We rate Iron Moth B-Tier: a solid choice for the right team. At 570 BST, it fits the sweeper role. Base 140 Sp. Atk stands out.

What is Iron Moth weak to?

Iron Moth's biggest threats include Excadrill (Ground), Greninja (Water), and Hatterene (Psychic), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Excadrill is the most dangerous since Ground moves deal 4x damage. Rock-type attackers are also a problem.

What role does Iron Moth play in battle?

Base 110 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. On offense, Iron Moth is a special attacker with base 140 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a sweeper.

What are the best moves for Iron Moth?

The core moveset is Fierydance, Sludgewave, Dazzling Gleam, and Energy Ball. Fierydance leads at 0% usage. This set covers the sweeper role with a mix of damage and utility.

Iron Moth - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Sweeper

BTier

110Speed · Fast

Iron Moth Best Moveset

140 Sp. Atk at 110 Speed on Fire/Poison with AbilityQuark Drive boosting the highest stat. Held ItemBooster Energy with NatureTimid fires special Fire and Poison TermStab at elite pace and power. 110 Sp. Def absorbs special hits between attacks. The moveset is among the hardest-hitting special Fire attackers in the format. S-Tier through raw special damage output.

★Gen IX — Scarlet & Violet / Legends Z-AS

Iron Moth reached S-Tier in Gen IX, competing at the highest level. This was Iron Moth's competitive peak. Its most popular set ran Quarkdrive with Booster Energy, favoring a Timid nature.

Terastallization became available

Best Moves

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE

Lv 56

Fiery Dance

Fire80COMMONSTAB

Lv 49

Sludge Wave

Poison95COMMONSTAB

TM79

Dazzling Gleam

Fairy80COMMONCoverage

TM119

Energy Ball

Grass90COMMONCoverage

TM103

Substitute

Normal—RAREUtility

Iron Moth Scarlet & Violet Moves Iron Moth Legends Z-A Moves

Best Build

Experimental

Utility

Item

Booster EnergySETUP

Iron Moth best EVs are Speed and Sp. Atk

EVs

Def

SpA

Spe

Utility Moveset

Fiery DanceSTAB
Sludge WaveSTAB
Dazzling Gleam
Energy Ball

Recommended Teammates

Great TuskDecent

DragoniteDecent

KingambitDecent

View full Scarlet & Violet / Legends Z-A moveset →

Iron Moth Weakness

Type-wise, Iron Moth takes extra damage from Ground, Water, Psychic, and Rock. Watch out for Ground attacks, those deal 4x damage. With 8 resistances, the defensive profile is strong. Iron Moth's special bulk (base 110 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.

Iron Moth Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
4x (Critical)	Ground
2x (Weak)	Water, Psychic, Rock
0.5x (Resist)	Fire, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Steel
0.25x (Resist)	Grass, Bug, Fairy

What is Iron Moth Weak Against

Avg

4Weak

8Resist

0Immune

Score+1

4xCritical

Ground

2xWeak

Water Psychic Rock

½xResist

Fire Ice Fighting Poison Steel

¼xResist

Grass Bug Fairy

0xImmune

None

What is Iron Moth Strong Against

5Strong

1Resisted

0Immune

Score+4

2xStrong

Grass Ice Bug Steel Fairy

½xResisted

Rock

0xImmune

None

Best Pokemon Against Iron Moth

Cobalion	B
Recommended Build AbilityJustified ItemFocus Sash NatureTimid Moves Stealth Rock Body Press TauntUtility Steel Beam View Cobalion builds →
Vileplume	C
Recommended Build AbilityEffect Spore ItemRocky Helmet NatureBold Moves Strength Sap Leech Seed Giga Drain Sludge Bomb Damage vs Iron Moth Giga Drain 4-5% Sludge Bomb 11-13% View Vileplume builds →
Orthworm	C
Recommended Build AbilityEartheater ItemLeftovers NatureImpish Moves Body Press Iron Defense Stealth Rock SpikesHazard View Orthworm builds →
Ninetales-Alola
Recommended Build AbilitySnow Warning ItemLightclay NatureTimid Moves Aurora Veil Freeze Dry EncoreUtility Moonblast View Ninetales-Alola builds →
Weezing-Galar
Recommended Build AbilityNeutralizinggas ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureBold Moves DefogUtility Will O Wisp Pain Split Strange Steam View Weezing-Galar builds →

Evolution

No chain, no eggs. Iron Moth is a standalone Fire/Poison type with 570 stats that falls outside normal breeding mechanics. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

No Evolution

#994Iron MothDoes not evolve

Breeding

Unavailable

Undiscovered egg group

Iron Moth Locations

Showing Scarlet & Violet locations. Locations vary by game.View all games

Iron Moth appears at moderate rates across 2 spots in endgame routes. Sort by Best below if you want the highest rate, or Earliest if you want the quickest access point in your playthrough.

Violet Exclusive — Trade with Scarlet for Slither Wing

Best Locations to Catch Iron Moth in Scarlet & Violet

The Great Crater of Paldea

Lv.52-60Overworld

Rate 8%

Base Stats

Sp. Atk leads and Defense gets almost nothing. That's Iron Moth's stat line in a nutshell. 4 stats sit in respectable range, but the spread is brutal. Tough to catch and yields 3 Sp. Atk EVs.

Base Stats

Pseudo

HP80

Attack70

Defense60

Sp. Atk140

Sp. Def110

Speed110

Total570

Details

Catch Rate

Difficult30 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height1.2 m

Weight36.0 kg

Base XP285

Abilities

Quark Drive

Raises highest stat on Electric Terrain, or if holding Booster Energy.

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpA+3SpDSpe

Strong Special Attack training target

Pokedex Entry

No records exist of this species being caught. Data is lacking, but the Pokémon’s traits match up with an object described in an old book.

Pokemon Violet

Iron Moth Guide

We rate Iron Moth B-Tier: a solid choice for the right team. At 570 BST, it fits the sweeper role. Base 140 Sp. Atk stands out.
Iron Moth's biggest threats include Excadrill (Ground), Greninja (Water), and Hatterene (Psychic), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Excadrill is the most dangerous since Ground moves deal 4x damage. Rock-type attackers are also a problem.
Quark Drive is the go-to ability for Iron Moth. It raises highest stat on Electric Terrain, or if holding Booster Energy. It's Iron Moth's only ability.
Base 110 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. On offense, Iron Moth is a special attacker with base 140 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a sweeper.
The core moveset is Fierydance, Sludgewave, Dazzling Gleam, and Energy Ball. Fierydance leads at 0% usage. This set covers the sweeper role with a mix of damage and utility.

Game Availability

Iron Moth joined the series in Scarlet & Violet and has been available in 1 titles so far. With 2 generations of appearances, it's established itself despite the later start.

Click a game to view version-specific details