Iron Jugulis weaknesses and best counters in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Pokémon fans who were around during the Generation V era know just how much of a threat Hydreigon was. Since the introduction of the Fairy type, Hydreigon’s typing made it pretty unviable, but with the advent of Terrastalization, it shot straight back up into god tier in Gen IX VGC.

So surely, Hydreigon’s future Paradox form, Iron Jugulis, is just as much of a threat, right?

Well, yes and no. You have to realize that Iron Jugulis is basically a separate Pokémon and functions quite differently than its ancestor. Take this Paradox Pokémon lightly, and it will make sure you regret your decisions.

Want to make sure your Pokémon don’t turn into this beast’s evening snack? Then keep reading our guide on everything Iron Jugulis and exactly how to take it down.

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

Iron Jugulis has a pretty mediocre typing all around. The secondary Flying type gives it an incredible immunity to Ground, but its original form, Hydreigon, had the ability Levitate for that anyways.

While Hydreigon is worse than Iron Jugulis defensively, it can simply Terrastalize into a type that resists its debilitating original weaknesses while still keeping STAB (Same-Type-Attack-Bonus) Dragon moves like the very strong Draco Meteor to nuke opponents. Iron Jugulis does not have this option, and as a Special Attacker, it does not get great Special Flying moves to take advantage of.

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

Iron Jugulis weaknesses (takes double damage)

• Rock 
• Electric
• Ice
• Fairy

Iron Jugulis resistances (takes half damage)

• Ghost
• Grass
• Dark

Iron Jugulis immunities (takes no damage)

• Ground
• Psychic

Iron Bundle neutral typings (takes normal damage)

• Normal
• Flying
• Poison
• Fighting
• Bug
• Steel
• Fire
• Water
• Dragon

While Iron Jugulis is weak to four fairly common offensive types, it does sport three resistances and two amazing immunities, making it less bad defensively.

When it comes to this thing’s stat distribution, it just doesn’t seem to do any one thing amazingly, but rather is all over the place mediocrely. It has decent bulk, a good Special Attack stat at 122, and a convenient Speed tier of 108 that outspeed a lot of meta threats, but none of these characteristics are something to write home about. 

There are other Pokémon that fill Iron Jugulis’ roles and also do them better, and even amongst its Paradox Pokémon peers, it doesn’t stand out. Well, thank goodness you’re trying to beat it and not use it on your team, in which case we’d recommend you just give Hydreigon or Murkrow a shot.

But we digress; 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: 94
  • Level 50: 105 to 201 HP
  • Level 100: 298 to 392 HP

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

• Defense: 86
  • Level 50: 81 to 151 Def
  • Level 100: 159 to 298 Def

• Special Attack: 122
  • Level 50: 114 to 191 Sp. Atk
  • Level 100: 224 to 377 Sp. Atk

• Special Defense: 80
  • Level 50: 76 to 145 Sp. Def
  • Level 100: 148 to 284 Sp. Def

• Speed: 108
  • Level 50: 101 to 176 Speed
  • Level 100: 198 to 346 Speed

After going over Iron Jugulis’ stats, you can see what we mean when we say it’s simply a middling Pokémon all around, especially when we consider that this Pokémon is basically in the class of sub-Legendaries.

With Iron Jugulis’ average bulk, a STAB super-effective hit should be enough to take it out in one shot. Think of the likes of Moonblast from Gardevoir, Thunderbolt from Magnezone, Stone Edge from Tyranitar, or Ice Beam from Glaceon.

Be careful of Iron Jugulis’ Speed, though, as that is one area where this Paradox ‘mon is slightly above average. The ability to outspeed a large majority of the meta and go for decently strong STAB attacks is definitely not a good look for your Pokémon.

That being said, Iron Jugulis’ STAB moves are just not strong enough to take care of Pokémon in one shot. Dark Pulse’s 80 base power will be a two-shot at best against neutral targets, and its best Flying move is Air Slash, which is 75 BP, and still 95 percent accurate. If it runs Hurricane for more power, it will miss 30 percent of the time unless it is functioning within a Rain team.

The only way you are getting knocked out in a single neutral hit by Iron Jugulis is if your Pokémon is incredibly frail (and not holding a Focus Sash), or if the Iron Jugulis in question is running a damage-boosting item such as Choice Specs or Life Orb. 

Best Iron Jugulis competitive builds in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Offensively, Iron Jugulis’ Dark and Flying dual type does not really complement each other too well other than the fact that Flying-type moves hit the Fighting-types that its Dark moves can’t hit for super-effective damage.

That being said, this Paradox Pokémon has an incredibly wide move pool and coverage that can help with all of its bad matchups. It gets Fire, Steel, and Ground-type coverage moves to deal with each of its weaknesses.

Iron Jugulis also gets some neat supportive moves, the most important one being Tailwind, which works well with its naturally high Speed stat.

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

Item

Life Orb/Focus Sash/Choice Specs/Booster Energy.

Ability

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

EVs

Whether you are going for an offensive, support, or hybrid set, a decent option would be 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.

If you want to make your Iron Jugulis bulkier, however, you can reduce the amount of Speed investment it has and add it to its HP. Although we wouldn’t recommend this, since there are some threats like Iron Treads and Pawmot right below its Speed tier that will outspeed it and have the potential to knock it out if Iron Jugulis does not run max Speed investment.

Nature

The only two Natures you should consider for Iron Jugulis 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 is acceptable if you have another fast Tailwind setter on your team to boost Iron Jugulis’ Speed so that it can still move before its opponents.

The preferred Nature would be Timid, however, as it lets Iron Jugulis take advantage of its great natural Speed while still having the option of a threatening offense through damage-boosting items.

Moves

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

• Dark Pulse
• Air Slash
• Hurricane
• Earth Power
• Flamethrower
• Heat Wave
• Flash Cannon
• Hydro Pump
• Dragon Pulse
• Dragon Tail
• Knock Off
• U-Turn
• Tailwind
• Taunt
• Roar

A Tailwind-offense set consisting of Tailwind, Dark Pulse, Air Slash/Flash Cannon/Heat Wave, and Protect will work well. A Choice Specs set with four moves can also catch opponents off guard with its damage output and wide coverage.

Tera type

Iron Jugulis’ best Tera type would be Tera Steel. Not only does it cover for three of its weaknesses while making Electric into a neutral type (not to mention the horde of resistances Steel gives it naturally), it also makes it so that it can get STAB on Flash Cannon to hit Fairy types for enormous amounts of damage.

Best Pokémon to counter Iron Jugulus in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Iron Jugulis has just about decent bulk all around, and even though it sports a higher Special Defense stat when compared to its Physical Defense stat, any strong super-effective move should be able to take it out in one shot, whether that move gets STAB, or does not get STAB but rather has its power increased by a damage-boosting item such as Life Orb or Choice Specs.

Since Iron Jugulis has a commendable Speed stat, being able to knock it out in a single shot is not all you need. You would also need to outspeed it, which is not something a lot of Pokémon can do while also being able to deal super-effective damage against it.

Some Pokémon that can accomplish this are Kilowattrel, Raichu, all Lycanroc forms, Weavile, Iron Valiant, Jolteon, Flutter Mane, Chien-Pao, Iron Bundle, and even Maushold with its signature move Population Bomb, even though its a neutral move against Iron Jugulis.

For Pokémon that can’t outspeed Iron Jugulis but can take it out in a single hit, you’ll need to make sure they resist the majority of Iron Jugulis’ moves, which is a tall order due to its wide coverage. Some Pokémon that do fit this role, however, are Pawmot, Sandy Shocks, Mimikyu, Azumarill, and the various Rotom forms.