Iron Leaves, the Paradox Pokémon. Many of its physical characteristics match those of a Virizion from the future that was covered in a paranormal magazine. According to the few eyewitness accounts that exist, it used its shining blades to julienne large trees and boulders.

Overview

Introduced alongside Walking Wake as a preview of the Paradox legend variants, Iron Leaves has not reached the same heights as its prehistoric counterpart. Typing plays a big issue into this, with Grass Psychic being abysmal defensively with a laundry list of weaknesses. This is further exasperated by Iron Leaves’ unimpressive defense, making it far frailer than one would expect and deathly afraid of any Pokémon with First Imprssion. No viable draining move means even what little defensive utility one can squeeze from Iron Leaves is limited at best, as Iron Leaves will be worn down quickly. Iron Leaves is reliant on Electric Terrain to excel, not only for Quark Drive, but its signature Psyblade as well, with viable setters being limited to just Miraidon, who isn’t always available. As a result, Iron Leaves operates without an ability and suffers for it, especially in competition with other offensive Grass types like Rillaboom and the naturally faster Ogerpon and Zarude.

This does mean that Iron Leaves can’t reach the same heights. 130 Attack is ferocious before Swords Dance, enabling Iron Leaves to hit hard from the word go. Grass and Psychic STAB are backed with good coverage in Close Combat and Wild Charge, subverting many traditional physical walls and preventing most Steel types from being a hard stop to Iron Leaves’ swordplay. 104 Speed, while missing out on the coveted base 110 crowd, is still plenty fast, outrunning numerous base 100 Speed Pokémon, Garchomp, and Thundurus-Therian. Furthermore, if one can get Iron Leaves into Electric Terrain, its threat level skyrockets, gaining considerable Speed and/or Power and fully realizing the promise of its signature move and ability. Iron Leaves isn’t barren defensively either; While Grass-Psychic is littered with weaknesses, it also boasts an incredible array of resistances as well. This, in conjunction with Iron Leaves good 108 Special Defense offers Iron Leaves plenty of opportunities to switch in and possibly setup. The defensive flaws of Iron Leaves’ typing still holds it back much in this regard, though its package of offense is more than sufficient to cleave a team in twain given the chance.
Positives
Base 130 Attack is utterly absurd, even before accounting for Swords Dance and Quark Drive to push it even higher.
Just good enough moveset, with Grass and Psychic STAB complimented by Fighting and Electric coverage for most of Iron Leaves’ foes.
104 Speed is impressive, giving Iron Leaves a leg up on nearly all defensive threats and several offensive ones.

Negatives
Grass Psychic is horrid defensively, boasting 6 weaknesses, including a quadruple weakness to Bug, often forcing Iron Leaves to Terastalize.
88 Defense is unimpressive, and no recovery greatly limits Iron Leaves’ hit taking ability.

Movesets

Leaves of Steel

-Swords Dance
-Psyblade
-Leaf Blade
-Close Combat
Ability: Quark Drive
Item: Booster Energy
EVs and Nature:
96 HP / 160 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

This Iron Leaves is an all-in-game-ending sweeping set, using the Speed Boost from Booster Energy and Swords Dance to overrun and cut down the opposing team. Psyblade is primary STAB, being a solid reliable attack, while obliterating common physical walls like Toxapex, Great Tusk, Zamazenta, and maiming Pecharunt. Leaf Blade is secondary STAB, hitting sturdy targets like Tyranitar, Rotom-Wash, Ting-Lu and Dondozo. Close Combat rounds out the set, crucially hitting Steel types that resist both STABs and having incredible synergy with Psyblade.

Tera Types:
Iron Leaves’ base typing is so horrid that any Tera Type is better to have dodge a weakness. However, as an offensive sweeper, offensive Terastalizations are preferred to help reach knock outs. Tera Psychic is incredibly powerful, especially in Electric Terrain, pushing Psyblade to OHKOs. Even without Electric Terrain, the boost from Tera Psychic is enough to OHKO Conkeldurr and Galarian Zapdos unboosted, and with a Swords Dance boost, eliminate Cinderace, Entei, Pecharunt, Serperior, Galarian-Slowking, and Tornadus-Therian in a single blow. Tera Electric is a good alternative if running Wild Charge, allowing Iron Leaves to muscle through Skarmory, Corviknight and Mandibuzz, as well as Gholdengo who resists both STABs as well as nullifying Close Combat. Steel is a good fallback defensive option granting Iron Leaves resistance to most of its weaknesses save Fire, helping guarantee a Swords Dance or two. Tera Fire is more niche, but flips most of Iron Leaves’ weaknesses into resistances while granting a Fire typed Tera Blast to torch the Steel types that trouble it.

EVs and Items:
As this set aims for the Speed Boost from Quark Drive for Iron Leaves to address the naturally faster Pokémon, we want to maximize Speed investment with a Jolly Nature. 160 Attack EVs is as high as we can go before Quark Drive starts boosting attack again, so that is our limit for investment. As such, the remainder goes to HP, giving Iron Leaves some extra durability, helping with Swords Dance setup. Booster Energy is mandatory if reliable Electric Terrain setup is not available, as that is the only way Iron Leaves is going to activate Quark Drive. If Electric Terrain is available, going for alternative items like Life Orb for extra damage or Colbur Berry to weaken Knock Off are good alternatives. Choice Band is also viable with Electric Terrain, giving Iron Leaves an effective Dragon Dance boost while it is up.

Partners:
: If available, Miraidon is Iron Leaves’ best friend, Hadron Engine setting Electric Terrain enabling Iron Leaves in so many ways. If desperate, Pinurchin can be considered for Terrain support, though it is an underwhelming Pokémon otherwise. Both love Iron Leaves checking opposing Ground types and are good answers into the Flying types Corviknight, Skarmory, and Mandibuzz that can be difficult for Iron Leaves to break through and can help overcome Dondozo whose sheer bulk defies even Iron Leaves’ super effective Grass STAB. Electric types in general are great for softening up if not removing Iron Leaves’ checks. Raging Bolt and Sandy Shocks are impressive Special Attackers that break through physical walls with ease, while both can carry Volt Switch to get Iron Leaves in safely. Sandy Shocks ability to setup hazards to facilitate Iron Leaves’ sweep shouldn’t go unmentioned. Allies that can handle Iron Leaves’ many weaknesses are greatly welcomed, compromising such Pokémon before Iron Leaves comes in to close out the battle. Greninja and Keldeo both handle opposing Fire and Ice attacks while dealing with troublesome Psychic, Ghost and Dark types respectively for Iron Leaves. Tyranitar shares a Bug weakness, but is otherwise phenomenal at tanking Fire, Dark, Ghost, and Poison attacks while provided plenty of disruption with Knock Off, Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave. Landorus-Therian handles Bug and Poison attacks, while threatening the latter and Fire types with Ground STAB and facilitates Swords Dance setup with Intimidate accounting for Iron Leaves’ weaker defense.

Other Options:
Wild Charge is the most prominent of Iron Leaves’ coverage options, dealing with the many Flying types that can tank its STABs. Throat Chop and Night Slash covers Gholdengo, Latios, and Glarian Slowking who all absorb Iron Leaves’ STABs with little issue but is niche beyond that.

Doubles and VGC Options

Iron Leaves’ history in VGC echoes much of its situation in singles, where it is a potentially dominant attacker, but is held back by its horrid typing and lack of good Electric Terrain setters. Physical attackers often have it rough in doubles formats due to Intimidate slashing their offense. For Iron Leaves, this is accentuated by its wholly unfavorable matchup into format superstar Incineroar, ensuring most teams are carrying what is a near counter for Iron Leaves. Even discounting Incineroar, so many naturally faster Pokémon carry super effective STAB for Iron Leaves, making it a Terastalization sink and without good Electric Terrain setters, not worth the effort. That is, until the appearance of Miraidon. With Miraidon, Iron Leaves has a solid niche, with both covering many of the others weaknesses, making it that much harder to withstand their blistering assaults. While Iron Leaves many flaws keep it from being a common pick even on Miraidon teams, the utility and power it presents a screaming offense that is difficult to withstand.

E-Tree

-Leaf Blade
-Psyblade
-Megahorn
-Protect
Ability: Quark Drive
Item: Life Orb
Tera Type: Normal
EVs and Nature:
92 HP / 156 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

Life Orb Iron Leaves makes for a key offensive threat on Miraidon teams, using its boosted Speed to cut down everything that stands in its way. Leaf Blade, despite being the weaker of Iron Leaves' STABs is by far the more important of them, threatening Ground types like Ursaluna, and Ting-Lu that are problematic for Miraidon teams and the Tera Ground types looking to blank Miraidon's Electric STAB. Psyblade, on the other hand posseses pure power, getting effective a Choice item boost from Electric Terrain, eliminating problematic Pokémon like Amoonguss and opposing Iron Hands, while punishing Pokémon using Tera Poison to avoid Iron Leaves Grass STAB like Ting-Lu. Megahorn is on here for opposing Terrain setters Indeedee and Rillaboom, as their Terrain denial harshly cuts into the damage of Miraidon and its teammates, so Iron Leaves' ability to quickly remove such Pokémon is invaluable in taking control of the battle. Protect is the best move in Doubles.

EVs are so that Iron Leaves gets a Speed Boost from Electric Terrain instead of an Attack boost, while having as much Attack as possible. Iron Leaves getting a Speed boost allows it to threaten normally much faster threats like Flutter Mane and Koraidon that could remove it in turn otherwise. Everything else must go to bulk as a result, alleviating some of Iron Leaves' defensive woes. Tera Normal is recommended against Flutter Mane and Calyrex-Shadow Rider, blanking the Ghost STABs sent Iron Leaves' way, while it is unlikely for an opponent to click a Fighting move into the Psychic Iron Leaves.

Preferred Partners:
Miraidon is essential for this set, giving the vital speed boost Iron Leaves needs, while Iron Leaves is near tailored to cover some of Miraidon's greatest weaknesses. These benefits go beyond Iron Leaves covering Ground types for Miraidon and Iron Hands. Their potent Electric STABs rip apart Tornadus who could otherwise threaten Leaves with its Flying STAB, while Dark types are loath to endure Miraidon's Fairy coverage and Iron Hands Fighting STAB Urshifu-Rapid is great for Iron Leaves, forming Water-Grass and Fighting-Psychic cores and threatening opposing Incineroar, Chi-Yu and Entei that Iron Leaves struggles against.

Other Options:
Close Combat is Iron Leaves' best answer into Dark types, though if running with Miraidon, Iron Hands is better suited for such tasks. Coaching is notable considering Iron Leaves' is one of the rare non-Fighting types to get it, and with no lack of physical teammates to abuse it like Iron Hands and Urshifu Rapid. Even Miraidon appreciates the Defense bump keeping it alive. As one of the few Pokémon that gets Quash, this move deserves mention, especially when paired with Iron Hands, but Quash is difficult to use.

Countering Iron Leaves

Iron Leaves, for all its flaws is a dangerous attacker, and must be treated as such when handling it. Swords Dance sets are unsurprisingly handled well by Unaware walls like Skeledirge, and Max HP/Max Defense Dondozo, who can easily overwhelm Iron Leaves in a battle of attrition. Torkoal also boasts the sheer bulk to survive multiple Swords Dance boosted Psyblades and cripple with Will-O-Wisp, though Tera Psychic does guarantee a 2HKO with Psyblade. Other defensive answers can take advantage of gaps in Iron Leaves’ coverage. Gholdengo, Latias, Latios and Galarian Slowking excel if Iron Leaves isn’t running Dark coverage. Iron Leaves missing Wild Charge find Leftovers Corviknight, and Mandibuzz to be difficult walls. Missing Close Combat turns Avalugg, Zarude and bulky Steel types like Heatran into losing battles. Revenge KOing Iron Leaves is much simpler due to its many weaknesses, even more so if running Wild Charge or Close Combat which ruin Iron Leaves already shaky bulk. First Impression users like Haxorus, Slither Wing and especially Lokix eat Iron Leaves alive, while Mamoswine can OHKO after a Close Combat defense drop with Ice Shard. Kingambit’s and Hisuian Samurott’s Sucker Punches also expediently remove Iron Leaves regardless of Speed, but also require a Defense drop or prior damage to reach that KO. Naturally faster Pokémon also prove problematic, though a Speed boost from Booster Energy makes that tricky. Scarf Meowscarada’s as well as Booster Energy Iron Moth’s Sludge Wave, and Speed Booster Energy Roaring Moon’s Acrobatics all threaten OHKOs directly, or after Stealth Rocks in the case of the Paradox Pokémon, even if Iron Leaves got a speed boost. If Iron Leaves hasn’t received a Speed boost, the list of threats widens dramatically, including Scarf Landorus-Therian, Cinderace, Greninja, Weavile, Hawlucha, and Tornadus-Therian all able to wipe Iron Leaves before it can act thanks to its plentiful weaknesses.

Anime Appearences

Iron Leaves has yet to make any appearances in the anime # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics