Iron Hands, the Paradox Pokémon. It is very similar to a cyborg covered exclusively by a paranormal magazine. The cyborg was said to be the modified form of a certain athlete. This Pokémon shares many similarities with Iron Hands, an object mentioned in a certain expedition journal.

Overview

Iron Hands has quite the presence on the field in the ninth generation and not just because of stature. 154 HP and 108 Defense is absurd, giving Iron Hands comparable physical bulk to Dondozo of all things, able to muscle through all sorts of physical attacks, especially Knock Off and Rock attacks, giving it absurd durability. Add in STAB Drain Punch and Iron Hands can go the distance, taking brutal blows and then recovering it back while slugging the opponent. Few Pokémon can withstand Iron Hands throwing hands, with a supreme base 140 Attack and potent Electric and Fighting STABs enabling even the most defensively invested Iron Hands to hit like a full offensive line. Add coverage like Heavy Slam for opposing Fairy types and Ice Punch for Ground types and reliable answers become few and far between. If that wasn’t enough power for you, Iron Hands does have you covered, with Quark Drive enabling a near free attack boost, alongside boosting options in Swords Dance and Belly Drum to steamroll everything in its path.

Iron Hands isn’t just Dondozo-esque in physical bulk, having many of the same flaws. 68 Special Defense is poor, causing Iron Hand’s HP to sink like a stone in the face of any Special Attacks. Base 50 Speed isn’t winning any awards either, forcing Iron Hands to tank the hits before doling them out and causing it to lean even more on its bulk. Electric types having poor physical STABs haunts Iron Hands as well, forcing it to either use the underpowered Thunder Punch, take constant recoil from Wild Charge, or risk losing half its health from Supercell Slam due to an unluck miss or Ground type. Iron Hands’ poor matchup against Ground types is particularly jarring given their generally high Defense stomaching Iron Hands’ attacks and able to threaten severe damage with their own STAB, an unattractive prospect for any part time physical wall. This has not stopped Iron Hands from being a bulky attacker par excellence, able to give as good as it gets, and finding yourself without one of its answers can kick off the end of the battle.
Positives
154 HP borders on the insane and with 108 Defense and recovery in STAB Drain Punch, Iron Hands can take physical attacks all day.
140 attack similarly boggles the mind, and can be further boosted with Quark Drive, Swords Dance and/or Belly Drum for complete annihilation
Decent movepool between STABs, recovery in Drain Punch, pivoting in Volt Switch, and coverage in Ice Punch, and Heavy Slam.

Negatives
68 Special Defense is very exploitable, rendering Iron Hand’s good HP moot.
Base 50 Speed is quite exploitable, often forcing Iron Hands to take a hit before acting.
Weakness to Ground types both offensively and defensively is unfortunate when just about every team is running them.

Movesets

Control Alt Destroy

Drain Punch
-Supercell Slam
-Ice Punch
-Swords Dance
Ability: Quark Drive
Item: Sitrus Berry
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature

Iron Hands acts as a bulky attacker, able to shrug off brutal blows and respond with its own all throughout the battle. Iron Hands acts as a decent deterrent to Knock Off. While losing its item is harmful, it is not vital for Iron Hands to function, and between its absurd HP and Defense, it makes for a reliable absorber of an otherwise very hard to resist move. Drain Punch is a standard on nearly every Iron Hands set and is the key to its longevity, being a STAB attack coming off a base 140 Attack it will do obscene damage, which leads to a not inconsiderable amount of recovery, allowing Iron Hands to win simply through attrition. Supercell Slam synergizes nicely with Iron Hands’ Fighting STAB hitting the Fighting resistant Flying types alongside prominent physical walls like Dondozo, Alomomola, and Electric weak Fairy and Bug types like Primarina and Araquanid. Care must be taken with Supercell Slam, as any opponent would gladly switch in their Ground type to force Iron Hands to lose half its health. Ice Punch is a powerful deterrent to such Ground types, especially Landorus-Therian and Gliscor who otherwise resist both STABs with ease and would wall Iron Hands without it. Being able to hit Dragapult who also resists both STABs is an excellent bonus. Swords Dance rounds out the set, allowing Iron Hands to setup against passive foes or in late game scenarios to clean up the opposing team with shocking efficiency, enabling OHKOs on most Ice Punch targets like Landorus-Therian, Hydrapple, Raging Bolt and Rillaboom as well as many neutral targets like Gholdengo, Slowking, Galarian Weezing, etc.

Tera Types:
While Iron Hands does get along relatively finely with its base typing and the valuable resistances Fighting supplies, its weaknesses to common types in Ground and Fairy do occasionally merit Terastalization. Tera Fire is recommended, given the resistance to Fairy and immunity to Burns making matchups into walls like Galarian Weezing, Moltres and Skeledirge much safer. Tera Flying is also excellent, allowing Iron Hands to nullify a Ground attack sent its way for safe setup or a crucial Ice Punch. Tera Fighting is a more offensive option, removing Iron Hands’ Ground weakness and buffing Drain Punch for even more healing. Otherwise, Tera Water works, as a good defensive type, allowing Iron Hands to better ape Dondozo in its walling abilities.

EVs and Items:
Max Attack and Special Defense are recommended for this set for as much general bulk as possible against errant special attacks. Iron Hand’s HP is so high and its Special Defense is so low it does get more out of the Special Defense investment than the HP investment unlike other Pokémon. Adamant Nature is recommended for the extra power, though there is an argument for Brave Nature if running Volt Switch for the slowest pivot possible to get Iron Hands’ allies in safely. If not running Volt Switch, some speed investment can be recommended. 20 Speed EVs are enough to outrun uninvested Ursaluna Blood Moon, though 28 Speed EVs would be needed if it placed its extra 4 EVs into Speed. 84 Speed EVs allows Iron Hands to get the jump on uninvested base 60s, namely the Fairies Clefable, Primarina and Galarian Weezing. Alternatively, one could go all in on the bulk aspect of bulky attacker, investing everything into HP and Defense, leaving Special Attackers to Iron Hand’s teammates. Sitrus Berry is recommended as the item, giving a one-time burst healing and helpful for general walling or trying to setup Swords Dance while not as damaging if Knocked Off which Iron Hands is often called upon to absorb. Shuca Berry is also popular as a one-time answer to Ground attacks, preventing a faster Ground type from switching in on a Swords Dance and forcing Iron Hands out, instead likely removing them in the counterattack. Booster Energy forgoes Iron Hands’ defensive utility instead going all in on that one time sweep due to its one and done nature.

Partners:
: Allies that can handle Iron Hands’ numerous achilles heels in its poor special defense, weakness to Psychic, Fairy and Ground. Assault Vest Iron Crown addresses all but the Ground weakness, being an excellent pivot into Special, Psychic and Fairy attacks, a pivot with Volt Switch that provides additional pressure with Future Sight, and direct answer to Fairies with Tachyon Cutter. In turn, it loves Iron Hands’ ability to near endlessly switch into Knock Off and generally threaten opposing Dark types. Galarian Slowking can perform similarly, though it lacks the Psychic Resistance. Hatterene also deserves mention, despite its shakier Fairy matchup, given its ability to generally enable Iron Hands between Trick Room, Nuzzle and/or Mystical Fire support while loving Iron Hands capabilities in destroying opposing sponges and Steel types. Landorus-Therian and Dragonite also deserve mention for covering Iron Hands Ground weakness by being a reliable pivot into Ground attacks, though the act differently in practice. Landorus-Therian is more supportive, with Intimidate making Iron Hands near impossible to KO physically while being capable of setting up Stealth Rocks and pivoting with U-Turn. Dragonite is more offensive and with Extreme Speed is great at picking off faster targets that trouble Iron Hands, while mutually softening up opposing physical walls. Both love Iron Hands for its phenomenal matchup against Bulky Water types like Dondozo and Alomomola who could otherwise use them as free entry points.

Other Options:
Belly Drum is a further all-in boosting option, supercharging Iron Hands, but can be difficult to find the right moment and Iron Hand is so slow after setup, that even with the Sitrus Berry it is easier to take out. Wild Charge is a slightly weaker alternative to Supercell Charge, exchanging randomly losing half your HP because of a miss, Protect or Ground type for consistent recoil damage, albeit damage sponged by Iron Hands’ huge HP and Drain Punch. Thunder Punch is weaker still but is the only viable Electric STAB that doesn’t have recoil or Terastalization attached to it as a cost. Iron Head and Heavy Slam are excellent for dealing with opposing Fairy types who can prove bothersome given they resist Iron Hands’ primary method of healing, though is best paired with Tera Fire. Earthquake is great in mirror matches, obliterating opposing Iron Hands without much issue. Volt Switch is a powerful pivoting option, allowing Iron Hands to act as a pseudo Slowking to get an ally in safely and while Iron Hands’ Volt Switches are pitiful in damage, it is still damage for breaking Focus Sashes and Sturdy.

Doubles and VGC Options

Iron Hands has been a mainstay in VGC since its introduction in Regulation B. Its absurd bulk and power with wide coverage made Iron Hands a mainstay on many teams, especially regarding Trick Room as both a dedicated attacker and check to it thanks to its low speed. Having access to the best disruptive move in the game in Fake Out further increases Iron Hands’ value, allowing it to control the flow of a match. While dedicated walls often suffer due to there being multiple opponents, making it difficult to wall both Pokémon simultaneously, Iron Hands can address its poor Special Defense with Assault Vest, all the while not sacrificing longevity thanks to its absurdly powerful Drain Punches. All these attributes together have ensured consistent use for Iron Hands until the re-introduction of Urshifu, whose ability to break Protect has immediately made it the go to Fighting types for most teams... Albeit not all of them. Iron Hands finds itself in a solid niche on Miraidon teams, its Electric STAB and Quark Drive synergizing amazingly with Miraidon's Electric terrain for huge damage and its slow Speed gives such teams a native answer to opposing Trick Room teams, who give the speedy Miraidon plenty of trouble if set up, while providing a powerful Fake Out user that is by no means passive unlike Incineroar and the completely antiethetical Rillaboom.

Major League Hand Off

-Fake Out
-Drain Punch
-Wild Charge
-Low Kick
Ability: Quark Drive
Item: Assault Vest
Tera Type: Bug/Grass
EVs and Nature:
76 HP / 180 Atk / 12 Def / 236 SDef
Brave Nature

Based on the 2024 World Champion team, this Assault Vest Iron Hands is just as much a win condition as Miraidon itself, trading sheer speed for implacable bulk, with a side order of disruption on the side. Fake Out is an amazing attack to have; the ability to stop an opponent's turn or set them up for a 1-2 combo punch and KO, especially with Miraidon on Iron Hand's side places a ton of pressure upon opponents, especially if Iron Hands pivots in after an opponent uses Protect. Drain Punch is Fighting STAB and just as importantly provides longevity to this set, having Iron Hands absorb an attack and immediately undo all the progress on it with a brutal Drain Punch. Wild Charge and Low Kick are Iron Hand's primary damaging STABs. Wild Charge is preferred over Thunder Punch for the extra power, hitting important benchmarks like KOing Tera Fairy Miraidon after Fake Out, something Thunder Punch or Wild Charge cannot do, as well as doing the same to Calyrex-Shadow Rider in Electric Terrain (though Heavy Slam can match Wild Charge here). The recoil from Wild Charge is troubling, but Iron Hand's high HP and access to Drain Punch can offset the recoil. Low Kick is preferred for restricted formats. With the huge number of absurdly heavy restricted Pokémon running around, it is effectively a base 120 power STAB move with no drawback, slamming targets like Zamazenta and Terapagos incredibly hard.

EVs are to maximize bulk as much as possible, enabling Iron Hands to survive Tera Fairy Specs Miraidon Dazzling Gleam from behind Light Screen while being merely 3HKO'd by Urshifu-Rapid. Everything else goes into Attack to rack up as much damage as possible. Tera Bug is what was decided on for the matchup against Zamazenta, the Fighting resistance invaluable in staving off boosted Body Presses, while still boasting a Ground resistance for Groudon, Ting-Lu and other Ground type attackers. Tera Grass is worth noting, possessing the selfsame Ground resistance, but offers a better matchup into Amoonguss, preventing Iron Hand's attacks from being redirected by Rage Powder (Spore being less of an issue due to Electric Terrain).

Preferred Partners:
Miraidon being the best passive setter of Electric Terrain is an incredible enabling tool for Iron Hands by causing it to hit that much harder between Quark Drive and the Electric Terrain boost to Wild Charge. Farigiraf is another consistent partner for Iron Hands, being an excellent Trick Room setter that allows Iron Hands to flourish while packing Psychic STAB for Amoonguss, who can be a very big problem for Iron Hands, while Iron Hands obliterates opposing Dark types that threaten Farigiraf. Other Psychic Trick Room setters can work as well, but Farigiraf is the one that works best with Miraidon.

Other Options:
Close Combat is more reliable in non-restricted formats over Low Kick. While the Defense drop is unfortunate, the reliability in power makes a strong argument for it. Heavy Slam is incredible into Flutter Mane, Amoonguss and Tera Fairy Calyrex-Shadow, all of whom taking Iron Hand's Fighting STAB well (Amoonguss even shrugging off Wild Charges thanks to its typing) Volt Switch is weak due to Iron Hand's horrid Special Attack, but a slow pivot can get an ally in safely and enable all sorts of maneuvering otherwise not possible.

Countering Iron Hands

Iron Hands equally insane bulk and power make it difficult to dance around, causing an interesting dance as one tries to check it both offensively and defensively.

Ground types are a noticeable roadblock for Iron Hands, their usually high Defense and Electric immunity offering easy entry against Iron Hands’ STABs, while their Ground STAB is great at threatening Iron Hands to the point of compromising if not knocking Iron Hands out. Their ability to punish Supercell Slam and take off half of Iron Hands’ health further accentuates this role. Landorus-Therian and Gliscor are excellent examples of this, their Flying typing rendering even Fighting STAB moot while being able to further cripple Iron Hands with Intimidate and Toxic respectively. Great Tusk also works well, its insane defense thanking even Fighting STAB well with offensive variants even capable of picking up a one hit knockout after any chip damage. Note that Iron Hands is not helpless against these Pokémon, often running Ice Punch, anti-Ground Tera Types and even Shuca Berry to flip the tables on them, so switching in can be risky. Dragapult and Sinistcha are similar to Ground types, blanking one of Iron Hands’ STABs while resisting the other and can permanently cripple Iron Hands with Will-O-Wisp or outright KO in Dragapult’s case with Draco Meteor, though Iron Hands does needs to be down to 3/4s of its health for the KO.

Fighting Resistant and Immune Pokémon do deserve some mention, denying Iron Hands significant recovery until they are removed, making it more vulnerable to being revenge KO’d. Dragapult and Sinistcha take this a step further, being similar to Gliscor and Landorus-Therian, blanking one of Iron Hands’ STABs while resisting the other and can permanently cripple Iron Hands with Will-O-Wisp or outright KO in Dragapult’s case with Draco Meteor, though Iron Hands does needs to be down to 3/4s of its health for the KO. Skeledirge also does well, able to tank a Supercell Slam, outspeed and cripple with Will-O-Wisp. Specs Gholdengo can take off half of Iron Hands health with Shadow Ball, but otherwise lacks the bulk necessary to survive Iron Hands’ Electric STAB. Enamorus can’t switch in due to the Electric STAB and Ice Punch but is next to immune to Drain Punch and can OHKO after some chip damage with Moonblast. Moltres too can’t stand Iron Hands’ Electric STAB but switches into any other attack nicely and the plethora of contact moves Iron Hands run makes it susceptible to Moltres’ Flame Body. Max Defense Clefable can tank 2 unboosted Supercell Slam and 2HKO back with Moonblast, while Primarina can nearly OHKO but Iron Hands can and sometimes does EV to outspeed specifically those two Pokémon.

Physical Walls can do well against Iron Hands and endeavor to beat it at its own game. Zamazenta can outboost Iron Hands with Iron Defense and slam it to pieces with Body Press. Garganacl and Dondozo need to Terastalize, but otherwise can easily outlast Iron Hands thanks to their natural recovery being so much stronger than the recovery from Drain Punch. Iron Hands is ironically an excellent Iron Hands answer, as it struggles to do damage to the opposing hands unless it is carrying Earthquake.

Special Attackers are decent at offensively checking Iron Hands given its horrid Special Defense, though it often runs Special Defense investment to mitigate this. Specs Latios can be relied upon to eliminate Iron Hands with their Psychic STABs, while Specs Kyurem, Volcanion, Iron Crown, and Hoopa Unbound can reasonably KO Iron Hands after entry hazard damage, while the list that reliably 2HKOs is enormous. This can be turned on its head if Iron Hands is running Assault Vest, allowing it tank effectively from both sides of the spectrum, though this makes it far more vulnerable to Knock Off than it would otherwise be and does not mitigate it weakness to Ground attacks.

Anime Appearences

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