Paradox Pokemon are an interesting new addition Pokemon Scarlet and Violet brings to the franchise. They give older mons the opportunity to shine in a new way while often making them more powerful than their counterparts. However, some Paradox Pokemon are a downgrade from their original version and one such example is Paradox Tyranitar—also known as Iron Thorns. For being a popular Gen 2 pseudo-legendary, Iron Thorns being an overall worse version of Tyranitar is very disappointing for Pokemon Violet players.

Although not available until very late in the game, Paradox Pokemon tend to be some of the strongest in the game. Pokemon Violet players in particular have access to several of the best Paradox mons in the game like Iron Hands, Iron Bundle, and Iron Valiant. With the potential a Paradox version of a pseudo-legendary holds, it's a shame that Iron Thorns didn't get the same treatment another pseudo-legendary like Salamence got in the form of Roaring Moon.

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Iron Thorns Doesn't Hold a Candle to Tyranitar

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Tyranitar has always been a powerful Pokemon thanks to its pseudo-legendary status that nets it a base stat total of 600. Iron Thorns is immediately a downgrade from Tyranitar with a lower base stat total of only 570. It has a slightly higher speed stat at 72 compared to Tyranitar's 61, however, this doesn't make up for the lower special defense it receives as a trade-off. Tyranitar was also notable for its Sandstream ability granting it a Sandstorm upon entering battle and helping boost its bulk thanks to the bonus to Special Defense Rock-types receive while the move is active. Iron Thorns still has access to Sandstorm, but without Sandstream, it's a less than optimal strategy.

Instead, Iron Thorns has Quark Drive—like every other Future Paradox Pokemon—which boosts its highest stat when Electric Terrain is active on the battlefield, or it is holding the new Energy Booster item. This is not a bad ability for a Rock/Electric-type like Iron Thorns since its Electric-type attacks will get an additional increase in power if Electric Terrain is active. However, its typing also nets it a 4x weakness to Ground-type attacks—one of the most common offensive types in the game. Without the Special Defense boost Sandstream and Sandstorm provide, Iron Thorns loses out on the bulk that made Tyranitar viable as a competitive mon.

How Iron Thorns Could Have Been Improved

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Aside from increasing its base stat total, a few tweaks to Iron Thorns' design could improve its usability and make it more comparable to Tyranitar. Keeping Tyranitar's Dark-typing instead of its Rock-typing would pair much better with Iron Thorns' Electric-typing since it wouldn't give it any 4x weaknesses while giving it an immunity to the Psychic-type. While it would likely lose any sort of access to Sandstorm, it wouldn't need it as much without any 4x weaknesses. Despite the abundance of new Dark-types added in Gen 9, giving Iron Thorns the Dark/Electric-typing would make the most sense.

Iron Thorns is almost the exact opposite of Tyranitar by nature being described as having a calm demeanor and tending to avoid unnecessary fights. For it to gain the Dark-type, this lore would have to be adjusted to account for the devious nature Dark-types are known for. As a Pokemon with the appearance of a mecha-kaiju, giving Iron Thorns a more threatening personality would compliment its intimidating design more so than a passive one does. With Tyranitar getting more love from Game Freak over the last few generations, it's no surprise to see Iron Thorns show up among the Paradox Pokemon added this generation. But compared to the likes of Mega Tyranitar, it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of both lore and battle prowess.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.

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