Épine de Fer (Iron Barbs)

Iron Barbs damages any Pokemon that makes contact with the ability holder, dealing 1/8 of the attacker's maximum HP as recoil. This damage is dealt after the attack lands, punishing physical attackers for every contact move they use. The chip damage adds up quickly, especially against multi-hit moves where each individual hit triggers Iron Barbs separately.

Functionally, Iron Barbs is identical to Rough Skin — both deal the same amount of damage (1/8 max HP) on contact, and both can stack with the Rocky Helmet item for a devastating 29% total recoil per contact move. This combination makes Iron Barbs Pokemon effective physical walls that passively wear down attackers. Non-contact moves bypass Iron Barbs entirely, so special attackers and Pokemon using moves like Earthquake or Psychic are unaffected. Introduced in Generation V, Iron Barbs is found on only 3 Pokemon: Ferroseed, Ferrothorn, and Togedemaru — all of which are covered in metallic spines or barbs that justify the contact damage thematically.