Steel-type Pokémon have the most resistances in the entire franchise, taking only half damage from 10 different types and fully resisting another. This makes them valuable to any party. Not every one of them is great, however, so we’re here to tell you who the best Steel Pokémon are.
Here are the 5 Steel-types available in Pokémon Sword and Shield, and what makes them stand out above the rest.
The 5 best Steel Pokémon
5. Ferrothorn
This Pokémon has a Grass/Steel-type combination that gives it a ton of good type matchups. It just has to be wary of Fire attacks. It’s a staple in singles battles and performs decently in doubles battles as well. Ferrothron has a whopping 131 Defense stat along with a solid 116 Special Defense. These stats along with its Iron Barbs ability makes it a great defensive option.
4. Excadrill
Excadrill is fairly versatile when it comes to battling, and it’s easily one of the best Steel Pokémon. It has two excellent abilities in Mold Breaker and Sand Rush. It’s often paired with Tyranitar with Sand Rush to give it a giant speed boost, but it works well on its own with Mold Breaker too, which allows it to hit Pokémon with Levitate with Ground moves.
3. Celesteela
Celesteela has two weaknesses, Fire and Electric. It often functions similar to Ferrothorn as a defensive Pokémon, but it does have decent offensive options too. In doubles battles, players will often take Flash Cannon, Air Slash, and Flamethrower and go with a Modest Nature and invest some EVs into Special Attack.
2. Metagross
The pseudo-Legendary from gen-three makes a return to Pokémon Sword and Shield in The Crown Tundra. Despite losing its formidable mega evolution, it is still a huge threat in doubles and singles battles. Dynamax and Weakness Policy make it extremely difficult to deal with, and it functions as an excellent Psychic and Steel attacker.
1. Kartana
Kartana is easily the best Steel Pokémon available for competitive battles right now. Unlike many Steel-types, it’s extremely aggressive. It has an eye-popping 181 base Attack along with a respectable 109 Speed. If it picks up a KO, its Beast Boost will further increase its Attack.
