Iron Hands was controversial the moment it dropped. Its titanic bulk lets it check just about anything in a 1v1; the list of commonly seen Pokemon that are capable of OHKOing Iron Hands is limited to Toxtricity and Gallade, both of which can flop into specific Tera types as well. In that sense, taking down Iron Hands tends to be quite the endeavour, which some have seen as problematic due to its high threat level. Its near-unique typing is also weirdly effective, giving it useful resistances to common attacking types like Bug, Dark, Steel and Electric, making Iron Hands an effective check to Pokemon like Tinkaton and Bisharp. This gives it a lot of opportunities to boost itself up and win, at least in theory.
Iron Hands does have a number of issues, though; its initial power with the standard Swords Dance sets, even with an Adamant nature and Punching Glove, is quite lacking - for example, it is incapable of 2HKOing max HP Tinkaton, a Pokemon that's not known for its physical defensive prowess. It doesn't get free setup on too many Pokemon; the likes of Talonflame, which is theoretically forced out by Iron Hands, can cripple it quite harshly. We've also seen a lot of adaptation to Iron Hands's presence, with Pokemon like Quagsire, Donphan, Scream Tail and Hippowdon seeing more usage than before. These Pokemon aren't niche, either; they check plenty more than just Iron Hands. Iron Hands also brings a lot of value to the tier in the form of a Bisharp check, a Tyranitar check, and a way to "statcheck" Pokemon like Gengar and Hawlucha that can often prove difficult for teams to handle.
A lot of the controversy around Iron Hands revolves around underexplored sets like Sub SD Tera Flying, which lures and beats Quagsire; while this is concerning, these sets will always have an opportunity cost (e.g. this set is easily revenge killed by Pawmot, Sandy Shocks, or opposing Iron Hands). We've also seen adaptations in the form of Tera types that beat Iron Hands, like Wo-Chien running Tera Ghost or Salamence running Tera Fairy. Do these sets push Iron Hands over the edge, or is it reasonable to keep it in check?
Post your thoughts below! However, keep in mind that - as is standard for the forum - one-liners and posts lacking substance are subject to deletion and, in extreme cases, may lead to infractions.
The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 78 with at least 50 games played. In addition, you may play 1 less game for every 0.2 GXE you have above 78 GXE, down to a minimum of 30 games at a GXE of 82. As always, needing more than 50 games to 78 GXE is fine.
GXE | minimum games |
78 | 50 |
78.2 | 49 |
78.4 | 48 |
78.6 | 47 |
78.8 | 46 |
79 | 45 |
79.2 | 44 |
79.4 | 43 |
79.6 | 42 |
79.8 | 41 |
80 | 40 |
80.2 | 39 |
80.4 | 38 |
80.6 | 37 |
80.8 | 36 |
81 | 35 |
81.2 | 34 |
81.4 | 33 |
81.6 | 32 |
81.8 | 31 |
82 | 30 |
Other than that, the test will operate as always. There will be no suspect ladder. Instead, the standard UU ladder will remain open. Those who wish to participate in this suspect test will instead use a fresh, suspect-specific alt. All games must be played on the Pokemon Showdown! UU ladder on a fresh alt with the following format: "UU1XA (Nick)." For example, I might register the alt UU1XA Lily to ladder with. You must meet the listed format in order to qualify.
Participants will have until Sunday, February 19th at 7:00 PM GMT -5 to meet voting requirements and post in the Alt Identification Thread. PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR CONFIRMED SUSPECT RESULTS HERE - there is a dedicated thread for identifying your suspect results. Happy laddering!
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