Iron Moth
VGC Guide
Iron Moth is the premier spread special attacker among Future Paradox Pokémon: Quark Drive amplifies its base 140 SpAtk to 182, Fiery Dance has a 50% chance to raise SpAtk +1 with each use, and Sludge Wave hits all opponents simultaneously. Fire/Poison dual STAB covers Fairy, Grass, Ice, and Poison types, while base 110 Speed under Electric Terrain makes Iron Moth the fastest spread attacker in the field.
Quark Drive: SpAtk Burst in Electric Terrain
Quark Drive activates in Electric Terrain or when holding Booster Energy, boosting Iron Moth’s highest stat — SpAtk — by 30%. Base 140 SpAtk reaches effective 182 when activated, far surpassing most VGC special attackers at the same Speed tier. Miraidon’s Electric Terrain activates it without consuming the item slot, allowing Choice Specs or Life Orb to be held instead.
Fiery Dance + Sludge Wave: Single-Target Stack and Spread Suppression
Fiery Dance has 80 base BP with 50% chance to raise SpAtk +1 each use. With Quark Drive active, a SpAtk boost from Fiery Dance brings effective SpAtk to 182 × 1.5 = 273 — dealing devastating Fire STAB damage. Sludge Wave at 95 spread BP simultaneously hits both opponents, excelling in Fairy-heavy matchups. Energy Ball fills in Water and Ground/Rock coverage gaps.
EV Spreads
Team Partners
Miraidon’s Hadron Engine automatically sets Electric Terrain, activating Iron Moth’s Quark Drive SpAtk +30% while freeing Iron Moth’s item slot for Choice Specs or Life Orb. Together they form a dual special attacker core covering nearly every defensive type combination.
Iron Hands’ Electric Terrain synergy with Iron Moth creates an Electric Terrain dual core. Iron Hands covers physical attack directions while Iron Moth dominates special spread — they cover each other’s defensive gaps. Iron Hands’ Trick Room also gives Iron Moth slow-speed utility.
Iron Moth’s base 110 Speed is already fast, but Tailwind pushing it to 220 outspeeds every non-Scarf threat. Tornadus’ Tailwind lets Iron Moth’s spread Fire and Poison moves act first, maximizing field-clearing efficiency before opponents can respond.
Incineroar’s Intimidate protects special-oriented Iron Moth from physical attack damage. Parting Shot pivots Incineroar out to give Iron Moth safe entry. Iron Moth’s Sludge Wave super effectively hits Grass-types that threaten Incineroar’s Fire coverage.
How to Counter Iron Moth
Fire ×2 and Poison ×2 both share Ground weakness, giving Iron Moth a 4× Ground vulnerability. Earthquake or Earth Power can OHKO Iron Moth. Iron Moth typically holds Air Balloon or positions with Flying-immune partners to avoid Earthquake exposure.
Fire types are 2× weak to Water. Rain team Surf or Kyogre’s Origin Pulse in rain threatens Iron Moth significantly. Rain simultaneously weakens Iron Moth’s Fire spread output, dramatically reducing its total offensive efficiency in rain matchups.
Iron Moth’s type combination has a Rock weakness from the Fire typing. Rock Slide spread can simultaneously chip Iron Moth and its Flying-type partners, making it a useful option for breaking Electric Terrain team combinations that often include Flying-immune Pokémon.
Grassy Terrain from Rillaboom overrides Electric Terrain, deactivating Quark Drive. Iron Moth’s SpAtk drops from effective 182 back to 140. Grassy Terrain also halves Ground-type move damage, but the Quark Drive deactivation is the more impactful effect against Iron Moth specifically.