Monotype TR Steel ft. AV Ferrothorn

[denkiguitar]

Trick Room Mono Steel (ft. AV Ferrothorn)

​

Introduction:
Hello, guys! This is my first post on the forums and my first time posting a RMT, so I apologize in advance if anything in my submission is incorrect.

In any case, though I've been playing Pokémon for as long as I remember, only relatively recently have I gotten seriously into playing the game competitively. I've dabbled in a number of different popular Gen 8 formats - OU, VGC, Natdex - but I've felt particularly drawn towards the monotype format... perhaps mainly because I'm a big fan of the Steel type and the format offers me a chance to build a competitively viable all-Steel team.

This team is my attempt to make a unique, yet effective Steel-type team roster that leans into a slightly more offensive playstyle than other archetypes of Steel teams commonly found on the ladder, allowing you to ladder with my short attention span catch opponents who are used to playing against more passive Steel teams off-guard. While doing research, I found that Steel offers a surprising amount of both Trick Room setters and Trick Room abusers, leading to the inspiration for this team.

I've only been able to reach about 1400 ELO on the Showdown ladder with this team, which I realize is a bit lower than a lot of other RMTs in this forum, but given that I'm relatively inexperienced with both teambuilding and piloting, I suppose that's to be expected. I greatly appreciate any and all feedback you're able to shoot my way.

Teambuilding:

I started out by identifying the potentially viable Trick Room setters - Bronzong, Stakataka, and Jirachi. Bronzong's typing and bulk allows it to survive a hit or two while setting up Trick Room, and then chipping away with moves Gyro Ball and Body Press. (I also initially gained interest in it as a lead due to its ability to set Stealth Rock, but later decided that it didn't mesh with the TR playstyle.) Stakataka was the more terrifying powerhouse, being able to both set TR and sweep in it. Jirachi, however, was cut out rather quickly. Though it could set Trick Room, it was often better to just switch it out for something else the instant Trick Room was up, and even with U-Turn, this meant that it lost a lot of flexibility and utility in a lot of matches, sometimes feeling like a dead pick after the switchout.

Heatran and Melmetal were the obvious next choices. Melmetal is already terrifying outside of Trick Room, but with TR it can be nigh unstoppable. Heatran is a very important switch-in to deal with the fact that a large portion of the team gets OHKOed by any small whiff of fire, and is a very reliable offensive pick to boot to fill the team's significant gap in special attackers.

Next came Aegislash. It fills the important role of a Pokémon that can fare well both in and out of Trick Room, running a Swords Dance + Weakness Policy sweep set. Additionally, its Fighting type immunity helps defend the rest of the Fighting-vulnerable team - most prominently, Stakataka.

(

)
The 6th slot was the hardest to fill. I experimented with Power Herb Celesteela as a special attacker, thinking that its low Speed value would make it a good pick for a TR team, but ultimately I felt that its coverage options didn't add much to the roster. I also tried Magnezone a little bit to add Electric-type coverage, but didn't feel satisfied with its performance on ladder. I even experimented with a personal favorite of mine - Escavalier - but despite TR theoretically allowing it to take advantage of its low Speed, I couldn't find a niche for it either.

Finally, I stumbled across what felt like the holy grail - offensive Ferrothorn. There's perhaps a psychological element to it - not just during the switch-in, but during team preview, when your opponent isn't yet fully aware of what shenanigans you're going to get up to (if the Stakataka doesn't give it away, that is). Ferrothorn is widely known as being a passive Pokémon, and the all-out attacker 252+ Attack spread can really catch people off-guard. With Kartana banned, it serves the role of filling the Grass coverage gap in the roster, giving the lineup at least a fighting chance against Water teams and the like. I started off with a Choice Band set, but later drew inspiration from some VGC teams I had seen and tried out Assault Vest, which offers more flexibility and lets Ferrothorn function better as a switch-in.

The Team:

Click here to copy the whole paste!

*taco bell sfx* (Bronzong) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Body Press
- Earthquake
- Trick Room

hot pocket (Heatran) (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Flash Cannon

i play pokemon go (Melmetal) @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Thunder Punch
- Superpower

jenga (Stakataka) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Beast Boost
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Lonely Nature
IVs: 15 Def
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Heat Crash
- Trick Room

xy ubers (Aegislash) (F) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw
- Close Combat

smogon loves stall (Ferrothorn) (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Knock Off
- Body Press

*taco bell sfx* (Bronzong) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball / Heavy Slam
- Body Press
- Earthquake
- Trick Room

Bronzong is the first Trick Room setter of the team. Its EVs allow it to survive a hit while getting Trick Room off, and the Colbur Berry helps out with surviving the ever-prevalent Knock Off. Though it's not exactly the star of the team offensively, its three attack options means it's not too shabby at coverage if left to its own devices. I did experiment with moves like Stealth Rock and Iron Defense, but the former meant either risking not getting Trick Room off with a 2HKO or effectively wasting a turn of it. The latter fared slightly better, but being limited to only a Steel and Fighting move meant it would get walled pretty hard by mons like Aegislash, Toxapex, and the like. (It still gets walled pretty hard by Toxapex, but at least Earthquake gives it a fighting chance. Probably.)

hot pocket (Heatran) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Flash Cannon

Heatran is a no-brainer for pretty much any Steel team. Flash Fire will make your opponents think twice before clicking Lava Plume on your team without impunity. Even without that, Specs Heatran can sweep through teams that are unprepared for it or are expecting a Toxic/Protect set or whatnot. It also serves an important role as being the only special attacker on the team. I ended up choosing Fire Blast over other options like the more consistent Lava Plume or Eruption since, in a Trick Room team, every turn counts, and it turns many 2HKOs into OHKOs... as long as it doesn't miss.

i play pokemon go (Melmetal) @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Thunder Punch / Ice Punch
- Superpower

Melmetal is another offensive powerhouse and Trick Room abuser. Usually, Melmetal's low speed means it goes second and doesn't get to take advantage of the flinch chance on Double Iron Bash, but under Trick Room, it's downright overbearing. Choice Band just makes it all the more terrifying. The other moves afford it extra coverage for any opposing Pokémon that resist its Steel STAB, but sometimes, that obscene effective 51% flinch chance can let you RNG your way into winning ostensibly losing matchups. One must still be wary of its low SpD, though.

jenga (Stakataka) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Beast Boost
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Lonely Nature
IVs: 15 Def
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Heat Crash
- Trick Room

Stakataka is perhaps the most singlehandedly terrifying Pokémon on this team. There have been more than a couple of times where I've led with Stakataka, set up Trick Room, and didn't even need to switch out a single time before my ladder opponent forfeit. The Lonely nature and 15 Def IVs allows Beast Boost to boost Atk instead of Def, making for a threatening self-sufficient Trick Room sweeper. Though its two 4x weaknesses can be a headache to deal with, Air Balloon helps with the Ground weakness and keeping the Aegislash switch-in in your back pocket helps contend with the Fighting weakness.
I initially tried Heavy Slam over Heat Crash for a more reliable STAB as opposed to the rather fickle 80% Stone Edge, but ultimately decided that the type coverage afforded by Heat Crash was a much better option to aid in its sweeper role.

xy ubers (Aegislash) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw
- Close Combat

Aegislash fulfills the role of being a Pokémon that fares well both inside and out of Trick Room. It's usually not a Pokémon that I bring out very quickly into matches, as keeping it as a switch-in to deal with the Fighting-type weaknesses that much of the team has trouble with is very important, especially if the aforementioned Fighting vulnerability is preventing you from comfortably setting up Trick Room. Its lack of reliance on TR with Shadow Sneak also means that it can help you close out games once your opponent's team is sufficiently weakened and your TR setters are too beat-up and frail to set up TR a second or third time. All Aegislash needs is one turn to set up Swords Dance (and perhaps survive an Earthquake to proc Weakness Policy) before running away rampant with Shadow Sneak. On the occasion that TR is up (or if you already outspeed your opponent), Shadow Claw serves as a reliable STAB that can hit pretty much any Pokémon. For those pesky Normal types, Close Combat is the final fallback option.

smogon loves stall (Ferrothorn) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Knock Off
- Body Press

Perhaps the secret MVP of the team, Ferrothorn has helped me steal a lot of games. Nobody ever expects the Ferrothorn to sweep! (At least, not on the levels of ladder that I play at.) Assault Vest allows it to survive a LOT on the switch-in. Power Whip gives the team desperately needed coverage against Water and Ground types, with Gyro Ball, Knock Off, and Body Press making for decent fallback options. Though I haven't run into too many Ground teams on ladder, I've run into many Water teams, and Ferrothorn has been an absolute godsend for dealing with mons that would otherwise just brush off all of the Steel STAB moves on this team.

Closing:

Thank you for reading my first-ever RMT! I'm not experienced enough to the point where I'm comfortable with tailoring specific EV spreads towards specific calcs or anything like that, so most of this team has just been standard 252/252/4 spreads. I've still got a lot to learn, and I haven't been able to find too much existing writing on exploring Trick Room as a viable option in SWSH Monotype Steel, so I welcome any and all feedback you may have to offer.

In any case, I hope you have a wonderful day!

 

[style.css]

Hello and congrats on your first RMT! You're right on the money with Steel being one of the best TR types behind maybe only Ghost. Compositionally I think your team looks great. There are a few minor set modifications I would suggest that might help get the team going a little faster and a little stronger.


I know you said you tried Stealth Rock, but I have to suggest adding it back. This time though we make Bronzong more of a suicide lead. You can set TR, choose if you need SR in the matchup and set them, or just use Explosion that not only damages the opponent, but also brings in your threat with no risk while minimizing spent TR turns.

Suicide TR Lead

*taco bell sfx* (Bronzong) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Explosion
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room

Again, you mentioned trying to pick which Fire STAB to go with but I would say you can go with two. Dragon Pulse really isn't that necessary as Dragon pretty much auto loses to TR anyway. You can replace it with Eruption for early game heavy damage, then as Heatran gets chipped, switch to Fire Blast when Eruptions BP gets lower. This way you can take full advantage of Heatran.


In my experience with Steel, I've found Superpower to be less and less necessary, especially dropping your attack per use. I'd rather have maximum coverage with both Ice and Thunder Punches. This way you can break down Flying better. Another option is to go with Muscle Band, Life Orb, or even a second Assault Vest to allow Melmetal to switch attacks against bulky cores that have plenty of checks to Melmetal.


I agree 100% with you that you don't need Gyro Ball on Staka for Steel. What I would change however are your Speed IVs. By dropping them from 31 to at least 26, you become slower than negative Speed Slow-twins, so you can get attacks off on them as they switch in and before they Slack Off. You could just drop the IVs down to 0, which would maximize your chances of going first (under TR) against opposing Stakatakas, but that's personal preference. 26 IVs is the most notable speed breakpoint as the Slow-twins are everywhere.


Again, I'd only suggest a nature and IV change. Making Aegislash a negative Speed nature and 0 Spe IVs, not only do you go first more often in TR, but it also means that outside TR your Aegislash goes last against opposing Aegislash. What that means is they attack (switching in to Blade form), pop Weakness Policy, then you attack to return a KO with +2/+2. You could also consider going mixed without Swords Dance to give yourself another Special Attacker. Something like Shadow Ball, Close Combat, Shadow Sneak, Flash Cannon.


To keep the integrity of your team, I think what you have on Ferrothorn is pretty good. You can consider Life Orb over Assault Vest, but as an Assault Vest enthusiast, I can't fault you for using it. The only other minor thing I'd suggest is moving the 8 SpD to Def. It's extremely minuscule but since you're using Body Press, might as well put extra into Def.

Overall I think the composition looks good and you've got good sets. With these changes you might find some better results. Trick Room is a tricky archetype to play so it is a little harder to pilot. With practice I have no doubts you'll break your ladder record! Below is the updated team with my suggestions: (click icons)

 

[denkiguitar]

Hello and congrats on your first RMT! You're right on the money with Steel being one of the best TR types behind maybe only Ghost. Compositionally I think your team looks great. There are a few minor set modifications I would suggest that might help get the team going a little faster and a little stronger.


I know you said you tried Stealth Rock, but I have to suggest adding it back. This time though we make Bronzong more of a suicide lead. You can set TR, choose if you need SR in the matchup and set them, or just use Explosion that not only damages the opponent, but also brings in your threat with no risk while minimizing spent TR turns.

Suicide TR Lead

*taco bell sfx* (Bronzong) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Explosion
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room

Again, you mentioned trying to pick which Fire STAB to go with but I would say you can go with two. Dragon Pulse really isn't that necessary as Dragon pretty much auto loses to TR anyway. You can replace it with Eruption for early game heavy damage, then as Heatran gets chipped, switch to Fire Blast when Eruptions BP gets lower. This way you can take full advantage of Heatran.


In my experience with Steel, I've found Superpower to be less and less necessary, especially dropping your attack per use. I'd rather have maximum coverage with both Ice and Thunder Punches. This way you can break down Flying better. Another option is to go with Muscle Band, Life Orb, or even a second Assault Vest to allow Melmetal to switch attacks against bulky cores that have plenty of checks to Melmetal.


I agree 100% with you that you don't need Gyro Ball on Staka for Steel. What I would change however are your Speed IVs. By dropping them from 31 to at least 26, you become slower than negative Speed Slow-twins, so you can get attacks off on them as they switch in and before they Slack Off. You could just drop the IVs down to 0, which would maximize your chances of going first (under TR) against opposing Stakatakas, but that's personal preference. 26 IVs is the most notable speed breakpoint as the Slow-twins are everywhere.


Again, I'd only suggest a nature and IV change. Making Aegislash a negative Speed nature and 0 Spe IVs, not only do you go first more often in TR, but it also means that outside TR your Aegislash goes last against opposing Aegislash. What that means is they attack (switching in to Blade form), pop Weakness Policy, then you attack to return a KO with +2/+2. You could also consider going mixed without Swords Dance to give yourself another Special Attacker. Something like Shadow Ball, Close Combat, Shadow Sneak, Flash Cannon.


To keep the integrity of your team, I think what you have on Ferrothorn is pretty good. You can consider Life Orb over Assault Vest, but as an Assault Vest enthusiast, I can't fault you for using it. The only other minor thing I'd suggest is moving the 8 SpD to Def. It's extremely minuscule but since you're using Body Press, might as well put extra into Def.

Overall I think the composition looks good and you've got good sets. With these changes you might find some better results. Trick Room is a tricky archetype to play so it is a little harder to pilot. With practice I have no doubts you'll break your ladder record! Below is the updated team with my suggestions: (click icons)

Thank you so much for all of the suggestions!

Suicide lead Bronzong will take a little bit of getting used to (especially wrt/ identifying whether or not it's a good idea to set up rocks), but I can already definitely feel that it gets the archetype going a lot faster. I wonder if I should run it with attack EVs to make Explosion more potent, but that also runs the risk of it becoming more vulnerable when setting up rocks or TR. I'm unsure of what particular calcs to look out for to decide whether or not it's a good idea...

You're right in that Dragon Pulse doesn't really do much. I found it a little bit hard to figure out what to put in that 4th move slot, but it didn't even occur to me that I could try putting in two different Fire STABs. I also agree with Superpower being rather underwhelming, and having two different elemental punches seems so obvious of a good change to make I'm questioning why I didn't think of that in the first place!

Good call on the Stakataka Speed IVs. I could've sworn I already had it set to 0, but I must have forgotten to copy it over somehow when fiddling with my sets and copying it between my multiple devices.

I was honestly pretty indecisive whether to have Aegislash have minimum speed or not, and I wasn't really able to pin down which was better when testing the team on ladder, but I think I'll run the team with minimum speed Aegi going forward.

Lastly, putting 8 DEF IVs on Ferrothorn just seems like a solid idea.

Again, thank you so much for all of the advice! I haven't had too much time to try out all the new changes yet, but I definitely feel very satisfied with the team's performance in the few matches I've played so far.

 

[style.css]

Thank you so much for all of the suggestions!

Suicide lead Bronzong will take a little bit of getting used to (especially wrt/ identifying whether or not it's a good idea to set up rocks), but I can already definitely feel that it gets the archetype going a lot faster. I wonder if I should run it with attack EVs to make Explosion more potent, but that also runs the risk of it becoming more vulnerable when setting up rocks or TR. I'm unsure of what particular calcs to look out for to decide whether or not it's a good idea...

You're right in that Dragon Pulse doesn't really do much. I found it a little bit hard to figure out what to put in that 4th move slot, but it didn't even occur to me that I could try putting in two different Fire STABs. I also agree with Superpower being rather underwhelming, and having two different elemental punches seems so obvious of a good change to make I'm questioning why I didn't think of that in the first place!

Good call on the Stakataka Speed IVs. I could've sworn I already had it set to 0, but I must have forgotten to copy it over somehow when fiddling with my sets and copying it between my multiple devices.

I was honestly pretty indecisive whether to have Aegislash have minimum speed or not, and I wasn't really able to pin down which was better when testing the team on ladder, but I think I'll run the team with minimum speed Aegi going forward.

Lastly, putting 8 DEF IVs on Ferrothorn just seems like a solid idea.

Again, thank you so much for all of the advice! I haven't had too much time to try out all the new changes yet, but I definitely feel very satisfied with the team's performance in the few matches I've played so far.

I'm glad the suggestions are helpful. I would say keep Bronzong bulky. Explosion is more about getting something else in free than actual damage output.