add remove
[OVERVIEW]
Iron Leaves is one of the most potent offensive options in RU's arsenal. Grass and Psychic
dual STAB provide
s Iron Leaves with great coverage within RU, allowing it to hit physical walls such as Hippowdon, Fezandipiti, and Slowbro for
super
effective damage. This strong typing is complemented by an impressive combination of Quark Drive and access to easy setup in Swords Dance, turning Iron Leaves into a versatile threat capable of breaking in the early game or cleaning in the late game. Supplementing its natural affinity for sweeping, Iron Leaves is also privy to an array of coverage moves such as Close Combat, Wild Charge, and Tera Blast Fire giving it options to hit everything in the tier for
neutral or
super
effective damage. Booster Energy is the item of choice for Iron Leaves giving it access to Quark Drive without the need for an Electric Terrain setter.
[SET]
Booster Energy: Speed (Iron Leaves) @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
TChecera Type: Fire / Fighting / Electric
EVs: 96 HP / 160 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Psyblade
- Leaf Blade / Wild Charge
- Close Combat
[SET COMMENTS]
With a
Speed boost from Quark Drive, Iron Leaves establishes itself as one of the premier late game cleaners in RU, easily capable of running through weakened teams. 96 EVs taken from Attack and invested into HP ensures that Iron Leaves receives the
Speed boost upon switch in, however, like all Booster Energy Pokemon, it is important to note that if Sticky Web is up, the Speed drop
from Webs comes before the Booster Energy applies
and which will give Iron Leaves a boost
to in Attack instead. Swords Dance is Iron Leaves' setup move of choice giving it the immediate stage presence to threaten a sweep as well as compensating for the drop off in power due to the Booster Speed EV spread. Close Combat is there to hit
Steel types in the tier such as Bisharp or Cobalion who would otherwise wall Iron Leaves' dual STAB combination. Wild Charge can be chosen over Leaf Blade, forgoing
Grass STAB, in order to run a more powerful option to hit common checks such as Moltres when combined with Tera Electric. Otherwise, Iron Leaves can choose between Tera Fire and Tera Fighting depending on the needs of the team. Tera Fire allows Iron Leaves the luxury of attacking into or even setting up on the likes of Moltres or Rotom-Heat without fear of being burned by Will-
O-Wisp or Flame Body, while Tera Fighting provides Iron Leaves a powerful third STAB in Close Combat as well as resistances to three important priority moves in Lycanroc-Dusk's Accelrock, Bisharp's Sucker Punch and Slither Wing's First Impression.
Speed Booster
Energy Iron Leaves best fits on
hyper
offense builds where it benefits from other physical attackers such as Revavroom or Mimikyu
u wearing down the opponents' physical tanks before it comes in and attempts to sweep. Revavroom in particular deserves special mention, as it is also one of RU's more potent sweeping threats and appreciates the additional pressure Iron Leaves exerts on physical checks. Iron Leaves also appreciates hazard support from setters such as Kleavor or Forretress with the latter being able to provide momentum via its slow Volt Switch and the former
acting as a pseudo-Wallbreaker being able to weaken common physical walls for Iron Leaves. Outside of
hyper
offense builds, Speed Booster
Energy Iron Leaves is also a serviceable addition to
balance and
bulky
offense teams where its bulk and natural typing give it several key resistances to common attacking types such as Water, Fighting, and Ground, allowing it to serve as a sweeping threat and general wallbreaker for the team. These teams should be wary of the fact that Booster Energy is consumed after one use. These more balanced teams need to think carefully about when to use that one-time boost. It should usually be saved for the late-game, but the right
mid-game setup opportunity
in the midgame or a revenge killing opportunity can also be a good use
of for the Booster Energy.
[Checks and Counters]
Moltres: Moltres is a massive threat to Iron Leaves. Bulk invested Moltres is capable of tanking all but Tera Electric +2 Wild Charge from Iron Leaves and is capable at threatening back with a
super
effective dual STAB combination, Flame Body burns should Iron Leaves decide to attack
into it, or phazing it out with potential Roar. Some of these issues can be remedied with the proper Tera or coverage in the case of Tera Electric Wild Charge, however both solutions are predicated on burning your Tera and should be approached with appropriate caution.
Priority Moves: Iron Leaves' natural typing leaves it vulnerable
vs to several forms of priority within the tier. Iron Leaves is susceptible to both Bisharp's Sucker Punch as well as Slither Wing's First Impression, with both priority moves threatening massive damage if not killing Iron Leaves outright. This weakness can once again be remedied when considering Tera, for example, a Tera Fighting Iron Leaves would resist both Sucker Punch and First Impression. However, once again being forced to burn your Tera can be a big decision and should be approached with caution.
Phazing: As
with for all setup sweepers but,
for Booster
Energy sweepers especially, phazing moves can prove to be a challenge when trying to find the right opportunity to setup. Iron Leaves is no different in this sense. If it is phazed out after activating its Booster Energy, it loses that boost for the rest of the game and essentially becomes itemless. Specifically, the interaction between Iron Leaves and Red Card Mimikyu
u must be highlighted. Even after setting up, Iron Leaves is susceptible to being forced out by Red Card Mimikyu
u as
Mimikyuu's its Disguise is capable of absorbing the initial hit and subsequently phazing Iron Leaves out with the Red Card. Moreover, Mimikyu
u also possesses STAB
super
effective Shadow Sneak to inflict meaningful damage onto Iron Leaves before forcing it to leave the field. Manual phazers such as Hippowdon
or and Empoleon are also still
a problem
s for Iron Leaves
in the sense that they threaten to phaze Iron Leaves out, however, they are somewhat less imposing than Mimikyu
u as Iron Leaves' natural coverage generally gives it options to hit these phazers for
super
effective damage.
Faster Scarfers: At base 104 Speed, Iron Leaves is one of the fastest options in the tier when backed by
Speed Booster Quark Drive, however, there are still several strong options that can outspeed and threaten huge damage back. Fast Ghost Choice Scarf
ers users such as Gengar or Hisuian Zoroark are capable of outpacing and threatening Iron Leaves with STAB
super
effective Ghost attacks. Other fast
scarfers Choice Scarf users such as Infernape and Mienshao, while less common, are still just as lethal to Iron Leaves threatening it with STAB
super
effective Fire attacks in the case of Infernape or Triple Axel in the case of Mienshao. Both
the aforementioned Pokemon also have access to U-turn
being able allowing them to additionally threaten Iron Leaves with a 4x
super
effective move as well as using the opportunity to scout a potential
Tera and gain momentum.
[Set Credits]
Written By:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ming549.305696/
Quality Checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rarelyme.513635/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sneakyplanner.598717/
Grammar Checked by: