Iron Treads, the Paradox Pokémon. This Pokémon closely resembles a scientific weapon that a paranormal magazine claimed was sent to this planet by aliens. Sightings of this Pokémon have occurred in recent years. It resembles a mysterious object described in an old expedition journal.

Overview

The Violet Paradox of Donphan, Iron Treads takes a slightly different path from its Scarlet counterpart. Where Great Tusk emphasizes Donphan’s strengths, Iron Treads takes a different path in lessening Donphan’s weaknesses. The excellent Steel Subtyping is a good start, granting Iron Treads a robust defensive profile, and the extra points in Special Defense reduces what is normally Donphan’s and Great Tusk’s biggest Achilles heel. Adding on to this is a truly exceptional Base 106 Speed, making Iron Treads incredibly fast for a defensive Pokémon and differentiating it from the average to low speeds on Great Tusk and Donphan. Iron Treads uses this extra Speed to great effect, reliably getting up Stealth Rocks, clearing hazards with Rapid Spin, depriving items with Knock Off, or acting as a speedy pivot with Volt Switch. Even with all these benefits, Iron Treads is still a Donphan expy at the end of the day with the fantastic physical bulk and potent STAB Earthquakes one expects from Donphan.

However, all of Iron Treads improvements have caused new issues to occur. While the Steel typing is a general boon, this generation has been saturated with excellent physically bulky Ground types. Not only is this plenty of competition for Iron Treads for a team slot, but said competition also directly threatens Iron Treads in battle, ensuring every team is carrying an answer for it. Other aspects of Iron Treads tweaking came at a price. While base 112 Attack is still solid especially with Earthquake, it is a noticeable downgrade from base Donphan, leaving Iron Treads struggling to apply offensive pressure without investment, further compounding its issues against opposing Ground types, especially with the offensively poor Steel type offering little in the way of STAB. Even Iron Treads chassis struggles to hold up under scrutiny, with Base 70 Special Defense, while good for a Donphan variant, is still below average by most accounts and an exploitable flaw at that. Lack of reliable recovery hurts as well leaving Iron Treads prone to being worn down, even when its flaws aren’t being exploited. This has not stopped Iron Treads from reaching many of the same highs as its fellow Ground types and worthy of the same respect.
Positives
Ground Steel typing with 90/120 physical bulk gives Iron Treads impressive durability, allowing it to switch into all manner of attacks
Base 112 Attack is respectable, especially in conjunction with STAB Earthquake
106 Speed is incredibly fast for such a bulky Pokémon, allowing Iron Treads to get its support off with ease.

Negatives
Common weaknesses to Ground, Fighting and Water make Iron Treads easy prey to prominent physical walls.
Base 70 Special Defense is quite exploitable, bypassing most of Iron Treads vaunted bulk.
Lack of reliable recovery greatly hurts Iron Treads longevity.

Movesets

Tread Heavily

-Rapid Spin
-Earthquake
-Iron Head
-Ice Spinner
Ability: Quark Drive
Item: Assault Vest
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

This Iron Treads set blends offense and utility together, allowing Iron Treads to threaten a wide variety of foes while using its good base bulk and blazing speed while providing utility to the team. Rapid Spin is the utility move of choice, allowing Iron Treads to perform the ever so important hazard clearing duties while making Iron Treads near impossible to outspeed. Earthquake is the Ground STAB classic, and a shoe in on just about every Iron Treads set between its high power and massive coverage, especially against the Rapid Spin immune Gholdengo. Also being part of the reason why Iron Treads is so good into Raging Bolt just raises up Earthquake’s value even more. Iron Head is secondary STAB and while Steel is rather poor offensively, it earns its place hitting important targets, like Cornerstone Ogerpon, Kyurem, Iron Valiant, Enamorus, Hatterene, Clefable and Tera Fairy users especially Raging Bolt. Ice Spinner rounds out the set for coverage, being a reliable method to hit Ground immune Flying types, especially Landorus-Therian and Gliscor.

Tera Types:
Iron Treads is a Pokémon with a fantastic defensive typing that allows it to take on all sorts of attacks, though its common weaknesses does force Iron Treads to Terastalize to better take on common foes. Tera Ground is a popular offensive defensive option, removing its common weaknesses to Ground and Fighting while giving Earthquake a much needed boost, securing OHKOs on Raging Bolt, Hisuian Goodra, and Tyrannitar, while guaranteeing 2HKOs on the likes of Mamoswine, Scizor, Torkoal and Pecharunt. As for defensive options, Tera Fairy is particularly potent given Iron Treads high Speed and natural Ground STAB preclude Steel and Poison STAB users and few non-STAB users run such coverage, all the while providing a valuable Fighting resistance. Tera Ghost is another popular option if entirely for the option of denying Rapid Spin, though the Fighting immunity is handy as well.

EVs and Items:
As an attacker, Max Attack and Speed are recommended to maximize the offensive pressure that Iron Treads provides. While Adamant is tempting to address some of the knock outs Iron Treads misses, missing out on Jolly means Iron Treads can no longer outspeed even base 95s like Kyurem along with Iron Crown and Zapdos, all of whom can threaten great damage if not a OHKO on Iron Treads. Assault Vest can help with this to an extent, patching up Iron Treads below average Special Defense, preventing OHKOs from Enamorus, non Specs Iron Crown, Moltres, Specs Dragapult, non Specs Gholdengo, Walking Wake and more, to say nothing of the 2HKOs turned to 3HKOs. Clear Amulet is another option, preventing Iron Treads’ Attack being sunk from Landorus-Therian and guaranteeing the OHKO with Ice Spinner while still leaving it a threat to Landorus-Therian’s partners. Air Balloon is another popular option, preventing the many opposing Ground types from exploiting Iron Treads weakness until they hit it with another attack first, often more than enough time for Iron Treads to 2HKO with Ice Spinner.

Partners:
: Despite Ice Spinner, Terastalization, and/or Air Balloon allowing Iron Treads to get the jump on opposing Ground types, the weakness is to the point that having allies to check Ground types are paramount for Iron Treads. Wellspring Ogerpon is a fantastic example, resisting Ground STAB thrown Iron Treads way while wielding a brutal Water-Grass STAB combination that threatens the opposing Ground types even if they Terastalize to Water. While any Pokémon appreciates Iron Treads hazard clearing, Wellspring Ogerpon benefits greatly from Ice Spinner variants given how they check the Dragon types that Wellspring Ogerpon can be troubled by. Kyurem is another decent Ground check, between its Freeze Dry and Ice STAB threatening most Ground types with ease while loving Iron Treads’ anti Fairy tendencies with STAB Iron Head. Both Kyurem and Wellspring Ogerpon threatening opposing Water types with their STAB does wonders in covering for its weaknesses. While not as prominent, answers to Fighting types are also valued given the number of attackers that resort to such moves to get past Iron Treads. Pecharunt is an excellent example, completely nullifying opposing Fighting attacks, and getting Iron Treads in safely with Parting Shot. Softening opponent up with Malignant Chains is a nice bonus and Iron Treads returns the favor with removing the hazards that chew into Pecdharunt’s health. Tornadus-Therian, Dragonite and Enamorus also work well for this reason and love Iron Treads removal of Stealth Rock to keep them healthy as well as checking the troublesome Raging Bolt that gives them issues.

Other Options:
Knock Off is one of the best moves in the game, as Pokémon without items are far worse at performing their roles. Stone Edge is great coverage for opposing Flying types, but despite the strength of Ground + Rock STAB, Ice Spinner is generally preferred for its wider coverage. Iron Treads can set its own hazards with Stealth Rocks, offering great role compression. Supercell Slam is Iron Treads best option against Corviknight and Skarmory, but is risky given the number of Ground types that Iron Treads draws in. Volt Switch while weak is an incredible pivoting option.

Doubles and VGC Options

The traits that have Donphan and its Paradox forms so valued in singles do not translate well into doubles. Much of their niche revolves around entry hazard control, which is nearly non-existent in Doubles and not worth dedicating a slot over. However, Iron Treads unique combination of power, durability, ability and typing have let it seen success as one of the best partners for Miraidon. Specifically, Iron Treads is valued as a counter pick for opposing Miraidon, being one of the few Pokémon that resists the famed Electric Dragon STAB combination and can boast of being able to survive even Miriaidon’s Hadron Engine Draco Meteors with no investment. If Miraidon can even get the move off given that Iron Treads is faster thanks to Miraidon’s own Electric Terrain and OHKOs with Ground STAB while its Steel STAB ensures even Tera Fairy is no escape. Being excellent into many other troublesome foes like Raging Bolt, Flutter Mane, and many Tera Fairy users. However, Iron Treads is pigeon-holed into a partner for Miraidon as the Speed creep of the ninth generation leaves Iron Treads underwhelming without Quark Drive. Being slowed down by popular support pieces in Incineroar and Rillaboom far from help matters either. This has left Iron Treads extremely niche, but a serious consideration for any Miraidon trainer.

Electric Treads

-High Horsepower
-Iron Head
-Steel Roller
-Ice Spinner
Ability: Quark Drive
Item: Choice Band
Tera Type: Bug
EVs and Nature:
4 HP 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

Based on Francesco Pio Pero's 5th placing Iron Treads in the New Orleans NAIC, Choice Band Iron Treads is a veritable assassin, targeted against several of the most prominent threats in the game while near invariably getting the jump on them with Quark Drive from Miraidon's Electric Terrain. High Horsepower is key to this set, specifically for taking out opposing Miraidon and Raging Bolt, though the excellent coverage of Ground doesn't stop there. Being able to also threaten prominent targets like Incineroar, Chi-Yu, Iron Hands, and the many Tera Fire users like Rillaboom, Calyrex-Ice Rider and Koraidon with obscene damage if not a OHKO makes High Horsepower invaluable in removing key pieces of an opponent's team. Iron Head is part of what makes Iron Treads so valuable for Miraidon, threatening the Tera Fairy and Ice attackers like opposing Miraidon, Raging Bolt and Chien-Pao that otherwise trouble and threaten Miraidon in turn. Steel Roller and Ice Spinner seem rather contradictory given Iron Treads is meant to be partnered with Miraidon, but the Terrain control they provide is invaluable. Depriving an opposing Miraidon of their Electric Terrain slashes their own power, making Iron Treads and its partner more likely to solve the follow up. Rillaboom, a popular counter pick for Miraidon, is far less threatening without the boost to its Grass STAB and passive healing, making it easier to endure and remove. Steel Roller is pure power, great for ensuring the OHKO on Calyrex-Ice Rider as well as being a safe pick against Miraidon and whether it will Terastalize to Fairy or not, doing decent damage and greatly reducing the power of its follow up attack. Ice Spinner is mainly for opposing Grass and Flying types that resist Iron Tread's favored Ground STAB, while being a Terrain removal option that can be used when there is no Terrain around, unlike Steel Roller which requires requires careful pivoting or being forced to switch out.

Tera Bug is preferred for the resistances to Fighting and Ground it provides, helpful against the ever present Urshifu, Iron Hands, Scarf Landorus-Incarnate and opposing Iron Treads. Max Speed and Max Attack investment are recommended. Iron Treads job is to outspeed as much as possible and get OHKOs on some of the deadliest Pokémon in the game and can spare little else.

Preferred Partners:
Miraidon is mandatory if running Iron Treads. The synergy the two Pokémon have together is quite extensive, with Iron Treads covering some of Miraidon’s most troublesome matchups while Miraidon deals with the Flying and Water types that give Iron Treads pause. Electric Seed Terapagos is another common partner on such compositions, appreciating Iron Treads being unreliant on Terastalization. Knock Off’s disruption is just as valuable in singles as in Doubles and perhaps even more impactful given how Iron Treads can reliably move first in Electric Terrain. Directly threatening Calyrex-Shadow Rider is a bonus. While weak, Rock Tomb offers valuable speed control in the same vein as Icy Wind.

Countering Iron Treads

While Iron Treads does a lot to cover for the weaknesses of the Pokémon it is based on, it is still left with exploitable flaws both offensively and defensively.

Bulky Ground types are the biggest headache for Iron Treads, as if it isn’t running Ice Spinner, Iron Treads struggles to deal with them quickly while they can easily one to two hit KO Iron Treads with ease. Landorus-Therian and Gliscor are the biggest beneficiaries if Iron Treads lacks Ice Spinner, their great physical bulk and immunity to Earthquake making getting through them a nightmare. Great Tusk on the other hand, can easily absorb multiple Ice Spinners, though is more vulnerable to Ground STAB. Ting-Lu takes even less damage from Ice Spinner and Earthquake, though its more passive nature and the lack of reliable recovery can make the residual damage hurt even more.

Other prominent physical walls often prove troublesome for Iron Treads as well, with Iron Treads struggling to deal significant damage to them. Dondozo as always makes a fantastic check to physical attackers and Iron Treads is no exception. If lacking Supercell Slam, Corviknight, Alomomola, and Skarmory all solidly wall Iron Treads, though they also struggle to deal decent damage in return. Moltres fears both Supercell Slam and Stone Edge, but is otherwise nightmarish for Iron Treads and can even punish Rapid Spin attempts thanks to Flame Body. Pelipper also does similarly well under such constraints while being an instant threat thanks to it Water STAB.

Crashing out Iron Treads offensively is a trickier matter given its excellent blend of bulk, typing and speed, though several options do remain. Banded Barraskewda, Speed Boost Blaziken, Hisuian Lilligant, Keldeo, Specs Greninja, Iron Valiant, all reliably OHKO while Wellspring and Hearthflame Ogerpon with Ivy Cudgel (and Teal Mask with Low Kick) get close. Other strong attackers like Weavile, and Cinderace can also get the job done quite nicely.

Anime Appearences

Iron Treads has yet to make any appearances in the anime # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics