What is a good moveset for Melmetal?

Question

If you have a good competitive moveset for Melmetal, post an answer below and upvote the best ones. Movesets for any of its pre-evolutions can also be shared on this thread.

Be sure to include full set details in your post, e.g. items, abilities, natures and EVs. Some detail, including the intended game mode for your set, is also appreciated. Access the full list of guidelines here. (Some parts don't apply for LGP/E, apply such as abilities and EVs -- the latter being replaced by AVs.)

Melmetal Pokedex & learnset for reference.

Answer 1

Melmetal has finally been released on Pokémon Sword and Shield through Pokemon Home! While it hasn’t been out for very long, it goes without saying that this Pokemon is a full on juggernaut already with the incredible base Attack and Defensive stats he brings to the table. Melmetal’s abysmal speed also allows it to be used under Trick Room (or perhaps with Tailwind support with baton pass from Ninjask or such). Here is my favorite set I use so I hope this proves useful:

Tank

Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- High Horsepower / Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Body Press / Thunder Punch

This set on Melmetal helps with its middling 65 base SpD while allowing Melmetal to maximize damage output. The given EVs followed with Assault Vest allows Melmetal to survive a Dynamax Charizard’s Max Flare. Double Iron Bash is a must (it’s very scary under Trick Room with the 60% flinch rate). The choice between High Horsepower and EQ depends on wether Melmetal is used in doubles or singles (High Horsepower is suggested over EQ due to the loss of EQ’s power in doubles). Ice Punch is for coverage, and Thunder Punch can be used over Body Press in certain situations (like covering Charizard). A Brave Nature can be used with 0 Speed IVs for Trick Room.

Answer 2

LGPE OU is surprisingly fun, and Melmetal is big in the Meta, so here is the set I use:

Melmetal
- Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Rest
- Thunder Wave/Ice Punch/Rock Slide

Double Iron Bash is an essential damaging move for Melmetal. Earthquake handles common Steel, Electric, Poison, and Fire threats like Partner Pikachu, Alolan Muk, Mega Charizard X, and Alolan Dugtrio. Because of the lack of status recovery, Steel types, Poison types, Fire types, Electric Types, Rest, and Partner Eevee's Sparkly Swirl are all, so a big part of the Meta is avoiding and healing Status conditions. Melmetal fits well into this by dealing out Paralysis with Thunder Wave, Heals it's bulky build with Rest, and is immune to Poison. Ice Punch/Rock Slide hits Zapdos and a few other Pokémon better than its other moves, and prevents being walled by them.

Hope I Helped! :P

Answer 3

Shame it doesn't keep Magnet Pull, especially with all the steels running around in OU.

Gen 8 OU / National Dex

Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 128 HP / 116 Atk / 12 Def / 252 SpD or 216 HP / 40 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Ice Punch

Functions well in and out of Trick Room. Double Iron Bash is incredibly powerful STAB (boosted by Iron Fist, too), and is also probably the most annoying thing allowed in OU under Trick Room, since it has a 30% chance to flinch with each hit (a total of 60%). Double Iron Bash ruins Focus Sash, Substitute, and the occasional Sturdy user. Earthquake is coverage, most notably for Toxapex. Superpower is also coverage which hits Ferrothorn most notably. Ice Punch hits the Ground types like Landorus-Therian and Garchomp, and is also boosted by Iron Fist.

Answer 4

This is the one I like running and I wish I saw it more:

LGPE

Melmetal
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Thunder Wave
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch/Rock Slide/Rest

The set is pretty simple: Paralyze a target with Thunder Wave and spam Double Iron Bash and paraflinch them to death. Earthquake is for hitting Electric and Steel types that otherwise resist Double Iron Bash, namely Partner Pikachu, Magneton, and Alolan Dugtrio. Ice Punch hits Flying and Dragon types like Dodrio, Dragonite and especially Zapdos, who can wall it otherwise and potentially cripple it from paralysis. Rock Slide is another option, especially since it destroys Mega Charizard Y and Moltres, but those are uncommon. Rest is one final useful option since it gains a means of recovery and can counteract being burned without having to switch into Partner Eevee to cure it, but I don't like it because Zapdos can safely switch in on it.

Melmetal mostly loses to the stronger Fire-type attackers and anything carrying Will-o-Wisp or Thunder Wave if your Partner Eevee gets KO'd. It can also potentially get burn leech stalled by Partner Eevee. Ice Punch sets lose to fire types, but Rock Slide sets lose to Dragonite. Stealth Rocks and Sparkly Swirl support is quite obviously welcome.

Comments

Reshowing because LGPE don't have items or Abilities.

Answer 5

I have two movesets, because why not.

Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 126 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 126 SpD
Adamant / Brave Nature
- Earthquake
- Double Iron Bash
- Thunder Punch
- Darkest Lariat

Explanations:
Natures: Brave is only if you are running a trick room Melmetal, otherwise use Adamant.
Evs: People are going to try to exploit his relatively low SpD, so he needs some bulk in that. HP Evs are always nice and help more than defensive Evs. the Atk Evs are to support his already massive base 143 attack stat.
Moveset: You could run Body Press, but I prefer Darkest Lariat for better coverage. Thunder Punch is necessary because of the ability Iron Fist boosting it's base power.
Item: Assault Vest helps support his SpD even more, but you could run Choice Band, but I don't think it's needed.

Melmetal @ Occa Berry
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Adamant / Impish Nature
- Acid Armor
- Body Press
- Rock Slide
- Double Iron Bash

Explanations:
Nature: Impish is the better one, because this set relies on defense mostly, but you can use Adamant if you want.
Evs: You need to be able to tank a few hits to use Acid Armor, and those extra Evs will support that.
Moveset: Acid Armor to raise Defense, Body Press to utilize those defense raises. Rock Slide and Double Iron Bash are to flinch.
Item: Occa Berry to tank a hit well to set up Acid Armors.

Hope This Helps!

Comments

King's Rock doesn't boost the flinch rate of moves that already have a chance to flinch

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It doesnt? I didnt know. Thanks for telling me, ill change that

Answer 6

[Gen 7 Let's Go] No Restrictions:

Melmetal
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 200 HP / 200 Atk / 200 Def / 200 SpD / 200 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Acid Armor

Comments

I thought ev cap was 510?

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It is. EVs don't exist in LGP/E though, and are replaced by AVs which have no cap except 200 per stat. There's more detail here if you're interested. https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Awakening_values

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So all pokemon can have 200 on hp, attack, defense, and speed?

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Yes. Special Attack and Special Defence as well, for that matter.

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Sorry for asking so many questions but are IV’s still a thing in let’s go or should I put 31 iv?

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No problem. IVs are still around in Let's Go and behave the same as in previous games, so you'd best max them as well.

Answer 7

• Gen 8

Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 113 HP / 113 Atk / 30 Def / 252 SpD
Impish / Careful Nature
- Body Press
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch / Thunder Punch

(You might want to Baton Pass a Cotton Guard or Iron Defense. Feedback is appreciated.)

Comments

Your EV spread is flawed. In formats using level 100 Pokemon, all EV investments should be divisible by 4. There is no gain running 113 instead of 112, nor 30 instead of 28. You could invest those four spare EVs in one stat to gain an actual increase.

Answer 8

Melmetal is one strong Pokèmon so I made these movesets:

Melmetal @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Superpower
- Dishcharge
- Earthquake

Use Superpower when the enemy is at low hp or weak of fighting types,its good starting the battle with Double Iron Bash,Discharge to have a 30% chance to paralyze the opponent, and to fight flying types when paralyzed spam Double Iron Bash or Superpower. Earthquake for Opponents that use dig or Pokèmon that are weak to
Earthquake.

Poison Spikes,Spikes Baton Pass etc. Supports are also welcome.

Or

Melmetal @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Acid Armor
- Thunder Wave
- Double Iron Bash
- Superpower

Starting with Thunder Wave so you cant be interrupted while using Acid Armor to not get Defeated Quickly when The Paralyze wears off strike the opponent with superpower and Use Thunder Wave Again,Spam Double Iron Bash or Superpower. This set is simply annoying.

Comments

Thunder Punch over Discharge because of its higher Atk stat and also to make full extent of Iron Fist

Answer 9

Melmetal @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch

Nature and 0 Spe IVs can be good against/with Trick Room. Massive attack, a Choice Band, Brave, 252 Atk EVs, and Iron Fist make his Double Iron bash nearly unstoppable. It also hits twice, breaking sashes and subs.

Answer 10

National Dex UU

Melmetal @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpD / 156 Spe
Careful Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake / High Horsepower
- Toxic
- Protect

Toxic + Protect set. Double Iron Bash is STAB that hits twice and gets boosted by Iron Fists. Earthquake is to cause damage to steel types. High Horsepower is an alternative to Earthquake if you were to use this in Grassy Terrain for some reason. Toxic is to spread status and slowly wear down opposing Pokémon. Protect allows you to get a free turn of Leftovers recovery.

Answer 11

National Dex UU

Melmetal @ Protective Pads
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Thunder Wave

Pretty similar to a set on here and also the one on Smogon, but with minor changes suited for the National Dex UU meta. Protective Pads is the item so you don't have to worry about stuff like Rocky Helmet and Flame Body. Double Iron Bash is for STAB. Thunder Punch allows you to deal super effective damage to Pokemon like Moltres, Urshifu-R, and Skarmory. Earthquake is for coverage against opposing steel types and also allows you to hit electric types that is not a Rotom of any kind super effectively. Thunder Wave is to slow down faster Pokemon.

Answer 12

Gen 9 National Dex UU Punching Gloves

Melmetal @ Punching Glove
Ability: Iron Fist
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 148 HP / 252 Atk / 108 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Double Iron Bash
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Superpower

If you thought Melmetal was already ridiculous under Trick Room, this set makes Melmetal scarier under Trick Room. This is a Punching Gloves set for Trick Room teams in Gen 9 NatDex UU.

For those who don't know, Punching Gloves is a new item that boosts punching moves and protects the holder from effects such as Flame Body burns, King's Shield, and Rocky Helmet. Since Double Iron Bash is a punching move, not only does it get boosted by Iron Fist, it also gets boosted by Punching Gloves that also protects you from Rocky Helmet, Flame Body, and King's Shield. There's also another thing: Tera Steel. Tera Steel gives Melmetal's Steel STAB a x2 boost instead of x1.5. This, combined with Iron Fist and Punching Gloves allows Melmetal to have a Steel STAB that hits twice and has a chance to flinch it can use mindlessly. Thunder Punch is used for Water-types such as Dondozo, Slowbro, Slowking, Pelipper as well as certain Pokemon such as Skarmory and Moltres. Thunder Punch also gets boosted by Iron Fist and Punching Gloves. Earthquake is used to hit Aegislash super effectively. Superpower is used to hit Steel-types such as Melmetal a little harder than Earthquake would and is also used to have a move to at least deal neutral damage to Rotom-Heat. Non-Assault Vest Melmetal usually use 108 Speed EVs when not on a Trick Room team, so I moved the 108 Speed EVs to Special Defense to give Melmetal some bulk.

Answer 13

Funny Melmetal Troll Moveset

Melmetal @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Lax Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Acid Armor
- Protect
- Substitute

It works with a lot of People. Just set up Acid Armor to the Max it gets like 1000+ defense, then do some protects while doing it then it's your choice if you wanna annoy them with Substitute or attack. Just beware of Melmetal's weaknesses. Garchomp is usually a threat so bring something for it if you want to use it.

Answer 14

Gen 9 National Dex

Melmetal @ Punching Glove
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch / Earthquake
- Superpower / Thunder Wave

Melmetal was formerly banned from Nat Dex off the strength of its Tera Steel Choice Band Double Iron Bash under Trick Room and it's absurd 69% flinch chance, however with Tera gone Melmetal has settled into its role as one of the most powerful and versatile attackers in the tier. It benefits from Punching Glove a lot, as it furthers boosts its punching moves alongside Iron Fist and removes their contact effects, which is super useful against Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Volcarona, Moltres, and Zapdos since they deter most popular Leftovers sets from spamming Iron Bash.
Thunder Punch is the most useful coverage move on this set, super effectively hitting Water types and Flying types such as Moltres, Alomomola and Toxapex and while also being strong neutral hits into mons like
Volcarona and Iron Crown. Ice Punch hits bulky Electric types Zapdos and Raging Bolt. Superpower Kos Kingambit and is strong into Ferrothorn whereas Earthquake is the better coverage move into Heatran and Gholdengo. Thunder Wave is super annoying and with Double Iron Bash you can Paraflinch your way through bulkier checks with ease (but be careful, it only has 8 PP).

Answer 15

Gen 9 National Dex

Melmetal @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 220 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Protect
- Toxic
- Earthquake

This set aims to focus on combining Melmetal's power with its great bulk, giving it great strength as well as solid staying power with Leftovers + Protect. Toxic synergies very well here as it covers weak points in its movepool like Moltres, Zapdos, Volcarona, and Alomomola. Earthquake is probably the best coverage option here for its consistency against most Steel types. The high special defense investment alongside Protect and Leftovers recovery lets Melmetal act as a check to Pokemon like Tapu Lele, Dragapult, Kyurem, and Iron Crown. 16 Speed EVs are used to outspeed Toxapex, Garganacl, and common Hatterene spreads.