Other Casual Mono-Steel Teams for Different Restrictions (no restriction, one legendary, no legendaries)

[Derpinator]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some help with a few casual mono-steel teams I'm making. The first is a no restriction team, where everything. The second one is one legendary but no box legendaries, so I use Heatran. The last one is a no legendary team, however I haven't been able to make any progress with this seeing how the fire weakness is huge and unanswered. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

No Restriction Team

Hide

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 244 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Roost

I considered including Mega Metagross here but its coverage and power was redundant. I went with bulky Scizor to help with tanking and setup.

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock

Heatran seems irreplaceable, both with its Fire immunity and its trapping, though that does put a lot of pressure on it. I was originally running Stone Edge over SR but the damage really wasn't coming through. While Excadrill is supposed to be the one getting the rocks up at the beginning, Heatran does serve as a backup.

Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock

Excadrill's sole purpose is getting rocks up at the start. I was running Choice Scarf originally but that forced me to either switch out immediately after setting rocks or not lead with him, which which meant waiting on the hazards.

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Toxic
- Protect

Celesteela serves as a physical wall but I have been switching it in on anything it can check. Throwing out Leech Seed can catch a switch or just let me stall with Protect and Toxic.

Necrozma-Dusk Mane @ Solganium Z
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance
- Sunsteel Strike
- Earthquake

Not much to say here, a real powerhouse. I wasn't running Double Dance originally but, without Ultranecrozium Z not being an option, his Speed was lacking and needed the Rock Polish. Losing out on Stone Edge does hurt sometimes, especially with Ho-Oh depending on the set. In those cases, it just comes down to how much damage I've already dealt, whether SR are up or not and if I can use the Z move to kill or catch on the switch. If Heatran still has its Balloon, then that also is an option.

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 248 HP / 224 SpD / 36 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Fleur Cannon
- Iron Head
- Focus Blast
- Volt Switch

With Necrozma taking the Z-crystal, I had to go for an AV set. So far, the extra bulk has been quite helpful and can help switch into Necrozma for setup, tank hits or cleanup. Unfortunately, I couldn't get HP Fire on Magearna, so I had to settle for Focus Blast.

One Legendary Team

Hide

Metagross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Atk / 96 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
- Pursuit

Initially I was running a Choice Band setup but it wasn't providing much benefit and couldn't switch in too often. Switching to AV, Metagross had a much easier time switching in and, while he wasn't hitting as hard, he could still catch switches or clean up.

Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch

In all honesty, Lucario was included because I love Metagross and Lucario, but the latter doesn't do much if he isn't Mega. This set has been useful cleaning up and punching holes if it can set up. However, it is frail and, even with Adaptability, there's a lot it can't dent before being killed. I'm sure he needs replacing because it isn't the doesn't get the most value for the slot it is taking up.

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock

Heatran seems irreplaceable, both with its Fire immunity and its trapping, though that does put a lot of pressure on it. I was originally running Stone Edge over SR but the damage really wasn't coming through. With Excadrill not on this team, Heatran is the only member that sets up Stealth Rock, though Ferrothorn also has hazards.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Protect

Ferrothorn serves as the special wall for the team and the Rain check. Though a full special wall spread does make it difficult to tank Mega Swampert's Superpower, Celesteela can handle them easily so this allows it to take on the likes of Kingdra. Apart from that, it can either throw out Spikes or Leech Seed on the switch, which comes in very handy when forcing switches with bulky members of the team.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Pursuit
- King's Shield

I had tried the Toxic stall set initially but the team was lacking firepower and Celesteela was already Toxic stalling and doing a better job at it with Leech Seed. This set is an old one but it has been rather useful for softening things up. Pursuit catches switches and Shadow Ball+Sneak can pick off things that have already taken damage.

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Toxic
- Protect

Celesteela serves as a physical wall but I have been switching it in on anything it can check. Throwing out Leech Seed can catch a switch or just let me stall with Protect and Toxic.

No Legendary Team
I haven't been able to come up with anything worthwhile for this. Without Heatran, the team struggles with its Fire weakness and doesn't have any good answers. Any help with this would be immensely appreciated.

 

[737373elj]

Just a question? Are Ultra Beasts considered as Legendaries? And are you using the standard Monotype format which is OU, or the Ubers format? It seems like Ubers to me, but Monotype is supposed to be OU.

 

[Derpinator]

Just a question? Are Ultra Beasts considered as Legendaries? And are you using the standard Monotype format which is OU, or the Ubers format? It seems like Ubers to me, but Monotype is supposed to be OU.

As far as I know, UBs aren't considered Legendaries.

I'm using neither, this is just for casual Wifi play with other people.

 

[Perish Song]

Hello Derpinator, thank you for sharing your teams and thoughts here. I used to play lots of Steel before it got boring and slate but regardless it is still a strong type. Each team restriction will drastically change the team structure but let us see what we can do. But first, let's see what a Steel-type team needs. I will make the Pokemon explanations on the first team I explain and I will just try to redirect you from the first team I made.

1) Earthquake and Fireblast are common coverage, so we will need Pokemon that can take those moves.
2) Water is strong and hitting neutral to Steel and you can't hit it back effectively, so we will need a Pokemon that can cause trouble on Waters.
3) Other mandatory stuff such as Stealth Rock etc.

The Team with no Restrictions

This is rather simple because Steel's big guns are mostly legendaries. Having no restriction lets us use those legendaries.

First off, starting with the mandatory Fire resistance. I mention Dialga here because the part-Dragon typing is pretty good defensive typing, and it has a better bulk than Heatran overall. Shuca Berry variants also take Ground-type attacks better compared to Heatran as well. It comes with more coverage, and it can perform as a solid Stealth Rock user. Heatran is still a decent pick as a Fire immunity but the abundance of powerful Pokemon present in a no restriction clause game, Heatran is pressured easily. Dialga also partially covers up the overall Water-type weakness of Steel-type teams.

In these replays which happened during MWP2, you can see that Dialga was an obvious choice over Heatran for the said reasons. 1 2 3 4

We don't have a specific Dialga set because we don't have analyses of Monotype Ubers since is not an official format, but I can recommend you this.

Dialga

Dialga @ Life Orb / Shuca Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Thunder

Stealth Rock is fundamental in every team, Draco Meteor is a powerful nuke that lets you chip plenty of stuff, Fire Blast hits to annoying opposing annoying Steels such as Ferrothorn and Kartana and Thunder lets you handle the Water-type Pokemon as I previously mentioned.

Next up we have our mandatory Ground-type immunity because Shuca Berry will not save you in the long term and you need alternate solutions. Celesteela comes to your rescue for that, the great utility and solid bulk allow it to annoy many things. There is nothing much to say about this one, it simply outclasses Skarmory.

Celesteela

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Toxic
- Protect

A standard Celesteela set should work for you. Leech stall anything that is not Grass-type, Toxic anything in your path and use Heavy Slam whenever you can. Easy to use and easy to benefit from. (Note that having Dialga also culls the Electric weakness of Celesteela here)

Moving on with our way to retaliate against Water- and Ground-type Pokemon. Kartana is perfect for the job, monstrous Attack stat along with excellent Speed is just more than enough. You are free to run whatever spread you want, Choice Band, Choice Scarf, even Z move are all viable options and there are no problems with using any of those. I also want to recommend a different set here, Speed boosting Kartana is a decent choice and its good Speed stat lets it outspeed some of the major Choice Scarf users in the tier such as Lunala.

Defog Kartana
Speed Boosting Kartana

Speed Boosting Kartana

Kartana @ Grassium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 19 Atk
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike / Defog

A Timid nature, max investment in HP and 19 Attack IVs are required for Kartana to boost its Speed instead of Attack. Swords Dance will compensate your Attack loss, Knock Off is a handy coverage that can do great damage to Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon, Smart Strike is your STAB but Defog is also an option.

Now that we somehow covered our type's biggest flaws, we will proceed with remaining team slots. Be advised that Steel-types have lots of Viable possibilities for the remaining slots, so I will just list all of them for you.

You have access to some good utility Pokemon at your disposal, you may consider using them. Standard Klefki with screens is a wonderful asset. Provided Spikes, crippled enemies with Thunder Wave and Screens to create space for your set up sweepers. Its typing is also pretty solid defensively. Aegislash is also amazing, access to Kings Shield and Toxic lets you stall out most of the physical stuff, and it also comes with a very decent typing that has plenty of resistances and 3 important immunities. Ferrothorn is another great asset, it has a godlike utility which usually comes in the form of Leech Seed and Spikes, it can also run Toxic, Knock Off, and Thunder Wave which is all important.

Klefki

Klefki @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Spikes
- Foul Play

Aegislash

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature
- King's Shield
- Toxic
- Gyro Ball
- Shadow Sneak

Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Toxic
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball

You have access to a very good offensive set up Sweepers. Dusk Mane is one of the strongest Pokemon in Ubers right now, with its unique Z move and access to Double Dance. Mega Lucario is also a decent Pokemon, Its monstrous offensive stats and Adaptability makes it dangerous enough even without a Swords Dance boost. Excadrill is an honorary mention here, but it can still fulfill its niche as a suicide lead on hyper offense teams. Set Stealth Rocks, Toxic as many shit as possible, Earthquake and die. It doesn't really have another niche outside of this, as a Choice Scarf user it is heavily outclassed by Kartana. Arceus doesn't really need an explanation. 120 in all, a crapload of coverage and a bunch of utility options such as Defog makes it a formidable Pokemon. Genesect is brilliant to have, capable of running Mixed, Special and Physical, along with setting up options and access to priority, its another option that you may consider. Plates add additional strong coverage but Life Orb or Z moves are advised. I won't drop Arceus and Genesect sets below, as you can customize them in any way you want.

Dusk Mane

Necrozma-Dusk Mane @ Solganium Z
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance
- Sunsteel Strike
- Earthquake

Mega Lucario

Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Meteor Mash
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch

Hide

Excadrill

Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Tomb
- Toxic / Earthquake
- Rapid Spin

The Team with only one Legendary

Things we use in this section won't be drastically different than what we used in no restriction team. We still have plenty of viable Pokemon pool we can choose from since we made their explanations above I won't quote them here, I will just mention what we can do here. First, I will ask for verification here because this also drastically changes the things we will build.

1) If you are allowed to use UB's, we will proceed with both Celesteela and Kartana, which both are very crucial for the stated reasonings above. If you cannot use UB's, your mandatory (and only option in fact) Ground-type check will be Skarmory over Celesteela and we will replace Kartana with one of the Pokemon from our pool.

2) I'm inclined to use your Fire immunity/resistance with our "one legendary option", either Dialga or Heatran will be a decent fit in your team. (Since you stated no Box legend, Heatran it is)

3) After adding these in, all you need to do is fill your team with the remaining Pokemon you have. With one Legendary rule, most of our offensive Pokemon are banned so having a Balanced team approach would be nice. You might consider a 6 like this below:

The Team with no Legendaries


The same, basically. If you can keep the UB's, then you can keep the exact lineup as above. I understand your concern here is Fire resistance, I'm afraid without the Legendaries present, your only considerable option is an Empoleon.

Empoleon

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Scald
- Roar

Being a part-Water type Pokemon makes Empoleon very good against Fire. It has access to Defog and Stealth Rock, can carry Roar and Toxic if needed and you may even run Agility + 3 Attacks set which can be quite powerful. Here you can see a Steel-type team handling a Fire-type team with the support provided by Empoleon. So, your team should look like this in the end.

Honorary Mentions

There are still few Pokemon you can use in your team, but those Pokemon are probably outclassed by different options, or simply way too unviable to be used in Mono Ubers.

Scizor Mega is a fantastic Mega to have, but Mega Lucario is simply better with its incredible potential on breaking/cleaning. It is slow, its Attack stat is low compared to other Megas. You have very few reasons to use a Scizor Mega, as its entire niche on Ubers is checking Xerneas, but in a team where everything is Steel-type, this is not really necessary. You can probably use it for its U-turn, which can grant momentum but stuff like Klefki makes your switchins safer so keeping your Mega slot is probably better. Its still an option you may consider using.

Another cool mega which is normally banned from regular Monotype. It has Huge Power, great coverage and even has Sucker Punch as its priority. The reasoning behind is I find Mawile too slow to actually do anything remarkable, you will most likely get revenge killed after securing a KO.

This is an option you may consider over Mega Lucario. They hit nearly equal damage, Metagross also has pretty decent coverage such as Thunder Punch, and Metagross is quite a bit bulky. There are no real downsides of this Pokemon, but having access to Close Combat on Mega Lucario is quite huge for Steel-type teams.

Waste of Legendary. You literally have no reason to use this over Necrozma Dusk Mane.

Wonderful Pokemon, but hard to fit in teams. Magearnas primary use on Ubers team is checking Xerneas effectively, but a Steel team shouldn't have any trouble versus Xerneas at all, outside of that it's weak physically, needs to set up in order to deal some damage and quite slow to do actually do anything.

Hope this helps you out.

 

[Derpinator]

Hello Derpinator, thank you for sharing your teams and thoughts here. I used to play lots of Steel before it got boring and slate but regardless it is still a strong type. Each team restriction will drastically change the team structure but let us see what we can do. But first, let's see what a Steel-type team needs. I will make the Pokemon explanations on the first team I explain and I will just try to redirect you from the first team I made.

1) Earthquake and Fireblast are common coverage, so we will need Pokemon that can take those moves.
2) Water is strong and hitting neutral to Steel and you can't hit it back effectively, so we will need a Pokemon that can cause trouble on Waters.
3) Other mandatory stuff such as Stealth Rock etc.

The Team with no Restrictions

This is rather simple because Steel's big guns are mostly legendaries. Having no restriction lets us use those legendaries.

First off, starting with the mandatory Fire resistance. I mention Dialga here because the part-Dragon typing is pretty good defensive typing, and it has a better bulk than Heatran overall. Shuca Berry variants also take Ground-type attacks better compared to Heatran as well. It comes with more coverage, and it can perform as a solid Stealth Rock user. Heatran is still a decent pick as a Fire immunity but the abundance of powerful Pokemon present in a no restriction clause game, Heatran is pressured easily. Dialga also partially covers up the overall Water-type weakness of Steel-type teams.

In these replays which happened during MWP2, you can see that Dialga was an obvious choice over Heatran for the said reasons. 1 2 3 4

We don't have a specific Dialga set because we don't have analyses of Monotype Ubers since is not an official format, but I can recommend you this.

Dialga

Dialga @ Life Orb / Shuca Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Thunder

Stealth Rock is fundamental in every team, Draco Meteor is a powerful nuke that lets you chip plenty of stuff, Fire Blast hits to annoying opposing annoying Steels such as Ferrothorn and Kartana and Thunder lets you handle the Water-type Pokemon as I previously mentioned.

Next up we have our mandatory Ground-type immunity because Shuca Berry will not save you in the long term and you need alternate solutions. Celesteela comes to your rescue for that, the great utility and solid bulk allow it to annoy many things. There is nothing much to say about this one, it simply outclasses Skarmory.

Celesteela

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Heavy Slam
- Toxic
- Protect

A standard Celesteela set should work for you. Leech stall anything that is not Grass-type, Toxic anything in your path and use Heavy Slam whenever you can. Easy to use and easy to benefit from. (Note that having Dialga also culls the Electric weakness of Celesteela here)

Moving on with our way to retaliate against Water- and Ground-type Pokemon. Kartana is perfect for the job, monstrous Attack stat along with excellent Speed is just more than enough. You are free to run whatever spread you want, Choice Band, Choice Scarf, even Z move are all viable options and there are no problems with using any of those. I also want to recommend a different set here, Speed boosting Kartana is a decent choice and its good Speed stat lets it outspeed some of the major Choice Scarf users in the tier such as Lunala.

Defog Kartana
Speed Boosting Kartana

Speed Boosting Kartana

Kartana @ Grassium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 19 Atk
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike / Defog

A Timid nature, max investment in HP and 19 Attack IVs are required for Kartana to boost its Speed instead of Attack. Swords Dance will compensate your Attack loss, Knock Off is a handy coverage that can do great damage to Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon, Smart Strike is your STAB but Defog is also an option.

Now that we somehow covered our type's biggest flaws, we will proceed with remaining team slots. Be advised that Steel-types have lots of Viable possibilities for the remaining slots, so I will just list all of them for you.

You have access to some good utility Pokemon at your disposal, you may consider using them. Standard Klefki with screens is a wonderful asset. Provided Spikes, crippled enemies with Thunder Wave and Screens to create space for your set up sweepers. Its typing is also pretty solid defensively. Aegislash is also amazing, access to Kings Shield and Toxic lets you stall out most of the physical stuff, and it also comes with a very decent typing that has plenty of resistances and 3 important immunities. Ferrothorn is another great asset, it has a godlike utility which usually comes in the form of Leech Seed and Spikes, it can also run Toxic, Knock Off, and Thunder Wave which is all important.

Klefki

Klefki @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Spikes
- Foul Play

Aegislash

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature
- King's Shield
- Toxic
- Gyro Ball
- Shadow Sneak

Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Toxic
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball

You have access to a very good offensive set up Sweepers. Dusk Mane is one of the strongest Pokemon in Ubers right now, with its unique Z move and access to Double Dance. Mega Lucario is also a decent Pokemon, Its monstrous offensive stats and Adaptability makes it dangerous enough even without a Swords Dance boost. Excadrill is an honorary mention here, but it can still fulfill its niche as a suicide lead on hyper offense teams. Set Stealth Rocks, Toxic as many shit as possible, Earthquake and die. It doesn't really have another niche outside of this, as a Choice Scarf user it is heavily outclassed by Kartana. Arceus doesn't really need an explanation. 120 in all, a crapload of coverage and a bunch of utility options such as Defog makes it a formidable Pokemon. Genesect is brilliant to have, capable of running Mixed, Special and Physical, along with setting up options and access to priority, its another option that you may consider. Plates add additional strong coverage but Life Orb or Z moves are advised. I won't drop Arceus and Genesect sets below, as you can customize them in any way you want.

Dusk Mane

Necrozma-Dusk Mane @ Solganium Z
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance
- Sunsteel Strike
- Earthquake

Mega Lucario

Lucario @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Meteor Mash
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch

Hide

Excadrill

Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Tomb
- Toxic / Earthquake
- Rapid Spin

The Team with only one Legendary

Things we use in this section won't be drastically different than what we used in no restriction team. We still have plenty of viable Pokemon pool we can choose from since we made their explanations above I won't quote them here, I will just mention what we can do here. First, I will ask for verification here because this also drastically changes the things we will build.

1) If you are allowed to use UB's, we will proceed with both Celesteela and Kartana, which both are very crucial for the stated reasonings above. If you cannot use UB's, your mandatory (and only option in fact) Ground-type check will be Skarmory over Celesteela and we will replace Kartana with one of the Pokemon from our pool.

2) I'm inclined to use your Fire immunity/resistance with our "one legendary option", either Dialga or Heatran will be a decent fit in your team. (Since you stated no Box legend, Heatran it is)

3) After adding these in, all you need to do is fill your team with the remaining Pokemon you have. With one Legendary rule, most of our offensive Pokemon are banned so having a Balanced team approach would be nice. You might consider a 6 like this below:

The Team with no Legendaries


The same, basically. If you can keep the UB's, then you can keep the exact lineup as above. I understand your concern here is Fire resistance, I'm afraid without the Legendaries present, your only considerable option is an Empoleon.

Empoleon

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Scald
- Roar

Being a part-Water type Pokemon makes Empoleon very good against Fire. It has access to Defog and Stealth Rock, can carry Roar and Toxic if needed and you may even run Agility + 3 Attacks set which can be quite powerful. Here you can see a Steel-type team handling a Fire-type team with the support provided by Empoleon. So, your team should look like this in the end.

Honorary Mentions

There are still few Pokemon you can use in your team, but those Pokemon are probably outclassed by different options, or simply way too unviable to be used in Mono Ubers.

Scizor Mega is a fantastic Mega to have, but Mega Lucario is simply better with its incredible potential on breaking/cleaning. It is slow, its Attack stat is low compared to other Megas. You have very few reasons to use a Scizor Mega, as its entire niche on Ubers is checking Xerneas, but in a team where everything is Steel-type, this is not really necessary. You can probably use it for its U-turn, which can grant momentum but stuff like Klefki makes your switchins safer so keeping your Mega slot is probably better. Its still an option you may consider using.

Another cool mega which is normally banned from regular Monotype. It has Huge Power, great coverage and even has Sucker Punch as its priority. The reasoning behind is I find Mawile too slow to actually do anything remarkable, you will most likely get revenge killed after securing a KO.

This is an option you may consider over Mega Lucario. They hit nearly equal damage, Metagross also has pretty decent coverage such as Thunder Punch, and Metagross is quite a bit bulky. There are no real downsides of this Pokemon, but having access to Close Combat on Mega Lucario is quite huge for Steel-type teams.

Waste of Legendary. You literally have no reason to use this over Necrozma Dusk Mane.

Wonderful Pokemon, but hard to fit in teams. Magearnas primary use on Ubers team is checking Xerneas effectively, but a Steel team shouldn't have any trouble versus Xerneas at all, outside of that it's weak physically, needs to set up in order to deal some damage and quite slow to do actually do anything.

Hope this helps you out.

Thank you for such an in depth response, I'll definitely play around with the options now that you've explained the build so thoroughly.

 

[Derpinator]

Sorry for the double post, was hoping to get some insight given that you have more experience, Perish Song.

For the no restriction team, I've been testing with Dialga/Celesteela/Kartana/Aegislash/Mega Lucario/Dusk Mane.

I'm still in the middle of trying out the different Kartana sets but, the more I play, the more I realize Defog is the way to go.

One large problem I've been running into is Yveltal. I find that my only option is to switch in Lucario, potentially getting the +1 but not always, and either killing with Close Combat or having them switch out. If they don't have a hard counter, it usually isn't a problem because Adaptability Close Combat puts a good dent in. But if they do have something like Ho-Oh, then I am forced to switch out and, if Dialga isn't able to take two hits, I'm in trouble. At that point, I've done nothing to Yveltal and its free to switch back in again, meanwhile Lucario probably can't make the play again, all with nothing gained. Do you have any tips for this situation?

The second problem I'm running into is Dialga taking a lot of responsibility. Its the go-to Groudon killer and the Kyogre cleaner as well, unless I'm doing something wrong, which is entirely possible seeing how I don't see any other solution for the latter apart from saccing and bringing out Kartana. When you add on other EQ users and Fire types, it seems like a lot is on Dialga's plate and it doesn't have the bulk to take it. The only other options I can see are including Heatran as well, saccing other members instead of switching in to Dialga to tank or just accepting that its the consequence of playing a Monotype team against general Ubers teams. Is it just the last one or is there something else I should be doing differently?

The last problem I have is Dusk Mane and its less of a problem and more my lack of experience with both it and Arceus. I've found myself rarely getting it setup. At best, I get a Rock Polish in followed by a Searing Sunraze Smash or a Swords Dance with a Sunsteel Strike, only to revenge killed. Basically, I'm not sure how Dusk Mane is supposed to setup let alone Double Dance without just becoming a one-for-one trade-off. I thought about switching to Arceus, but then the team loses firepower, having to rely on Dialga, who already has a lot on its plate, and Mega Lucario, which similarly isn't easy to setup and is outsped by a lot. Any tips on how to run Dusk Mane and possibly Mega Lucario?

I'm sure many of the issues boil down to me not piloting the team correctly while playing against teams with far more resources at their disposal. This was supposed to only be a casual endeavor, so I'm not overly worried about these issues. Everything you've told me has already been an immense help and given me something far more workable than what I had. But I was still interested in getting some advice from someone who obviously has far more experience than I do. Thanks again.

 

[Perish Song]

One large problem I've been running into is Yveltal. I find that my only option is to switch in Lucario, potentially getting the +1 but not always, and either killing with Close Combat or having them switch out. If they don't have a hard counter, it usually isn't a problem because Adaptability Close Combat puts a good dent in. But if they do have something like Ho-Oh, then I am forced to switch out and, if Dialga isn't able to take two hits, I'm in trouble. At that point, I've done nothing to Yveltal and its free to switch back in again, meanwhile Lucario probably can't make the play again, all with nothing gained. Do you have any tips for this situation?

I've mentioned Magearna below in the honorary mentions. Its typing seems like to be a perfect fit to take on Yveltals, you may want to experiment with it. However, watch out for Heat Wave.

The second problem I'm running into is Dialga taking a lot of responsibility. Its the go-to Groudon killer and the Kyogre cleaner as well, unless I'm doing something wrong, which is entirely possible seeing how I don't see any other solution for the latter apart from saccing and bringing out Kartana. When you add on other EQ users and Fire types, it seems like a lot is on Dialga's plate and it doesn't have the bulk to take it. The only other options I can see are including Heatran as well, saccing other members instead of switching in to Dialga to tank or just accepting that its the consequence of playing a Monotype team against general Ubers teams. Is it just the last one or is there something else I should be doing differently?

This is actually the core problem of the Monotype metagame. When your entire team shares one type, you will be weak to a certain threat, and the best thing you can do is covering that threat as much as possible. Steel in regular Monotype is no different, where your only viable Fire-type answer is Heatran, and your opponent can easily smash you when you lose that line of defense. The power levels of Ubers Metagame is much heavier than standard Monotype so I can understand the pressure on Dialga. However, running Heatran alongside won't really help you. Another example of this would be any Electric-type Pokemon vs a Water-type team. Your obvious objective here is keeping your Ground-type Pokemon as much as possible.

The last problem I have is Dusk Mane and its less of a problem and more my lack of experience with both it and Arceus. I've found myself rarely getting it setup. At best, I get a Rock Polish in followed by a Searing Sunraze Smash or a Swords Dance with a Sunsteel Strike, only to revenge killed. Basically, I'm not sure how Dusk Mane is supposed to setup let alone Double Dance without just becoming a one-for-one trade-off. I thought about switching to Arceus, but then the team loses firepower, having to rely on Dialga, who already has a lot on its plate, and Mega Lucario, which similarly isn't easy to setup and is outsped by a lot. Any tips on how to run Dusk Mane and possibly Mega Lucario?

Dusk Mane has very respectable bulk in both special and physical side along with Prism Armor. I guess you need to figure out yourself what you can set up or what you cant. If you still think it unreliable to set up both boosts, you can replace Swords Dance with Stone Edge that will give you an Edge over Hooh. ( See what I did here? Haha xd.) About Lucario, not many things can outspeed it actually, you need to seek some setup opportunities against bulky utility Pokemon that cannot reliably deal damage, such as Ferrothorn maybe?

 

[Derpinator]

I'll try out Magearna and work on figuring out when to setup with Necrozma and Lucario. Thank you again for all the help!

 

[Axelander222]

Hi there.
Im making also a Steel Monotype with OU pokemons. This means that Magearna, Mega Mawile and Kartana are allowed. My question is, What would the best way to use them in a team? (It doesn't matter if its in the same team or in multiple teams)

 

[737373elj]

My opinion:

MMawile could be for a TR team. Probs with Stakatata and Magearna (lol that could be Magearna’s second role). Physical Sweeper?

Kartana as a Speedy but fragile Physical Sweeper.

And Magearna as a Bulky Special Attacker

 

[Axelander222]

My opinion:

MMawile could be for a TR team. Probs with Stakatata and Magearna (lol that could be Magearna’s second role). Physical Sweeper?

Kartana as a Speedy but fragile Physical Sweeper.

And Magearna as a Bulky Special Attacker

Sounds nice. Any team options for trying them? Because there is not much information for Steel Monotypes for this pokemons. Thank You

 

[Perish Song]

Axelander222 Our team structure won't be changed drastically. Let's have a look together.

1) Fire Immunity

This is still very important in order to not auto lose versus anything that carries Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Flare Blitz. So we will start our team with Heatran. Heatran is also S rank in OU so I'd expect you it to pull off its weight easily. The standard monotype set should work here but if you are playing this in OU tier, then consider checking the OU analyses as Mono OU would be an entirely different metagame.

2) Ground Immunity

Ground immunity is also crucial, so we will go with either Celesteela or Skarmory. Celesteela is far more superior compared to Skarmory, offers a lot more and is bulkier. So I'd recommend you to use Celesteela. Again, a generic set should work fine for you. Toxic anything, chip them with Leech Seed + Protect and Heavy Slam anything else.

This is the base outline I want you to have in your team, the next steps will divide into paths as we have multiple alternatives.

3) Dealing with Water and Ground

Celesteela can hold these types for a certain time but in the long term, Leech Seed doesn't have infinite PP and may occasionally get pp stalled out. So we will need for alternate ways to annoy Ground and manage Water at the same time. For this, you have 2 options.

3A) Kartana

Kartana will effectively beat most of Water and Ground-type Pokemon in the OU metagame. It's a great offensive Pokemon that can be used as a speed control tool as well. Its monstrous Speed makes it a good candidate for Choice Scarf, and thanks to its Attack stat it hits like an actual truck. I find Scarf to be more fitting in your team as you can also run Defog on its set that allows you to scrap Excadrill. (I'll mention Excadrill later on) But running Z or Band are also valid options.

3B) Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn is an excellent asset with its good typing and its access to good utility moves. Spikes and Thunder Wave support is really valuable along with Knock Off, it also has Leech Seed just like Celesteela and can be used to scout moves with Protect. It can also function as a primary Stealth Rocker of your team. It has access to Spikes as well, effectively chipping down almost anything.

Beyond this point, we will choose our offensive Pokemon.

4) Offensive Options

This is where things get interesting.

4A) TRICK ROOM.

You have access to Magearna and Stakataka, two cool Pokemon that brings their own Trick Room to the party and deal damage while its in effect. You can consider having both in the same team, as one of them is special and other is physical, forming an excellent offensive core. I'd recommend using 3A for this team structure, as in 3A Kartana will act as a form of speed control outside of Trick Room and thanks to its Defog you can complete your team with any other Pokemon you wish. Here I would recommend Jirachi to wrap this up, its another utility Pokemon that fits this team perfectly. Its Stealth Rock frees Heatran from running it, has U-turn for Momentum, can Wishpass if necessary and it also has TRICK ROOM. What else you can expect from this Pokemon?

4B) Standard Balance

You have a good defensive core with Heatran, Celesteela, and Ferrothorn, now its time to go offensive. Magearna here makes an excellent choice, its Fairy-typing is always welcomed, has a plethora of viable sets, an excellent Pokemon and in fact one of limited specially offensive Pokemon that Steel has access to. (Sometimes Heatran isn't enough) It also partially covers up the Fighting weakness of your team along with Celesteela. You can use any set you want, but I'd recommend a Double Dance set with BoltBeam or DualStab, or a Calm Mind set with Fightinium Z + 2 Attacks. (Never skip Thunderbolt IMO, your main way to handle Toxapex).

5) Wrapping up

Moving on, we can afford to run a mega in this team. Scizor Mega would be one of my recommendations, as it carries Defog, its the only Pokemon that has reliable recovery in the team, has U-turn, has Swords Dance, a strong priority named Bullet Punch. Its a great addition to the balanced core, you may consider it as an option. On the other hand, we have arguably one of the best Megas in OU, Mawile. Mawile doesn't really need any explanation, it just wrecks shit. Both of these Megas are valid options for this team. I would recommend Mawile over Scizor here, ut in any team hazard removals are necessary team elements so I Scizor is mentioned as well. We will make our remaining pick based on the Mega you choose.

5A ) Mawile Mega

I explained what Mawile does above, Swords Dance boosted Mawile just wrecks stuff, has Thunder Punch so can more reliably handle Toxapex than Magearna if you get a chance to set up because most Pex are specially defensive in OU and Swords Dance grants more boost and paired up with Pure Power, its simply amazing. Mawile can also fit in priority in its set and Knock Off, both are welcomed. This leaves hazard removal Pokemon.

Added in Excadrill for Rapid Spin. You can also give it a Scarf ( and you should IMO) so it can act as a form of speed control. Rapid Spin also doesn't remove your hazards so that grants you freedom on running Spikes on Ferrothorn. It's Ground typing also checks Tapu Koko and other Electric-type Pokemon as well.

5B) Scizor Mega

Scizor has been also explained above so won't rewrite stuff here. It's a good utility mon that fits to your balance core well while maintaining an offensive presence. I am undecided on how you can wrap this team up. You need another offensive Pokemon that can clean late-game, or break on the early game for Scizor and Magearna to clean at late. You may also consider Magnezone, in other to trap other Steel-type Pokemon which can be found in every possible team. Excadrill can be used here again as well, this time freed from running Rapid Spin or you can keep spin on it to run a more offensive Scizor spread. Your remaining options are mostly unusual Pokemon as we cannot fit anything else from OU to this team. Doublade is a decent pick, lets you wall Mega Medicham which is very common to find on the ladder. (Would recommend)

 

[Axelander222]

Axelander222 Our team structure won't be changed drastically. Let's have a look together.

1) Fire Immunity

This is still very important in order to not auto lose versus anything that carries Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Flare Blitz. So we will start our team with Heatran. Heatran is also S rank in OU so I'd expect you it to pull off its weight easily. The standard monotype set should work here but if you are playing this in OU tier, then consider checking the OU analyses as Mono OU would be an entirely different metagame.

2) Ground Immunity

Ground immunity is also crucial, so we will go with either Celesteela or Skarmory. Celesteela is far more superior compared to Skarmory, offers a lot more and is bulkier. So I'd recommend you to use Celesteela. Again, a generic set should work fine for you.

This is the base outline I want you to have in your team, the next steps will divide into paths as we have multiple alternatives.

3) Dealing with Water and Ground

Celesteela can hold these types for a certain time but in the long term, Leech Seed doesn't have infinite PP and may occasionally get pp stalled out. So we will need for alternate ways to annoy Ground and manage Water at the same time. For this, you have 2 options.

3A) Kartana

Kartana will effectively beat most of Water and Ground-type Pokemon in the OU metagame. It's a great offensive Pokemon that can be used as a speed control tool as well. Its monstrous Speed makes it a good candidate for Choice Scarf, and thanks to its Attack stat it hits like an actual truck. I find Scarf to be more fitting in your team as you can also run Defog on its set that allows you to scrap Excadrill. (I'll mention Excadrill later on)

3B) Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn is an excellent asset with its good typing and its access to good utility moves. Spikes and Thunder Wave support is really valuable along with Knock Off, it also has Leech Seed just like Celesteela and can be used to scout moves with Protect. It can also function as a primary Stealth Rocker of your team.

Beyond this point, we will choose our offensive Pokemon.

4) Offensive Options

This is where things get interesting.

4A) TRICK ROOM.

You have access to Magearna and Stakataka, two cool Pokemon that brings their own Trick Room to the party and deal damage while its in effect. You can consider having both in the same team, as one of them is special and other is physical, forming an excellent offesive core. I'd recommend using 3A for this team structure, as in 3A Kartana will act as form of speed control outside of Trick Room and thanks to its Defog you can complete your team with any other Pokemon you wish. Here I would recommend Jirachi to wrap this up, its another utility Pokemon that fits to this team perfectly. Its Stealth Rock frees Heatran from running it, has U-turn for Momentum, can Wishpass if necessary and it also has TRICK ROOM. What else you can expect from this Pokemon?

4B) Standard Balance

You have a good defensive core with Heatran, Celesteela, and Ferrothorn, now its time to go offensive. Magearna here makes an excellent choice, its Fairy-typing is always welcomed, has a plethora of viable sets, an excellent Pokemon and in fact one of limited specially offensive Pokemon that Steel has access to. (Sometimes Heatran isn't enough) It also partially covers up the Fighting weakness of your team along with Celesteela. You can use any set you want, but I'd recommend a Double Dance set with BoltBeam or DualStab, or a Calm Mind set with Fightinium Z + 2 Attacks. (Never skip Thunderbolt IMO, your main way to handle Toxapex).

5) Wrapping up

Moving on, we can afford to run a mega in this team. Scizor Mega would be one of my recommendations, as it carries Defog, its the only Pokemon that has reliable recovery in the team, has U-turn, has Swords Dance, a strong priority called Bullet Punch. Its a great addition to the balance core, you may consider it as an option. On the other hand, we have arguably one of the best Megas in OU, Mawile. Mawile doesn't really need any explanation, it just wrecks shit. Both of these megas are valid options for this team. But in any team hazard removals are necessary team elements so I mentioned Scizor here. We will make our remaining pick based on the Mega you choose.

5A ) Mawile Mega

I explained what Mawile does above, Swords Dance boosted Mawile just wrecks stuff, has Thunder Punch so can more reliably handle Toxapex than Magearna if you get a chance to set up because most Pex are specially defensive in OU and Swords Dance grants more boost and paired up with Pure Power, its simply amazing. Mawile can also fit in priority in its set and Knock Off, both are welcomed. This leaves hazard removal Pokemon.

Added in Excadrill for Rapid Spin. You can also give it a Scarf ( and you should IMO) so it can act as a form of speed control. Rapid Spin also doesn't remove your hazards so that grants you freedom on running Spikes on Ferrothorn. Its Ground typing also checks Tapu Koko and other Electric-type Pokemon as well.

5B) Scizor Mega

Scizor has been also explained above so won't rewrite stuff here. I am undecided on how you can wrap this team up. You need another offensive Pokemon that can clean late-game, or break on the early game for Scizor and Magearna to clean at late. You may also consider Magnezone, in other to trap other Steel-type Pokemon which can be found in every possible team. Excadrill can be used here again as well, this time freed from running Rapid Spin or you can keep spin on it to run a more offensive Scizor spread.

Dude... this is... perfect. You are breath taking, seriously!

 

[Axelander222]

Axelander222 Our team structure won't be changed drastically. Let's have a look together.

1) Fire Immunity

This is still very important in order to not auto lose versus anything that carries Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Flare Blitz. So we will start our team with Heatran. Heatran is also S rank in OU so I'd expect you it to pull off its weight easily. The standard monotype set should work here but if you are playing this in OU tier, then consider checking the OU analyses as Mono OU would be an entirely different metagame.

2) Ground Immunity

Ground immunity is also crucial, so we will go with either Celesteela or Skarmory. Celesteela is far more superior compared to Skarmory, offers a lot more and is bulkier. So I'd recommend you to use Celesteela. Again, a generic set should work fine for you. Toxic anything, chip them with Leech Seed + Protect and Heavy Slam anything else.

This is the base outline I want you to have in your team, the next steps will divide into paths as we have multiple alternatives.

3) Dealing with Water and Ground

Celesteela can hold these types for a certain time but in the long term, Leech Seed doesn't have infinite PP and may occasionally get pp stalled out. So we will need for alternate ways to annoy Ground and manage Water at the same time. For this, you have 2 options.

3A) Kartana

Kartana will effectively beat most of Water and Ground-type Pokemon in the OU metagame. It's a great offensive Pokemon that can be used as a speed control tool as well. Its monstrous Speed makes it a good candidate for Choice Scarf, and thanks to its Attack stat it hits like an actual truck. I find Scarf to be more fitting in your team as you can also run Defog on its set that allows you to scrap Excadrill. (I'll mention Excadrill later on) But running Z or Band are also valid options.

3B) Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn is an excellent asset with its good typing and its access to good utility moves. Spikes and Thunder Wave support is really valuable along with Knock Off, it also has Leech Seed just like Celesteela and can be used to scout moves with Protect. It can also function as a primary Stealth Rocker of your team. It has access to Spikes as well, effectively chipping down almost anything.

Beyond this point, we will choose our offensive Pokemon.

4) Offensive Options

This is where things get interesting.

4A) TRICK ROOM.

You have access to Magearna and Stakataka, two cool Pokemon that brings their own Trick Room to the party and deal damage while its in effect. You can consider having both in the same team, as one of them is special and other is physical, forming an excellent offensive core. I'd recommend using 3A for this team structure, as in 3A Kartana will act as a form of speed control outside of Trick Room and thanks to its Defog you can complete your team with any other Pokemon you wish. Here I would recommend Jirachi to wrap this up, its another utility Pokemon that fits this team perfectly. Its Stealth Rock frees Heatran from running it, has U-turn for Momentum, can Wishpass if necessary and it also has TRICK ROOM. What else you can expect from this Pokemon?

4B) Standard Balance

You have a good defensive core with Heatran, Celesteela, and Ferrothorn, now its time to go offensive. Magearna here makes an excellent choice, its Fairy-typing is always welcomed, has a plethora of viable sets, an excellent Pokemon and in fact one of limited specially offensive Pokemon that Steel has access to. (Sometimes Heatran isn't enough) It also partially covers up the Fighting weakness of your team along with Celesteela. You can use any set you want, but I'd recommend a Double Dance set with BoltBeam or DualStab, or a Calm Mind set with Fightinium Z + 2 Attacks. (Never skip Thunderbolt IMO, your main way to handle Toxapex).

5) Wrapping up

Moving on, we can afford to run a mega in this team. Scizor Mega would be one of my recommendations, as it carries Defog, its the only Pokemon that has reliable recovery in the team, has U-turn, has Swords Dance, a strong priority named Bullet Punch. Its a great addition to the balanced core, you may consider it as an option. On the other hand, we have arguably one of the best Megas in OU, Mawile. Mawile doesn't really need any explanation, it just wrecks shit. Both of these Megas are valid options for this team. I would recommend Mawile over Scizor here, ut in any team hazard removals are necessary team elements so I Scizor is mentioned as well. We will make our remaining pick based on the Mega you choose.

5A ) Mawile Mega

I explained what Mawile does above, Swords Dance boosted Mawile just wrecks stuff, has Thunder Punch so can more reliably handle Toxapex than Magearna if you get a chance to set up because most Pex are specially defensive in OU and Swords Dance grants more boost and paired up with Pure Power, its simply amazing. Mawile can also fit in priority in its set and Knock Off, both are welcomed. This leaves hazard removal Pokemon.

Added in Excadrill for Rapid Spin. You can also give it a Scarf ( and you should IMO) so it can act as a form of speed control. Rapid Spin also doesn't remove your hazards so that grants you freedom on running Spikes on Ferrothorn. It's Ground typing also checks Tapu Koko and other Electric-type Pokemon as well.

5B) Scizor Mega

Scizor has been also explained above so won't rewrite stuff here. It's a good utility mon that fits to your balance core well while maintaining an offensive presence. I am undecided on how you can wrap this team up. You need another offensive Pokemon that can clean late-game, or break on the early game for Scizor and Magearna to clean at late. You may also consider Magnezone, in other to trap other Steel-type Pokemon which can be found in every possible team. Excadrill can be used here again as well, this time freed from running Rapid Spin or you can keep spin on it to run a more offensive Scizor spread. Your remaining options are mostly unusual Pokemon as we cannot fit anything else from OU to this team. Doublade is a decent pick, lets you wall Mega Medicham which is very common to find on the ladder. (Would recommend)

One thing. What is the set of Jirachi with TR, heatran and celesteela on the Trick Room team?

 

[Perish Song]

One thing. What is the set of Jirachi with TR, heatran and celesteela on the Trick Room team?

Celesteela stays the same as we don't add it to function as a Trick Room mon, it usually offers utility. If you want to include it just make its Speed IVs 0 and give it a negative Speed nature. The same goes for Heatran. I'm just saying that since neither of these mons is TR setter or abusers you don't need to adjust their sets accordingly. The best you can do is adjusting their natures if you want them to function better under Trick Room.

As for Jirachi, the problem here is that Jirachi lacks immediate power or even setup capabilities to actually to do anything under Trick Room, so you need options to provide momentum to your team while not drastically draining it. This comes in 2 forms, you can either slow U-turn in order to prevent damage, or use Healing Wish to give your offensive Pokemon another chance.