This page is a fork of the official rulesets rewritten to make the IronMon Kaizo Ruleset more readable, and may be outdated or wrong. Check the official rulesets for any changes. Please contact me about any mistakes so we can fix them.
The IronMon challenge is a Pokémon Randomizer Challenge run created by Iateyourpie. Designed to make experiencing the randomizer fun and challenging, while taking away the wild Pokémon grind that come with some other challenges. It was originally made for Fire Red / Leaf Green but the rules can be applied/adjusted for other games as well. If you're interested to find out more about IronMon, join our Discord community!
IronMon has varying levels of difficulties, to keep it more approachable but also provide the toughest challenge possible for those who want it.
Official IronMon rulesets: Standard | Ultimate | Kaizo | Super Kaizo | Survival
| Rule | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Randomize the game | All Pokémon, movesets, and items are randomized, with Trainer Pokémon & Wild Pokémon levels increased by 50%. | Visit the Ironmon Discord for a list of Setting Strings to apply all required Randomizer settings. |
| Random Starter | You must choose the starter at random before looking at the options. | |
| Favorites Clause | You can skip choosing the starter pick at Random ONLY if you find one of your 3 favorite Pokémon are an option. For games after Generation 3, you may add 1 additional favorite per gen. | You may include up to 1 legendary pokemon in your favorites list. |
| Game Over | If your Pokémon faints, the run is over, and you must restart with a newly randomized game. |
| Rule | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| One Pokémon at a time | You may only use one Pokémon at all times. The only additional Pokémon you can carry are HM Friends. If you wish to swap your Pokémon and pivot to something that you see in the wild, you must commit to that new mon when you catch it and before you check its stats | HM friends cannot be used in battle or for any other advantage (like the ability Pickup). |
| Catch one per Route | You can only catch one Pokémon per Route. It does not have to be the first one seen. | |
| Stay in your weight class | You may only catch a Pokémon that is up to 4 levels higher than your current Pokémon's level. | |
| No Legendaries | You cannot use any legendary (which includes sub-legendary and mythical) Pokémon with the exception that you may select up to one legendary pokemon for the favorites clause. See the full list of legendary pokemon here. Pseudo-legendaries like Salamence are allowed. | If your randomly selected starter is a banned pokemon, you must instead select another starter. If your pokemon evolves into a legendary it is fine to continue using. |
| No Uber Strong Mons | No using 599+ BST Pokémon. If your Pokémon evolves into something with 600 BST or higher that is ok. | A legendary may be one of your 3 Pokémon for the Favorites Clause, but they must be under 600 BST. |
| Let your Friends Grow | If a Pokémon is about to evolve, you can’t stop it or use an Everstone. |
| Rule | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| No Killing Wild Pokémon | No fighting any wild Pokémon. | If something explodes etc, that is fine, but avoid defeating wild Pokémon at all costs |
| Accidental Kills | If you accidentally kill a Pokémon while trying to scout a pivot, you DO NOT have to reset the run, but you must pivot to one of the mons in that route before leaving. | That means you cannot go and heal UNTIL another new mon is caught as a pivot |
| Shiny Clause | If you encounter a shiny, you are allowed to kill it for EXP. | You may not increase the shiny pokemon rate using the randomizer |
| No Random TMs | No use of TMs or Move Tutor except for TM's you get from defeating Gym Leaders. | You must use the moves that your Pokémon learns naturally or the TM's handed to you from defeating Gym Leaders. |
| Stolen Items | You may not intentionally steal items from wild pokemon with moves like Thief, Covet, etc. Stealing them from a trainer battle is fine. | If you steal from a wild pokemon that you do not end up catching in that battle, throw the item away. |
| No Healing Items outside of Battle | No HP Healing Items while outside of battle | This includes status heals and PP Restore items. PP UP/PP Max can be used outside of battle |
| No Shops | You can only use items that you pick up or are given by an NPC, no use of stores except for any type of Pokeball or Repel. | You cannot ask an NPC to buy items for you (e.g. Mom), nor can you buy items to trade them for other items (e.g. Poké Balls -> Full Restores) |
| No Redos | You may not re-fight trainers at any point using the VS Seeker or other means. You may not abuse respawning items by picking them up more than once | |
| No Relearner Abuse | You cannot use the Move Relearner NPC to teach Sketch to a Pokemon that has already sketched a move. |
| Rule | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| No Way Out Gyms | Once You Enter a Gym or Dojo, You cannot leave until you defeat ALL TRAINERS. Beat it or Die. | |
| One Shot Dungeons | You can only enter a dungeon once unless the story requires a revisit | A Dungeon refers to: |
| No Healing Stations in Dungeons | No Pokecenter-like healing in Dungeons (Example - Rocket Hideout NPC, SS Anne Bed, etc) | Forced heals from the story are fine but you cannot go back for more |
| Rule | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| No HM Moves | No HM Moves in Battle. | Banned Moves Reference List |
| Banned Moves | The following moves are banned: |
If your starter pokemon has a banned move, you may use it in the lab fight only. Healing moves are not acceptable to be used even if full health. Banned Moves Reference List |
| Banned Abilities | Using any physical move is banned while having Huge Power or Pure Power (special moves are okay). Banned abilities don't apply to: |
You may use banned abilities in the lab fight. If you can't avoid using a banned ability you must swap to a new pokemon. |
| Banned Items | The following items are banned: |
|
| Held Items Restriction | The only Held Items allowed are Evolution items and Items that are consumed on use like berries or a white herb, with the exception of Focus Sash which is banned. |
| Rule | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| "Set" Battles Only | You must use "Set" battle type in the in-game settings. | |
| Fluctuating Growth Rates | All Pokémon have Fluctuating Growth Rate except for Legendaries which are set to Slow. | This ensures no pokes evolve into a legendary and a lower level for your main in the endgame |
| Randomizer Settings | Certain settings may not be available for all Generations |
| Rule | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Don't Give Up Without a Fight | You may not reset before the first battle if you don't like the starter Pokémon. After that it's fine. | You might be surprised how far you can go with what looks like a terrible starter |
| Don't be Rude | You have to talk to MOM when you start your journey, otherwise that's just rude. |
A) You must immediately fight Rival on Boat before other Trainers on Boat
B) You must fight the rival in order to leave Lavender Town on first visit (Come back later for Progression)
C) You Cannot Travel to the Sevii Islands with Bill before beating the Elite 4.
Q: Is this a ROM Hack?
A: No! At it's core it is just the base Pokémon run through a randomizer.
Q: Where can I Find the randomizer
A: https://github.com/Ajarmar/universal-Pokemon-randomizer-zx/releases
Q: What are the game specific rules & randomizer settings? How does Doubles IronMON work?
A: Find game specific rules and the doubles variant here. And join the IronMon Discord community for any questions and discussion on all types of IronMON.
Q: I've seen a bunch of streamers with their stats tracked on screen and the ability to quickly reset to a new seed, how do I get that?
A: Several community members have made some tools to make the ironMon experience better. Check out the #resources channel in the discord for the trackers, and other great tools!
Q: What if I accidentally break a rule? Do I have to end my run?
A: Ultimately these challenges are made to have fun! Mistakes happen, a little mistake doesn't need to instantly disqualify the run. Just keep to the spirit of the challenge and if you got an advantage in breaking a rule, try to give yourself an equal punishment.
Q: Who can I
complain tothank for creating this challenge?
A: Find Iateyourpie on Twitch, Twitter, and Youtube.
Q: Who can i
complain tothank for the unofficial rewrite of the ruleset?
A: Just contact me using information available here on GitHub.