What is a good moveset for Steelix?

Question

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 include full 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 learnset for reference.

Answer 1

Gen V

Steelix @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature

• Autotomize
• Earthquake
• Ice Fang
• Iron Head / Rock Slide

Comments

who u gonna outspeed

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Ferrothorn.

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Give steelix a weakness policy to take advantage of steelix’s good bulk and common weaknesses

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for EV's i would replace Speed with HP so you can put Gyro Ball on it (STAB, physical, and its speed is really low in general) and replace the extra 4 ev's with special defense. also replace autotomize with screech so that physical attack does even more damage

Answer 2

Steelix @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)

• Iron Tail
• Earthquake
• Rock Slide
• Crunch

Iron Tail Has 254 (253.5 base) power, Sheer Force, Life Orb and STAB included.
Earthquake Does take Life Orb recoil unfortunately, but is a good STAB option.
Rock Slide Has 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.
Crunch Gives a reliable way of hitting Psychic types and Ghost types, and doesn't take Life Orb recoil.

Comments

Iron Head gets Sheer force doesn't it? It loses the flinch chance.

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What i meant was Steelix is only capable of learning Iron Head via Gen 4 Move tutor, but yes it would get the boost, if steelix could have both sheer force and iron head.

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I see, never mind then :D

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It gets Iron head now. Bulldoze can substitute for Earthquake.

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I'm pretty sure EQ is more powerful.

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I know EQ is, but you get no recoil, that's all.

Answer 3

Gen V

Steelix (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature

• Earthquake
• Gyro Ball
• Curse
• Rest

Comments

Sorry for questioning so much of your stuff recently....

Now, Rest? Without Chesto berry too!

Do you really expect this thing to live through a rest?
I don't care how high its defense is, its sp defense lacks to the point, that if this thing goes to sleep, its dead.

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It works for me. I can always switch out, and if I'm using this guy, I'll likely have Aromatherapy or Heal Bell support on my team as well.

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Will this set work effectively with stealth rock instead of rest?

Answer 4

Epic lead in RU

Steelix @ Leftovers

Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature (+SpD, -SpA)

• 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.

Answer 5

Steelix @ Steelixite
Ability: Rock Head --> Sand Force
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 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 OP 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 @ Steelixite
Ability: Rock Head --> Sand Force
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock/Dragon Tail**

Bulky attacker. Steelix is a little too slow for setting up the Sandstorm unliek 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.

Answer 6

Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Defense
- Stealth rock
- Roar

Answer 7

This is my "I'm not sure of what type of Steelix it is" Steelix
Gen V
Steelix @ Quick Claw / Smooth Rock
Ability: Sturdy
Impish nature
Personality (I observe that this is often overlooked but it is a vital part of stat gain): Sturdy body, Capable of taking hits, etc.
EVs: 252 Def / 200 Atk / 56 SpD

• Sandstorm
• Stealth Rocks
• Dragon Tail
• Toxic

Sandstorm: Ongoing damage (beware of rock steel and ground types as well as any Pokemon with "sand" ability's which 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 straight forward powerhouses) to mop up whats 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 S-rock. Toxic obviously to follow and finally Dragon tail. Continue to use toxic then Drg 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.

Comments

Investing in HP is generally better than in both stats, especially when Steelix's Defense stat is gargantuan compared to its abysmal HP. Why had you use Smooth Rock when you could use just another Sand setter like TTar or Hippodown? And 200 Atk EVs are a waste when Dragon Tail is the only damaging move, which being 60 BP without any STAB deals very low damage. Personal preference is Roar over Dragon Tail so that Sub set-up sweepers don't make you a set-up bait.

Answer 8

Since its speed is too low, we will use it as an advantage.

Moveset for Steelix in Platinum/Diamond/Pearl and any other gen except 1, 2 & 3.

Steelix
Ability: Sturdy
EV: 255 HP / 255 Atk
Brave Nature

• Stealth Rock - It's our hazard snake, so we will put that.
• Earthquake - STAB!!! recover for fire types.
• Aqua Tail/Curse - Aqua tail to recover that nasty ground and fire types, or Curse for boost in atk and - def then lowers it's speed so... GYRO BALL CANNON!!!
• Gyro Ball - Now here is the main thing, brave nature +atk -spd, EV 255 in ATK then Curse(optional) for atk & def boost + lowers its speed = LAZER!!!

Answer 9

Steelix @ Leftovers

Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 116 Def / 136 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 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.

Answer 10

Steelix @ Steelixite

Role: Tank
Trait: Sturdy -----> Sand Force
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 Sp. Def
Impish Nature
Moveset:

• 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 Darmantian'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.

Answer 11

Steelix @ Assault vest
Trait: Sheer force
EVs: 252 Sp.D, 252 Atk, 4 HP.
Careful Nature (+Sp.Def,-Sp.Atk)
-Iron Head
-Earthquake
-Thunder fang
-Aqua tail
Explaination: I chose this set because of Steelix's weakness in Sp.Def. I don't put EVs in to Def because its Def is strong enough as it is, with 436 Def without EVs. With 252 EVs and +Sp.Def Nature in Sp.Def, it is 251, which is 376 with the assault vest. With 252 EVs in Atk, it is 269. The last 4 EVs you can put them into anything, I just chose HP. I choose Iron Head because of the better accuracy than Iron tail, that most Rock-Types are slow so no Gyro ball, and I don't trust that Steelix will be heavier than my opponent for Heavy slam. Plus it gets a boost from Sheer force. Earthquake is a no brainer. Thunder fang to cover Water and Aqua tail to cover Fire and Ground. I chose Sheer force to give Iron head and Thunder fang a 1.3x power boost, make their power 104 power for Iron head and 84.5 power for Thunder fang. I hope this helps people and you guys like my set. ;)

Answer 12

Gen V set for Onix

Onix (M) @ Eviolite

Trait: Sturdy

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef

Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)

• Dragon Tail
• Rest
• Sleep Talk
• Toxic

Answer 13

Gen V

Onix (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- 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.

Answer 14

Physical Tank

Steelix @Leftovers
EV's: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Atk
Nature: Impish (+Def -SpA)
Trait: Sturdy
- 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 converge.

Comments

lol I have the exact same type of steelix and was thinking the exact same thing before I saw this! Just needed a fourth move, and dragon tail will work!

Answer 15

Steelix @ Steelixite
Ability: (Rock Head) Sand Force
Ev: 252 att, 252 sdef, 4 def
Nature: Brave
-Sandstorm
-Defense curl
-Rollout
-Gyro ball

Comments

Awesome idea, but by the time you've used Sandstorm, Defense Curl and some Rollouts your opponent will have already scored a KO. Plus Sandstorm would wear off after 3 Rollouts

Answer 16

![enter image description here][1]
[1]: http://www.pokemondungeon.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/mega-steelix.jpg

                                                    Steelix (M) @Leftovers
                                                      Ability: Strudy
                                        EVs: 248 HP/ 252+ atk/ 8 SpDef
                                                Adamant ( +Atk, - SpAtk)
                                                        -Heavy Slam 
                                                        -Aqua Tail or Ice Fang
                                                        -Earthquake
                                                        -Stone Edge

Answer 17

Steelix-Mega @ Steelixite
Ability: Sheer Force > Sand Force
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 Atk
Sassy 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)

Answer 18

I haven't really tried this out too much but I think it's liable.

Steelix w/ Leftovers or Life Orb
Brave Nature (+Attack -Speed)
Ability: Sturdy
EV's: 252 ATK/150 SpD/106 HP
Recommended IV's: 0 Speed
Recommended in Doubles or Triples

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 Rock Curse 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.

Answer 19

So, I haven't really used this moveset in Showdown or anything yet, but here it is.
Steelix @Steelixite
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Sturdy -> Sand Force
EVs: 252ATK / 252DEF / 4HP (ATK and HP EVs are interchangeable, you can use 252 on HP and 4 on ATK)
Moves:
. Defense Curl/Double Edge/Curse (It depends on whether or not you want to raise stats or not)
. Earthquake
. Crunch
. Iron Tail

The defense EVs along with the nature Relaxed will give your Steelix a defense of 548 and Mega Steelix a whopping 614 defense when it's at level 100, and using Defense Curl can raise that defense even higher, and if you use Curse you can raise its 349 attack even higher as well as its defense. Since ground-, fire-, and fighting- types are mostly physical, Steelix's defense can cover those moves, but if you're facing a water type with a high SP.ATK like Primarina, you're done for, but if you use it correctly, a Mega Steelix can dominate the battlefield.

Answer 20

Steelix (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Earth Power STAB and demolishes
- Flash Cannon STAB and pesky Fairies
- Dragon Pulse and Dragon types
- Dark Pulse and Psychic types

My Job here is to make weird sets that work (before you say anything Dragon Pulse does more damage that SF boosted Dragon Breath) If you want to battle me I'm on Showdown as SytheScythe!

Comments

Huh? STAB Dragon Pulse and STAB Dark Pulse?
Steelix isn't Dragon and Dark type lol

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Ha, thanks for pointing that out!