You want these Pokemon Go Mega Steelix Raid Counters for the first new Mega Pokemon to arrive in Pokemon Go for a while. The Mega Evolution of the Gen 2 Pokemon, Steelix, is a powerful tank that can help Pokemon Go trainers in PVE battles as well as against many Legendary Pokemon that will appear this month. Mega Steelix is also the first Mega Pokemon with the Ground or Steel typing, which will power up moves of those types on your teams.
Mega Steelix will begin appearing in Mega Raids starting December 1 at 10 a.m. local time until Thursday, December 23 at 10 a.m. local time, giving trainers plenty of time to gather the Mega Energy needed.
How great Mega Steelix will be in battle is still unknown, but here’s a handy guide on how to counter it and what to expect from this giant snake Pokemon.
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Mega Steelix Counters
Mega Steelix is a Ground and Steel-type Pokemon, making it weak to a ton of attacks including Water, Fire, Ground and Fighting attacks. Luckily for Pokemon Go trainers, there are actually a lot of different Pokemon they can use against including a handful of Megas.
If you want to go the Water-type route, Mega Blastoise, Slowbro and Gyardos are your choices. They power up the Water-type moves of your team and any other trainer that joins you in the Raid and come with powerful and quick ways to damage Mega Steelix.
Mega Blastoise with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon are a great mix of power and defense while Mega Gyarados with Waterfall and Hydro Pump or Aqua Tail are probably the best ways to damage Mega Steelix as fast as possible. Mega Slowbro isn’t known for its offensive prowess, but if you’re short on Megas it can help in a pinch.
Going the Fire-type route will also be easy for trainers as Mega Charizard X or Y as well as Mega Houndoom have plenty of ways to damage Steelix easily and quickly. Which one to go into battle with may depend on which moves Mega Steelix will use against you (more on that below), but the ability to power up the Fire-type moves of your team will be of great help.
Mega Lopunny is another great option as its Fighting typing will power up moves of that same type and deal massive damage to Mega Steelix.
On the non-Mega side, Ground types like Rhyperior, Excadrill and Groudon are great options. Here is a list of possible counters to use against Mega Steelix.
| Pokemon | Moveset |
|---|---|
| Mega Blastoise | Water Gun and Hydro Cannon |
| Mega Charizard X or Y | Fire Spin and Blast Burn |
| Mega Slowbro | Water Gun and Water Pulse |
| Mega Gyarados | Waterfall and Hydro Pump/Aqua Tail |
| Mega Houndoom | Fire Fang and Flamethrower |
| Mega Lopunny | Low Kick and Focus Blast/Fire Punch |
| Rhyperior | Mud Slap and Earthquake |
| Garchomp | Mud Shot and Earthquake/Sand Tomb |
| Groudon | Mud Shot and Earthquake |
| Mamoswine | Mud Slap and Bulldoze |
Mega Steelix Moveset
Mega Steelix has an eclectic pool of moves that it can use. Iron Tail is the only STAB Fast Attack it can use and could spell doom for Ice and Rock types like Rhyperior and Mamoswine so trainers beware.
Dragon Tail won’t hit any Pokemon super effectively unless you bring in Mega Charizard X or Garchomp while Thunder Fang could be a pain to deal with for any trainer who uses the many Water-type options. It’s best to see what the recommended screen tells you to bring to figure out which moves Mega Steelix will have. If it tells you to bring Water types, then it has Iron Tail or Dragon Tail.
As for its Charged Attacks, Earthquake is a powerful STAB move that will deal a lot of damage to your Fire types and Rhyperior. Heavy Slam will destroy Rhyperior and Mamoswine while Crunch won’t do anything much to any of your Pokemon so wish the Mega Steelix you’re facing has that.
Here are the various moves Mega Steelix can use in battle.
| Fast Attack | Charged Attack |
|---|---|
| Iron Tail | Earthquake |
| Dragon Tail | Heavy Slam |
| Thunder Fang | Crunch |
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