Iron Bundle weaknesses and best counters in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Some Pokémon can be a real hassle to deal with in Paldea, and the Paradox Pokémon in each of the games fit right into that category. Some of them may seem harmless on the surface, but they are serious threats when faced in battle, something players learned the hard way, especially when they came across Iron Bundle.

Iron Bundle is a future Paradox Pokémon with mediocre typing, but a strong stat spread, Ability, and move choices, making it a formidable foe to go up against. 

We’ve seen this typing before on Pokémon like Lapras, which is the most competitively relevant Pokémon when it comes to the history of Ice and Water dual types—but still has not seen too much play in competitive VGC in the grand scale of things. The one exception would be Generation VIII, and even then, it wasn’t used for its typing, but for its amazing GMax move’s secondary effect.

Iron Bundle, on the other hand, is simply a great Pokémon regardless of the gimmick present in any given generation. Sure, Terrastalization helps this dystopian Delibird, but it does not rely on it, which lets you be flexible with your Tera choices in battle and while teambuilding.

It makes for one formidable foe, and if you don’t know what you’re going up against, you can get overwhelmed pretty easily. To make sure that doesn’t happen, continue reading our guide on everything Iron Bundle and exactly how to take it down.

All Iron Bundle type weaknesses, resistances, and counters in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

In terms of a type combination, Iron Bundle’s Ice and Water dual-typing is certainly not the best, but it isn’t the worst typing either.

Ice is notorious for being the worst defensive type in the game, so Iron Bundle should thank its stars that the devs decided to add in the secondary type of Water, making it able to eliminate a few of Ice’s weaknesses and add in a resistance as well.

Below, we’ve listed Iron Bundle’s entire interaction with the type chart, stating its weaknesses, resistances, and types its neutral to.

Iron Bundle weaknesses (takes double damage)

• Grass
• Electric
• Fighting
• Rock

Iron Bundle resistances (takes half damage)

• Water
• Ice

Iron Bundle neutral typings (takes normal damage)

• Normal
• Flying
• Poison
• Ground
• Bug
• Ghost
• Steel
• Fire
• Psychic
• Dragon
• Dark
• Fairy

As you can see, Iron Bundle has an abnormally large number of types that hit it for neutral damage, along with four types that hit it for super-effective damage with only two resistances. Coupled with its stat distribution, Iron Bundle most definitely fits into the ‘glass cannon’ archetype.

Speaking of stat distributions, this penguin Santa android thing has a base stat total of 570, like most other Paradox Pokémon, its most impressive stat being its Speed which sits at a pretty 136, the fastest of its kind. Then comes its impressive Special Attack stat of 124.

It also has a great Defense stat of 114, but that’s where the good parts end. Yeah, its Physical bulk is decent, but hit it on the Special side, and it can get blown away with even a neutral hit since it has a Special Defense stat of 60 and an HP stat of 56.

Below is a complete base stat spread for Iron Bundle, including maximum and minimum stat values at Level 50 and 100 for competitive players. These stat variables are calculated using zero EVs, IVs, and a hindering nature for minimum stats and 252 EVs, 31 IVs, and a helpful nature for max values, while not taking any additional factors into account. 

• HP: 56
  • Level 50: 116 to 163 HP
  • Level 100: 222 to 316 HP

• Attack: 80
  • Level 50: 76 to 145 Atk
  • Level 100: 148 to 284 Atk

• Defense: 114
  • Level 50: 107 to 182 Def
  • Level 100: 209 to 359 Def

• Special Attack: 124
  • Level 50: 116 to 193 Sp. Atk
  • Level 100: 227 to 381 Sp. Atk

• Special Defense: 60
  • Level 50: 58 to 123 Sp. Def
  • Level 100: 112 to 240 Sp. Def

• Speed: 136
  • Level 50: 126 to 206 Speed
  • Level 100: 249 to 408 Speed

With a quick glance at Iron Bundle’s stats, it becomes evident that a strong Special attacker is enough to take care of it, doesn’t even matter if it does not hit this Paradox ‘mon for super effective damage. We did the calc, and a Gardevoir with max Special Attack investment and a Modest nature can take Iron Bundle out with a single Moonblast.

That being said, if you want to maximize your chances of taking Iron Bundle out without too much effort, an Electric-type ‘mon will be your best bet, since Electric moves come mainly from the Special side, while Fighting and Rock are mainly Physical moves. Grass-type Pokémon are not recommended because Iron Bundle can simply outspeed and knock them out with a strong Ice-type move.

Related: Iron Hands weaknesses and best counters in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Best Iron Bundle competitive builds in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Iron Bundle’s dual STAB moves are great because they complement each other when it comes to type matchups. The Water and Grass-type Pokémon that resist its Hydro Pump moves take super-effective damage from Freeze Dry, giving it solid coverage against the meta. Iron Bundle can also take on a fast supportive role as opposed to its offensive one, or simply a mix of both.

Below are a few of the common builds you will see run on Iron Bundle.

Item

Life Orb/Focus Sash/Booster Energy/Assault Vest.

Ability

Like all future Paradox Pokémon, Iron Bundle has only one Ability: Quark Drive.

EVs

Whether you are going for an offensive, support, or hybrid set, the best option is a simple 252/252/4 spread in Special Attack/Speed/HP. This lets you outspeed your opponent and pick up OHKOs or simply support your partner before the opponent can move.

Nature

The only two Natures you should consider are Timid and Modest. Choosing Modest will give you a noticeable boost in your damage output at the cost of having slightly slower Pokémon that are running a Speed-boosting nature outspeed you. This downside can make or break a game, which is why Timid is the premier option for Iron Bundle, making it one of the fastest ‘mons in the meta.

Moves

Listed below are some of Iron Bundle’s best moves, which you can mix and match to add into its four move slots based on the role you want your Iron Bundle to play:

• Hydro Pump
• Freeze Dry
• Ice Beam
• Icy Wind
• Encore
• Helping Hand
• Taunt
• Aurora Veil
• Flip Turn
• Protect

We would recommend Hydro Pump, a strong Ice move of your choice, and a filler move along with Protect on any set that doesn’t use a Choice item or an Assault Vest.

Tera type

Tera Grass can be a good defensive Tera type for Iron Bundle, letting it now resist Grass and Electric hits, while also being able to damage other Water types for super-effective damage. Tera Ice could also work if you wanted to keep its Ice typing for a Defense boost in Snow while letting it fire off supercharged Blizzards at both its foes.

Best Pokémon to counter Iron Bundle in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

As we’ve mentioned earlier, any strong Special Attacker with heavy Special Attack investment should be able to barely OHKO Iron Bundle if it can hit it for even neutral damage. If it can hit Iron Bundle for super-effective damage, then you’re sorted.

If you want to play safe, using an Electric or Fighting-type Pokémon will be your best bet, since they can take a neutral hit from either of Iron Bundle’s dual stabs and retaliate for a super-effective hit back. Pokémon like Iron Hands, Pawmot, Raichu, Magnezone, and Annihilape can fit this role.

The reason we don’t recommend Grass or Rock-type Pokémon is that even though Grass and Rock-type moves do deal super-effective damage to Iron Bundle, it can outspeed all of the Grass and Rock-type Pokémon in the game and hit them with either a strong Water-type move for Rock-types, or Ice-type moves for Grass-types, each for super-effective damage.

The only time using a Grass or Rock-type Pokémon would be recommended as a counter for Iron Bundle is when they have a secondary type that neutralizes Iron Bundle’s super-effective hit. 

A good example of relevant Grass-types would be Abomasnow. Its secondary Ice typing makes it so that it is now neutral to Ice-type hits, letting it tank an Ice-type move to fire back with an Energy Ball or Giga Drain to finish off Iron Bundle in a single hit.

For Rock-types, Drednaw is a decent pick as its primary Water typing neutralizes opposing Water moves for its secondary Rock typing. That being said, Iron Bundle can still use Freeze Dry to deal super effective damage on Drednaw, since it is the only Ice-type move that deals double damage to Water-types instead of being not very effective.

If you do want to use the most optimal Pokémon against it, however, the one true counter to Iron Bundle would be Rotom-Wash. Not only does it resist its dual STAB moves, but it also hits Iron Bundle on its weaker Special Defense side for STAB super-effective damage, guaranteeing you a swift OHKO on the dystopian Delibird.

We did the calc for fun, and, a fully Special Attack invested Rotom-Wash with a Modest Nature, holding the Choice Specs item can OHKO nearly three Iron Bundles in a single Thunderbolt. Need we say more?