As some of you know, I hate fairies. I used to use a steel team a lot, until I realized that the potential of flying was far greater than that of steel. A few months later, I decided to play with steel for fun. I rebuilt my team. Can you give me suggestions?
These are the first 4 Pokemon that I know I will have on my team.
stayed up late (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 4 SpA / 76 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Sandstorm
- Toxic
- Psychic
This is sandstorm support for my Excadrill, as well as fighting coverage. Unfortunately, smooth rock was banned. It also functions as a stall, given the right conditions.
IronRuby (Excadrill) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
This is a fast sweeper that depends on Jirachi's sandstorm. Its ground/steel/rock combination hits everything for at least regular effectiveness except Bronzong and Bronzor.
IronSapphire (Empoleon) (M) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Torrent
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Flash Cannon
- Defog
- Toxic
This is a tank that also provides defog support. Since this is currently my only reliable option against ground, I gave it an air balloon. I decided against a shuca berry because there's a good chance that, since it's steel type, a ground type foe will not have any good coverage moves against this. However, if I decide to add Ferrothorn to this team, I will replace it with leftovers.
IronEmerald (Skarmory) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Whirlwind
This is one of the best steel type stalls, and it's a big help with both fighting and ground teams. The fact that it's ability is sturdy and that it can use whirlwind makes it also arguably the best option for phazing.
Now I will present my biggest dilemma. Since Genesect was banned, there have not been any good options to use as a special sweeper on a steel team. I'm thinking of one of these sets. Of course, teams must have good synergy, so each option for a special sweeper comes with a physical tank that covers remaining weaknesses of the rest of the team. Thus, each pair of these Pokemon has a special sweeper, a revenge killer, a Pokemon that isn't weak to ground, and a Pokemon that prevents this team from being 6-0'd by a water team. Which two Pokemon should I use?
Option 1: Lucario and Ferrothorn
kerosene (Ferrothorn) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Curse
- Gyro Ball
- Seed Bomb
This is a good physical tank. It's low speed and the fact that it can use curse means that it can almost always hit a foe with a power 150 STAB attack. I chose seed bomb over power whip because I prefer reliability over force. If I find that this pair is better than the other, I will replace air balloon on Empoleon with leftovers.
the force awakens (Lucario) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Steadfast
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
- Vacuum Wave
This is a fast special sweeper. Since it can't always outspeed the foe, I chose vacuum wave, which allows it to be a revenge killer (particularly against Cloyster, in which Skarmory's sturdy doesn't work).
Option 2: Magnezone and mega Scizor
neat freak (Magnezone) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Volt Switch
Interestingly, Magnezone can sweep in both regular teams and trick room teams. Obviously, this is not a trick room team. It can also trap steel Pokemon and hit them hard with hidden power, which also covers fire weakness. I can also try running sturdy and ice hidden power. Which ability do I use?
pokemondb.net (Scizor) (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 SpD
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost
I know that it has neither knock off or superpower, but this setup stall actually works. It alternates between swords dance and roost until its physical attack is maxed, then it attacks. Roost allows it to knock out multiple Pokemon without any boosts to speed. It has the added advantage of being immune to toxic, but burn, paralyze, and confuse do cripple it. Yes, if I use a Scizor, I will use this nickname.
I tried using both of these sets. However, Lucario often wasn't able to outspeed other sweepers, which is a big problem. As for Magnezone, I usually like to lead with a sweeper and use stalls as late-game cleanup. Unfortunately, Magnezone only works with a scarf, so I often can't sweep through multiple Pokemon at once. What do I do?
