Ultra Unlock Part 2: Strength of Steel is here, bringing spawns and raids with it from July 25, 10 AM to July 30, 8 PM. This is an amazing event for everyone, even if you’re new to PvP or PvE, and I strongly recommend playing it. I answer big questions briefly and explain strategy for both new and experienced players. Feel free to share to help your friends! TL;DR at the end! 🦉

I will stick to my classic style, condensing wide research into what parts of Strength of Steel *you* should target, and what makes them useful to *you*. That is my sincere goal: to inform. Everyone deserves to have fun their own way by knowing what is worth their valuable time in Pokémon Go!

This event is phenomenal for three reasons. 

#1: It has rare and highly sought-after PvP and PvE spawns. 

#2 It offers valuable bonuses to make farming XL candies for rare Pokémon a breeze. 

#3: It has 3x boosted catch stardust, which will make building the Pokémon you catch during this event much easier.

Specifically, all XL candy earned is doubled, and hitting nice throws or better gets you up to ~4 extra XL candies per catch (for perfect excellent throws). Doubled, that’s in the ballpark of 7 XL candies per perfect catch. Not even counting bonus XL candy from your active megas! It’s also easy to pick a mega, because all wild Pokémon during this event are Steel, so any Steel mega boosts everything. This is a dream event for XL candy acquisition.

So, you can get XL candies for rare Pokémon. What are they?

WILD SPAWNS

#1: Beldum: Shadow Metagross remains the top non-Necrozma steel attacker, with 21.763 DPS to Necrozma-DM’s 23.562 DPS. Despite being dethroned “ideally,” most players do not have enough resources to have a full team of Necro-DM, so Shadow Metagross is the choice for the remaining 5 party slots. Regular Metagross is also good in ML, especially in MLP, where it is in the top 20 on PvPoke. If you’re building for PvE or PvP, there is no such thing as too many Metagross XL candies! Grade: S++ spawn.

#2: Bronzor. Ranked #1 for good reason, Bronzor is the DEMON of Little Cup (<500 CP), winning 34 while losing only 5 against the entire LC meta. It’s the reason so many Pokémon are simply non-viable there, it defeats EVERYTHING that doesn’t hard counter it! Be sure to pick up the highest bulk Bronzor you can find (Rank 1 or near is ideal), and get enough XL candies to get it to level 50 (~296). Bronzor has been difficult to farm for over a year, and the XL-candy friendliness of this event makes Bronzor XL candy grinding a serious priority. It’s also permanently 1/64 shiny boosted! Grade: S+++ spawn!

#3: Galarian Stunfisk. Phenomenal in GL, and a true menace & flex to have in UL (It has to be a level 50 hundo best buddy, but it’s REALLY GOOD there), Galarian Stunfisk is a powerful PvP player that is seldom so easy to acquire AND get XL candies for. Get good PvP IVs for GL, get a hundo for UL, and get 296 XL candies to build your UL one. You will thank me later. It’s also permanently 1/64 shiny boosted! Grade: S++ spawn!

#4: Onix. Steelix remains a prominent meta force in both GL and Ultra League (especially the shadow form in UL), even after Breaking Swipe’s nerf some seasons ago. In order to be used in UL, it has to be leveled to the high 40s or even 50. Fortunately, it is one of the easier excellent throws to hit (unlike G. Stunfisk…), so getting tons of XL candy for Onix should be a breeze. It’s also permanently 1/64 shiny boosted! Grade: S Spawn!

#5: Skarmory. Despite being an “if you’re lucky!” spawn, Skarmory is so good in GL & UL and so seldom featured in events that it deserves to be appraised as a priority. It sports one of the best defensive typings in the game, Flying/Steel, with 10 resistances (three of them double) to only 2 weaknesses. In GL, it is ranked #4, a versatile wall that shuts down many spice picks and keeps the meta in line. In UL, it has to be a level 50 hundo best buddy, but it’s seriously strong there, rank #22 with many meta names on its winlist. Be certain to pick up GL ivs, an UL hundo, and as much XL candy as you can for UL (296 ideally) for Skarmory. It’s also permanently 1/64 shiny boosted! Grade: S+ spawn!

#6: Alolan Sandshrew. Alolan Sandslash is a strong pick in both GL and UL, especially its Shadow form in UL. An Ice/Steel Shadow Claw user, it benefits from being Shadow because of its role as a switch-in to punish flying, grass, and ground types. In UL, it has to be at or near level 50, so picking up XL candy for a shadow UL Alolan Sandslash is of particular importance during this event. It’s also permanently 1/64 shiny boosted! Grade: A spawn!

#7: Ferroseed. Ferrothorn is a solid Grass/Steel pick in GL and UL, but it isn’t meta. This is surprising, because it has 10 resistances to 2 weaknesses and versatility in charge moves. In GL, it is a reliable counter to the many Waters and their Electric counters. In UL, it is a very bulky Grass/Steel wall, capable of defeating Waters + Cresselia and Steelix. Full odds (1/512) shiny. Grade: A spawn!

——End of priority wild spawns, skim through these to the next section if you want!——

#8: Magnemite. In GL, Magnezone & Shadow Magnezone are established glass cannons, sent out in response to the many Water and Flying type switch-ins. It picks up respectable wins including Skarmory, Azumarill, Vigoroth, Lanturn, and just barely manages Lickitung. It’s a similar case in UL, and it prefers to be Shadow there, defeating bulky waters like Jellicent & Poliwrath and fliers like Charizard (but not Talonflame). Full odds shiny (1/512). Grade: B- spawn.

#9: Togedemaru: A fun to play glass cannon in GL, running the fast-charging Thunder Shock and Fell Stinger (-2 opponent Attack) or Wild Charge (hits hard, -2 your Defense), this is a chaotic but viable Pokémon in GL. Those who are brave will build a level 50 UL Togedemaru, hitting 2471 CP as a level 51 hundo. However, it’s not very good there, getting only bare bones flying/water wins. Despite this, it is debuting with a new shiny, so be sure to check every Togedemaru you see, and maybe pick up some XL candy for a distant-future UL Togedemaru. Grade: B spawn.

#10: Scyther. With much better Bug (Charjabug, Galvantula, Golisopod, Buzzwole, Escavalier) and Steel (Registeel, Skarmory, Steelix, G-Fisk, Bastiodon) options in all PvP leagues, along with the introduction of Necro-DM and Mega Heracross for Steel PvE, Scizor & Mega Scizor have fallen into relative obscurity. Despite this, it remains the only mega which simultaneously boosts both Steel and Bug types for XL candy grinding, types which are less common among megas. It’s also permanently 1/64 shiny boosted! Grade: B spawn.

#11: Aron. Aron, Lairon, and Aggron all have too high attack & too poor of a movepool to see utility in PvP. In PvE, Mega Aggron is a very tanky rock-type attacker, but Mega Tyranitar (the strongest Rock-type attacker) and Mega Aerodactyl (boosting Flying XL candy against Flying bosses while being super-effective with high DPS) run circles around it utility-wise. However, it is still a Steel-type mega, and it is in mega raids right now, so be sure to get some good IVs for a mega Aggron. In UL, it has some spice play as a less-tanky version of GL’s Bastiodon, capable of defeating the numerous Flying type threats there. Full odds shiny (1/512). Grade: B- spawn.

#12: Nosepass. Suffering the same fate as Aggron’s line, Nosepass has too high of an attack to be viable in any league as any of its evolutions. In UL, while its CP caps out below 2500, making use of its full possible stats, its moveset is lackluster, running Rock Throw or the recently nerfed Spark. However, the daring will build a hundo level 51 best buddy UL Probopass, because running the clock out on a very tanky Probopass while dropping opponent-attack-debuffing Zap Cannons is a first-class ticket to hell. Full odds shiny (1/512). Grade: B- spawn.

#13: Pineco. Suffering the same fate as Aggon & Probopass’s line for lower leagues, Forretress’s great defensive typing (9 resistances, 1 weakness) and great bulk are held back by its fast move, Bug Bite, and awkward charge moves. While Earthquake isn’t a bad move, it isn’t quickly charging enough to be a serious threat, and Mirror Shot is a bait move that has no place on a slowly-charging Pokémon. However, like Nosepass, the daring will build a hundo level 50 Forretress, hitting exactly 2492 CP for UL, where it is very bulky but slow to play. It’s also permanently 1/64 shiny boosted! Grade: C- spawn.

#14: Klink. Its final evolution, Klinklang, is an interesting and less-seen mono-steel in PvP. With Steel’s famous 11 resistances and 3 weaknesses, in GL it gets 140.1 defense and 102 HP that come together to make a defensive Pokémon, but not a true tank. This is because it has a high attack stat of 125, which really isn’t ideal for a gamemode where bulk is key. Its moveset is also awkward at best, running Thunder Shock / Mirror Shot + Zap Cannon, Mirror Shot being an inconsistent 30% opponent attack -1 debuff, and Zap Cannon being a coinflip opponent attack -1 debuff. It is good against water, fairy, and flying, defeating the numerous fliers in the league, barring Talonflame, and also beats Cresselia, Carbink, and Azumarill. It is viable, but it is spicy, and it plays like a less-flexible, steel-type Charjabug with less bulk product (Charjabug’s 17,408 to Klinklang’s 14,763, so 18% less, but with a lot of new resistances that even it out). This is also true in UL, where Kilnklang more comfortably meets the CP cap at level 40.5. Running the same moveset, it beats both A9s, Cresselia, A-Muk, Jellicent, Golisopod, Feraligatr, Tentacruel, Tapu Fini, Mandibuzz, and Pidgeot. So, also viable spice there, but it goes 14-26, meaning Registeel is a much better mono-Steel option. It’s a similar case in Little Cup, where Klink has a really high attack stat that butchers its bulk in a 500 CP-capped league. PLEASE RUN BRONZOR INSTEAD IN LC. However, if you’re looking for a spicy Steel to run in GL/UL, this might be it! And you have to admit, Klink’s and Klinklang’s gear animations are kind of satisfying to watch. It’s also permanently 1/64 shiny boosted! Grade: “C” spawn.

——RAID BOSSES——

Mega Aggron is in raids! If you don’t have a mega Aggron, be sure to get one. As a Pokémon that boosts Steel type XL candy for wild caught Pokémon, having that type coverage is very useful for the many situations where there are Pokémon in the wild which you want XL candy for, like ANY of the high-XL candy Pokémon during this Steel-type event. Aggron is a very useful mega to have! Grade: “A” raid!

——End of priority raids, skim through this to the next section if you want!——

Tornadus-Incarnate is in raids. It’s a mono-flying type that is really bad as a flying-type attacker, trailing things like Unfezant, Staraptor, and Honchkrow (even their non-shadows). It’s also bad in PvP, finding absolutely zero use in UL or the small-meta ML. The only reason to do this raid is for dex, for shiny dex, or for the rare candy rewards. Considering Mga Lucario will have Rare candy XL boosted this weekend, just save your passes for then. Grade: “C-” raid.

——MEGAS TO USE FOR XL CANDY——

For players level 31 and above, using a max mega level Pokémon (Level 3) maximizes the chance of getting 1 or more XL candy from a catch that shares typing with your active mega. I should start by saying that the best mega is the one that *you* have, has the highest mega level (ideally 3, 2 works as well) *and* matches types with a Pokémon you want XL candy for. For those with many megas…

Every Pokémon spawning this event is Steel-type. This makes it very easy to pick what megas are best to rack up as much XL candy as possible: any Steel-type mega! Filter by Steel on this website for a complete list of Steel-type megas currently available in Pokémon Go.

——GOALS TL; DR——

Grind PvP IVs, in order of decreasing importance, primarily for:

1. MLP Metagross
2. Little Cup Bronzor
3. GL/UL Galarian Stunfisk
4. GL/UL Onix
5. GL/UL Skarmory
6. GL/UL Alolan Sandslash
7. GL/UL Ferrothorn

Bonus spice picks to grind PvP IVs for are:

1. GL/UL Magnezone
2. GL/UL Togedemaru
3. UL Aggon
4. GL/UL Probopass
5. GL/UL Forretress
6. GL/UL Klinklang

Grind XL candy for:

1. PvE and MLP Metagross (Beldum)
2. Little Cup Bronzor (~150-296)
3. UL Galarian Stunfisk (296)
4. UL Steelix (Onix) (~150-296)
5. UL Skarmory (296)
6. UL Alolan Sandslash (Sandshrew) (296)
7. UL Ferrothorn (Ferroseed) (~150-296)

Spice XL goals are:

1. UL Probopass (Nosepass) (296)
2. UL Forretress (Pineco) (296)
3. UL Klinklang (Klink) (~70)
4. UL Togedemaru (296)

——END TL;DR——

I sincerely mean this: your continued support for my guides keeps them coming! Despite being almost 5,000 words long, my most recent guide (Go Fest: 2024) got 800+ shares, 1,000+ upvotes, and 280,000+ views, which blows my mind!!! I’m *so happy* I can help *so many people* with cogent, researched information. Please let me know if this helped you!

That’s all, folks! I hope you find this info helpful! AMAZING event over the next few days, I will be out grinding PvP IVs and XL candy for EVERYTHING, ALL DAY, EVERY DAY! I am so excited that everything is shiny boosted, great in PvP, and so XL candy accessible. I can’t wait to run my rank 1 Little Cup Bronzor, or finally have enough XL candy to build my best buddy UL Galarian Stunfisk. Maybe I’ll get enough XLs for my research hundo Skarmory, or pick up a top ten ranked Steelix for GL/UL. Sooo many goals for this event, feel free to refer back to this guide for your priorities! Leave your thoughts in the comments–Professor Hoot out! 🦉