[Overview]
<p>With the popularity of threats such as Excadrill, Mamoswine, and Dragonite, Bronzong is able to fill a unique niche as a go-to defensive Pokemon for offensive teams that cannot afford a dedicated defensive core. To make matters better, Bronzong has access to the Levitate ability, which makes it weak only to Fire-type attacks. With an excellent defensive typing and good bulk, Bronzong can also easily set up Stealth Rock against many of the common threats in the DW OU metagame.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is not all good news for this bell. Heatran, a common Pokemon in DW OU, can take down Bronzong with little effort by always cleanly OHKOing it with Fire Blast. To make things worse, Bronzong does not have access to a reliable recovery move outside of Rest. Do not let these faults deter you from using Bronzong, though; if this bell is played to its strengths, it will prove to be an excellent member of your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Gyro Ball
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Toxic / Light Screen
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 2 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Bronzong's best—and most commonly seen—set. Thanks to Bronzong's excellent defensive typing and great ability in Levitate, it can wall the majority of the physical attackers in the tier. Stealth Rock is a staple move because Bronzong's bulk lets it set it up easily. Gyro Ball is Bronzong's STAB move of choice; it hits most foes hard due to Bronzong's terrible Speed stat. Earthquake is useful to hit Excadrill, while Hidden Power Ice eliminates Dragon-types, Breloom, and Gliscor. If taking down the aforementioned threats is not a priority to your team, feel free to use Toxic to cripple switch-ins. Lastly, Light Screen can discourage powerful special attackers, such as Keldeo, from switching in and setting up on Bronzong.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A fully defensive EV spread with maximum HP lets Bronzong make use of its excellent set of resistances and immunities. Leftovers is the item of choice as it increases Bronzong's overall longevity. Shed Shell is a fine choice if you are worried about Bronzong being trapped by Chandelure, but this is not recommended because Bronzong lacks a reliable recovery move outside of Rest, and hence needs all the recovery it can get.</p>
<p>Anything that can switch into Fire-type attacks, Bronzong's only weakness, makes a good partner for it. Politoed can switch into nearly all Fire-type moves because of its resistance to them and good special bulk. Additionally, it can summon rain, which mitigates Bronzong's weakness to Fire moves. As Bronzong makes a great check to Excadrill, Garchomp, and Dragonite, teammates that appreciate the removal of these Pokemon make for good partners. Some notable examples include Volcarona and Manaphy.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Bronzong has a ton of other viable options it can utilize. Its excellent mixed defensive stats and typing allow it to be an efficient Trick Room user: it can switch into most physical attacks and set up Trick Room, giving slower attackers an easier time to sweep. Similarly, Bronzong can make use of Light Screen and Reflect; however, it is largely outclassed by Deoxys-S, Espeon, and even Azelf at this job. Bronzong can run a Trick set with Choice Band or Choice Scarf as its item, but there are many better options. A RestTalk set can be used if the lack of recovery is an issue, but the new sleep mechanics make this strategy a lot less useful and reliable.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Anything with a Fire-type STAB move will roast Bronzong; Heatran is one notable example. As the standard Bronzong is physically rather than specially defensive, powerful special attackers, such as Keldeo and Choice Specs Latios, can take it down over time. Rain teams can be problematic for Bronzong as rain-boosted Water-type STAB moves from the likes of Keldeo or even Politoed will deal serious damage to it. Finally, Bronzong is not impenetrable on the physical side as well: Breloom can put it to sleep with Spore, set up Swords Dance, and proceed to 2HKO with Mach Punch.</p>
<p>With the popularity of threats such as Excadrill, Mamoswine, and Dragonite, Bronzong is able to fill a unique niche as a go-to defensive Pokemon for offensive teams that cannot afford a dedicated defensive core. To make matters better, Bronzong has access to the Levitate ability, which makes it weak only to Fire-type attacks. With an excellent defensive typing and good bulk, Bronzong can also easily set up Stealth Rock against many of the common threats in the DW OU metagame.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is not all good news for this bell. Heatran, a common Pokemon in DW OU, can take down Bronzong with little effort by always cleanly OHKOing it with Fire Blast. To make things worse, Bronzong does not have access to a reliable recovery move outside of Rest. Do not let these faults deter you from using Bronzong, though; if this bell is played to its strengths, it will prove to be an excellent member of your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Gyro Ball
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Toxic / Light Screen
item: Leftovers / Shed Shell
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 2 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Bronzong's best—and most commonly seen—set. Thanks to Bronzong's excellent defensive typing and great ability in Levitate, it can wall the majority of the physical attackers in the tier. Stealth Rock is a staple move because Bronzong's bulk lets it set it up easily. Gyro Ball is Bronzong's STAB move of choice; it hits most foes hard due to Bronzong's terrible Speed stat. Earthquake is useful to hit Excadrill, while Hidden Power Ice eliminates Dragon-types, Breloom, and Gliscor. If taking down the aforementioned threats is not a priority to your team, feel free to use Toxic to cripple switch-ins. Lastly, Light Screen can discourage powerful special attackers, such as Keldeo, from switching in and setting up on Bronzong.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A fully defensive EV spread with maximum HP lets Bronzong make use of its excellent set of resistances and immunities. Leftovers is the item of choice as it increases Bronzong's overall longevity. Shed Shell is a fine choice if you are worried about Bronzong being trapped by Chandelure, but this is not recommended because Bronzong lacks a reliable recovery move outside of Rest, and hence needs all the recovery it can get.</p>
<p>Anything that can switch into Fire-type attacks, Bronzong's only weakness, makes a good partner for it. Politoed can switch into nearly all Fire-type moves because of its resistance to them and good special bulk. Additionally, it can summon rain, which mitigates Bronzong's weakness to Fire moves. As Bronzong makes a great check to Excadrill, Garchomp, and Dragonite, teammates that appreciate the removal of these Pokemon make for good partners. Some notable examples include Volcarona and Manaphy.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Bronzong has a ton of other viable options it can utilize. Its excellent mixed defensive stats and typing allow it to be an efficient Trick Room user: it can switch into most physical attacks and set up Trick Room, giving slower attackers an easier time to sweep. Similarly, Bronzong can make use of Light Screen and Reflect; however, it is largely outclassed by Deoxys-S, Espeon, and even Azelf at this job. Bronzong can run a Trick set with Choice Band or Choice Scarf as its item, but there are many better options. A RestTalk set can be used if the lack of recovery is an issue, but the new sleep mechanics make this strategy a lot less useful and reliable.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Anything with a Fire-type STAB move will roast Bronzong; Heatran is one notable example. As the standard Bronzong is physically rather than specially defensive, powerful special attackers, such as Keldeo and Choice Specs Latios, can take it down over time. Rain teams can be problematic for Bronzong as rain-boosted Water-type STAB moves from the likes of Keldeo or even Politoed will deal serious damage to it. Finally, Bronzong is not impenetrable on the physical side as well: Breloom can put it to sleep with Spore, set up Swords Dance, and proceed to 2HKO with Mach Punch.</p>
