Steel-types in OverUsed

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Introduction

Steel was one of the two types introduced in GSC, and quickly it revealed itself to be unavoidable. It had no fewer than twelve resistances, including Bug, Grass, Dark, Ghost, Psychic, Rock, Steel, Flying, Ice, Normal, and Dragon, as well as an immunity to Poison. In GSC, Steel-types contributed to stall being so dominant, with Skarmory and Forretress being common walls in the metagame thanks to the impressive Defense of the former and the latter's ability to set up Spikes with ease. ADV saw the introduction of Jirachi, a fearsome Calm Mind user, and Metagross, which was able to both tank and sweep opposing teams. But the true apotheosis of the type came in DPP, when both Heatran and Scizor (which got Bullet Punch) became top-tier threats able to run multiple sets, and Magneton got a great evolution in Magnezone, which was able to trap and KO its Steel-type brethren. In BW, Steel confirmed its omnipresence: Heatran, Scizor, Magnezone, Jirachi, and Skarmory remained as good as in the previous generations, and, though Metagross went in usage because of the introduction of the Team Preview and the nerf of Explosion, Ferrothorn quickly became a top-tier Pokémon, providing hazard support and a Water resistance for all kinds of teams; the release of Excadrill also gave the type a solid late-game sweeper and a nice spinner on both sand and offensive teams. However, in the sixth generation, Steel lost its resistances to Dark and Ghost, making it less effective defensively. But it gained an advantage against the new Fairy-type, as well as new Mega Evolutions such as Mega Scizor and Mega Metagross, a Bisharp significantly boosted by the buff to Knock Off, and Klefki, which has great utility thanks to its unique Steel / Fairy typing and its access to Prankster. Now in ORAS, Steel is definitely one of the best types in the metagame: Steel Pokémons are as good in offensive teams as in defensive ones, and they are almost omnipresent.

This is explained first by their unique set of resistances: being one of the few types, with Fairy, able to switch into powerful Dragon attacks is not something that should be ignored, making them powerhouses in both offensive and defensive teams. They are also the main type that has access to Spikes, and many of them can also use Steath Rock, which is appreciated in every single metagame. Finally, Steel-types often have more than decent base stats and a good overall moveset, which allow them to break through common defensive cores while still having decent bulk, at variance with Psychic-types such as Mega Alakazam or Mega Gardevoir.

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The Top-Tier Threats

Scizor

 

Mega Scizor is definitely one of the best Mega Evolutions to use in the current metagame, able to check top-tier threats such as Latios, Latias, Bisharp, Landorus-T, and Fairies such as Mega Gardevoir, Mega Diancie, and Clefable; the list is long. Its base stats are impressive, with a decent base 70 HP, a great base 140 Defense, and a more-than-decent base 100 Special Defense, which, combined with its good defensive Bug / Steel typing and its access to a reliable recovery move in Roost, make it quite hard to break through. However, it is not a passive tank: a base 150 Attack, access to Swords Dance, and a reliable STAB priority move boosted by Technician in Bullet Punch make it a fearsome sweeper able to clean opposing teams with ease. Last but not least, Scizor has a great movepool: U-turn is a STAB attack able to bring momentum (though it can be punished by Pokémon like Garchomp and Rocky Helmet Landorus-T), Pursuit allows it to trap the likes of Latios and Latias for the other members of the team, and Superpower can hit opposing Steels, especially Magnezone and Heatran, which are two common Scizor counters, as well as the Water-types that resist its STAB moves otherwise such as Keldeo. Both sets are setup sweepers, but the defensive one will be used as a pivot in bulky offense or balanced teams thanks to Roost and will eventually clean the opposing team in the late-game, while the offensive set will be a pure sweeper able to at least cripple its common switch-ins for other Pokémon of the team, if not to win the game outright; for example, Mega Scizor and Bisharp are both walled by Keldeo, but the sacrifice of one of them may put Keldeo in the range of the second one.

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Heatran

Some Pokémon are good no matter the generation, and Heatran is one of them. It has good base stats both offensively and defensively, which allows it to play multiple roles; it is blessed with a great ability in Flash Fire, ignoring one of Steel's most common weaknesses and enabling it to check Pokémon such as Mega Charizard X and Y. Heatran is primarily known as a stallbreaker thanks to its access to Taunt, Toxic, Stealth Rock, and a STAB Lava Plume able to hit the Steel-types immune to poison while being one of the few Stealth Rock users able to hit Mega Sableye. It is also able to check many threats such as Grass-types, Mega Scizor, Mega Sableye, slower Steel-types, Latios, Latias, and Mega Latias if they are not running Surf, and many others. Heatran has two main sets: an utility and an offensive one, though it can run less common sets like Choice Scarf. The specially defensive set is able to get Stealth Rock up against many Pokémon in OverUsed, such as Latios, Clefable, Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Mega Scizor, while perfectly countering them, though it has to be wary of coverage moves like Earthquake for Latios and Venusaur and Thunder Wave for Clefable. It also has a decent stallbreaking ability thanks to Toxic and Taunt. You will sometimes use max Speed Heatran to outspeed key threats such as Mega Scizor and Mega Heracross (after it Mega Evolves) and cripple them with a super effective Lava Plume while avoiding their Superpower and Close Combat. On the other hand, the stallbreaker set is only focused on this role: the combination of of Magma Storm, Toxic, Taunt, and Solar Beam allows Heatran to destroy bulky Waters such as Slowbro and Rotom-W as well as classic hard stall builds, even being able to break through Chansey.

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Metagross

 

Mega Metagross has it all: a solid Steel / Psychic typing, a good ability in Tough Claws, a good Attack paired with a more-than-decent base 110 Speed that allows it to tie with the likes of Latios, Latias, and Gengar, amazing bulk for a sweeper, and last but not least, quite good coverage that makes it difficult to deal with. It will always use Meteor Mash as a great Steel STAB move able to boost its Attack, and Thunder Punch allows Metagross to hit Water-types such as Slowbro and Keldeo or Flying-types such as Skarmory. Ice Punch is a clean and simple way to KO both Garchomp and Landorus-T, the common switch-ins to physical attackers on offense, while in the last slot Hammer Arm hits Ferrothorn, Air Balloon Excadrill, and Tyranitar and allows Metagross to win the against Skarmory in a one-on-one matchup by underspeeding it, and Pursuit allows Metagross to trap Psychic-type attackers unable to OHKO it for the likes of Keldeo, such as Latios, Latias, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Alakazam. Grass Knot is also an option to lure and KO both Slowbro and Hippowdon, allowing other physical attackers to take advantage of this. You will often see Mega Metagross on offense or bulky offense paired with a wallbreaker and sometimes Healing Wish support to cover multiple matchups. Magnezone is also a good partner for it, being able to trap Skarmory and Scizor and to safely bring Metagross on the field. The Assault Vest set deserves a mention as well, since it is a good Pursuit trapper able to remove Pokémon such as Latios, Latias, and Alakazam and a good check to Clefable, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Diancie.

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Skarmory

Since its release in the second generation, Skarmory has been a dominant Pokémon in every single OverUsed metagame. With a good defensive typing that gives it many resistances and immunities to Ground and Poison as well as to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, access to Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Defog, a reliable recovery move in Roost, and phenomal physical bulk, it is quite easy to imagine why it is so good in ORAS OU. It can check most of the physical attackers of the metagame bar the stronger ones such as Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross while providing good hazard control, and it perfectly fits into semi-stall, stall, and balanced builds. It commonly carries one of three items: Leftovers is always good for extra recovery, Rocky Helmet punishes physical attackers and U-turn users, and Shed Shell, the most common item when you are using it on stall, prevents it from being trapped by Magnezone, which can totally shut down the teams that are relying on it to remove Skarmory. Its spread is quite standard: full HP, and the rest of the EVs go into Defense or Special Defense, depending of what you want to check, since Skarmory is bulky enough to counter the classic Ground- and Steel-types such as Landorus-T, Garchomp, Excadrill, and Scizor without any EVs in Defense, while the investment into Special Defense allows it to check strong Fairy-types such as Mega Gardevoir, Mega Diancie, and Clefable. A physical spread allows it to endure the hits of the likes of boosted Mega Pinsir and Bisharp better and phaze them with Whirlwind in the process. Looking at the moves, there's nothing special; Roost is mandatory as a recovery move, Brave Bird and Iron Head are two STAB attacks that can hit Mega Diancie or Keldeo, two potential switch-ins if Skarmory is using the attack they resist, or just allow Skarmory to win one-on-one against a physical attacker in the late-game; Stealth Rock and Spikes allow Skarmory to set up multiple hazards; Defog is used as an emergency button if you think you are going to lose a potential hazard war even with Skarmory; the combination of Counter and Sturdy allows Skarmory to KO the likes of boosted Crawdaunt, Bisharp, and Pinsir, as well as Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross; and, last but not least, Whirlwind can phaze setup sweepers and damage the opposing teams with the hazards Skarmory sets up.

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Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn has similarities to Skarmory: it has a good Defense, it is able to set Stealth Rock and Spikes... but they do not exactly check the same things. Ferrothorn has a unique dual typing that allows it, unlike the other Steel-types, to check Water-types such as Choice-locked Keldeo, Manaphy, and Mega Gyarados, as well as Fairy- or Dragon-types such as non-Hidden Power Fire Mega Diancie, non-Flamethrower Clefable, the Lati twins, etc. Its most common spread allows it to tank two +3 Ice Beams from Manaphy or three hits from +1 Mega Gyarados with Leech Seed, though you can use a 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD spread to check the likes of Life Orb Excadrill, offensive Landorus-T, and Azumarill more effectively. Leftovers is the most common item on Ferrothorn, increasing its longevity, since it does not have access to a reliable recovery move. However, Chople Berry can be used to take one hit from Mega Gardevoir, Mega Alakazam, or even Mega Lopunny or Terrakion and KO them with Gyro Ball. Shed Shell is also an option if you really need Ferrothorn to escape from Magnezone. Ferrothorn will always carry an entry hazard, either Stealth Rock or Spikes, as well as Leech Seed, which allows it to recover some HP while crippling its switch-ins such as Heatran. Gyro Ball takes advantage of the low Speed of Ferrothorn to become a decent STAB attack, hitting opposing non-resistant sweepers like Latios, Latias, Gengar, and Tornadus-T hard, though Iron Head can be used instead if you are using Thunder Wave in your last slot in order to cripple the likes of Charizard on the switch. Protect allows Ferrothorn to take better advantage of Leech Seed and to prevent Mega Medicham or Mega Lopunny from spamming High Jump Kick, while Knock Off can remove Heatran's or Zapdos's Leftovers.

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Klefki

With a unique dual typing in OverUsed, a great ability in Prankster, and an expansive movepool, Klefki is an annoying Pokémon to deal with. Its access to Prankster allows it to take maximum advantage of non-damaging moves, especially Spikes and Thunder Wave, making Klefki a great support Pokémon for slow attackers. Though it lacks reliable recovery bar Leftovers, its typing makes Klefki a great check to Mega Gardevoir, Latios, Latias, Weavile, Mega Alakazam, and more... Spikes and Thunder Wave can cripple any kind of Pokémon, with Spikes hitting Ground-types and damaging most of the Electric-types, and Thunder Wave being a good and spammable move. On its third slot Klefki may choose to carry Magnet Rise, giving it a temporary immunity to Ground-type attacks and a way to set up Spikes on the likes of Landorus-T and Garchomp, or Toxic in order to cripple the aforementioned Ground- and Electric-types. The fourth slot will often be a damaging attack, with Play Rough being a standard STAB move that is also able to hit Mega Sableye (you may use Dazzling Gleam instead) and Foul Play hitting the likes of Mega Scizor, Landorus-T, and Excadrill, preventing them from using Klefki as Swords Dance fodder. Flash Cannon can be used in order to catch the likes of Mega Diancie on the switch, which would otherwise be able to bounce back Klefki's moves. The specially defensive spread is standard, but you can use a physically defensive EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD and a Bold nature to handle physical attackers better if needed.

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Jirachi

With a solid defensive typing, a large movepool, and good overall base stats, Jirachi is a versatile Pokémon able to check many top-tier threats in OverUsed. However, it is not only a passive defender: its ability, Serene Grace, is one of the most annoying in the game, allowing Jirachi to take maximum advantage of its STAB Iron Head, making even the defensive sets annoying to face if you are using slow Pokémon. Jirachi runs two main sets in OverUsed. The Choice Scarf set is a good revenge killer for offensive teams that can also grab momentum with U-turn and provide Healing Wish support. Thanks to its good defensive stats, it is still able to check Latios, Latias, Mega Diancie, Mega Gardevoir, and Kyurem-B. Its spread simply maximizes Speed and Attack in order to make Jirachi a good revenge killer. Iron Head is Jirachi's bread and butter, especially since it will outspeed most of the Pokémon in OverUsed (and eventually flinch them to death); U-turn is mandatory in order to grab momentum; Healing Wish can heal another member of the team; and Heart Stamp is a secondary STAB move able to hit Keldeo and other Fighting-types super effectively. The specially defensive set checks the aforementioned offensive threats more effectively but also provides Wish support, increasing Jirachi's staying power and giving it the ability to support the other members of the team without KOing itself with Healing Wish. It will also be able to set up Stealth Rock while still immobilizing slower Pokémon with Iron Head and providing momentum with U-turn. The recent SubToxic set deserves a mention as well, since it is able to cripple Jirachi's common counters, such as bulky Ground-types and other physical walls with Toxic and eventually stall them out with Substitute. Fire Punch hits Mega Scizor, Magnezone, and other Steel-types, thinking they can come in without a problem on a specially defensive set.

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Bisharp

With a good Attack, a spammable STAB move, and a powerful priority STAB move, Bisharp is an excellent revenge killer and late-game sweeper against offensive teams. Its good base 125 Attack, which can be boosted by Defiant, already makes it a more-than-decent attacker, but its access to Swords Dance can turn it into a monster with an extremely limited number of switch-ins. Life Orb is the main item Bisharp will use in order to increase its damage output, though it can hold Black Glasses if it wants to avoid the recoil. A Lum Berry can be used to give Bisharp one turn of setup against Mew, Rotom-W, or Mega Sableye. Bisharp's EV spread is standard, maximizing its Attack and Speed in order to hit as hard and fast as possible. Adamant is the nature of choice, but Jolly can be used if you want to outspeed Diggersby, Adamant Mega Altaria, or at least other Adamant Bisharp. Its most common moveset is simple to use: Knock Off is a spammable STAB move able to cripple even its switch-ins, like Keldeo; Sucker Punch is mandatory in order to hit faster threats, taking advantage of the lack of fast Dark-resistant threats in OverUsed; and Iron Head hits Fairy-types, defensive Megas, and all the Pokémon that resist Dark bar Keldeo. Finally, Swords Dance is used in order to attempt to sweep late-game or to remove a particular threat, like Hippowdon, for another member of the team.

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Magnezone

Magnezone is basically the only Steel-type used in order to eliminate Steel-types, in which it excels thanks to Magnet Pull. Choice Scarf is chosen in order to outspeed fast threats such as Mega Metagross, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Pinsir, Mega Medicham, Manaphy, and many others, using a simple spread in order to maximize speed and offensive power. If Speed is really crucial, Magneton, though it has lower offensive and defensive stats, can also trap and KO Steel-types as well as outspeed Pokémon such as Weavile, Starmie, Tornadus-T, and Jolly Talonflame with a Choice Scarf. The spread for the Choice Specs set is pretty straightforward, with 252 EVs in Special Attack for hitting as hard as possible, while 88 Speed EVs allow Magnezone to outspeed minimum Speed Skarmory, and the rest of the EVs are put into bulk. In both sets, Magnezone will use Volt Switch in order to gain momentum while being able to KO Skarmory, for example, and Hidden Power Fire is used to trap and KO both Mega Scizor (without Superpower) and Ferrothorn, at least 2HKOing both of them. Flash Cannon is a STAB attack able to hit Fairies such as Clefable and Ground-types coming in Volt Switch for terrifying damage thanks to the Choice Specs, while Thunderbolt is a secondary STAB attack for if pure power is more needed than momentum. Magnezone's role in its team is simple: its ability to remove Steel-types is a blessing for Fairy- and Dragon-types, as well as for most of the physical attackers that won't have to worry about physical behemoths such as Skarmory and Mega Scizor anymore.

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Excadrill

The former king of BW is still a prominent threat in ORAS, and an essential Pokémon for sand teams. Though it has mediocre bulk, Excadrill can still stomach one or two neutral hits thanks to its nice defensive typing, but its role in ORAS OU is a sweeper thanks to its good base 135 Attack stat and its access to Sand Rush, which makes it difficult to revenge kill if sand is up. Excadrill will always use a spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe, but you can use either a Jolly nature in order to outspeed neutral-natured base 100 Speed Pokémon such as Mega Charizard and Mega Gardevoir without the sand or an Adamant nature to hit Pokémon like Slowbro and Ferrothorn harder. Life Orb is used to increase Excadrill's damage output, but an Air Balloon can be used to spin or set up on Ground-types such as Hippowdon (which cannot hit Excadrill if it is not using Stone Edge), Gliscor, and Landorus-T, without having to endure any kind of recoil. Looking at its moveset, Earthquake and Iron Head are the mandatory STAB attacks, while the last two moves often change: Rapid Spin is a good way to provide hazard control, since Mega Sableye or Gengar will be afraid to switch in on Earthquake and Iron Head, respectively, while Rock Slide can hit Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame and OHKO them. Last but not least, Swords Dance boosts up Excadrill's attack to an impressive level, allowing it to break through most physical walls except Skarmory and Rotom-W. Teamwise, Excadrill needs sand support, which means that you will have to use Tyranitar or Hippodown with it, and at least one Pokémon that resists Water. Its Choice Scarf set is used as a fast spinner and a potential late-game sweeper against offensive teams. Though it lacks of extra power given by Swords Dance or Life Orb, Mold Breaker allows it to hit Rotom-W, Gengar, the Lati twins, and even Shedinja with Earthquake.

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 UUnderdogs 

Though the previous Pokémon are dominant threats in OverUsed, the following ones just have a (small) niche that may explain their use in some specific squads. On one hand, we have Cobalion. Solid base stats and a good dual typing make it one of the best checks to Dark-types for offensive teams while letting it provide solid overall utility: its primary set uses Close Combat and Iron Head as solid STAB moves to KO the Dark-types it checks as well as common Fairy-types, while its last two slots will be taken by two of the following moves: Stealth Rock, which makes Cobalion a good entry hazard setter; Volt Switch, which provides always appreciated momentum and Hidden Power Ice, which it can use in tandem with an Air Baloon in order to lure and 2HKO both Landorus-T and Garchomp. Cobalion can also use a SubCM set, which its creator, FlamingVictini, describes in this post. On the other hand, Lucario is a decent offensive sweeper in OverUsed: its well-rounded offensive stats and access to good boosting moves in Swords Dance and Nasty Plot allow it to be either a physical or a special attacker. It also has a good attacking movepool to take advantage of this, with Close Combat, Ice Punch, Crunch and Iron Tail for physical moves and Focus Blast, Aura Sphere, Flash Cannon, Dark Pulse, and Hidden Power Ice for special options. Even if a base 90 Speed tier is mediocre for a sweeper, Lucario has access to Extreme Speed and Bullet Punch for priority moves, and it can use Vacuum Wave for its special set. Both Cobalion and Lucario are fun Pokémon to play in OverUsed, and you can find a way for them to break through in the metagame.

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Conclusion

Steel, though it has common weaknesses, is definitely one of the most-used types in OverUsed, and many Steel Pokémon are top-tier threats, which means that you will always have to take them into account while building a team. Are they going to be as influential in SM as in ORAS? Only time will tell us!

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