The Rise & Fall of Iron Boulder.

Pokemon Competitive Singles has been turned on it's head with the release of the "Indigo Disk" DLC. Iron Boulder was once considered the strongest new Paradox form in the new batch.
However, over time its usage and viability have dwindled, and in the latest tier shift it officially dropped down to the UU tier.
Let's explore why that occurred using Logic and Facts and such things as that, because I am very smart.
Outro Music by Pete S. Check out his other music here:
open.spotify.com/track/1x5XyA...
Iron Mugulis and Iron Fellow know all about it.
Only Jim knows about the viability of Iron Boulder. All other sources of information are liars and are inaccurate.
Become a Patron if you want.
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Check out my Showdown Gameplay channel!
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Some will never figure out how to get Iron Boulder in Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet. But famous player Jim Cool is well aware of the Best Iron Boulder Moveset in Competitive, and even how to Iron Boulder Shiny Farm. Many aren't and never will be. That's just the unfortunate reality of the world.
Arceus exists.
The below text is very relevant to many people.
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Scream Tail is the Jigglypuff of our wildest dreams. It has been buffed with some higher statistics and the incredible ability, Protosynthesis. Gen 9 Competitive Pokemon wouldn't be the same without this powerful pink blob. He kinda looks like someone I met in one of my game design and development courses.
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Gholdengo is a Pokemon made of pure gold. He must have done some online business management courses to accumulate all that wealth. Or perhaps he might want to learn how to make money playing video games on KZbin. In any case, he's a powerful metagame force, with absolutely no interest in online game development schools.
#competitivepokemon #pokemonshowdown #scarletandviolet #gen9 #thetealmask

[@jimothycool]

Outro Music by Pete S. Check out his other music here - open.spotify.com/track/1x5XyA7jac3Hv8ha0ra76G?si=6aZiwsiVSPSCP1-Bq89b-w Jim's Good Mugs - jimothycool.com/

[@fricks4486]

Iron Boulder is actually a terminator from the future sent to kill Terrakion. Terrak quickly escaped from OU to hide in PU before escaping again to RU. This little manoeuvre confused Boulders CPU but after rebooting he’s now ready to fall down the tiers til he reaches his target

[@breloommaster12]

This is insane; Boulder literally sabotaging its prowess to reach its target, what commitment

[@kyallon1213]

I still think tusk was the bigger reason for terraks downfall

[@snappee]

This is the greatest story ever told in pokemon competitive history

[@Cicada2204]

This is my new headcanon

[@breloommaster12]

Breaking news, Iron Boulder has been deported from UU and cannot go any further to reach Terrakion; *mission failed*

[@felipesilva3732]

It's Iron Bover

[@ilosada2933]

Iron Bobby.

[@bluekirby_64]

We're Ribomback.

[@ozunac13]

THE BOULDER FEELS CONFLICTED ABOUT HIS DROP IN TIER USAGE

[@reddragonair3147]

It's Abomasnover. No, wait...

[@jacobgee1261]

​@@ozunac13THE BOULDER IS OVER HIS CONFLICTING FEELINGS

[@chess]

Iron Boulder was one of the most popular new Pokemon when the Indigo Disk DLC first released

[@Zyleraj]

wtf is chess doing in a jimothy video

[@twilightsilver6230]

​@@Zylerajpokemon chess

[@atrixmj]

Go off king🗣📣

[@usernametaken017]

Iron Boulder had a lot of amazing qualities for an offensive Pokémon

[@subtodicerat8305]

The OU Tier has pulled an april fools on iron boulder

[@vanesslifeygo]

"Pay no attention to what's behind this sign."

[@Shattered_Fragments]

"I am boulder." "I am leaving." That is so perfect.

[@iamwilson6922]

If you flip Iron Mugulus upside down and place it over its opponent, It becomes one of the most terrifying trappers in the tier. And with it having the option of running an impressive defensive bulk, it's honestly no wonder that Iron Boulder fell off.

[@BlazeSLK]

We need to address the elephant in the room: it is Great Tusk. He has activated Protosynthesis, and I fear for my safety.

[@Cicada2204]

Run. He isn't too fast, so you might be able to outrun.

[@miked5163]

He’s already spun rapidly. It’s too late.

[@YeahhBoyee]

Garganacl retaking its rightful place as the most broken Rock-type of the Generation.

[@Rarest26]

I love how no one ever acknowledges Glimmora as a rock type

[@TheWelkynn]

only cuz of tera

[@DaMaster012]

@@Rarest26 No one acknowledges Glimmora as a rock type because no one is used to rock types being good.

[@nicolasromani3523]

@@DaMaster012 True, T-Tar is known for being a dark type

[@justinfabela4899]

​@DaMaster012 does that mean we acknowledge it as a poison type?

[@misters6749]

6:34: I gotta be honest and say I don’t feel particularly sorry for iron Boulder. I never liked the guy. Me: Whoa Jim, tell me how you really feel!

[@tfd8598]

he’s no longest neck

[@misters6749]

@@tfd8598indeed no Armour Tail or Protosynthesis for him.

[@AABatteries321]

Terrakion used to be one of the most feared pokemon in BW1, but when BW2 came out, Landorus-T put a stop to it’s dominance. Iron Boulder having the exact same issue over a decade later is really funny to me.

[@jamesgiles4517]

Actually the real reason why its dominance stopped its because the meta shifted to the point where terrakion could only threaten 1-2 mons on each team

[@victorycry8849]

Iron Boulder is at least the most realistic of the future paradoxes. It literally plays like an AI that can do one specific thing insanely well and has zero potential for creativity. Also like AI, it will either fall off entirely overtime or be a detriment to the fun value of whatever meta it ends up in.

[@Mijzelffan]

the changes in usage the past few months are fascinating, even without any bans the metagame is stabalizing itself. Landorus-t is back, Iron Boulder is leaving, Ogerpon-Teal might actually move to OU come July 1st if its viability stays as is

[@blockdragonspecialsummonne7887]

nature is healing

[@jakariashafin8685]

​@@blockdragonspecialsummonne7887I hope garchomp can be back he's not my favourite or anything but he was always a reliable Mon on my teams

[@MaahirMomtaz12]

​@@jakariashafin8685He's UUBL now so he's OU by technicality lol

[@jakariashafin8685]

@@MaahirMomtaz12 yeah but I want him to truly be a part of ou

[@jakariashafin8685]

@@MaahirMomtaz12 hey since megas are gonna come back do you think mega garchomp can finally be good considering he can increase his speed with scaleshot

[@dylldj]

Iron Boulder has fallen to UU before Kingambit and Gholdengo get banned from OU. This is insane, folks.

[@triviszla1536]

Iron Boulder dropped… like an Iron Boulder.

[@ShadoughC8]

Iron Boulder was one of the most popular boulders when Iron Boulder released

[@randysuarez2849]

It’s crazy, in Gen 5 landorus checked terrakion and now in Gen 9 it checks its future form

[@ScaredEz]

“Wow.” - 🐝🧚‍♀️

[@Roflmao6173]

I found it pretty funny that while he was talking about set variety on Iron Valiant it had only been shown using moonblast in the video

[@slashine1071]

this feels like deoxys speed all again. if this is released pre gen 6 it could be genuine ubers material.

[@jmcbango]

That could be said about pretty much any gen 9 mon in OU atm

[@jasonthejazzman8521]

Iron Boulder was excellent. Unfortunately, excellent is no longer good enough to survive in gen 9 OU

[@stallsunguy3064]

TRUE.

[@RinRinYikes]

I think youre overthinking everything Johnny Warm, in reality, Iron Sissyphus was forced to push Iron Boulder to the top of the OU Ladder, but was cursed by Giratina that everytime he reaches the top, Boulder will fall back down to UUBL only for Iron Sissyphus to push him back up again. Just give it a couple of Months.

[@RangerJackWalker]

Quite pleased by the rise of Lando-T. He always does his best in the face of ever increasing power creep and I’m proud of him.

[@misters6749]

Question: when will Jim talk about Boulder not resisting any priority moves bar E-Speed? That’s: A-Jet, S.Punch and G.Glide. Early,Mid or Late vid?

[@jimothycool]

This is also true.

[@Jaydenlkm]

Iron boulder bought to start his villan arc in legends za called migthy stoner

[@timo_zz]

LMAOOOOO

[@misters6749]

Iron Boulder was one of the most popular new Pokémon when the Indigo Disc released.

[@choz9072]

Iron Boulder was Pokemon

[@darianjenkins2630]

Iron Boulder had amazing qualities for an offensive Pokemon, with the new signature move Mighty Cleave being Chief among them.

[@artificial844]

With a hundred accuracy, solid base power and the affect of bypassing protection this is one of the best rock type attacks the franchise has ever seen

[@matthewdanes6350]

With fantastic attack and speed to back up this excellent movepool

[@lforc25]

there were like 5

[@christiancinnabars1402]

Woah, you mean Iron Boulder isn't this OU power creep hyper demon, and it being top tier OU and Terrakion being PU really was just an overblown difference that has now mostly stabilized?! Give Terrakion Mighty Cleave. And give all the Swords of Justice new Hidden Abilities.

[@rjante2236]

Smogon players always overreact. It's pretty funny to watch.

[@MaahirMomtaz12]

The Swords of Justice should get Sharpness as a HA

[@enderdudebruh8270]

give them Huge Power as their HA

[@apples6684]

Iron Boulder was one of the most popular new Pokémon when the Indigo Disc DLC first released.

[@naturalharmoniagropius4486]

Iron Boulder has a lot of amazing qualities for an offensive Pokemon. The new signature move, Mighty Cleave being chief among them. Solid base power and bypassing

[@chrisorc5387]

protection, this is one of the best rock-type attacks that the franchise has ever seen with fantastic attack and speed

[@BurstVA]

to back up this excellent movepool along with access to Booster Energy, to push that speed even further, Iron

[@davidmandel8960]

Boulder was used as a monstruous late-game cleaner.

[@Huuuuuuue]

But as this metagame has developed, people have realized that maybe Iron Boulder was a bit overhyped.

[@MetronaJ]

You know know what I would love to see a video on? How garg keeps going from UU at the start of a meta, gets banned in UU and then jumps back to OU when it settles down

[@itztaytay2]

Iron Boulder is a lot like Ditto in some ways, its main trait it brings to a team is 124 base speed and booster energy which lets it outrun the entire meta and letting it smash other fast and frail mons... but it doesn't actually hit that hard without a sd up (and sometimes even after) which makes it somewhat easy to deal with with bulkier mons and was very apparent as the meta shifted away from breakneck HO when DLC2 released and more towards balance and semi- or full stall. It being weak to almost every priority move also does not bode well for it (and its relatively lower defense stat doesn't help). In UU it'll struggle some due to Lokix and Scizor both being popular mons as is

[@overlord3481]

It will still get banned from UU.

[@emmanuelduran3801]

"Out speed Deoxys speed" is a phrase I never thought I'd hear when talking about a UU Pokémon

[@blazie42069]

Jimothy please do a video on the rise of iron crown, since assault vest sets have proved to be rather potent as of recent in OU and is on its way to being banned in UU We need an Iron Crown video about its resurgence, as it has proven why it is the best paradox sword of justice, with its respectable set versatility and the advent of AV iron crown

[@haipydragon5965]

Future paradox form of Jimmothy cools hair, Iron Haircut, is here to terrorize the KZbin metagame

[@allieginter8438]

I can't believe it, a whole video without an update on the whereabouts of Iron Mugulis and his nefarious cohorts. One can only hope that they aren't plotting some sinister machinations behind the scenes...

[@poppyfrancis7338]

I love using Iron Boulder and I was probably its number one advocate in my friend group, but I don't want to believe I hyped it up that much. Replacing fighting with psychic really took the wind out of the paradox swords of justice's sails. If they had gotten electric I would have been genuinely excited, and before I saw Iron Leaves's type I thought it would be grass electric because Walking Wake was water dragon, sharing a type with the box legendary.

[@TheGuyWhoIsSitting]

How are we this far into Gen 9 and most of the new pokemon still don’t have animated model versions in Showdown?

[@lukieq12]

Yeah get your shit together showdown

[@rjante2236]

Showdown has fallen off, tbh.

[@MaahirMomtaz12]

Sprite workers been in hibernation since 2022

[@big__shell]

they've even been replacing the icons they use for the gen 9 mons with honestly kinda mid pixel art. like, flutter mane just looks wonky. i wish most pokemon fans would stop cranking it to pixel art, like damn does it ever get tiring? pixel art isn't some holy grail art form superior to everything else it's just that most of the art in pokemon games is just a means to an end. now that more is expected visually from games, the difference has become more obvious. but really, do gen 4 or 5 look better than good looking games from the era? no, no they don't. the gen 9 pokemon models are just visually better than the old sprites are. yeah, shocking, with time things start to look better. gen 9's the first time we've seen heracross take flight in game before, the eeveelutions take poses similar to cats when they fight in real life, and new pokemon like ceruledge and iron bundle are so colourful and expressive compared to what we used to have. unfortunately, many seem unable to take off their nostalgia goggles

[@rjante2236]

@@big__shell Those examples are great and all, but the vast majority of the models are still mostly mid. Most flying types are pretty lifeless and could have been far more expressive. Gen 5 sprites weren't perfection, but Gen 6 should have improved and they didn't. Gen 7-9 didn't really improve much, either.

[@waitingfortheequinnox]

Update: Iron Boulder is now banned from UU.

[@SOLROX_]

The real question is why does ribombee have no antenna on the thumbnail

[@lapine.mp4lapine.mp350]

i think this generation's tier shifts are actually hurting my brain holy shit

[@gregorymirabella1423]

It's biggest problem is the typing. While the stats, moves and ability are better than terrakion's, psychic type is just terrible. Rock is also bad but at least it actually had good rock stab.

[@spraybottlejim232]

I've been on a trip to Japan for the past month and a half and I didn't check Twitter or KZbin during that time at all. I finally checked today and I saw the tier shifts and literally did a spit take when I saw Iron Boulder going down to UU and deoxys speed having been in UU. 1 and a half years in and I still have no clue what this metagame is.

[@omarmalik7335]

great vid! you should really collaborate with pinkacross!! :D

[@CaptainFalcon73]

Nice haircut Jim!

[@sythrus]

It may have been overhyped, but it sure is nice to have another good offensive rock type (especially one thats fast)

[@pokeinator7834]

He is coming back…this mon is a beast

[@toppo8091]

LANDO IS BACK BABY 👏👏👏

[@glennakiovideo]

I'm seeing a trend of future paradox Pokemon ironically enough slowly being outdated by the meta game that I think Iron Bundle should be tested in OU again. Just to give these version exclusives a home rather than a niche due to the huge lack of advantages

[@cjr4908]

One must imagine Iron Boulder happy.

[@leonardobarbosatelles2779]

-I am Boulder -I am Leaving Peak comedy there 25,8/10

[@BladeRabbit]

Rquesting a full video for Rise & Fall & Rise again of Lando-T. He beat the allegations and he's back in the top 5.

[@MapleLunii]

Jimothy Cool HATES Iron Boulder... Also ngl I didn't realize he was Rock/Psychic

[@AI-DreigonGPT]

Looks like a second most hated to me ( Jugulis being number 1 )

[@lohn2559]

He’s back folks

[@BlackHanzo]

Iron Boulder can make a comeback but then there's scizor down there so iunno

[@VerbalLearning]

As strange as it might sound, i actually think Iron Boulders attack stat isn't high enough for it's two best stab options of 90 and 95 base power respectively to do the damage they need to do to make up for Iron Boulders otherwise frail defenses and extremely abusable typing, within the context of OU that is. I'm by no means trying to make the case that Iron Boulder should be buffed in any way shape or form. It'll do completly fine in one some other tier.

[@DragapultRules]

WAKE UP HE UPLOADED!!! I love the focus on the quality and not quantity by the way. It feels more special when you upload.

[@HeavyWalrus2]

3:02 Landerous T is back?! Am I upset that this thing is running rampant again? Or am I happy that balance is being restored? I am still trying to decide.

[@TheWelkynn]

i refuse to believe iron boulder will continue to fall

[@andersonjunior2943]

The next Rise/Drop will be in 3 months?

[@llodskfj5228]

Iron boulder was one the most popular new pokemon when the Indigo disk DLC first released.

[@skewah]

Fall of Iron Boulder? Better find somewhere to hide

[@migzuka8375]

Bald Ribombee in thumbnail 👀

[@MinniMaster]

It just needs to set Malevolent Shrine terrain that allows it to spam multiple Mighty Cleaves per turn so that it can come back into meta relavence

[@theultimatesvengali4430]

idk if it'll even get banned from Uu, excadrill under sand outspeeds and ohkos

[@Batrstad]

Wow Landos back who woulda guessed

[@pjanderson4876]

I really do think it’s just the Metagame. Wanting to be a late-game cleaner that’s STAB is walled by Kingambit is super unfortunate. Lock yourself into anything but Close Combat and you’ll lose to it, and that’s not how you want your cleaner to operate. Plus nothing wants to be weak to rock because of Stealth Rock, so even though it’s a good offensive type on paper, it’s just not that good in reality. If Kingambit gets banned, I bet Iron Boulder will be back in OU in no time.

[@plhbuschannel]

The thing is, boulder's cb set is underrated yeah

[@je19493]

Well deoxys is back in OU. Will deoxys-D rise back to UU then to replace the hole?

[@miniiore]

"I am leaving"

[@yurareigiryu]

I believe it's time to finally look at tera. There are no mons on OU that need tera and would be terrible without it. I think it would help the meta if we finally let it go.

[@brocksteele7475]

Love to see my boy Landorus-T winning again. Sucks for Boulder, though. Maybe VGC will be nicer for them with the anti-protect move.

[@Mysterious-Stranger]

I am not fond of any of the paradox Pokémon designs, from an aesthetic or game-design standpoint, and so I am always happy to see one begin to fade into (or maybe just "towards") irrelevancy. I realise not every Pokémon in every metagame has to cater to my tastes, of course, but I have felt a little bit hard-done-by in Gen IX due to the sheer number of overpowered designs that I do not like that flooded the various competitive formats, and I can only hope that future metagame shifts and maybe some balance changes in Gen X will change things up a bit.

[@icycrybaby]

0:29 no way Stab 95 BP only did 30%. Boulder is somehow weaker than It looks. Just a fast and fragile setup Guy. Still need to think some uncommon heat sets for him to deal better with meta (à la Hypnosis/Encore Iron Valiant), cuz Boulder is allergic to damage

[@AI-DreigonGPT]

0:06 shoulda put Iron Crown saying i am a Clown

[@lachlanclark4463]

Could be worse, Iron Crown falls flat compared to Valiant, Boulder, Bundle, and to a lesser extent Moth and Treads, but is far superior to Leaves, Thorns, and Jugulis. About as good as Hands, maybe slightly better.

[@Magikarpador]

so i have 0 interest in gen IX OU but man it's akways interesting hearing updates on the most unstable tier in Pokémon history. How did Manaphy fall off btw

[@leonardobarbosatelles2779]

I think the best u can get off of Boulder would be sub/TeraFlying SD, to flip the Lando/Gliscor matchup, but honestly, I don’t see Boulder being such a massive wincon to make this worth it

[@tomgorey9294]

Ogrepon base still not being in ou:( a good ho mon, while 6-0ing stall is so nice

[@pitchlumin]

Could the community (maybe especially like showdown settings) consider for older gens (3) making an OU shift? Teams could consist of 1 Uber and a UU. A U3 shift. Teams could gain a massive anchor, and get some unique. You need 1 true UU and Uber for each team. Eh?

[@dle9693]

thats ok, my boi is now king of uu, booster energy iron boulder outspeeding +1 chomp, +1 gren, rain boosted basculegion and sandboosted excadrill

[@justsomeone3962]

Let's just say Iron boulder wasn't bold enough

[@asabovesobelow1362]

It'll probably end in UU BL, especially with chomp gone.

[@Falconwing66]

I can’t believe that’s the name of a Pokémon…

[@bdellovibrioo5242]

But how has Iron Bowl fared in the Gen 9 OU metagame?

[@homer23422000]

A lot of it's Iron heavy fall is that Rock is a bad typing defensively, so is Psychic. Putting both together is a bad combination, being weak to the utility moves U-turn and Knock off is a bad combination.

[@MaahirMomtaz12]

All the Paradox Beasts remain in OU, but all the Paradox Swords of Justice are UU/RUBL. We really need a better Electric Terrain setter

[@zxori9517]

Pelliper in uu🔥🔥🔥

[@jamesgiles4517]

In a meta where kingambits sucker punch is common, iron bolder will struggle

[@rjante2236]

Good thing there aren't any notable priority users in UU

[@AriehAnkri]

​@@rjante2236Scizor: i am a joke for you?

[@rjante2236]

@@AriehAnkri I was thinking more along the lines of Lokix

[@enderdudebruh8270]

​@@rjante2236kid named First Impression and Sucker Punch Lokix:

[@algorithnick9113]

As someone who doesnt play competitive anymore -- how has ribombee risen to ou and jirachi fallen down to ru? Is sticky web that impactful? And why is alomomola ou???

[@bluebox1308]

Ribombee definitely rose up because of webs. Thanks to Gholdengo, hazards in general are hard to remove, pair this with Ribombee being the best sticky web setter who can decently hurt other mons with moonblast and you got a popular mon even in Ubers. Jirachi couldn't cut it thanks to massive power and speed creep. Even in UU there are a lot of mons that could outspeed with scarf or booster energy or tanky enough to try and get lucky. Overall winning with Jirachi comes down to if you get lucky enough but it's a lot harder to do now then before. Alomomola became ou thanks to its combination of regenerator, scald, pure water typing, wish, and a pivoting move in flip turn. It's not as good as teleport but it's slow enough to almost guarantee it goes last. This all combines to let Alo be a great defensive pivot against big threats and threaten burns. Slowbro and Slowking would also be decent at this but their psychic weaknesses were holding them back a lot.

[@algorithnick9113]

@@bluebox1308 wow thanks so much man, your reply was in depth & clear. Amazing how much the tiers can change between generations. I was only aware of ttar this gen 😅

[@bluebox1308]

@@algorithnick9113 👍

[@DerailedWingnut]

My best guess is Iron Boulder will languish in UUBL for the rest of the generation. Too good for UU proper but never quite good enough to have a proper OU usage percentage.

[@techknight3753]

Lando-T will NEVER truely fall off.

[@mrman2557]

zapdos’s best counter is falling lets go

[@willjoyce5013]

It turns out when everything is OP that some OP mons just aren't as OP

[@chefytaxd7517]

The UUBL alligations are finally coming to Him, even if we had Terrakion being banish to PU, Vengance and justice are finally so close to but Boulder behind the Prison that UUBL is, We are So Terrakiback Guys.

[@thatsabruhmoment17]

My favorite part of gen 9 ou was when iron boulder came out and bould over the competition

[@chess_fella]

Swag alert

[@vigvigg]

Iron boulder will rise again

[@Interiorcrocodilealigator10838]

I’d assume boulder would see more stock if booster got banned. Not too unrealistic considering BW vs gems

[@morganbush7775]

Missed you Jimothy hope China was fun

[@morganbush7775]

Also if you got a hair cut I like it

[@acksOldPeople]

Jimothy I honestly don't know what Iron Boulder's competitive future might be. I just...I don't know. I'm sorry 😭

[@danielendless]

This goes to show, the best Rock type is still a Rock type😔

[@dakoriolf]

So sad that Iron Pounder has fallen off