Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Best Counter for Iron Hands

Iron Hands has been one of the most popular choices in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet for PvE and PvP.

If you’ve been struggling to defeat Iron Hands, you’re not the only one. After all, it’s one of the best Pokemon for 6-star raids.

However, just like all Pokemon, Iron Hands also has its weaknesses.

In this guide, I will explain Iron Hand’s weaknesses and list the best counters for this Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet.

Iron Hands Weaknesses in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Finding a shiny Iron Hands in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
Finding a shiny Iron Hands in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Iron Hands is a Paradox Pokemon found exclusively in Pokemon Violet. It’s a Fighting/Electric-type Pokemon featuring the Quark Drive ability.

Due to its type combination, Iron Hands is only weak to three types, which is why it’s considered one of the best pokemon overall.

Here is a full list of Iron Hands’ reactions to all types of moves.

  • Weak to (2x) – Ground, Psychic, Fairy
  • Damage Normally by (1x) – Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Flying, Ghost, Dragon
  • Resistant to (0.5x) – Electric, Bug, Rock, Dark, Steel

Therefore, if you want the best counters for Iron Hands, aim for Pokemon with Ground, Psychic, or Fairy-type moves.

However, try and avoid using any Fairy-type Pokemon. Since Iron Hands has access to the move Iron Head, it can take down Fairy-types fairly easily.

Also, Iron Hands, on its base stats has 108 Defense but only 68 Special Defense. Therefore, for the best counters you want to focus on Pokemon with a high Special Attack stat.

Lastly, Iron Hands focuses on its Attack stat to deal damage, so ideally you want a Pokemon with a fairly high Defense stat.

Best Counter for Iron Hands in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

While there are various options to counter Iron Hands, here are some recommendations that are overall great Pokemon to have in your party.

Great Tusk

Great Tusk in Area Zero in Pokemon Scarlet.
Great Tusk in Area Zero in Pokemon Scarlet.

Great Tusk is a Ground/Fighting type Paradox Pokemon exclusive to Pokemonn Scarlet that can take down Iron Hands easily.

It features strong Ground STAB moves, a high base Defense stat, as well as an immunity to Electric-type moves.

Its only drawback is that Great Tusk is weak (2x) to Ice-type moves and most Iron Hands you’ll face will have Ice Punch.

Nevertheless, the lack of STAB, as well as Great Tusk’s high Defense will help it survive this move.

Garchomp

Garchomp in the Pokemon series.
Garchomp in the Pokemon series.

Garchomp is a Dragon/Ground-type Pokemon and one of the strongest Dragon types in the game.

With a high Defense stat, as well as immunity to Electric-type moves, it can easily avoid most of Iron Hands’ attacks.

However, it is extremely weak (4x) to Ice-type moves, so if the opposing Iron Hands has Ice Punch, you’re in bad luck.

Sandy Shocks

Sandy Shocks in Area Zero in Pokemon Scarlet.
Sandy Shocks in Area Zero in Pokemon Scarlet.

Sandy Shocks is an Electric/Ground-type Pokemon introduced in Generation 9.

It’s one of the best counters to Iron Hands due to its high HP and Defenses stats, as well as its great Special Attack. This allows it to survive any move from Iron Hands, while also being able to take down easily.

Similar to Great Tusk, its only drawback is its weakness (2x) to Ice-type moves.

Espeon

Espeon in the Pokemon series.
Espeon in the Pokemon series.

Espeon is a Psychic-type Pokemon and a fan-favorite across most Pokemon generations.

Espeon’s best attribute is its insanely high Special Attack stat which allows it to even one-shot Iron Hands with a Psychic-type move.

While it has low Defense, its type isn’t weak to any of Iron Hands’ moves, so it should be able to survive anything.

Wrapping up

To sum up, these are some of the best counters to Iron Hands in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

In general, you want Pokemon with high Defense and Special Attack stats that aren’t weak to Iron Hands’ Fighting and Electric-type moves.

If you’re looking for other great additions to your team, consider checking out our list of the best Ghost-type Pokemon in the game.

What’s your go-to Pokemon for defeating Iron Hands? Do you have Iron Hands on your team? Let us know in the comments below.

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