Steel Type is the strongest defensive type in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, with resistances to 10 different types and immunity to Poison type attacks. This means it’s even more important to hit Steel type Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet where it hurts — their weaknesses. But what are the Steel type’s weaknesses?
Pure Steel Type Pokémon Have Three Type Weaknesses in Scarlet and Violet
- Fire type moves
- Fighting type moves
- Ground type moves
As always, cross types can add weaknesses or even more resistances to this resistance-heavy type. For example, a Steel/Psychic type like Bronzor loses its weakness to Fighting in exchange for fresh weaknesses against Ghost and Dark types.
Quite a few Steel cross types have double weaknesses to the same type, meaning they take even more damage, like Pawniard taking 4x damage to Fighting type. In other cases, like Forretress and Scizor, they only have a single weakness, which is a 4x weakness to Fire type attacks. If you can find these extremely potent weaknesses, one-shot KOs aren’t out of the question. When it comes to Steel weaknesses, Fighting is most commonly canceled out by cross types in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Keeping this in mind, the most reliable options to counter Steel type Pokémon are Fire, Ground, or Fighting type Pokémon. If you happen to choose Fuecoco as your starter, Steel types will be a breeze. On the other hand, keep your Ice, Rock, and Fairy type Pokémon as far away from Steel types as possible, as they’ll take 2x damage.
For more Pokémon Scarlet and Violet guides, check out our guide to Ghost type weaknesses and Fairy type weaknesses.
