How to beat Iris in Pokemon Black and White 2

Iris is definitely up there with the strongest champions in Pokemon history.

Some newcomers to the series may not remember what it was like before the Fairy-type resisted. At that point, Dragons were pretty much at the top of the food chain, with only Ice moves to be afraid of.

Never were they stronger than when they were used by Iris, whose team all had wide movepools that made it really difficult to counter against.

---

Recipe for beating incredibly tough Pokemon champion

As a Dragon-type specialist, trainers are definitely going to want to bring some Ice-types to use against Iris. Ice-types won’t be able to sweep her entire team, though; she has Aggron and Lapras, both of whom resist Ice moves very well.

As for which Ice-type Pokemon are best to bring, most of them unfortunately aren’t found until the Giant Chasm. Sneasel, when it evolves into Weavile, will be fast enough to shred through most of Iris’ team. Mamoswine also has enough bulk to live a few hits and can fire back with Icicle Crash or Ice Shard for priority.

Outside of this, Lapras is an option, but it’s pretty difficulty to get. Trainers have a 5% chance of finding one in the water by the Village Bridge. Otherwise, the next best thing is probably Walrein. Trainers can catch Spheal in Undella Bay during winter and evolve it into Walrein.

With either of these Pokemon, trainers will need to support them by getting rid of two roadblocks: the aforementioned Aggron and Lapras. Thankfully, they’re both extremely weak to Fighting, and there are a bunch of Fighting-types in Unova.

Weavile can be a great counter to Iris' team (Image via Game Freak)

Right before reaching the Pokemon League, trainers can catch either of the Swords of Justice (Terrakion, Cobalion or Virizion). Anyone out of them will beat Aggron and Lapras, but if a trainer is pushed to select one, it should be Terrakion since it has enough Speed and raw power to obliterate other threats, like Hydreigon, for instance).

If trainers don’t want to use legendaries, though, Conkeldurr will certainly do. One can also pick up Riolu from Flocessy Ranch and evolve into the monstrous Lucario.

Now, there is one other essential thing trainers are going to need to bring if they want any shot at beating Iris: A priority move. This is because by far her biggest threat is Haxorus, who carries a Focus Sash. This item will allow it to live on one HP if it is going to get OHKO’d.

Haxorus also knows Dragon Dance, which means if it sets up, it will likely sweep the challenger’s team. This is why priority is important, since it will always move before Haxorus, even after it boosts its Speed with Dragon Dance.

---