Pokémon Iron Thorns

[1BluLizard]

Base Stats: 100 / 134 / 110 / 70 / 84 / 72
Abilities: Quark Drive
Notable Moves:
- Wild Charge
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Dance
- Tera Blast
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Swords Dance
- Volt Switch

Full Movepool

Level-Up:
1: Electric Terrain
1: Iron Defense
1: Fire Fang
1: Ice Fang
1: Thunder Fang
1: Rock Throw
7: Screech
21: Rock Tomb
28: Bite
35: Charge
42: Rock Slide
49: Sandstorm
56: Wild Charge
63: Pin Missile
70: Earthquake
77: Stealth Rock
84: Stone Edge
91: Giga Impact

TM:
1: Take Down
6: Scary Face
7: Protect
8: Fire Fang
9: Thunder Fang
10: Ice Fang
12: Low Kick
23: Charge Beam
25: Facade
28: Bulldoze
30: Snarl
31: Metal Claw
36: Rock Tomb
43: Fling
44: Dragon Tail
47: Endure
48: Volt Switch
49: Sunny Day
50: Rain Dance
51: Sandstorm
55: Dig
58: Brick Break
66: Body Slam
67: Fire Punch
68: Thunder Punch
69: Ice Punch
72: Electro Ball
76: Rock Blast
78: Dragon Claw
82: Thunder Wave
84: Stomping Tantrum
85: Rest
86: Rock Slide
87: Taunt
88: Swords Dance
89: Body Press
90: Spikes
96: Eerie Impulse
99: Iron Head
100: Dragon Dance
101: Power Gem
103: Substitute
104: Iron Defense
108: Crunch
116: Stealth Rock
121: Heavy Slam
125: Flamethrower
126: Thunderbolt
133: Earth Power
135: Ice Beam
141: Fire Blast
143: Blizzard
147: Wild Charge
149: Earthquake
150: Stone Edge
152: Giga Impact
158: Focus Blast
163: Hyper Beam
166: Thunder
171: Tera Blast

New Ability: Quark Drive - If Electric Terrain is active or Booster Energy is held, the highest stat is 1.5x.

Pros:
- Very large movepool with lots of coverage, including ice to beat ground types
- Access to hazards
- Access to multiple boosting moves and quark drive to boost it more
- Overall high stats, especially HP, Atk, and Def

Cons:
- Bad defensive typing with 4x weakness to ground
- Low to mid Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, and Spd, leaving it vulnerable to special attackers
- No access to reliable recovery

Terastalize Potential: Iron Thorns has multiple types it can terastalize into that are useful. If it is setting hazards, it can become ghost type to block rapid spin, or flying to become immune to its biggest weakness and get a dragon dance. It is slow, but with set up terastalizing can give it either the ability to set up what it wants to do or to become stronger with something like a grass tera type or a rock/electric tera type. If it is setting hazards it will only terastalize if it needs to, but offensive sets will probably use it a lot more often.

Potential Sets:
Hazard Setter
Iron Thorns @ Leftovers / Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ghost / Flying
EVs: (252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def) / (252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd)
Relaxed Nature / Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Stone Edge / Ice Beam / Earthquake
- Wild Charge / Ice Beam

There are 2 ways this set can be used. With Booster Energy and the 2nd set of EVs and Timid, Iron Thorns becomes the fastes Hazard Setter, although it is not faster than some of the fastest mons like Chien-Pao and Flutter Mane. With Leftovers and the 1st set of EVs and Relaxed, Iron Thorns is much bulkier and instead tries to use its bulk to set Hazards. It also does not lower its attack, letting it hit harder if it needs to. Both tera types are defensive to help it set more hazards: Ghost lets it spinblock, then kill spinners with a move like Ice Beam (Great Tusk) Or Earthquake (Glimmora). Flying gives it more defensive utility by becoming immune to ground, which should let it survive longer to set hazards.

Setup Sweeper
Iron Thorns @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Flying / Rock / Electric
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake / Tera Blast
- Wild Charge
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Dance / Swords Dance

This set uses DD or SD to set up and get kills with strong moves like EQ, Wild Charge, and Stone Edge. It can use Flying tera type to be immune to ground types, which can let it set up and extra time, or Rock or Electric tera type to get double STAB and hit harder. Booster Energy raises its Atk, which means that after a boost or if it has double STAB and with its high attack stat, it hits extremely hard. It can be supported with Shed Tail or Screens that let it setup.

Choice Band
Iron Thorns @ Choice Band
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Flying / Electric / Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Sp. Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Wild Charge
- Stone Edge
- Volt Switch

This set immediately starts hitting very hard with Choice Band and strong moves. It will probably not terastalize unless it does it defensively, but it can. Volt Switch lets it pivot out with Choice Band, and all the other moves are just strong moves it can use.


Overall: Iron Thorns's bad defensive typing can make it difficult to get much usage out of, but it does have roles that can make it useful for a team. Its strong moves and good stats can let it benefit a team and be a strong offensive presence, but its typing and bad special defense and speed hold it back from being broken or amazing.

 

[readytolose]

Iron Thorns @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Thunder Punch / Wild Charge
- Low Kick
- Ice Punch

This set of coverage for the DD set is much better imo. Low Kick does 92% minimum to SpDef Ting-Lu after Booster Energy and +1, and it also hits for 120 BP against Iron Treads, Baxcalibur, and Garganacl. Ice Punch does more to Garchomp, Great Tusk, Amoonguss, and Wo-Chien. I really don’t think this thing wants Stone Edge and an Electric move on the same set as it really hurts coverage-wise. You could run Stone Edge as your main STAB but I think an electric move is more consistent, and it makes you struggle to hit Gholdengo and Iron Valiant as hard. Oh and Grass tera lets you avoid Palafin revenge kills and EQ at the same time. Something more conventional like Electric tera probably works too.

 

[Xenavar]

Speed tier is a bit unfortunate imo. If it was only 75 instead of 72, it would outspeed a bunch more threats

 

[Dreadfury]

It's not the fastest thing in the world, but being a bit faster than base TTar is a pretty big deal and really opens up some possible DD shenanigans as showcased in one of these sets, though with all the Sucker Punches and whatnot flying around I probably wouldn't recommend Wild Charge over TPunch on a DD set specifically due to all the chip damage.

This thing could be good with Pincurchin support. Having access to a boosting item, the boost from Quark Drive, AND a 30% boost to its Electric STAB allows Iron Thorns to hit almost comically hard. Obviously, though, the problem would be that you have to run Pincurchin to enable this thing fully. And if you're running a DD set, its biggest problem that it's a decent DD user in a metaphorical ocean of amazing DD users like Pult, Baxcalibur, and Roaring Moon.

 

[Pikachupwnage]

It's a shame double shock is exclusive to Pawmot.

I feel it would be an excellent option for certain sets. Not only wouls it give it a ridiculously strong electric attack...but it has some defensive utility to hit something it won't OHKO but can hit it with earthquake...like Dodonzo who with Unware can take a hit.

Given the commonality of earthquake as a coverage move this could have occasional usage to buy some extra life or prevent a revenge kill. Given how high the physical bulk of Iron Thorns is a 2x non STAB EQ is quite survivable.

Of course he does NOT get double shock and so must use the rather so-so physical electric moves. Shame anything similar in power/effect to EQ/Close combat/Double edge and the like is an exclusive move.

Also worth nothing a 4x ground weakness is arguably less a con then regualr T-Tar's fighting weakness given that Mach Punch is a thing and there are more fast fighting types then fast ground types although Iron Threads is definitely a prevalent and extremely viable exception(and the eventual return of Lando-T looms to ruin this poor robot's day)

 

[STEELDRAGON]

The quad weakness to Earthquake really hurts this things viability along with all the bulky ground types around. The main thing Iron Thorns should be doing is trying set up a DD or SD as they are a lot better hazard setters available. Also should really be used in Electric Terrain as it will be mostly outclassed by Tyrannitar otherwise

 

[PenguGuy]

Iron Thorns @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake

A loaded dice iron thorns could work? Pin missle hits opposing meowscarada for quad and murkrow for super effect. I think this could bring back iron thorns from ru to uu

 

[PenguGuy]

Iron Thorns @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake

A loaded dice iron thorns could work? Pin missle hits opposing meowscarada for quad and murkrow for super effect. I think this could bring back iron thorns from ru to uu

also pair with pincuchin lead