Drain Punch is a Fighting-type physical move with 75 base power that heals the user for 50% of the damage dealt. Every time it connects, the user recovers half the damage they inflicted.
Iron Hands and sustainability
Iron Hands is the defining Drain Punch user in Reg M-A. With an enormous HP stat and high Attack, Iron Hands’s Drain Punch deals substantial damage — and the healing keeps it healthy through extended fights.
The math is meaningful: if Iron Hands deals 200 HP damage with Drain Punch, it recovers 100 HP. Against opponents without a super-effective move or raw speed advantage, Iron Hands can sustain itself across multiple targets indefinitely.
Under Trick RoomTrick RoomstrategyFor 5 turns, slower Pokémon move first. Reverses the entire speed game — a strategy that builds teams around very slow attackers.Click to read more →, Iron Hands moves first (it’s slow) and fires Drain Punch before taking damage that turn. Combined with its HP bulk, it becomes extremely difficult to knock out without a specific counter or a super-effective hit.
Fighting-type coverage
Fighting is excellent offensive coverage in doubles. It hits:
- Steel-types super effectively (common meta Pokémon)
- Rock-types super effectively
- Normal-types super effectively (Ursaluna, Chansey variants)
- Dark-types super effectively (including Kingambit)
The combination of Fighting coverage and built-in recovery makes Drain Punch a move that’s easy to justify on any physical attacker that can learn it.
The 75 base power ceiling
Drain Punch’s 75 base power is lower than alternatives like Close Combat (120) or Superpower (120). The trade-off is the recovery and the lack of stat drops. For a Pokémon built to stay on the field for many turns, the healing is worth the lower power.