Pokémon is a wonderful and mythical world of fantastical creatures that has survived for a quarter century in the form of anime, playing cards, collectible toys, and of course, a role-playing video game. Longtime fans can name a large percentage of the 1008 creatures that have been released so far. Some people’s knowledge of Pokémon begins and ends with Pikachu. There is nothing at all wrong with that kind of casual fandom, but I feel like I must do a service and at least let you know about the other wonderful creatures you can raise in the universe where these monsters do battle, play, work, and keep people company. It’s time to play WHO’S THAT POKÉMON???!?!?
IRON VALIANT (No. 1006)
Evolution Line – None, although it may be a far-future descendent of Gardevoir and Gallade
Type – Fairy/Fighting
First Appears In – Pokémon Scarlet/Violet
Iron Valiant is one of 16 Paradox Pokémon introduced in Generation IX. Eight of them (including Koraidon) ballegedly emanate from the distant past. The other eight (including Miraidon) have seemingly traveled all the way back from a twisted, cybernetic future. Of the Future Paradoxes, who appear exclusively in the wild in Pokémon Violet, Iron Valiant is the most powerful and rarest to discover. This robotic warrior appears to the naked eye to be a version of Gallade, the alternate evolution of male Kirlia in Generation IV, with the crest on their head and the slashing weapon, but the fringy dress hugging their waist as well as the typing suggests there’s some Gardevoir present as well.
Aesthetics and Biology – Pokémon researchers know scant little about Iron Valiant. The strongest traveler from time period set a billion years in the future, Iron Valiant like their Poké-peers has a metallic carapace and orifices that suggest circuitry underneath. As with the other Future Paradoxes, most of what is known about Iron Valiant has come from dubious writings in magazines and journals of men written off as crackpots or from the work of Professor Turo. The father of Uva Academy’s resident sandwich wizard, Arven, continues his attempt to understand the apparent time-traveling Pokémon in the awesome and mysterious Great Crater of Paldea.
As for Iron Valiant, they are a fierce, skilled warrior that is far more reclusive than fellow Paradox Pokémon. Unlike Iron Bundle and Iron Moth, who scamper and flutter about on all levels of the Crater, Iron Valiant remains tucked away in a cave hidden by a rocky outcropping. There, they presumably hone their skills with their dual-bladed sword-staff. They retain faint whispers of their former lives, but this futuristic warrior has a vicious spirit all their own.
In the Games – As a player, you won’t encounter Iron Valiant until after you’ve completed all three main tasks outside of the Great Crater of Paldea. The area at the middle of Gen IX’s mother region is off-limits to all members of the Uva Academy, and you won’t be able to recruit your full team to explore it until you’ve completed Operation Starfall and Victory Road. Additionally, that cave behind the outcropping I mentioned above? Yeah, it’s really hard to find. I didn’t locate it until after I’d gotten to the center of the Crater and completed the main thrust of why my team was drawn into the twisted, crystalline center of the region.
That being said, once you find Iron Valiant? And catch them? Congratulations, you have one of the most uniquely powerful Pokémon in the game. Fighting and Fairy comprise a combination that might be the finest offensive threats in any generation. Plus, you’ll have access to a bevy of other types to round out threats all across the region, especially in Tera Raids. Iron Valiant might be the most valuable party member when it comes to stalking the Tera Caves and reaping rewards. Outside of the specialized Pokémon that seem to be the keys to unlocking the special Seven-Star Raids (Dachsbun for Charizard, Slowbro for Cinderace, Gastrodon for Greninja, for posterity), Iron Valiant might be the Pokémon you lean on to clean up and get those Tera Raid rewards everyone wants.
The Nerd Section – Check these base stats for Iron Valiant: 130 Attack, 120 Special Attack, 116 Speed. Holy shit, the things you can do with them in your party. Iron Valiant is built to sweep, attacking either defensive concentration. The best thing is you can catch more than one, so you can have a dedicated physical and special attacker apiece. In addition to the STAB combo, which hits seven types super effectively, Iron Valiant’s movepool is wide and deep. In addition to pure attacks, they also get access to Swords Dance and Calm Mind to boost their already insane offensive stats to obscene levels. If you are on a team that is built around laying down Electric Terrain, you can get a free boost as well with the Quark Drive ability.
If Iron Valiant has an Achilles heel, it’s dealing with Poison-types. Yes, you can equip them with Psycho Cut/Zen Headbutt or Stored Power/Psychic, but having to carry a Psychic move takes away some moveset flexibility. Would you rather have Zen Headbutt to ward off Toxtricity or Amoonguss that your STAB moves can’t touch, or would you rather have the added versatility that something like Ice Punch provides? Or Shadow Sneak for picking off revenge kills? The bulk leaves something to be desired as well here, as a 60 Special Defense and 74 HP make them prime sitting ducks for strong special attackers, especially ones with beefed up Stored Power or a nasty Moonblast. Looking at you, Slowbro and Flutter Mane.
Overall though, Iron Valiant is a rock solid attacker that can take you far if you get on a hot streak either competitively or in raids. Absolutely no Dark-type will want any part of them, which makes them the ideal partner to team up with Hisuian Zoroark. No matter what the situation, if you play your cards right, you’ll have a stalwart bomb-dropper that no one will be safe switching anything in on.
Sword Man
Adamant Nature (Attack ↑ Special Attack ↓)
Ability – Quark Drive (Increases the user’s highest stat by 30% while Electric Terrain is activated or Booster Energy is attached)
EVs – 4 HP/252 Attack/252 Speed
Hold Item – Life Orb/Booster Energy
- Spirit Break
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak/Ice Punch/Zen Headbutt/Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak/Ice Punch/Zen Headbutt/Swords Dance
This set to me feels like the standard. The dual STAB will take down so many different threats, and Spirit Break has the added bonus of chasing special-side attackers by decreasing Special Attack and sending them back into their balls for a reset. The last two moves are up to you. I personally like Shadow Sneak and Swords Dance (the Mimikyu Special Combo!) because of the ability to pick off weakened opponents and to get boosts to make even your Not Very Effective attacks ones to be feared. However, I do see the appeal of running Booster Energy regardless, getting the free buff, and working with four attacks for versatility. The only thing is once you switch out, you can’t regain that boost, so play carefully.
Aura Lass
Modest Nature (Special Attack ↑ Attack ↓)
Ability – Quark Drive
EVs – 4 HP/252 Special Attack/252 Speed
Hold Item – Life Orb/Booster Energy/Terrain Extender
- Moonblast
- Aura Sphere/Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball/Psychic/Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind/Shadow Sneak/Electric Terrain
Special attacking Iron Valiant doesn’t hit as hard and doesn’t get Nasty Plot, but they’re still a viable option for teams who want a little shock value. Moonblast is an incredible main attack that has the added bonus of *potentially* lowering the opponent’s Special Attack. It’s not as nice as the 100 percent reliability of Spirit Break, but the possibility is nice. The Fighting STAB is your choice. Aura Sphere never misses, but Focus Blast is stronger by 50 percent, even if it only works 70 percent of the time (all the time). Your third coverage move depends on what you want to hit, but I’m an old school guy who believes in the power of the Fighting/Ghost blanket coverage STAB combo. Calm Mind gets you a Special Attack boost, even if it’s not +2 like Nasty Plot would be. The Special Defense boost is nice, but it feels negligible with a base 60 in that stat. You could go with Shadow Sneak here to pick off super weaekend opponents, or here’s where the actual Electric Terrain move could benefit you in the fourth spot.
Finale – Paradox Pokémon have turned the game upside down but in a good way. Although early returns on the metagame show Flutter Mane and Iron Bundles as the two rockstar studs, Iron Valiant to me feels like my kind of Pokémon. They have a unique typing with hard hitting base stats and a deep movepool that allows for mad scientist breeders and raisers to work their magic in ways that think outside the box.
PRIOR WHO’S THAT POKÉMON:
Venusaur
Mimikyu
Haxorus
Blaziken
Heracross
Mismagius
Sylveon
Cursola