Kaizo Ironmon FAQ

PointCrow Kaizo Ironmon FAQ

TABLE OF CONTENTS

KAIZO IRONMON 101

What is Kaizo Ironmon?

Numbers in the top left: What do they mean?

Picking a starter: Why that one?

Why does he have 2 Pokémon?

Dungeons 101: What are they / Why can’t he exit a gym?

Held Items: Why does PointCrow have one if the screen says they aren’t allowed?

Why does x have y (e.g., Why does Brock have five Pokémon?)

What’s a Good Pokémon?

“This Pokémon is bad,” but why?

Why must we go first / 1HKO if we have a high defense/HP?

What is a “poison dance” / Why not heal at the Viridian Forest Nurse Joy?

Why aren’t we healing? Our Pokémon’s HP is low!

What is “scouting” and why are we taking notes?

Pivoting to Another Pokémon 101: Why/When/How?

What is “Shed coverage / Shed check?”

Rare candies & when to use them.

Wild TMs: Why not learn them?

What’s an “Evo run”?

The Ball Stall: Why did we just throw 20 Pokéballs at that trainer’s Jirachi?

PointCrow’s PB: What’s the farthest he has gotten?

What happened to X Pokémon?

IRONMON STREAM CHAT & YOU

When did PointCrow start playing Kaizo Ironmon?

I want a Pokémon named after me! Now what?

Predictions! Why aren’t the mods running them? / Why hasn’t it been paid out?

Mom 101: Why doesn’t Pointcrow talk to mom, and why not just start in the lab?

Why so many resets?

POKEMON TYPING 101

Type vs Damage: The “Physical” / “Special” split

Fairy Type: Where is it and why is X not a fairy?

Sheer cold! Fissure! And why we can’t use it

Type Effectiveness Chart

GLOSSARY OF KAIZO IRONMON TERMS

Ironmon Chat Commands:

Pokémon Terminology:

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

KAIZO IRONMON 101

What is Kaizo Ironmon?

In simplest terms, Kaizo Ironmon is a solo-Pokémon challenge, with a few main ideas:

1. You cannot heal your Pokémon outside of battle. You can heal at Pokémon centers, but you cannot leave to go heal when you are in the middle of a “dungeon” (Learn about dungeons here).
2. You can swap the Pokémon if you find a better one (Learn about pivots here.)
3. All Pokémon encounters, moves, stats, abilities, and starters are randomized.
4. Essentially, anything overpowered is banned (legendaries, healing moves, most items.)
5. Items are randomized. You have to rely on whatever healing items you find around the map. You cannot buy heals and elixirs from shops (only Pokéballs and repels). Thus, it is very important to find healing items, and to avoid using them as much as possible.
6. Don’t give up. Give every run an attempt.
7. Anything goes in the very first lab fight. Many rules only start applying after.
8. There are a lot of niche rules you can find on ironmon.gg. If PointCrow says something isn’t allowed, or is avoiding an obvious solution, please assume there is a rule about it.

Numbers in the top left: What do they mean?

View higher quality (and zoom-able) infographic here.

Correction: STAB is a 50% damage boost.

The tracker is provided in the Ironmon Discord, developed by besteon.

Beyond what the above infographic covers, the tracker also has a page to display what healing items you have, and what moves or abilities you have seen the opposing Pokémon use.

Also, it allows you to take notes on what you speculate an opposing Pokémon’s stats to be (for example, if Umbreons seem to have really high SpD or if Zapdos has really high SpA, based on our own stats).

Picking a starter: Why that one?

According to Kaizo rules, you must choose the starter before knowing what it is. The starter chosen must be the first one he calls aloud (left, right, or middle). To follow this rule, right now he always picks the middle. The caveat to this is that the following Pokémon are prohibited:

• Pokémon with a BST of 600 or more
• Pseudo-legendary Pokémon
• Legendary or Mythical Pokémon

If the first one chosen is a banned Pokémon, he can choose one of the other two at will.

The other exception to this rule is the Favorite’s Clause. PointCrow has 3 pre-set “favorite” Pokémon: Jolteon, Milotic, and Umbreon. If one of the three laboratory Pokémon is one of these three, he is allowed to choose it instead of the one he calls aloud. Hence why he always looks at all three before choosing one!

Why does he have 2 Pokémon?

Every run is permitted to have additional Pokémon that are used for the HMs Surf, Cut, Fly, and Strength. This allows traversal in the overworld without teaching HMs to our main Pokémon.

The second Pokémon cannot assist in battle.

If for some reason the HM-mon is forced into the battle, PointCrow must immediately swap back to his main Pokémon. In double battles, the HM-mon must use its move to throw a Pokéball while the main Pokémon uses its first move to make HM-mon faint.

Usually, before challenging a dungeon, the HM-mon will be put away into storage, although if he forgets, it’s completely fine. In some cases, the HM-mon is required to be with him (such as Erika's gym, which requires Cut).

Dungeons 101: What are they / Why can’t he exit a gym?

Short answer: He’s not allowed! Or because it’s an exception to a rule.

1. What is a dungeon? Dungeons are areas in the game that contain multiple trainers and/or items. These are generally areas that are pivotal to the story or advancement of the game. Once he enters the dungeon, he may not leave until it is complete; and, he cannot re-enter once he leaves.
2. Which areas are considered a “dungeon”? Dungeons include all 8 gyms, Mt. Moon, the SS Anne, Rock Tunnel, Pokémon Tower, Rocket Hideout, Pokémon Mansion, Silph Co., and Victory Road.
3. Why can’t he use the healing spot in the dungeon? Some dungeons, such as Silph Co. and Pokémon Tower, have healing areas, but much like the Nurse Joy in Viridian Forest, they would essentially circumvent the “no healing out of battle” rule and allow us to gain extra EXP we otherwise would not have. If the run was meant to die in the dungeon, it will die in the dungeon.
4. What about Pokémon Tower? He visits that twice! Because of the story of Pokémon FireRed, we are required to visit Pokémon Tower twice, once before Rocket Hideout, and then again after receiving the Silph Scope from Giovanni in Rocket Hideout. Pokémon Tower is the only dungeon we visit twice.

Held Items: Why does PointCrow have one if the screen says they aren’t allowed?

The only held items allowed are items that are consumed on use, like berries or herbs. In gyms or dungeons, we usually have our Pokémon hold a berry or herb, so that if we are inflicted with conditions like poison or lowered stats, we have a free and immediate status heal. Like regular heals, berries and herbs are also limited and randomized.

Why does x have y (e.g., Why does Brock have five Pokémon?)

All wild Pokémon encounters, trainer Pokémon, movesets, and items are randomized. Additionally, trainer Pokémon and wild Pokémon levels are increased by 50% as part of the regular Ironmon ruleset.

What’s a Good Pokémon?

This is the tier list PointCrow uses to generally evaluate if a Mon will make for a good run:

In general, we’re looking for the following in a good Pokémon:

• Single stat attacker: Either high ATK or SpA while the other one as low as possible.
• High Base Stat Total: High BST increases the pool of available stat points (makes the mon stronger).
• Limited 4x weaknesses: Multi-type Pokémon might be very weak to a single type. Take Swampert (Water/Ground type). Since both water and ground types are weak to grass, Swampert is 4x weak to grass type moves (see Pokémon Typing 101). Pokémon with multiple 4x weaknesses are generally not great choices!
• Good stat spread. Can the Pokémon both hit hard and take a hit? Is it fast enough?
• Good moves.^[1]

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“This Pokémon is bad,” but why?

Likely, it will be multiple of these reasons (listed in order of importance):

1. Low Base Stat Total (BST): Stats are randomized each run, but the one stat that remains constant is a Pokémon's BST. BST determines the available pool of stats a Pokémon can have. The higher it is, the more points it can invest in each stat.
   A Charizard (BST 534) will always be better than a Charmander (BST 309), as it can invest more points into its attack and defense stats. Pokémon with high BSTs are much more likely to win. Anything with a BST below ~450 is considered “unrunnable.”
2. The Pokémon has bad stats (and IVs): A Pokémon has only so many stat points it can invest between Health (HP), Attack (ATK), Defense (DEF), Special Atk. (SpA), Special Def. (SpD), and Speed (SPE). Common grievances you may hear:

1. “It’s a mixed attacker”: The Pokémon has Attack and Special Attack stats that are fairly equal. This is bad, because we would rather have really strong attack or really strong special attack, rather than both be mediocre.
2. “It’s too fast”: We want a Pokémon that’s fast, but at the end of the day, the Pokémon either goes first or it doesn't. A speed of 20 and a speed of 30 will both all but guarantee the Pokémon moves first, but SPE 30 wastes 10 stat points that could have been used on a different stat (i.e., ATK or DEF).
3. “It’s a zombie mon”: A Pokémon that makes it past Brock, but has no statistical potential to beat the Elite 4. Usually because either the speed is too low or their DEF/SpD is extremely low.

Each stat’s potential is determined by its IVs (Individual Values), and these IVs influence how each stat changes every level up. While we can't know a Pokémon's exact IVs until the run is over, we can judge based on the stats we can see. For example, if the ATK stat is 5 while the SpA stat is 20, the Pokémon likely has a comparatively high SpA IV.

3. Bad moves: We are looking for Pokémon moves with high power (POW) and high accuracy (ACC), and also high Power Points (PPs).

• PP determines how many times a move can be used before you need to heal your Pokémon. Not being able to use a move can result in death (see: why we 1HKO).

4. No set up: Bad moves and bad stats can be compensated for with moves like Bulk Up (+1 ATK / +1 DEF), Calm Mind (+1 SpA / +1 SpD), Dragon Dance (+1 ATK / +1 SPE), Swords Dance (+2 ATK), or Tail Glow (+2 SpA).^[2] Every mon wants setup.

Why must we go first / 1HKO if we have a high defense/HP?

There are certain moves that we are very, very, very afraid of. Our goal is always to hit first, and knock out the opponent in one hit because of:

Destiny Bond: When the opponent uses Destiny Bond, if the move following it kills the opponent, we die too. This means, if our opponent goes after us, then we can choose to avoid a lethal move. If they go first, we cannot change what move we picked.

Perish Song: If the opponent uses Perish Song, our Pokémon will die in three turns no matter what. The only way to dodge Perish Song is to end the battle. If a trainer has six Pokémon, the very first Pokémon can use Perish Song. We cannot kill 6 Pokémon in three turns, so the run will die with no exceptions.

Mirror Coat: Mirror Coat is an uno reverse card for special attacks. Whatever Special Attack damage we dealt, the opponent will deal x2 the Special Attack damage (Dark types are immune). For this reason, we always want to try to 1-hit KO the other Pokémon. If our Pokémon is a special attacker, we are more susceptible to mirror coat than counter. This move fails if we use a Physical Attacking move.

Counter: Like Mirror Coat, counter is an uno reverse card for physical attacks. Whatever Physical Attack damage we dealt, the opponent will deal x2 the Physical Attack damage (Ghost types are immune). If our Pokémon is a physical attacker, we are more susceptible to Counter than Mirror coat. This move fails if we use a Special Attacking move.

What is a “poison dance” / Why not heal at the Viridian Forest Nurse Joy?

When a Pokémon is poisoned, it takes damage every four steps. This can kill us.

To avoid overworld poison damage, PointCrow is triggering Pokémon encounters every 4 steps to avoid the damage! An encounter resets the walk counter and allows us to increase the distance we can walk with the amount of HP we have remaining. This will ultimately save PointCrow from using a heal unnecessarily, as we will need those heals later in the run.

The Nurse Joy in Viridian Forest is a quality of life feature solely intended to save time walking the Pokémon Center for heals between battles. She heals HP, PP, burn, and paralysis, as these afflictions cannot kill the run in the overworld. However, because this Nurse Joy isn't meant to be there, she will refuse to heal your Pokémon if it's poisoned. This way, you can’t bypass the damage you would normally take walking back to a Pokémon Center while poisoned.

Why aren’t we healing? Our Pokémon’s HP is low!

We need our heals for the Elite Four. Not only our 50HP+ healing items and Full Restores, but also our elixirs, status heals, and berries. In a lot of cases, especially before the final 8 battles, it is better to try to take out a Pokémon than use a healing item. There’s a lot of nuance on whether or not to heal, please give PointCrow the benefit of doubt :D

In Kaizo Ironmon Civilization, it is better to jump for the beef. Sometimes PointCrow will play it safe and go for the chicken (heal) anyway to avoid losing to a priority move (e.g., extreme speed, quick attack, or mach punch) or a critical hit (which deals 2x damage).

What is “scouting” and why are we taking notes?

Scouting is purposefully running into wild Pokémon to see what moves they have, note their abilities, and judge their stats (are they fast? defensive?). Scouting happens at the start of a Kaizo Ironmon run to look for pivots (see: pivoting), and towards the middle of the run (during the “trainer grinds” before Gyms 4 and 7).

Opponent moves and stats are incredibly important to know for the Elite Four and Champion. We need to find out if we can knock out a Pokémon in one hit, if we move first, and if they have super effective moves against us. We also want to find every Pokémon that knows Destiny Bond, Perish Song, Mirror Coat, and Counter.

Every breed of wild or Trainer Pokémon will share a moveset, ability, and IVs. What’s true for one Umbreon we encounter will be true for every other Umbreon we fight. For that reason, we take notes. The only one that can differ would our own Umbreon, which may have different natures, moves, abilities, or stats.

We cannot kill wild Pokémon. It is against the Kaizo Ironmon rules for farm wild Pokémon for EXP. The one exception to this rule is Shiny Pokémon encounters. If you are unable to run from a wild Pokémon (due to moves like Bind or abilities like Arena Trap), you may defeat that Pokémon. This should only be used as a last resort though.

Pivoting to Another Pokémon 101: Why/When/How?

Why:         If the initial Pokémon from the lab is not runnable (see what makes a mon bad), Eric can “pivot” to any wild Pokémon (i.e., switch his active Pokémon to another). This renders his previous mon unusable for the rest of the run, except as an HM-mon. Pivoting can be done once per route.

When: To pivot, our current Pokémon must be within 4 levels of the pokemon to which we wish to pivot. Technically, he can pivot at any point. In regular Kaizo Ironmon, there are only 2 parts of the run where pivoting is viable: either before Brock, or in Diglett Cave after Brock. (No one has won with a Diglett Cave pivot.). Potentially, he could also pivot in the Safari Zone or during the Surf trainer grind, but these options are not as viable in regular Kaizo Ironmon.

How:   We generally “scout” the available Pokémon in each route before choosing a new one. While scouting, we want to know: 

1. What Pokémon are on this route? Finding the available Pokémon is pretty straight-forward! We run around in the grass patches to encounter them all. You can see on the tracker how many Pokémon on a given route we’ve already seen (“Walking: X/Y Seen Pokémon”).
2. What moves do these Pokémon have? We want to determine an opposing Pokémon’s moves, so we let it attack us to figure out what they are! Since we are not allowed to KO wild Pokémon, we generally use a non-damaging status move during our turn.
3. What are the stats of these Pokémon? We can’t know the exact stats of enemy Pokémon until the run is over, but we can speculate based on how it interacts with our current Pokémon (who’s stats we do know). For example, if we have a Pokémon with a high SpD stat and the opposing Pokémon deals a lot of damage to us with a Special Attacking move, we can assume the opposing Pokémon has a very high SpA stat.
4. What is the ability of the Pokémon? We usually cannot outright determine the ability of an enemy Pokémon until it takes effect. Ones we can tell easily are those that appear immediately, such as intimidate, sand stream, and truant. Otherwise, we have to wait until we catch it.

If we are lucky, our current Pokémon may know the move “Transform.” This move temporarily shows us the stats, moves, and ability of the opposing Pokémon.

What is “Shed coverage / Shed check?”

Shedinja is a Pokémon with 1 HP that can only be hurt with Flying, Rock, Ghost, Fire, and Dark type moves as per its “Wonder Guard” ability. It is the only Pokémon in Kaizo Ironmon to retain its original ability.

Every viable Pokémon will need a move of one of those five types, solely to deal with Shedinja if/when they appear. Without it, we have to either hope the Pokémon can KO itself or simply doesn't ever appear.

“Shedinja check” is when the little creature shows up to check you have shed coverage.

Certain status moves (i.e., Toxic and Hail) or abilities (i.e., Sandstream) that cause damage over time can also damage Shedinja. You may also hear PointCrow talk about “technical Shedinja coverage.” Stalling moves like Minimize (increases evasiveness) and Protect can waste the opposing Shedinja's PP usage and force it to use the move “Struggle” (a secret move that Pokémon use once they are fully out of PP for all 4 of its moves that causes recoil damage).

Rare candies & when to use them.

Rare candies are items that we can randomly pick up that instantly cause the Pokémon to gain a new level. There are two key points in the run where we want to use a rare candy: before Brock (Gym 1) and before Victory Road (final dungeon pre-Elite Four).

Another niche fact is the fluctuating EXP curves of this game. It takes more EXP to jump from an odd to an even level (e.g., 87 → 88) than for an even to an odd level (e.g., 88 → 89). For this reason, we always use a rare candy while we are at an odd level, namely level 87, 89, and 91.

Wild TMs: Why not learn them?

In Kaizo Ironmon, Pokémon can only learn the randomized moves it learns naturally, and the eight TMs received from defeating a gym leader. TMs found on the ground cannot be learned.

There is a slim chance a TM found in the wild will be one of the eight you obtain from a gym leader. In this case, he can learn it, but not until he defeats the gym leader to whom it belongs And, as an extra twist in Kaizo Ironmon for added difficulty, there’s only a 50% chance he can learn a gym TM. Gym TMs include TM39 (Brock), TM03 (Misty), TM34 (Surge), TM19 (Erika), TM06 (Koga), TM04 (Sabrina), TM38 (Blaine), and TM26 (Giovanni).

What’s an “Evo run”?

Evolution “evo” runs are when we have a low-BST Pokémon that can evolve. Like many aspects of Kaizo Ironmon, evolutions are random. However, they can evolve into a Pokémon with a similar typing and BST (but might evolve into something worse). For example, a Chansey will not evolve into a Blissey (Normal type; BST 540), but it can evolve into a Snorlax (Normal type; BST 540).

“Evo run” is using the Chansey until it evolves, hoping it will become a Snorlax (or similar).

The Ball Stall: Why did we just throw 20 Pokéballs at that trainer’s Jirachi?

Oh boy, I bet if we throw this Master Ball at the trainer’s Pokémon it’ll catch it! No?? Then why did we throw it? Because we’re stalling.

Throwing a ball allows us to effectively skip our turn. When we see moves like Destiny Bond or Mirror Coat that deal damage based on what we do, we don’t want to take our turn (because it will kill us). Instead, we simply throw a ball and politely decline to take our turn.

PointCrow’s PB: What’s the farthest he has gotten?

For the most up-to-date answer to this, type !pb or !bestrun in chat! You can also check the top 20 leaderboard.
As of 4 December 2024, the best run was Wolffox the Jolteon, who entered the Champion (final) battle with 1 HP and a dream then died to Mach Punch (a priority move) on turn one.

What happened to X Pokémon?

I know, we miss that Espeon too. If it’s not on screen, you can assume it died. If you were attached (i.e., if it made it past Misty), you’ll likely be able to learn its fate through !LastRun.

• If it was a really good run, check to see if it made the top 20! 
• Please also feel free to DM or ask a moderator on PointCrow’s Discord server after the stream is done, and we can answer specific questions.

The #stream-spoilers chat in PointCrow’s Discord server may also provide additional context.

IRONMON STREAM CHAT & YOU

When did PointCrow start playing Kaizo Ironmon?

PointCrow started playing Kaizo Ironmon on August 10, 2023. The Ironmonathon (daily Ironmon streams) began September 1, 2024, at run 1740.

I want a Pokémon named after me! Now what?

How do I submit my name? When PointCrow picks a nickname for the Pokémon in the lab, submit your name by saying “me” in chat. Do not spam. You will be warned and/or timed out if it is deemed excessive.

What happens if the Pokémon dies? You will be timed out (“banned”) for two days. During that time, you can watch the stream; but, while not an official ban, you still cannot participate in chat or predictions.

Predictions! Why aren’t the mods running them? / Why hasn’t it been paid out?

Mods are pretty busy moderating chat, answering questions, and working on an extensive worksheet that has statistics on all 3700+ runs. While we enjoy them, predictions are our absolute lowest priority.

What predictions are run will vary based on a) which moderator is running them and b) where we are in the run. Once we start reaching the final battles (usually Gym 8 and beyond), predictions will likely stop altogether so PointCrow and his moderators can focus!

Mom 101: Why doesn’t Pointcrow talk to mom, and why not just start in the lab?

Because he doesn’t want to!

More seriously, it gives time for the moderators between resets to set up predictions and add information to the spreadsheet; and, it also prevents every lab reset from blending together.

Why so many resets?

Kaizo Ironmon is a complex and difficult challenge and PointCrow has to reset every time the Pokémon dies. There are no do-overs. Nearly 70% of all runs die to the very first battle in the game (the lab rival battle).

POKEMON TYPING 101

Type vs Damage: The “Physical” / “Special” split

The damage of your move relies on the Pokémon’s Attack (ATK) or Special Attack (SpA), depending on whether it’s a Physical attack or Special attack.

Unlike later generations, in Generation 3, what determines whether a move is physical or special is the element type of the move. For example, if a move is a water type move, it will always be a Special move.

Fairy Type: Where is it and why is X not a fairy?

We’re playing Pokémon FireRed: a Generation 3 game! Fairy type was not introduced until Generation 6. Pokémon like Clefairy, Jigglypuff, and Mawile were all re-typed in Gen 6 to include the “Fairy” typing, but they do not have it in this game.

Sheer cold! Fissure! And why we can’t use it

There are certain moves (Sheer Cold, Fissure, Horn Drill and Guillotine) that, if it hits, will kill every Pokémon in one hit regardless of stats. In Generation 3, these start at 30% accuracy, and the accuracy increases by 1% for every level the attacking Pokémon is above the defending Pokémon.

The caveat is: These moves will FAIL if the attacking Pokémon is at a lower level than the defending Pokémon.

Type Effectiveness Chart

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GLOSSARY OF KAIZO IRONMON TERMS

Ironmon Chat Commands:

Pokémon Terminology:

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

PointCrow’s Kaizo Ironmon Introduction by PointCrow

A short video explaining the challenge rules and how to read the on-screen tracker.

PointCrow’s Kaizo Ironmon Hall of Fame by azureii_

Document detailing the most talked-about runs, shiny encounters, and the current Top 20 runs.

Kaizo Ironmon Discord Server

Discord server for all things Kaizo Ironmon.

Anatomy of a FRLG Kaizo Run by mairuzuu

An in-depth analysis of the different components of a FireRed/LeafGreen Kaizo Ironmon run incl. Pokémon stats, what winnable runs and a good Pokémon looks like, and the threats a run may face. Highly recommended!

FR/LG Kaizo Ironmon Guide by Vickiladdie

A step-by-step pathing and decision making guide to FireRed/LeafGreen Kaizo Ironmon run for beginners. Contains many of the other resources linked in this section as well.

FR/LG Kaizo Ironmon Walkthrough by Bit_Rot

A walkthrough of a typical FireRed/LeafGreen Kaizo Ironmon run.

Kaizo Ironmon Data: Elite Four built by Brdy, maintained by BitError.

A data sheet of user-submitted Elite Four Runs compiled by Brdy and now maintained by BitError!

Kaizo Ironmon Move Calc (Short for calculator, btw) by Wesley Stedman

Used to calculate moveset coverage for Ironmon runs.

Kaizo Ironmon Possible Evolutions by Brdy, data compiled by Harkenn and jellisky

Outlines evolution probability by Pokémon for each Kaizo Ironmon generation based on Randomizer log data.

Trainer Item Lists by Fellshadow

Lists the types and amounts of each healing item that trainers possess in FireRed/LeafGreen.

Hidden Power Solver by ZestyZMan

Hidden Power is a move where the type is... Well... Hidden! It’s different every run for all Pokémon! This tool can help you figure out the type of your Hidden Power, based on effectiveness when using it on different Pokémon.

FR/LG Ironmon Maps by Fellshadow

Maps for Mt. Moon, S.S. Anne, Rock Tunnel, Rocket Hideout, Safari Zone, Power Plant, Seafoam Islands, Silph Co., Saffron Gym, Cinnabar Mansion, and Victory Road.

Interactive FR/LG Ironmon Map by Kelsey Young

Note: May cause browser lag; Interactive map for FR/LG Ironmon

Thank you!

Brought to you by namelesschemnerd, azureii_, birdo99, & laxrtiades

Got further suggestions for FAQs, general knowledge, or corrections?
After the stream, contact a mod by @-ing us in #stream-spoilers in the Discord!