Richard's Reasoning - Steelix

Welcome to the eleventh installment of Richard's Reasoning, where we discuss Pokemon in Crystal Clear's unique metagame. This time we'll be talking about a Pokemon that just barely missed out on winning the community-voted poll for an article last time. So let's talk Steelix.

Base Stats: 75 HP / 85 Attack / 200 Defense / 55 Sp. Attack / 65 Sp. Defense / 30 Speed

Steelix has the second-highest Defense stat in the game, and unlike Shuckle it actually has HP to utilize it. Ground/Steel typing is incredible defensively; even if it does grant it some unfortunate common weaknesses, the resistances gained from the typing more than make up for it. Steelix resists Normal, Flying, Psychic, Ghost, Dragon, Bug, Steel, Dark, Rock (x4), and is immune to both Electric and Poison. It is weak to Fire, Water, Fighting and Ground, and takes neutral damage from both Grass and Ice.

All of this to say that Steelix finds many opportunities to put its defensive stats and typing to work in some incredible ways. Here's what I'd recommend for Steelix in the current metagame.

-Iron Giant-

Steelix@ Leftovers / Gold Berry / Quick Claw
Earthquake
Roar / Protect
Rock Slide
Toxic / Flamethrower / Body Slam

Earthquake is your main move here, dishing out the best damage Steelix can muster. It has great coverage, and ensures that Steelix has an offensive presence on the field, which is important.

Roar makes Steelix one of the most reliable phazers in the metagame, utilizing its incredible defenses and resistances to shut down many Pokemon that boost their stats or otherwise prove problematic. It pairs well with Spikes too, and can be very valuable for revealing which Pokemon the opponent has chosen. It's one of the defining features of Steelix, and very worthy of consideration. If you feel you don't need it, though, Protect is a decent option alongside Leftovers to keep Steelix healthy. As always, it can be punished if you use it too predictably, but getting that extra 6% for free can make a big difference.

Rock Slide is the best coverage option Steelix has, to the point that I'd say it's a necessary inclusion alongside Earthquake. It hits Flying types that are immune to Earthquake, and that's about all it's needed for. Not much to say, except that with Quick Claw it can fish for flinches, but that's more of a nice benefit than a selling point, as it's a wildly unreliable strategy.

The last slot is where Steelix has the most flexibility. Toxic is my strongest recommendation for this slot, since it allows Steelix to punish many common switch-ins early in a match to make them easy to wear down over the course of the game. Pokemon like Slowbro, Vaporeon, Meganium, and Gligar all really dislike being hit by Toxic as they come in to try to absorb an Earthquake and force Steelix out. Flamethrower is an odd choice, given Steelix's subpar Sp. Attack, but it actually allows it to beat Skarmory reliably. Especially in a scenario where Skarmory is the last Pokemon on the opposing team and begins using Curse, having an option to quickly deal 37-44% of Skarmory's health means you can beat it without the possibility of it boosting too high for Rock Slide to break through (especially for Skarmory that have Leftovers and Protect).

Body Slam is a decent option, similar to Toxic to be used early-game. While it's nowhere near as reliable, Paralysis is a very helpful status to spread and it can make switching into Steelix a much more punishing endeavor. Paralysis in 3v3 is usually more impactful, given that most teams are more offensively inclined than they are defensive, and Paralysis hurts offensive Pokemon much more than Toxic tends to.

Steelix has a few other options for moves that are worth considering. Curse is the standout here, sacrificing largely meaningless Speed for a boost to Attack and Defense. The issue with this is that the Pokemon that tend to switch into Steelix force it to switch out, so it can often result in a wasted turn that could have been better spent weakening those counters with another move. Iron Tail is almost entirely worthless, but it's your strongest attack against Aerodactyl, 2HKOing it while Rock Slide is only a 3HKO. This sounds appealing sometimes, but even in this matchup, Fire Blast Aerodactyl 2HKO's Steelix, and you'd essentially be using it almost exclusively for this matchup when you could just support Steelix with a Water type that can switch into Aerodactyl's Fire Blast if need be. It's not worth the move slot, especially with that horrible accuracy. Dragonbreath can be used over Body Slam if you reeeally want to Paralyze Gengar or Misdreavus but like... don't do this. It has low power, especially coming off Steelix's Sp. Attack and you the positives aren't nearly appealing enough to consider this seriously.

The item choices aren't really anything mind-blowing. Leftovers is the best pick to keep Steelix healthy, but if they're all occupied then Gold Berry can help a little bit. Quick Claw sometimes gives you the first hit, which can be very helpful. Steelix is immune to Thunder Wave and Toxic, so it doesn't get much use from status-curing berries. It hates being burnt, but it probably shouldn't be taking a Fire attack in the first place, so this is probably all you can do for it in terms of items.

...Shoutouts to running PsnCureBerry Steelix to heal off a Twineedle Poison.

-My Thoughts-

I've grown to like Steelix. I didn't like it back when I'd first seen it during G/S's debut, because it felt like a departure from what I liked about Onix, but I definitely prefer Steelix these days. It's a gigantic metal snake, that's rad as hell. It's been the savior of a few Nuzlockes, and was a star player in my August 2022 tournament team. Beneath that steely-cold exterior lies the heart of a... rock snake.