The 10 best Steel Pokemon of all time

The best Steel Pokémon should be strong and sturdy in the face of danger

Author:
Ryan Woodrow
Publish date:
Jul 29, 2023 3:00 AM EDT

Steel-types are a solid choice if you need a Pokémon to stand as an impenetrable barrier. These Pokémon have the most resistances of any type, and they can make for some powerful combinations when paired with the right secondary type. What’s more, is that a metallic theme can be quite easily incorporated into a wide variety of designs, meaning we can get all sorts of Pokémon from it.

We’ve picked out the best Steel types that stand tall and proud in the face of danger.

If you want to see more Pokémon rankings then check out our lists of the best Psychic Pokémon, the best Fairy Pokémon , and the best Dragon Pokémon.

Skarmory

Although another bird would eventually come along and steal its thunder, Skarmory is still a fantastic steel bird. It has that early-gen simplicity that makes it easy to love, with a sleek silver body helped out with some red highlights under its wings. It simply doesn’t need anything more to stand out.

Mawile

Mawile is terrifying to look at, to be frank. The massive gnashing mouth is hard to ignore and naturally draws your eye, but it’s important to pay attention to the rather cute creature it’s attached to. Admittedly it uses this form to lure people in before devouring them, but you’ve got to cut it some slack somehow.

Jirachi

So what if there’s nothing about Jirachi’s design that indicated Steel-type? It’s still a great design. The mythical pixie Pokémon like Jirachi have this unique charm that nothing else can pull off. Seeing this thing float about is nice to watch, and it has a strong sense of mysticism about it to help it reach legendary status.

Solgaleo

Solgaleo doesn’t need subtle charm to be legendary, it just needs to be a massive metal lion with the power of the sun in its chest.

Corviknight

Skarmory may have sleek beauty, but this metal bird is a beast. A raven Pokémon with dark red eyes might be peak edgy, but it becomes more than that when you add the armor plating all over its body. Now it’s a black knight with a black heart that preys on everything else in the sky.

Scizor

Despite being such a huge visual departure from its pre-evolution, Scyther, Scizor still holds its theme together – only now instead of scythes, it’s serrated claws to slice its enemies in half. It looks remorseless are it comes at them with great speed.

Also, when it Mega Evolves, the excess energy causes it to start melting from the inside. This isn’t relevant to my wider point, I just like to remind you that Mega Evolution is the most horrific thing Pokémon has ever added.

Tinkaton

I like Tinkaton more and more with every passing day. There’s something about this adorable pixie with a hammer bigger than its own body twice over that I can’t help but love.

Empoleon

This is another Steel Pokémon that doesn’t really show it, but that doesn’t matter, as it’s still an all-time great starter ‘mon. This beefed-up emperor penguin embodies that strength I talked about in the intro, with the Water-type giving it a bunch of resistances it can make great use of.

Lucario

It’s no surprise that from the moment it was revealed, Lucario was pushed as an iconic Pokémon, because it’s so easy to love. It’s one of the best humanoid Pokémon out there, doing just enough to still feel like an animal – just one with spikes for fists and the power to use your aura against you.

Metagross

Metagross has both the brains to pick out your biggest weaknesses, and the brawn to exploit them to their fullest. The whole evolution line is very creative, as each new stage uses parts of the previous to grow bigger and stronger, like a supercomputer that’s getting more parts and growing more powerful.