empoleon becomes a dangerous Pokemon after 1 or 2 Agility boosts.

Empoleon, indeed, is a must. I found it during my last tests with it. But I was running a special defensive, so it could use Rain Dance and, at the same time it boosted the avarage power of Scald, it weaken fire moves. I really like the more offensive build with Agility, but I think running only Heatran to take special hits isn't a nice idea, mainly because it has Air Ballon. Also, the Agility build really miss the Petaya Berry...

Originally Posted by Fat MedicineBalls

Skarmory is also a must on my team due to entry hazards, whirlwind, and Roost in combination with Bravebird. Everytime you recover, Sturdy is practically like a Focus Sash ensuring 1 or 2 layers of Spikes. Skarmory can be very annoying if it's not taken out swiftly and also hits hard with proper EV investment.

I really intended to not run Skarmory since this team is quite vulnerable to eletric moves, even without both Empoleon and Skarmory. But now I'm testing both but with no Ferrothorn, leaving only Magnezone to take these hits. It isn't doing bad at all, but some stronger eletric moves scares me a lot.

Originally Posted by Fat MedicineBalls

Entry hazards don't do much damage to steel Pokemon but damage taken from spikes or stealth rock can be the difference in a win or a loss if you want to get technical. Which brings me to my next point. You don't have a rapid spinner. Excadrill is immune to both Thunder Wave and Toxic, and resists Stealth Rock as well. So you can spin without taking any damage. This is precisely why I've chosen Excadrill. He has rapid spin support and also can do ALOT of damage with Swords Dance. If you can some how finagle an 8 turn Sandstorm and switch in Excadrill while it's up, speed or power gets boosted and gives you a chance to set up for a sweep with Earthquake and Rock Slide/Shadow Claw depending on what your team needs. Sandstorm support also doesn't hurt steels and the extra damage for 8 turns, in exchange for 1 turn, can be helpful if you execute it and fit it in a moveslot properly.

Unfortunatelly, as far as I know, Excadrill is considered an Uber in Smogon community, and since this team is for OU use, the only Spinner I can run is Forretress, what would make my team even more threatened by fire and eletric moves, and making opposing Magnezone even more scarier. I'm not a huge fan of weather, but I'll stick first in Rain Dance to lower fire damages before trying Sandstorm here.

Originally Posted by Fat MedicineBalls

Magnezone is also a must due to the typing. But mine has more of a support role running light clay/dual screens. Hidden power fire and thunderbolt/volt switch depending on my mood.

Other common issue for me is Gliscor and Landorus. Without a Specs in it I don't know if I could handle them, nor the other common switches. For real, the move I use the most here is Flash Cannon since most people thinks it will use a Thunderbolt/Volt Switch, hitting almost everything hard enough to 2HKO with it. Also, the other amazing trait a Specs Magnezone have is the power to 2HKO a Ferrothorn in the rain with HP Fire and killing Dragonite with a single Thunderbolt after a Stealth Rock damage. I may test a different build, but I got too used to the ridiculous power this one have.

Originally Posted by Fat MedicineBalls

Bronzong is also an interesting Pokemon with only 1 weakness. Levitate cancels out Earthquake making fire his only weakness. Trick room/gyro ball/earthquake/hypnosis is my set.

Bronzorng is ok too. I tested it, didn't liked very much, but maybe it happened because my team with it got too much defensive. If I could add it again in my team Empoleon could run the Agility set more effectively, since I'll have my special wall role in Bronzonrg instead.

Originally Posted by Fat MedicineBalls

My steel team has been an ongoing project for the past year. I have about 13 different Pokemon I've made and at this point it's really just a matter of re-making 2 or 3 more and aligning 6 so they compliment each other and my resistances are accounted for.

I'd also consider running Brick Break on Scizor just to break a screen. 4 out of your 6 Pokemon are physical attackers. If you run into a dual screener you will be stalled.

Brick Break could be an option, but more because most times I can't afford the status drop of Superpower, than problems screens could gave me. As you may know, there are enough walls that can fit here and use the turns with the screen to set up itself, not being a huge problem for me.



I'm also having a lot of problems with statuses, specially burn. Any idea in what I could do to avoid it?