With series one coming to a finish at the end of January, series two ushers in a new era of competitive battling from Feb. 1 and brings in a new class of very strong ‘mons: Paradox Pokémon.
These Pokémon are future and past forms of already existing Pokémon that have base stat totals of Legendary Pokémon. But, no matter how intimidating they sound through this description, there are a few of these beasts that tower above the rest in terms of competitive viability.
Below, we discuss the top-tier Paradox Pokémon you should use for Scarlet and Violet Series Two VGC, along with their ideal builds.
Best Paradox Pokemon for Series Two VGC in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Iron Bundle
Iron Bundle is incredibly fast—the second-fastest relevant Pokémon in the meta—and with the Booster Energy item boosting its Speed stat, this ‘mon can outspeed anything it wants to, including common Choice Scarfed Pokémon.
Its incredible Speed in conjunction with its nifty Speed control option, Icy Wind, makes it very threatening to face off against as a lead. One Icy Wind can drop both your Pokémon’s Speed stat to the point where its partner would be able to outspeed you and potentially knock you out.
Apart from its Speed stat, Iron Bundle also possesses a formidable Special Attack stat, and if you don’t think your team necessarily needs the hyper-fast Speed control, you can build this ‘mon’s EV spread to instead boost its Special Attack with the Booster Energy item instead. This will let Iron Bundle fire off ultra-strong Hydro Pumps and Freeze Dry that no Pokémon in the meta will want to be slapped with.
When it comes to Iron Bundle’s bulk, it’s not the most ideal, being especially frail on the Special Defense side to the point where a decently strong Special Attack that hits it for neutral damage will be able to take it out as well. Its Defense is doable though, but that’s not enough to make this ‘mon reliably tanky all around, which is why a lot of players ditch the option on Booster Energy as its item and opt for the Focus Sash item instead.
Best Iron Bundle item
Focus Sash/Booster Energy/Life Orb/Choice Specs.
Best Iron Bundle ability
Like every future Paradox Pokémon, Iron Bundle possesses only one ability: Quark Drive.
Best Iron Bundle EVs and nature
For Iron Bundle, a simple 4/252/252 spread in HP/Special Attack/Speed, should be ideal, especially if you’re pairing this ‘mon with a Focus Sash, letting it maximize its Speed and offense along with surviving at least one hit from the opponent.
The best natures for Iron Bundle are Timid, if you want it to be incredibly fast, and Modest, if you want it to mainly be a damage-dealer.
Best Iron Bundle Tera Type
Defensively, Grass proves to be an effective Tera type for Iron Bundle, letting it resist electric hits and getting rid of other weaknesses while also turning immune to the common Spore and Rage Powder from ‘mons like Amoonguss.
Ice can be a good offensive Tera type, especially if your aim is to spam Blizzard in the Snow, which can quickly sweep your opponents.
Best Iron Bundle moves
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Freeze Dry
- Icy Wind
- Blizzard
- Flip Turn
- Tera Blast
- Aurora Veil
- Encore
- Taunt
- Helping Hand
Roaring Moon
With a terrifying Attack stat along with above average Speed, you would consider any Pokémon with these characteristics to be viable. Roaring Moon has this and so much more going for it.
With Booster energy boosting its Speed, the ‘mon turns into the fastest Tailwind-setter without Prankster in the meta. It can opt to run the move Acrobatics along with the Flying Tera type so that, after consuming its Booster Energy, it can go for supercharged Acrobatics at a speed that only a handful of Pokémon can outpace.
It also gets options such as Breaking Swipe and Snarl for damage mitigation, along with a bunch of offensive coverage options that let it fully take advantage of Terrastalization offensively, as well as defensively, through ridding of its poor defensive typing.
Best Roaring Moon item
Booster Energy/Life Orb/Choice Band/Focus Sash
Best Roaring Moon ability
Like every past Paradox Pokémon, Roaring Moon possesses only one ability: Protosynthesis.
Best Roaring Moon EVs and nature
If you’re going for the very effective meta set, which is the Booster Energy-Tera Flying-Acrobatics set, you’ll want to go 4/252/252 in HP/Attack/Speed along with a Jolly nature to boost its Speed higher than its Attack stat. Tailwind sets will also want to run max Speed.
Life Orb/Choice Band, or ones that include Dragon Dance, can opt to split some of its EVs into HP and Defense from its Speed, since it will be boosting its own Speed, or getting Speed Control from its teammates.
Best Roaring Moon Tera type
If you’re running Booster Energy and Acrobatics, you’ll want to run Tera Flying for the extra damage. This also makes your Fighting and Bug weakness into a resistance.
Other sets are best when run with any Tera type that resists Fairy, which are Fire, Steel, and Poison.
Best Roaring Moon moves
- Dragon Claw
- Outrage
- Breaking Swipe
- Crunch
- Jaw Lock
- Throat Chop
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
- Dragon Dance
- Tailwind
Flutter Mane
Flutter Mane may have very low bulk on the Defense side of things, but its good Special bulk along with its dominating Special Attack stat which can be further boosted with Booster Energy, in combination with its lightning-quick Speed stat (which can also be boosted as an alternative to its offense), makes this overgrown Misdreavus one of the most prominent threats in the series two metagame.
Not only can Flutter Mane deal massive single-target damage through Shadow Ball, Moonblast, and other coverage moves, it can also sweep teams with Dazzling Gleam. When paired with Tera Fairy and a damage-boosting item, this ‘mon is incredibly tough to switch into.
With Speed control options like Icy Wind and Trick Room as well, Flutter Mane has a wide variety of options to fit into a variety of team archetypes.
Best Flutter Mane item
Booster Energy/Life Orb/Focus Sash/Choice Specs.
Best Flutter Mane ability
Like every past Paradox Pokémon, Flutter Mane possesses only one ability: Protosynthesis.
Best Flutter Mane EVs and nature
A simple 4/252/252 spread in HP/Special Attack/Speed works best for Flutter Mane, letting it maximize the stats that it naturally excels in.
If you want this ‘mon to be incredibly fast and/or to get a Speed boost through Booster Energy, go for Timid. If you want damage and/or to get the Special Attack boost through Booster Energy, opt for Modest.
Best Flutter Mane Tera type
Flutter Mane benefits greatly from the Fairy Tera type, giving it massive power with Dazzling Gleam and Moonblast. It can also go for Fire Tera to gain STAB on Mystical Fire while resisting Steel now instead of being weak to it.
Best Flutter Mane moves
- Shadow Ball
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Energy Ball
- Mystical Fire
- Power Gem
- Thunderbolt
- Icy Wind
- Trick Room
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split
- Fake Tears
Iron Hands
Being arguably a better Hariyama, Iron Hands not only provides Fake Out support, but also dishes out a lot of offensive presence on the field due to its frightening Attack stat and wide coverage. Sure, it’s a little slow, but leading it alongside a Trick Room setter will let you Fake Out one ‘mon while your partner safely sets up Trick Room.
It can further boost its damage output with the Booster Energy item to make sure it picks up the OHKO on most Pokémon. Apart from its offensive, it boasts a massive HP stat and a phenomenal Defense stat. It lacks in the Special Defense category, but that’s why so many players have been running this ‘mon with the Assault Vest item.
Best Iron Hands item
Assault Vest/Booster Energy/Life Orb/Sitrus Berry.
Best Iron Hands ability
Like every future Paradox Pokémon, Iron Hands possesses only one ability: Quark Drive.
Best Iron Hands EVs and nature
If you’re running Iron Hands with an Assault Vest, the good ol’ 4/252/252 spread in HP/Attack/Special Defense should do you wonders.
Without an Assault Vest, you would want to bulk this ‘mon out in the Special Defense category more rather than HP to let it comfortably live common Special hits.
The best nature for Iron Hands is Adamant or Brave, the latter being optimal if you’re running it on a hard Trick Room team, in which case you would want to have 0 IVs in its Speed stat as well.
Best Iron Hands Tera type
Tera Fighting is good, both offensively as well as defensively, as it takes away its weakness in the very common Ground moves while powering up its Fighting moves. Tera Grass is also an option to now resist Ground hits while ignoring common powder moves like Rage Powder and Spore from ‘mons like Amoonguss.
Best Iron Hands moves
- Fake Out
- Wild Charge
- Thunder Punch
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
- Drain Punch
- Brick Break
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch
- Fire Punch
- Play Rough
- Tera Blast
- Swords Dance
- Belly Drum
