Iron Valiant is one of the most prominently featured Paradox Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. The Pokemon has stats on par with mythical Pokemon like Mew and Jirachi, as well as pseudo-legendaries like Tyranitar and Garchomp. It can be downright fearsome with a proper build.
When it comes to Paradox Pokemon, Iron Valiant is presented as one of the strongest in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. It’s the signature Pokemon of Professor Turo in the final mission of Pokemon Violet and gives fan favorites Gardevoir and Gallade a extra bit of representation.
Iron Valiant is an interesting addition to many teams, and there is a good bit of flexibility in terms of how players can use it. Here’s how to build up Iron Valiant for ranked battles in both singles and doubles formats.
How to Build Iron Valiant for Ranked Singles Battles
In singles play, the best go-to options for Iron Valiant are either a straightforward sweeper build. This entails having maxed-out Speed and a maxed offensive stat. Iron Valiant has high Attack, and Sp. Attack stats, with a large enough move pool to justify using it in either way.
Here is the breakdown for a physical sweeper set:
- Ability: Quark Drive
- Nature: Jolly
- EVs: 252 Attack, 6 Defense, 252 Speed
- Tera Type: Fairy
- Item: Choice Scarf
- Moves: Close Combat, Spirit Break, Knock Off, Trick
Meanwhile, its special sweeper set looks like this:
- Ability: Quark Drive
- Nature: Timid
- EVs: 6 Defense, 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed
- Tera Type: Fairy
- Item: Choice Scarf
- Moves: Moonblast, Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere, Trick
Both sets maximize Iron Valiant’s Speed with full EV investment, a Choice Scarf, and a Speed-boosting nature. They also have dual STAB options with Moonblast and Aura Sphere or Close Combat and Spirit Break. Finally, they share Fairy Tera Typing to make their STAB options that much stronger.
Best Iron Valiant Build for Doubles Battles
The best Iron Valiant build for doubles battles in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is offensively focused but falls into a sort of hybrid role. When it comes to fast-moving, hard-hitting, fairy-type Paradox Pokemon, Flutter Mane actually has Iron Valiant beaten. Iron Bundle is another quick special attacker that is enjoying huge popularity. That means that Iron Valiant ought to use its greater arsenal of support moves to deal damage.
- Ability: Quark Drive
- Nature: Jolly
- EVs: 38 HP, 252 Attack, 220 Speed
- Tera Type: Steel
- Item: Focus Sash
- Moves: Protect, Wide Guard, Close Combat, Shadow Sneak
Protect, Wide Guard, and Focus Sash makes it hard to take Iron Valiant off the field even before Terastallizing into steel type. A Jolly nature with 220 Speed IVs allows it to outrun most of the common Pokemon in the format, with the remainder going into HP.
Close Combat deals massive damage, and Shadow Sneak allows it to reliably threaten opponents when it’s dropped down to one HP through Focus Sash. Shadow Sneak is also particularly nice for threatening Flutter Mane, who is shaping up to be one of the most common Pokemon in ranked play.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.
