Monotype Steel Gettin' It - Balanced Steel Monotype

[style.css]

​

Introduction
For those who don’t know, my name is Monions and I’ve been a long-time Monotype player and am now finally creating my first RMT. I enjoy a balanced playstyle. I have had a lot of fun with this team lately and wanted to share the team and show that Steel is still strong, despite its seemingly low usage in the current meta.

The Team

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic

This is probably the most straight forward set on the team. Excadrill is your speed control, electric immunity and a pretty decent offensive presence for what is a generally passive team composition. Excadrill is also Steel’s best way of dealing with Mega Sableye which is very hard to break otherwise. Mold Breaker allows Toxic to ignore Magic Bounce.

There are a couple of moveset options depending on what you are facing or want to prepare for. Rock Slide can be used over Rapid Spin if you want to prepare for Fire or Flying. I chose Rapid Spin so this team doesn’t lose to Sticky Webs and because in the Flying matchup they will always switch to Celesteela, Skarmory, Gliscor or any other defensive wall that takes neutral damage from Rock Slide. In the Fire match up you will be doing most of the damage with Heatran. Heatran has Rock coverage so it’s not as necessary on Excadrill, which can easily bluff having Rock Slide to force the switch, giving you a free Rapid Spin.

Jirachi @ Normalium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Happy Hour
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Iron Head

Next is your second offensive threat and late game cleaner. Z Happy Hour gives a +1 boost to each stat which are already well off with base 100s. Max speed with the omni boost essentially gives Jirachi the benefit of having ‘two items’, Choice Scarf and Choice Specs without the drawback of being locked into a single move. Psychic is your main STAB and helps cover the Fighting weakness while Thunderbolt helps provide heavy pressure on both Flying and Water, which are typically unfavorable matchups for Steel. The last move, Iron Head, is a must have to take advantage of Serene Grace giving Jirachi a 60% chance to flinch the enemy. After +1 Atk Jirachi can still hit with respectable damage, though Iron Head is more often used as chip damage (with the flinch) to get the enemy within range for either Thunderbolt or Psychic to kill. With Stealth Rocks up, Jirachi can sweep an entire Flying team on it’s own as the only two threats, Choice Scarf Thundurus and Mantine with Haze, cannot kill Jirachi and die to Psychic or Thunderbolt respectively.

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Now we start to shift to the more defensive side of the team. Scizor is the prime Mega choice for Steel: it has amazing bulk, takes neutral damage from Ground attacks and has a strong priority move and the ability to pivot. 248 HP EVs give Scizor maximum bulk with an odd number stat to reduce Stealth Rock damage on switch-ins. 136 speed allows Scizor to outspeed beneficial natured base 50s such as Azumarill, as well as the walls that are shooting to outspeed those same threats like Haze Mantine.

The move set is standard; Roost for recovery, Swords Dance and Bullet Punch for offensive pressure and U-turn to keep momentum. The remaining EVs go into Atk for maximum damage output in the late game. For those who think that having U-turn and Swords Dance is a little counterproductive: on paper that is correct. Scizor comes onto the field under 2 circumstances:

1. On a resisted move or weak coverage move in order to maintain HP on your walls. In this case the opponent will most likely be switching out giving you the opportunity to use U-turn and keep momentum in the battle.
2. After a KO or on a double switch as a revenge killer or sweeper. This usually happens in the later game where you can set up Swords Dance and use Bullet Punch to pick off weaker or chipped enemies.

Given those circumstances, you shouldn't be using Swords Dance and U-turn together which is how the set works in practice, but not on paper.

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 80 HP / 28 Atk / 200 SpA / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge
- Taunt

The last of the offensive and utility components of the team is Heatran, an absolute staple on Steel Monotype because of it’s Fire immunity. Magma Storm traps the slower specially defensive walls like Mantine, Toxapex and Chansey. Combined with Taunt to deny recovery and ultimately KO them and break defensive cores. Earth Power provides necessary coverage against Fire-types and other Heatrans. Stone Edge is almost exclusively for Volcarona and Charizard Mega Y, both of which are extremely dangerous to Steel teams.

Breaking down the EVs: 28 Atk EVs, even with a hindering nature, guarantees the OHKO with Stone Edge against Charizard and Volcarona.

• 28- Atk Heatran Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 300-356 (101 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 28- Atk Heatran Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Volcarona: 344-408 (110.6 - 131.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

80 HP means that Heatran can survive one Focus Blast from Charizard which otherwise is a roll that could cost you the game on the spot.

• 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Heatran: 288-340 (89.1 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
• 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Focus Blast vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 290-342 (84.5 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

This way you have flexibility to either sacrifice a teammate to secure a safe switch in for Heatran or take the risk and get the Flash Fire boost or pray the opponent can’t hit 2 Focus Blasts consecutively (which is pretty likely, let’s be honest). Typically, Stealth Rocks aren’t up against Steel as it resists them and the damage provided by stealth rocks is negligible in favor of other moves the opponent could be using. You can also clear them with Rapid Spin Excadrill by bluffing Rock Slide, as mentioned earlier.

In order to get the extra EVs in attack and HP we take a little from both speed and special attack. With 200 speed you still outspeed beneficial natured base 70s like Bisharp, Volcanion and more. The remaining EVs are added to special attack to still hit hard.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 SpD
Careful Nature
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Protect

Starting the defensive core is your SpD wall, Ferrothorn. Maximum investment in HP and 72 in Def give Ferrothorn maximum bulk to defend itself from special attacks while still being able to take physical hits with it’s naturally high defense stat. With 72 Def you can live an unboosted Close Combat from threats like Heracross or Terrakion to scout sets, set up Leech Seed and chip with Iron Barbs. Ferrothorn has a secondary grass typing that grants it an important neutrality to Ground-types attacks and a resistance to Water-type attacks. Power Whip provides a STAB option that threatens Ground- and Water-types while removing Swampert, which annoys both Z-Jirachi and SD Scizor with Roar. Leech Seed combined with Protect help maintain HP, scout attacks from the opponent and make appropriate switches. Stealth Rock is a little bit of an odd inclusion on Ferrothorn as Steel will typically run Spikes to help stack up damage on opponents switching in and out. With the Heatran set I’ve already listed there was no room for Stealth Rock on Heatran in order for it to perform optimally in the role it’s been given. With Heatran’s immunity to Fire it will pull the most weight in the Fire match up to the point where I haven’t really needed rocks up or where I can force the opponent to use coverage attacks which Ferrothorn can switch in on and set up rocks. This team thrives on the strong defensive core, which means I did not have space for the next best Stealth Rock setter, Skarmory, in order to spread out typing and coverage. This made Ferrothorn the choice for my Stealth Rock setter.

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Toxic
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Finally we have your Def wall: Celesteela. Like Ferrothorn, Celesteela naturally has high stats in both defense and special defense. With it’s Flying typing, Celesteela is the ideal wall to take Fighting attacks. 252 EVs in HP and Def allow Celesteela to cover the Fighting weakness optimally as most Fighting attacks are physical. With no reliable recovery, Celesteela relies on Leftovers, Leech Seed and Protect for recovering and maintaining HP. Between Ferrothorn and Celesteela’s defensive sets, you can scout moves from the opponent in order to bring in your offensive threats on immunities or heavily resisted attacks to change the momentum of the game in your favor. Toxic is used to help take out hard walls like Slowbro, Mantine, and the Normal defensive core as well as neutralize set up sweepers in conjunction with Protect and strong switch-ins on the team. Air Slash is a great coverage move with STAB that is mainly for Kommo-o and Keldeo. Both run Taunt and have good speed tiers and coverage that can potentially sweep Steel. Celesteela can deliver a 2KO on Kommo-o (1 pre boost on the Taunt and 1 after the boost) or set up the 2HKO with Excadrill’s Earthquake as a follow up. Air Slash also helps against Fighting in general and Venusaur-Mega which can be a pain to break without the risk of losing Jirachi too early.

(Credit to Vodoom for suggesting this set)

Threats
At a high level this team is most threatened by Taunt + Setup users. It forces the switch outs and with Excadrill's relatively low speed tier it can be beaten by various set up sets. A few other specific threats that were not listed above can be found below:

Keldeo can be extremely threatening in any of it’s sets. Specs means I have to make the right 50/50 call every time (Celesteela on Secret Sword or Ferrothorn on Hydro Pump) while Taunt CM can just obliterate such a slow and defensive team. When I see a Keldeo on the opposing team my first goal is to scout the set and keep Celesteela or Ferrothorn on it to either chip down with Leech Seed or secure a KO with Power Whip or Air Slash. There will be plenty of times where I will have to make a sacrifice to try and get Excadrill in safely in order to finish off Keldeo.

Garchomp hits Steel hard with EQ and with the mixed coverage of Fire Blast, making it a hard enemy to deal with. Much like any other threat it is handled with the immense bulk of Celesteela and whittling down Garchomp to be KO’d with any of your offensive threats.

Landorus-I is also a major pain to deal with between Life Orb Sheer Force Earth Powers hitting hard and Gravity removing your Ground immunities.

Being Fire and Fighting, Infernape has the best of both worlds in breaking Steel. In an ideal world this is Choice locked so you can play for 50/50s, but if it's not you are going to be sacrificing something almost every time Infernape comes in with your only check being Excadrill.

Victini is most threatening with the Z Celebrate set. This requires chip before the boost, sacrificing one team member and putting Heatran dangerously low in order to beat if you can't keep pressure on with Excadrill or set up Jirachi first.

An unexpected threat is Zapdos. With Heat Wave as coverage it threatens Ferrothorn while also being able to deal respectable damage and potentially paralyze your only other switch-in, Heatran. In an ideal world you want to keep Heatran as healthy as possible and take minimal risks because the moment Heatran dies you are swept by Fire coverage.

General Gameplay
This team plays pretty passively in the early stages of a game using Ferrothorn and Celesteela to chip down with Leech Seed and scout opponent’s sets. This can be a little scary in the face of some of the faster threats that have been listed above. With practice you can tell where you can take little (or if necessary, big) risks to remove the major threats on the opposing team. This comes with a lot of prediction skill. Ultimately it can come down to a lot of 50/50s such as Protect or attack? In order to get good results with this team in some of the harder matchups you will have to pay attention to how your opponent plays. What risks do they take? Do they make a lot of double switches? This way you should be able to hedge your bets and win the 50/50s.

I'd love to hear anyones experiences using the team, good or bad so hit me up if you get a chance to use the team.

IMPORT

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic

Jirachi @ Normalium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Happy Hour
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Iron Head

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 80 HP / 28 Atk / 200 SpA / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge
- Taunt

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 SpD
Careful Nature
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Protect

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Toxic
- Leech Seed
- Protect

 

[maroon]

Introduction
Hey Pixel Pusher, this is honestly a very solid team. However there are a few small tweaks to make that would overall improve the team, which you have an effort to do, but sacrifice some rather important things.

Minor Change
Heavy Slam & EVs on Celesteela

Celesteela Set

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Toxic
- Leech Seed
- Protect

I immediately replaced Air Slash with Heavy Slam. While Air Slash seems very helpful at first all the examples do not actually care about Air Slash, such as Mega Venusaur. It is not even outspeed by Celesteela, which means it can Recover off the damage, Air Slash does not even 2HKO Mega Venusaur, and it can wear Celesteela back down with Leech Seed and HP Fire. So Celesteela is not a very good choice to take on Mega Venusaur. Secondly the Fighting-type Pokemon you listed should be taken care of by another teammate. Z-Happy Hour Jirachi absolutely obliterates Fighting teams after Mega Gallade is slightly chipped and Heavy Slam beats Pokemon such as Terrakion that can threaten Z-Happy Hour Jirachi. All of these Fighting-types that you listed also do not appreciate Toxic damage, more than they dislike Air Slash. Air Slash Celesteela is fine on fully Offensive Metronome sets where it can actually do damage, however with more defensive sets utility attacks such as Heavy Slam and/or Flamethrower suit it more. Secondly, the EVs allow Celesteela to avoid a 2HKO from Mega Lopunny, Mega Sharpedo, and Terrakion, all threats to Steel teams. The Special Defense investment also allows Celesteela to better take on Zapdos, allowing it to not be 2HKOed by any attack it has after Leech Seed chip, allowing it to easily always get off a Toxic on Zapdos. However that does not mean switch Celesteela recklessly into Zapdos, but it definetly is better as a mixed tank rather than just a physically defensive wall, which is still is by the way.

Heatran EVs & Item

Heatran set

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 80 HP / 28 Atk / 148 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge
- Taunt

First off all your set had two specific moves, Taunt and Stone Edge. Taunt alongside Magma Storm allows Heatran to trap and beat annoyances to Steel teams such as Chansey and Toxapex for Steel teams, however the problem is it can't really take these Pokemon on that well with Air Balloon, instead I replaced it with Leftovers, while this removes Heatrans very temporary Ground immunity it allows Heatran enough time to actually take on Chansey, it also gives it a passive form of recovery allowing it to take on many walls rather than just one. I also took out of Special Attack and made Heatran max speed, being able to speed tie and at minumum pop other Heatran's Air Balloons is crucial in the mirror Steel matchup, so there is never a reason to run anything aside max speed Heatran.

Mega Scizor EVs

Scizor Set

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Atk / 48 Def / 132 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost

So I kept the Scizor spread fairly similiar, I just tweaked the EVs so Mega Scizor could live 2 High Jump Kicks from Mega Lopunny, while overall allowing it to tank Physical attacks better, and Scizor can still outspeed Jolly Azumarill, while not affecting the Bullet Punch role against Azumarill. Mega Scizor can also run Facade instead of U-turn, this improves its matchups against Pokemon such as Mantine and Toxapex, which would otherwise wall it, especially with Scald burns, which only would make Mega Scizor more powerful here. This would improve the Water, Dark, and Poison matchups however at the cost of making the Psychic matchup worse and getting rid of the teams ability to pivot around.

As you said, the teams Defensive core, Heatran, Celesteela, and Ferrothorn are meant to widdle down the opposing team down allowing the sweepers room to setup and finish the game or carve a clear path for Excadrill to win. While setting up Pokemon such as Jirachi, it isnt a horrible idea to have Leech Seed support from Ferrothorn or Celesteela active while it is trying to setup, especially since it lacks reliable recovery.

I'm going to leave you with a few tips on how to deal with the threats you have listed, mentioned above. For Keldeo on top of what you said, getting it Toxiced with Celesteela is huge, as you can slowly wear it down. Also using Jirachi to beat it is probably the most obvious option, if you can successfully setup Jirachi before Keldeo gets in, it should be no problem for the team. Again for Pokemon such as Garchomp and Landorus it is best to widdle them down with Toxic and Leech Seed, then Protect as often as possible allowing teammates such as Excadrill to break them later in the game. Infernape is a bit tougher, Choice Scarf can be walled by Celesteela when locked into Close Combat and Choice Band is outspeed by Excadrill and OHKOed. The most important thing to do here is to identify what set you are facing and preserve its checks here. For Z-Celebrate Victini, honestly its not even that great in Monotype and is pretty much a lose without the opponent choking. Your best bet is pressure it with Choice Scarf Excadrill all game so it never has the chance to setup, and Toxic it with Celesteela if possible. Zapdos is similar to other Pokemon wither it down with Toxic, than get it to a point where Jirachi can break it with +1 Psychic and prevent it from healing off damage as much as possible by Taunting it with Heatran and trapping and removing it as soon as possible from battle. Overall these are a few more ways you can prevent those Pokemon from completely demolishing you!!

(click on the sprites for an importable of the new team!)​

Conclusion
Overall this is a solid Balanced steel team featuring Z-Happy Hour Jirachi. Best of luck continuing to use this team and I hope you find success with the changes I have made here. Anyway, if you have any questions let me know, I'm maroon on PS! and maroon#9782 on discord and wouldn't mind answering any potential questions, comments, or concerns!

 

[style.css]

Introduction
Hey Pixel Pusher, this is honestly a very solid team. However there are a few small tweaks to make that would overall improve the team, which you have an effort to do, but sacrifice some rather important things.

Minor Change
Heavy Slam & EVs on Celesteela

Celesteela Set

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Toxic
- Leech Seed
- Protect

I immediately replaced Air Slash with Heavy Slam. While Air Slash seems very helpful at first all the examples do not actually care about Air Slash, such as Mega Venusaur. It is not even outspeed by Celesteela, which means it can Recover off the damage, Air Slash does not even 2HKO Mega Venusaur, and it can wear Celesteela back down with Leech Seed and HP Fire. So Celesteela is not a very good choice to take on Mega Venusaur. Secondly the Fighting-type Pokemon you listed should be taken care of by another teammate. Z-Happy Hour Jirachi absolutely obliterates Fighting teams after Mega Gallade is slightly chipped and Heavy Slam beats Pokemon such as Terrakion that can threaten Z-Happy Hour Jirachi. All of these Fighting-types that you listed also do not appreciate Toxic damage, more than they dislike Air Slash. Air Slash Celesteela is fine on fully Offensive Metronome sets where it can actually do damage, however with more defensive sets utility attacks such as Heavy Slam and/or Flamethrower suit it more. Secondly, the EVs allow Celesteela to avoid a 2HKO from Mega Lopunny, Mega Sharpedo, and Terrakion, all threats to Steel teams. The Special Defense investment also allows Celesteela to better take on Zapdos, allowing it to not be 2HKOed by any attack it has after Leech Seed chip, allowing it to easily always get off a Toxic on Zapdos. However that does not mean switch Celesteela recklessly into Zapdos, but it definetly is better as a mixed tank rather than just a physically defensive wall, which is still is by the way.

Heatran EVs & Item

Heatran set

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 80 HP / 28 Atk / 148 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge
- Taunt

First off all your set had two specific moves, Taunt and Stone Edge. Taunt alongside Magma Storm allows Heatran to trap and beat annoyances to Steel teams such as Chansey and Toxapex for Steel teams, however the problem is it can't really take these Pokemon on that well with Air Balloon, instead I replaced it with Leftovers, while this removes Heatrans very temporary Ground immunity it allows Heatran enough time to actually take on Chansey, it also gives it a passive form of recovery allowing it to take on many walls rather than just one. I also took out of Special Attack and made Heatran max speed, being able to speed tie and at minumum pop other Heatran's Air Balloons is crucial in the mirror Steel matchup, so there is never a reason to run anything aside max speed Heatran.

Mega Scizor EVs

Scizor Set

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Atk / 48 Def / 132 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost

So I kept the Scizor spread fairly similiar, I just tweaked the EVs so Mega Scizor could live 2 High Jump Kicks from Mega Lopunny, while overall allowing it to tank Physical attacks better, and Scizor can still outspeed Jolly Azumarill, while not affecting the Bullet Punch role against Azumarill. Mega Scizor can also run Facade instead of U-turn, this improves its matchups against Pokemon such as Mantine and Toxapex, which would otherwise wall it, especially with Scald burns, which only would make Mega Scizor more powerful here. This would improve the Water, Dark, and Poison matchups however at the cost of making the Psychic matchup worse and getting rid of the teams ability to pivot around.

As you said, the teams Defensive core, Heatran, Celesteela, and Ferrothorn are meant to widdle down the opposing team down allowing the sweepers room to setup and finish the game or carve a clear path for Excadrill to win. While setting up Pokemon such as Jirachi, it isnt a horrible idea to have Leech Seed support from Ferrothorn or Celesteela active while it is trying to setup, especially since it lacks reliable recovery.

I'm going to leave you with a few tips on how to deal with the threats you have listed, mentioned above. For Keldeo on top of what you said, getting it Toxiced with Celesteela is huge, as you can slowly wear it down. Also using Jirachi to beat it is probably the most obvious option, if you can successfully setup Jirachi before Keldeo gets in, it should be no problem for the team. Again for Pokemon such as Garchomp and Landorus it is best to widdle them down with Toxic and Leech Seed, then Protect as often as possible allowing teammates such as Excadrill to break them later in the game. Infernape is a bit tougher, Choice Scarf can be walled by Celesteela when locked into Close Combat and Choice Band is outspeed by Excadrill and OHKOed. The most important thing to do here is to identify what set you are facing and preserve its checks here. For Z-Celebrate Victini, honestly its not even that great in Monotype and is pretty much a lose without the opponent choking. Your best bet is pressure it with Choice Scarf Excadrill all game so it never has the chance to setup, and Toxic it with Celesteela if possible. Zapdos is similar to other Pokemon wither it down with Toxic, than get it to a point where Jirachi can break it with +1 Psychic and prevent it from healing off damage as much as possible by Taunting it with Heatran and trapping and removing it as soon as possible from battle. Overall these are a few more ways you can prevent those Pokemon from completely demolishing you!!

(click on the sprites for an importable of the new team!)​

Conclusion
Overall this is a solid Balanced steel team featuring Z-Happy Hour Jirachi. Best of luck continuing to use this team and I hope you find success with the changes I have made here. Anyway, if you have any questions let me know, I'm maroon on PS! and maroon#9782 on discord and wouldn't mind answering any potential questions, comments, or concerns!

Hey maroon,

Thanks for the feedback and I'm happy you liked the team. Air Slash is fun, and unexpected from Seeds Celesteela but you are probably right that Heavy Slam is more ideal. I also really appreciate the EV tweaks you suggested.

I'll be honest, I'll probably keep Air Balloon on Heatran. Outside of that I'll be adding in a lot, if not all the suggestions you made. Great points. Thanks again!