What is a good moveset for Steelix?

If you have a good competitive moveset for Steelix,post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for its pre-evolutions, if any, can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to includefull set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated.Access the full list of guidelines here.

Steelix Pokédex and learnsetfor reference.

Pleaselog inorregisterto add a comment.

Steelix @ Life OrbAbility: Sheer ForceEVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpDAdamant Nature- Iron Tail- Earthquake- Rock Slide- Crunch

Iron TailHas 254 (253.5 base) power, Sheer Force, Life Orb and STAB included.EarthquakeDoes take Life Orb recoil unfortunately, but is a good STAB option.Rock SlideHas 127 base power which is good and it gives some additional coverage. Rock Slide is chosen over Stone Edge because Stone Edge doesn’t get the Sheer Force boost and therefore gets Life Orb Recoil.CrunchGives a reliable way of hitting Psychic types and Ghost types, and doesn’t take Life Orb recoil.

Epic lead in RU

Steelix @ LeftoversAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpDCareful Nature- Stealth Rock- Toxic- Earthquake- Gyro Ball

Stealth Rock is what makes this guy a lead, go put some rocks on the battlefield. Toxic is to stall. Earthquake is STAB, covers Fire and gets rid of Electrics. Gyro Ball is also STAB, and paired up with low speed it’s great.

Steelix @ SteelixiteAbility: Rock HeadEVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpDSassy NatureIVs: 0 Spe- Rest- Sleep Talk / Earthquake- Curse- Gyro Ball / Heavy Slam

Specially defensive spread makes you quite bulky on both sides of the spectrum. Curse can then just be used to raise your Attack and already high Defense. You can run Sleep Talk for continuing to set up during a Rest, or Earthquake for more coverage and your secondary STAB. Gyro Ball is just a great move in general for Steelix, although you can run Heavy Slam if you’re worried about PP.

Steelix @ SteelixiteAbility: Rock HeadEVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 DefBrave NatureIVs: 0 Spe- Earthquake- Gyro Ball- Stone Edge- Stealth Rock / Dragon Tail

Bulky attacker. Steelix is a little too slow for setting up Sandstorm unlike Swampert, so it’s better to just go fully offensive. Earthquake, Gyro Ball, and Stone Edge make use of Sand Force, then Stealth Rock or Dragon Tail completes the set with hazards or phazing.

This is my “I’m not sure of what type ofSteelixit is"SteelixGen VSteelix @ Quick Claw / Smooth RockAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 Def / 200 Atk / 56 SpDImpish Nature- Sandstorm- Stealth Rock- Dragon Tail- Toxic

Sandstorm: Ongoing damage (beware of Rock, Steel, and Ground types as well as any Pokemon with “sand” Abilities that don’t take damage.)Stealth Rock: set up some more continuous damage on Pokemon that switch in (paired with Dragon Tail is pretty epic!)Dragon Tail:(as promised) forces switch ins also creating damage in the process.Toxic: powerful ongoing damage (you can probably see the reason by now)

The idea here is to poison and generally weaken your opponents as much possible so your follow up Pokemon (normally straightforward powerhouses) to mop up what’s left. Start off with Sandstorm (much better with Smooth Rock, the Quick Claw is just so it doesn’t always miss out on being first which can be useful) then setting up Stealth Rock. Toxic obviously to follow and finally Dragon Tail. Continue to use Toxic then Dragon Tail to poison the whole opposition occasionally topping off Sandstorm as you go. Thanks to Steelix’s defensive skills this could be repeated a fair few times before he gets KO’d. This Steelix can be used harmony with its corresponding Audino in double battles which I will post shortly.

Steelix @ LeftoversAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 116 Def / 136 SpDRelaxed NatureIVs: 0 Spe- Stealth Rock- Toxic- Dragon Tail- Gyro Ball

Set up rocks, spread Toxics and SR damage on the opposing team with Dragon Tail, then Gyro Ball for damage. If you want, you can fully invest into Defense for the EV spread.

Steelix @ SteelixiteAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SpDImpish Nature- Stealth Rock- Heavy Slam- Roar / Toxic / Sandstorm- Earthquake / Rock Slide / Stone Edge

Explanation

The Mega-Evolution for Steelix made it a lot more viable this gen. It got significant boosts to its Attack and Sp. Def stats. However, the most notable stat is its sky-high Defense stats. Although it faces fierce competition from Mega-Aggron, its typing gives it nice defensive options and also counters the infamous Volt-turn teams.

EVs are meant to give Steelix decent bulk. Impish Nature is required to survive certain attacks, such as Darmanitan’s Flare Blitz (even when boosted by Life Orb). The rest are put into HP and Sp. Def to further boost its walling capabilites.

Stealth Rock is a necessity on any M-Steelix sets.

Heavy Slam is a requirement because it gets STAB and good power. Gyro Ball is also an option, but it has less PP and is generally bad when you can have Heavy Slam (especially since Steelix is quite heavy).

Roar allows Steelix to phaze out any opposing Pokemon. It is important to note that Dragon Tail is an inferior option because of the rise of Fairy-types and its 90% accuracy. Toxic is also another option that cripples other walls, such as Vaporeon. Sandstorm is generally an inferior option to both Roar and Toxic, but it can be used to take advantage of its ability.

Earthquake gets good STAB, while Stone Edge can be used to deal with Flying-types. If you’re worried about the accuracy, Rock Slide is also an option.

Usage tips

Steelix is able to set up SR reliably. After doing so, you should use Roar to phaze out and rack as much as damage as possible.

Steelix @ Assault VestAbo;oty: Sheer ForceEVs: 252 SpD / 252 Atk / 4 HPCareful Nature- Iron Head- Earthquake- Thunder Fang- Aqua Tail

I like using this set:

Physical Wall:

Steelix @ SteelixiteAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 DefRelaxed Nature- Curse- Gyro Ball- Earthquake- Toxic / Explosion

Curse is to raise Steelix’s Attack and Defense. (Does the Speed drop even matter?) Gyro Ball is powerful STAB, that when coupled with Steelix’s terrible Speed and a Relaxed Nature, is almost sure to do tons of damage. Earthquake is secondary STAB that is, well, Earthquake. Toxic is extremely useful, and with stat boosts from Curse, gives Steelix a very high damage output. However, I personally like to use Explosion, a nuke that OHKOes almost everything that doesn’t resist it with a boost or two.

The EVs are to make Steelix extremely physically bulky. In fact, At +1, Mega Steelix has a chance to live a sun boosted-Choice Banded-Adamant Sheer Force Flare Blitz from a Darmanitan! Sturdy is the best pre-mega Ability Steelix can have. Finally, a Relaxed Nature allows Steelix to become as physically bulky as possible, while powering up Gyro Ball.

Counters:

Special moves: Unlike the traditional Mega Steelix set, this Steelix has no Sp. Def investment. Yeah…

Chip Damage: With absolutely no form of recovery, Steelix can be worn down easily. A Wish passer is appreciated.

Grass Knot: Heavy Pokemon with terrible Sp. Def + Grass Knot = Disaster.

All I can say is one thing: Say goodbye to your problems with physical hits.

Steelsnekk (Steelix) @ Iron BallAbility: Rock HeadEVs: 252 Def or SpD / 252 Atk / 4 HPBrave / Sassy Nature- Head Smash- Curse- Gyro Ball- Body Press / Earthquake

With 200 Base Defense, I’m sure Body Pressis highly effective. Head Smash cuz' why not? Hit them really hard to the point they regret their decision of fighting you using a bird and leave them traumatized. Gyro Ball when you’re fighting fast targets. Curse to go slower and become buffer, because who cares about being fast when you’re using Steelix? Iron Ball can surprise Trick, as well as make you slow as possible.

You may use Sassy Nature, as well as invest on Special Defense EVs if you don’t want to die from Special Trucks.

You may replace Body Press with Earthquake if you think Steelix can take on physical truck hits (which mostly come from an A-Deoxys using Superpower, etc…) which is something I think it can and can’t at the same time.

Gen V

Onix (M) @ EvioliteAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe / 4 SpDJolly Nature- Dragon Tail- Roar- Rest- Sleep Talk

Phazing moves (Roar, Dragon Tail etc) always have negative priority, apart from in one case: when they have been used via Sleep Talk. This set takes advantage of that and Onix’s decent base 70 speed to shuffle the opponent’s team around before they can even get a hit on you. This strategy works very well in conjunction with entry hazards.

Physical TankSteelix @ LeftoversAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 AtkImpish Nature- Gyro Ball- Dragon Tail- Curse- Earthquake

This is a pure Defensively powerful Steelix with some great combos such as Gyro Ball and Curse. Dragon Tail is to kick away Stat boosters. And Earthquake is the STAB and coverage.

Steelix-Mega@ SteelixiteAbility: Sand ForceEVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 AtkSassy Nature-Earthquake-Sandstorm /Smack Down-Curse-Gyro Ball

Use Curse to higher your attack and lower speed, which is a great combo for Gyro Ball. Smack Down can be used for coverage and to hit flyers- makes flying types and Levitate, Magnet Rise, and Telekinesis Pokemon get hit by ground type moves later with EQ! Or go with Sandstorm to raise power of moves by 30% (Sand Force)

I haven’t really tried this out too much but I think it’s viable. Recommended in Doubles or Triples.

Steelix @ Leftovers / Life OrbAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 Atk / 150 SpD / 106 HPBrave NatureIVs: 0 Spe- Gyro Ball- Earthquake- Thunder Fang / Ice Fang- Curse / Rock Slide / Stone Edge / Stealth Rock

Gyro Ball- Power increases with how much slower the user is compared to the Pokemon it’s fighting. (With an added STAB bonus)

Earthquake- High Power and works as coverage and a counter for Fire types. (Also an added STAB Bonus)

Thunder Fang / Ice Fang- Ice Fang works as coverage and counters Ground types while Thunder Fang is coverage and a counter for Water types, use whichever works for you.

Curse / Rock Slide / Stone Edge / Stealth RockCurse boosts Attack and Defense while lowering Speed, which is what this moveset needs. Stone Edge has a high power and has a higher chance of a critical hit, with a downside of a lower reliability. Rock Slide has a lower power but a higher reliability, with a chance to flinch. Stealth Rock is also an option, annoying your opponent with instant damage the moment they send in a Pokemon.

Alongside a teammate with Trick Room, this guy can shine, sweeping through a team with his varied moveset.

Steelix (F) @ Choice SpecsAbility: Sheer ForceEVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpDModest Nature- Earth Power- Flash Cannon- Dragon Pulse- Dark Pulse

My Job here is to make weird sets that work (before you say anything Dragon Pulse does more damage than SF boosted Dragon Breath).

Mega-Steelix - Curse Set / Hazard Set Up

Steelix @ SteelixiteAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 6 Def / AtkSassy Nature- Curse- Stealth Rock / Sandstorm / Toxic- Gyro Ball / Heavy Slam- Earthquake

1. Curse- This boosts Mega Steelix’s already amazing Defense, and it’s a nice Attack boost.

2. Stealth Rock / Sandstorm / Toxic- If you already have a Hazard Setter, then Sandstorm is a great way to boost Steelix’s moves' damage while gradually hurting the enemy if it isn’t resistant. STAB paired with 1.3x the power can pack huge punches on sweepers, especially with a Curse boost. If you would prefer more of a wall, then Toxic is a better choice to do it.

3. Gyro Ball / Heavy Slam- Gyro Ball paired with Curse is amazing. A boost to Attack and a drop to Speed doubles the power of this move, and with Sandstorm up as well, it will do loads of damage. Still, if you are a bit iffy on speed and prefer weight and PP, you can always go for Heavy Slam.

4. Earthquake- Great coverage and damage. STAB and Sandstorm makes this move deadly to be hit by.

ExplanationMega Steelix offers great defensive and offensive capabilities, as well as hazardous ones. Its Ability could be better, I think we can all agree on that, but it is still decent. Curse can turn it into a dangerous and hard-to-kill force that can not only easily take physical hits, but can start to land hard ones as well. With a lack of recovery however, it can still gradually be killed. To help this, you could always go for a Rest and Sleep Talk, but that is another set. While it is up and running, it can pack a serious punch, and with good investments into defenses, he will be up a lot longer.

Steelix @ SteelixiteAbility: Rock Head / SturdyEVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpDAdamant / Brave Nature- Stealth Rock- Gyro Ball- Double Edge / Earthquake- Stone Edge

Stealth Rock: SetupGyro Ball: Supported with Brave nature, STAB, high power with low SpeedDouble Edge/Earthquake: Double Edge with Rock Head for high damage no recoil or Earthquake for, Ground STABStone Edge: Fire coverage, high power, gets rid of Charizards

Why not a Mega-Steelix?

Steelix @ SteelixiteAbility: Rock Head / Sturdy / Sheer ForceEVs: 4 HP / 216 Atk / 252 Def / 36 SpDImpish Nature-Aqua Tail- Heavy Slam- Earthquake- Brutal Swing / Payback / Crunch

Aqua Tail(covers both Fire and Ground types, is a very good option for coverage)

Heavy Slam(Mega Steelix weighs over 1600 lbs, it is almost like a STAB 120 base power move)

Earthquake(there is absolutely NO reason why this guy should not have Earthquake)

Brutal Swing / Payback / Crunch(Brutal Swing for Double/Triple Battles, even though it hits your teammates, I think it is still worth it. Payback for power ((Steelix is really slow anyways so it most likely will have 100 base power), and Crunch for lower Defense ((if the target’s defense is too high)))

Steelix @ Muscle BandAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 AtkRelaxed / Brave Nature- Gyro Ball- Body Press- Earthquake- Iron Defense

I call this set: High Base Power BeastSteelix @ Assault VestAbility: Rock HeadEVs: 252 Atk / 96 HP / 160 SpDBrave Nature- Head Smash- High Horsepower / Earthquake- Steel Roller / Iron Head / Gyro Ball- Body Press

Explanations:Head Smash is a 150BP move that would normally have a recoil of half HP. Thanks to its ability, the recoil is no more…High Horsepower is used if there are terrain setters (Which due to the prevalence of Rillaboom, there will). However, if you really want to, Earthquake is fine.Steel Roller is if you personally have an Indeedee with Psychic Surge, Pelipper with Drizzle, Pinchurchin with Electric Surge, or Rillaboom with Grassy Surge. However, Iron Head can do just fine, as it is STAB with a niche flinch rate. If you really want, Gyro ball. However, it isn’t recommended due to the ubiquitous Trick Room teams around these days.Body press has a massive 200 base power… It OHKOs Tyranitar too…

Don’t get why this thing is being slept on. He’s a beast…

A set meant to be used in Trick Room:Gen 8 RUSteelix @ Choice BandAbility: Sheer ForceEVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpDBrave NatureIVs: 0 Spe- Earthquake- Iron Head- Rock Slide- Crunch

Earthquake is STAB. Rock Slide gets a Sheer Force boost. Iron Head is STAB and gets a Sheer Force boost. Crunch gets a Sheer Force Boost as well.