Traits
Rock Head: Prevents recoil damage from Double-Edge... and Steelix has much more powerful attacks than that, so this ability is borderline useless.
Sturdy: Immunity to One Hit KO attacks (Which nobody uses), but also comes with a built in Endure effect, stopping it from being 1hkoed by most Water Types. This is a big boost for Steelix this generation, because it makes leading with him more viable, and makes one of my favorite Steelix gimmicks more viable.
Sheer Force: Boosts the power of the Fang Trio and Rock Slide, but sacrifices their side effects. This ability makes Rock Slide more viable than Stone Edge.
Cursed Steel
Sturdy / Sheer Force, Life Orb, Adamant, 252 Atk, 252 HP, 4 SpDef
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Rock Slide / Thunder Fang / Payback / Explosion
- Curse
This is a pretty standard affair for Steelix, but that's not a bad thing at all. If you do something right, go all in with it. Earthquake and Gyro Ball pick up STAB and have huge base damage. Curse is your main boosting move, giving you +1 Attack and Defense in exchange for -1 Speed. But at base 30 Speed, nobody cares about that (Plus you're running Gyro Ball anyway, and anything that uses that is slow by rule of thumb). Your last move slot has a few options. Rock Slide and Thunder Fang are both nice coverage moves that are boosted by Sheer Force. Payback rolls with Steelix's low speed and has respectable coverage. Explosion is a last ditch attack, if you can predict Steelix's impending demise. Depending on which move you take, pick Sheer Force or Sturdy to accommodate your decision.
Slow Choice
Sturdy, Choice Band, Brave, 252 Atk, 252 HP, 4 SpDef
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Payback
- Stone Edge / Explosion
Oh look, the first of my many Steelix gimmick sets. With a built in Focus Sash and the ability to carry a Choice Item, Steelix can use Gyro Ball and Payback like a champion. You still have your alternative attacks on deck should you need them though, Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Explosion.
Polished Sweeper
Sturdy / Sheer Force, Choice Band, Jolly, 252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
- Earthquake
- Heavy Slam / Stone Edge / Rock Slide / Thunder Fang
- Heavy Slam / Stone Edge / Rock Slide / Thunder Fang
- Rock Polish
Steelix can cap off at 348 Speed after one Rock Polish. That can actually outrun a solid amount of stuff, so this move set has some merit to it, and makes this whole option a lot more viable than most gimmicks. Earthquake has STAB, and is your standard attack. Since you're running with speed natures and EVs, Gyro Ball won't cut it here. Heavy Slam is a viable alternative in the UU, since things there are fairly lightweight compared to Steelix, who is pretty heavy (Under the taking 100 Base Damage from Grass Knot table). If you're running Sturdy, another option is Stone Edge. Like the first set though, you can run Rock Slide and / or Thunder Fang with Sheer Force. I prefer Sturdy though, since it guarantees at least one boost can be pulled off.
As to why Autotomize isn't used here, it has 5 less PP and reduces weight, thus weakening Heavy Slam if it is used. You can run it on Sheer Force variations if you want to weaken Grass Knot and Low Kick.
Sneaky Lead / Anti Lead
Sturdy, Leftovers / Balloon / Shed Skin, Adamant, 252 Atk, 252 HP, 4 SpDef
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt / Toxic / Explosion
Personally, I wouldn't trust Steelix as a lead because there are a lot of more viable options, but that doesn't mean he's a bad one... it's just that with Froslass, Ferrothorn, Whimsicott, Aerodactyl and other superior leads running around, Steelix has lots of superior options as a lead. That doesn't mean it's a bad anti lead though, or a combination of the two.
Earthquake is your main STAB, which ironically has no coverage on any of the pokemon I just mentioned, but covers some other ones. Dragon Tail is an attack that forces a switch, meaning other leads cannot disable it with Taunt, and it breaks through Focus Sashes. Stealth Rock is a great entry hazard to have, and can be set up if Steelix has not been Taunted. The last slot is a toss up. Taunt is very good, but Steelix is too slow to carry it. Toxic works well on bulky Grass and Water types, but Steelix may be Taunted before it can use that too. Explosion is a great last ditch for once Steelix has done his job, and helps draw the comparisons to Froslass and Aerodactyl as suicide leads.
As far as hold items are concerned, you have a few options, though Leftovers is generally the best one since you have a built in Focus Sash with Sturdy. Balloon gives Steelix another immunity, and to a move that Aerodactyl will typically use on it (As do the Water/Ground types), making it considerable. Shed Skin stops Magnet Pull from Magnezone, but, Steelix can typically 1HKO Magnezone unless it carries Magnet Rise. I'll make a mention of Probopass, but he's too rare of an occurrence, and he's x4 weak to Earthquake too.
Alternative Attacks
Rock Blast: Annihilates Substitutes and inflicts damage, but Steelix lacks STAB boosts on it.
Ice Fang: Can be used to catch Dragons in the higher tiers.
Fire Fang: Decimates the Steel/Bugs and Ferrothorn.
Crunch: Can replace Payback in the Rock Polish set, but the coverage isn't stellar enough to mandate a slot, and it is outpowered by every other move in most circumstances (Can vary with Heavy Slam).
Block / Sand Tomb: Stops escaping, which can be nice with Sand Tomb, which also catches a STAB boost. But it's still very weak and is inaccurate.
Countering Steelix
Bulky Water types that can handle Earthquake are fine, and they can pretty much all sponge Gyro Balls. Blastoise, Vaporeon, Quagasire, Swampert, Gastrodon, and Seismitoad are all good choices. Blastoise and Vaporeon carry Thunder Fang weaknesses though, while the latter options have immunities and carry STAB Surf, Waterfall, Earthquakes or Earth Powers every time. Gliscor is a nice choice for it's dual immunities to Earthquake and Thunder Fang.
