With Paradox Pokemon being made available for use in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC Series 2, a few of these powerful monsters have made their way to the top of the charts as some of the most used among competitive players. Aside from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's odd Scream Tail made popular by its role in winning the Orlando Regional Championships, Paradox Pokemon like Flutter Mane, Iron Bundle, and Iron Hands comprise the top of the current competitive meta. Iron Hands is a stand-out among these mons due its versatile nature as a bulky physical sweeper with the potential to pivot using Volt Switch.
Like most Paradox Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Iron Hands has a base stat total of 570 which is spread favorably across HP, Attack, and Defense. Its Electric/Fighting typing and 140 base Attack stat makes it a great option for dealing with common types in the meta like Steel and Water, as well as common Tera types like Dark and Flying. However, Iron Hands has a pitiful Special Attack stat of 50, meaning in theory, it should only be using physical moves. Despite this poor stat, Iron Hands still makes use of the special move Volt Switch to give it the option to pivot out of undesirable situations and change momentum in favor of the player.
Iron Hands Makes the Most Out of Volt Switch
The main draw of Iron Hands as a Paradox Pokemon is its incredible bulk thanks to its 154 base HP and 108 base Defense. However, it suffers from a subpar Special Defense, which can prove a major weakness if not properly accounted for. In order to increase the Special Defense of Iron Hands, it's usually seen holding an Assault Vest, which boosts the holder's Special Defense but renders them unable to use status moves. As such, Iron Hands is not able to use Electric Terrain or hold an Energy booster with this setup, meaning it won't get the benefits of its Ability Quark Drive.
Instead, Iron Hands users will typically give it Volt Switch, despite the fact that it won't be very useful for dealing damage, because it allows the monster to pivot and swap out to another team member after attacking. Although a player could just choose to switch out Iron Hands normally, using Volt Switch will still deal chip damage to opposing mons, even if only a little, making it the preferred method for swapping between teammates. A well-timed Volt Switch can help Iron Hands account for its Special Defense deficiency by swapping out when facing opponents who threaten it.
Common threats for Iron Hands are powerful Special Attackers like Armarouge and Flutter Mane, as well as Ground types like Great Tusk and Garchomp, who have seen an increase in usage as a result of Iron Hands' popularity. Although Iron Hands can be a great wall breaker in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's meta, it can have trouble dealing with the threat of Ground types. A team that utilizes mons like Amoonguss and Great Tusk for a wall can be tough for Iron Hands to break, especially if an opponent is able to anticipate the Volt Switch and swap in a Ground type for the targeted monster, rendering Volt Switch useless.
Aside from Volt Switch, Iron Hands can make great use of Drain Punch for STAB damage in Pokemon battles that also helps recover some of its HP, contributing to its bulk. Wild Charge is the other most common STAB move used on it since it has a high base damage and Iron Hand's high HP means it can afford to take the recoil damage. It also has access to Ice Punch for coverage against Ground types, but Fake Out is the more common move for the final spot as it can be used for scouting an opponent's team by making an enemy mon flinch and unable to act that turn. As such, Volt Switch remains a fantastic addition to Assault Vest sets that can only run attacks.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
