The Steel type is one of the most defensively well-rounded types in Pokémon. Its laundry list of resistances includes Normal, Dragon, Dark, and Psychic, to name just a few. Steel-type Pokémon are often slow yet capable of serving as walls and utilizing Spikes but rarely dishing out damage. Steel is not only a relatively weak offensive type, as it lacks a wide range of good damaging moves.
Despite its shortcomings, Steel has always been a popular type. It works remarkably well when paired with other types which cover its weaknesses—namely Psychic, Flying, and Fairy. Thankfully, there's no shortage of Pokémon using this interesting type in Scarlet & Violet—here are our favorites!
Updated by Madeline Virtue on 02/17/2023: This article was updated to include five additional entries. It is useful to use lists like this when crafting the perfect team to take on the Elite Four.
15 Forretress
The combination of Bug and Steel typing, while cool, leaves poor Forretress with an extreme weakness against Fire-Type attacks. However, this little guy has been around since Gen II and is worth utilizing if you harbor a fondness for its design.
Forretress' biggest strength is its 140 Defense base stat, which is impressive for a Bug-Type but expected of a Steel-Type. At level 36 it learns the move Explosion, which can be useful in certain strategies.
14 Revavroom
First, we have Revavroom, a new Steel-type introduced in Scarlet & Violet. Interestingly, Revavroom is a Steel/Poison type. This combination is good in some ways but remarkably poor in others. Steel covers Poison's weakness to Psychic, and Poison covers Steel's weakness to Fighting. Unfortunately, both Steel and Poison are weak to Ground-type damage, and poor Revavroom does not get Levitate ability.
Revavroom does make up for this somewhat with its interesting move set. With moves like Taunt, Toxic Spikes, and Protect, it has a few tricks up its sleeve. Spin Out and Shift Gear also strikes us as a fun combination, with the latter making up for the loss in speed inflicted by the former.
13 Perrserker
Perrserker is the evolution of Galarian Meowth, which can be received from Professor Salvatore at the end of his side quest in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Its Attack and Defense are pretty high, but its total base stats are low for a mono Steel-type.
It has a pretty good move pool, which makes good use of its Hidden Ability, Steely Spirit, which boosts the damage of Steel-Type moves by 50%, which raises the total damage to 200%, or double the move's base damage.
12 Scizor
A Bug/Steel-Type introduced in Gen II, Scizor has a high base stat total of 500, with its highest stat being its Attack at 130, followed by Defense at 100. One of its Abilities, Technician, powers up moves of 60 base power or less which makes it a perfect user of priority or multi-hit moves.
Unfortunately, Scizor does not learn any multi-hit moves, and only learns a few priority moves. One powerful strategy for a Technician Scizor would be to use the Metronome item, use Swords-Dance, and follow it up with the move Fury Cutter multiple times.
11 Copperajah
Copperajah is a pure Steel-type first introduced in Pokémon Sword & Shield. It has pretty good all-around stats, including excellent base HP and Attack. Unfortunately, its poor speed, surprisingly low defensive stats, and lack of a supportive secondary typing can leave it struggling to keep up with the competition.
What Copperajah does have to go for it, aside from its good Attack stat, is wonderful offensive coverage. With moves like Earthquake, Power Whip, Superpower, and Stone Edge, it can hit a wide range of foes for super-effective damage. Not to mention it's just a straight-up cool-looking creature. Who doesn't love elephants?
10 Lucario
Lucario is a beloved Steel/Fighting-type who makes a return in Scarlet & Violet. Although this fighting dog is essentially the same as he's always been, he makes our list for remaining a reliable choice with very solid base stats.
With access to Swords Dance & Close Combat, there's very little that can stand in the way of a trained Lucario. However, the one major drawback is its relatively low bulk. Lucario only meets its true potential after setting up with Swords Dance, but it can occasionally be difficult to survive long enough to get to that point. Thankfully, its typing gives it some defensibility, and it's relatively quick for a Steel-type.
9 Orthworm
Next, we have Orthworm, a decidedly silly-looking pure Steel-type introduced in Scarlet & Violet. It may not seem like much at first glance, thanks to its other base stats being somewhat mediocre. However, Orthworm's ability Earth Eater is what really sets it apart. Similar to Water Absorb, this ability heals Orthworm whenever it would normally take Ground-type damage.
While Orthworm remains vulnerable to both Fire and Steel, using it to switch into Ground-type moves can be extremely fun. It also gets a pretty decent move set, with moves like Iron Head, Iron Defense, and even Earthquake at its disposal.
8 Bronzong
Bronzong is the first Pokémon on this list with a notably excellent type combination. The Psychic type covers Steel's weakness to Fighting, while Steel covers Psychic's weaknesses to Bug-, Dark-, and Ghost-type damage. Bronzong's ability to Levitate covers Steel's weakness to Ground, leaving Bronzong with only one actual weakness - Fire.
It doesn't end there, though. Bronzong's excellent defensive stats make it an amazing wall. With access to Stealth Rock, Toxic, and Protect, it can easily stall out opponents lacking Fire coverage. Beyond that, it can grab Psychic or Zen Headbutt to fish out a bit of damage.
7 Klefki
While this Fairy/Steel-Type has a low base stat total, it makes good use of it. Klefki's defensive stats are its highest, with its offensive stats equal and not far behind. Both its natural Ability, Prankster, and its Hidden Ability, Magician, are competitively viable.
Its typing, move pool, and stats all lend Klefki to being a powerful support Pokémon. With only two weakness, to Fire-Type and Ground-Type attacks, Klefki is able to provide a versatile role on almost any team.
6 Magnezone
Despite its notable quadruple weakness to Ground-type damage, Magnezone remains a fun Pokémon with niche utility. Its unique Magnet Pull ability lets it trap other Steel-types, which is weird and incredibly fun. Unfortunately, it lacks the move set to fully take advantage of this ability.
We would love to recommend running Magnezone with a powerful Ground- or Fire-type move to capitalize on its ability to trap Steel-types. Unfortunately, Magnezone simply lacks access to these moves. Finagling Hidden Power Fire onto it is an option, although this can be difficult to actually do in practice.
5 Iron Treads
If you played Pokémon Violet, this Ground/Steel-Type was your first introduction to the game's exclusive future Pokémon. With a base stat total of 570, Iron Treads is an obvious powerhouse. 120 Defense, 112 Attack, and 106 Speed make for a fast tank that can be absolutely devastating without a good counter.
Competitively, Iron Treads has the absolutely devastating move Steel Roller that does 130 base damage while also destroying terrain, including terrain hazards. If you've got an Iron Treads on your team, you will be a force to be reckoned with.
4 Corviknight
Speaking of Pokémon with good type combinations, let's discuss Corviknight. Two of Steel's big weaknesses are Ground and Fighting. Flying covers these—particularly Ground, which it's immune to. Steel covers Flying's weaknesses to Rock- and Ice-type damage (though, unfortunately, not Electric).
In terms of strategy, Corviknight compresses multiple useful roles into one. Its bulk makes it a decent wall, and the move Roost lets it heal, further bolstering its defensibility. Defog lets it clear stage hazards, and Brave Bird lets it dish out tons of damage. Corviknight even gets a U-turn, allowing it to pivot away from danger.
3 Kingambit
Did Bisharp need an evolution? No, not really. Bisharp was good enough as it was, and yet, here we have Kingambit—an even beefier version of this devastating sweeper. Of course, Kingambit's Dark/Steel typing leaves it with a brutal quadruple weakness to Fighting. Despite its slightly improved bulk over Bisharp, this is an issue Kingambit cannot easily overcome.
However, if Fighting-type damage is avoided, its improved bulk might give it the extra bit of time it needs to set up with Swords Dance. After this, it can dish out devastating strikes with Iron Head or Night Slash. For a fourth option, there are moves like Brick Break, Knock Off, or maybe even Stealth Rock.
2 Tinkaton
Next, we have Tinkaton, a Steel/Fairy type. This is another great type-combination. Steel covers both of Fairy's weaknesses—in the case of Poison, it's completely immune. Fairy mitigates Steel's weakness to Fighting, leaving Tinkaton with just two weaknesses. Considering what an amazing offensive type Fairy is, Steel seems to be its perfect complement.
In terms of strategy, Tinkaton does great with moves like Swords Dance, Play Rough, and Stone Edge. There's also its completely devastating signature move—Gigaton Hammer, with a nearly unmatched base power of 160. The only drawback to this move is that it can't be used twice in a row. With this set, Tinkaton can brutalize powerful Dragon- and Fairy-type Pokémon without breaking a sweat.
1 Gholdengo
Gholdengo's notable type combination immediately sets it apart from its competition. Ghost/Steel is fantastic, as it completely negates Steel's Fighting-type weakness. Steel, on the other hand, mitigates Ghost's weakness to Dark- and Ghost-type damage. Furthermore, its signature ability, Good as Gold, makes it completely immune to status moves, which is extremely useful.
As far as move sets go, we can't argue with Flash Cannon and Shadow Ball, two solid moves of Gholdengo's type. To round out the set, we highly recommend both Nasty Plot and Recover. Nasty Plot will bolster Gholdengo's already excellent Special Attack, while Recover can grant it longevity.