Pyritie
TAMAGO
skeleton:
[OVERVIEW]
Like other generations before, Bronzong finds its home among legendary Pokemon, providing key immunities and resistances that other common support Pokemon don't have. The arrival of Xerneas has helped Bronzong's viability, as it is one of the best support Pokemon that resist Fairy-type moves and is the only viable Trick Room setter to do so, and it can hit a boosted Xerneas back hard with a high-powered Gyro Ball. With weather control being such a dominant factor in VGC16 battles, Bronzong enjoys the immunities that the Primal weathers bring, and its Skill Swap can help manipulate them further, as Bronzong fits well onto teams that make heavy use of the Primals. As a Psychic-type Trick Room setter, Bronzong has a lot to live up to with Cresselia around, but its main strength lies in its rare Steel / Psychic typing combined with a large support movepool and good defensive stats. Unfortunately, Bronzong is easy to wear down, as it has no recovery outside of items, isn't as bulky as Cresselia, and misses out on a few of Cresselia's support moves such as Helping Hand and Icy Wind. Despite its advantages, Bronzong suffers from many of the same problems as Cresselia, such as its passiveness and reliance on its partners to deal damage, as well as struggling against teams that make use of Yveltal's Dark Aura to increase the damage of their Dark-type attacks.
[SET]
name: Trick Room Setter
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Gyro Ball
move 3: Hypnosis / Skill Swap
move 4: Gravity / Safeguard
item: Lum Berry / Mental Herb
ability: Levitate
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Trick Room is a requirement on this set, as setting it is Bronzong's only viable role in VGC16. Gyro Ball lets Bronzong hit Xerneas hard, especially after it has a Geomancy boost, and it also does respectable damage to other fast targets such as Crobat and Mega Salamence. Skill Swap is great for weather control and for giving your Primal Groudon Levitate, removing its single weakness under harsh sunlight. Hypnosis is another option to put foes to sleep and helps give Bronzong some offensive presence if Gyro Ball isn't doing much damage, but it has shaky accuracy unless you use it under Gravity. Gravity lets Bronzong pair well with Primal Groudon, helping it fire off perfectly accurate Precipice Blades that hit opposing Levitate users and Flying-types. It also increases the accuracy of Dark Void. Safeguard is also an option if your team struggles with status ailments (especially sleep), as it pairs well with Lum Berry to nullify Dark Void. Lastly, if you don't have a Primal Groudon on your team or otherwise don't need Gravity support, Protect is never a bad choice to avoid Fake Out and other moves.
Set Details
========
Lum Berry allows Bronzong to set up Trick Room while ignoring the threat of Dark Void, and it also helps it avoid random burns and Swaggers. Mental Herb is also an option to allow Bronzong to function without having to worry about Taunt or Encore, but the most popular users of those moves, Crobat, Thundurus, Whimsicott, and Raichu, are easily dispatched with Gyro Ball or Bronzong's common partners, such as Primal Groudon. A Sassy nature and 0 Speed IVs give it minimum Speed to take maximum advantage of Trick Room and to increase Gyro Ball's Base Power. The HP and Special Defense EVs allow Bronzong to survive two Moonblasts from a +2 Timid Xerneas, an Overheat from Life Orb Mega Rayquaza, or a full-strength Water Spout from Modest Kyogre, with the rest placed in Defense for added overall bulk. Levitate lets Bronzong dodge Ground-type attacks such as the common Precipice Blades, and it can be passed to a partner if Bronzong has Skill Swap.
Usage Tips
========
Bronzong can work well as a lead when supported by a partner with Fake Out or redirection to help get Trick Room up safely, and it can put immediate pressure onto an opponent who leads with Xerneas and Smeargle. If you don't lead with Bronzong, its high number of resistances allow it to easily switch in, and it also lets you decide whether you even want to have Trick Room as your game plan, as it may turn out that your opponent is able to take advantage of your Trick Room if you set it up too early. Gravity is best used with Primal Groudon so it can start firing off Precipice Blades more safely, and it also makes Bronzong's own Hypnosis far more accurate so it can keep up the pressure. If your opponent isn't being aggressive enough, Hypnosis can be used to put foes to sleep and buy free turns for your teammates or as a last-ditch effort outside of Gravity. Either use Skill Swap to make your own Primal Groudon harder to knock out by giving it Levitate, or use it preemptively if you predict that your opponent will be switching in their own Primal Kyogre or Mega Rayquaza. If you are facing a Cresselia that also has Skill Swap, however, it will move after Bronzong under Trick Room and will undo your weather changes. Bronzong can't do much damage to slower targets such as Cresselia and Amoonguss, so it must rely on its teammates to KO them instead. Bronzong can do a surprising amount of damage to fast or frail targets like Xerneas, Mewtwo, and Crobat, so it isn't as passive as some other support Pokemon.
Team Options
========
Bronzong pairs excellently with Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, as they both usually want a teammate with speed control, and Bronzong appreciates their offensive presence. Primal Groudon loves the Gravity support, as it lets it use Precipice Blades with impunity, and it also appreciates being Skill Swapped Levitate. Primal Kyogre likes the additional Xerneas check that Bronzong provides as well as weather control from Skill Swap, and Bronzong enjoys the heavy rain to make it immune to Primal Groudon's Fire STAB moves. Bronzong also works well on the common and popular Xerneas + Groudon teams, as it can help make the mirror matchup easier. A teammate with Fake Out is recommended to help Bronzong set up Trick Room, such as Mega Kangaskhan or Smeargle. Smeargle can also use Follow Me to redirect Ghost-type attacks away from Bronzong, and it appreciates the accuracy boost that Gravity provides. Mega Salamence is also a good teammate, since the pair don't share any weaknesses and resist most attacks that the other is weak to. Mega Salamence is also good at dealing damage to opposing Primals, which Bronzong struggles with, and Bronzong helps check Xerneas for Mega Salamence. Bronzong also has difficulty with Dark-types such as Weavile and Yveltal, so having a teammate that can deal with them is also recommended, such as Mega Mawile or Xerneas.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Explosion lets Bronzong deal some chip damage and bring in a teammate for free after getting Trick Room set up, helping retain momentum. Imprison is another option if you want to mess up opposing Trick Room setters, but Bronzong struggles to find a moveslot to fit it in. For abilities, Heatproof is an option for Primal Groudon-centric teams, as few opponents will try to use Precipice Blades on a Bronzong unless they are also targeting Bronzong's partner, and a more physically defensive EV spread will allow Bronzong to survive anything an opposing Primal Groudon could throw at it. A spread of 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD with a Relaxed nature will allow Bronzong to survive an opposing Jolly Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades. If you don't want to use Heatproof, a spread of 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 SpD will allow Bronzong to survive a -1 Primal Groudon's Fire Punch under harsh sunlight. Bronzong can also use a Brave nature and an EV spread with maximum Attack to deal much more damage to Xerneas and increase the chance of OHKOing it before it can use Geomancy.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-type Pokemon**: Most Dark-type Pokemon can immediately eliminate Bronzong before it has a chance to move. Weavile is a popular lead that will annihilate Bronzong with Knock Off, and Yveltal (and teams that take advantage of its Dark Aura) will give Bronzong a hard time.
**Fire-type Pokemon**: Bronzong can't do very much to Fire-type Pokemon besides put them to sleep with Hypnosis. Primal Groudon can either use Fire Punch on Bronzong to eliminate it or take advantage of Gravity to use Precipice Blades on it and its teammates. Talonflame can use Flare Blitz on Bronzong, and Ho-Oh laughs at it with Sacred Fire.
**Primal Kyogre**: Bronzong can't do much back to Primal Kyogre besides put it to sleep, and most of Primal Kyogre's attacks will 2HKO Bronzong unless you have harsh sunlight active.
**Amoonguss**: Another common support Pokemon, Amoonguss can redirect Gyro Ball away from partners (especially Xerneas), doesn't take much damage from the move due to its low Speed, and can put Bronzong to sleep with Spore.
**Dialga**: Not only is Dialga a very bulky and slow Pokemon, but it also often carries a Fire-type move such as Flamethrower and can either take advantage of any Trick Room that Bronzong tries to set up or reverse its effects with its own Trick Room.
**Intimidate**: Bronzong already doesn't have a stellar damage output, and Intimidate neuters it further, making it harder for Bronzong to deal with the threats that it's meant to. One example of this is Mega Salamence, as it is a popular teammate for Xerneas because Geomancy will boost Xerneas's Special Defense and Salamence's Intimidate will effectively boost Xerneas's Defense. Landorus-T can take advantage of Gravity and use Earthquake on Bronzong. Mawile can also cripple Bronzong with Intimidate, but it can't do much damage to it unless you give Mawile the opportunity to use Sucker Punch.
[OVERVIEW]
name: Trick Room Setter
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Gyro Ball
move 3: Hypnosis / Skill Swap
move 4: Gravity / Safeguard
item: Lum Berry / Mental Herb
ability: Levitate
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
========
========
========
Other Options
=============
- One of the best trick room setters
- Resists xerneas' STAB moves and can hit it back hard
- Main reason to use bronzong over cresselia is the steel typing
- Is immune to both of primal groudon's STABs in heavy rain
- Has many useful support moves, such as skill swap, safeguard, gravity, hypnosis, etc
- Fits very well onto dual primal teams and also pairs well with primal kyogre
- Not nearly as bulky as cresselia, and misses out on a few of cresselia's support moves such as helping hand and icy wind
- Is easy to wear down, and has no recovery outside of items
- Struggles against yveltal teams that have dark-type attacks from multiple sources to take advantage of yveltal's dark aura
name: Trick Room Setter
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Gyro Ball
move 3: Hypnosis / Skill Swap
move 4: Gravity / Safeguard
item: Lum Berry / Mental Herb
ability: Levitate
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Trick room is the whole reason to use bronzong
- Gyro ball to hit xerneas is part of the whole reason to use bronzong, and does extra damage after it has a geomancy boost. It also does respectable damage to fast targets as well, such as crobat and mega salamence
- Gravity pairs well with primal groudon, helping it fire off 100% accurate precipice blades that hit levitators and flying types. It also makes dark voids 100% accurate.
- Skill swap is used for weather control and giving your primal groudon levitate, getting rid of its one weakness under sun
- Hypnosis is another option to put opponents' pokemon to sleep, but is best when you're using it on a set with gravity due to its 60% accuracy
- Safeguard is best paired with the lum berry, to nullify dark void
- If you don't have a primal groudon on your team or otherwise don't need gravity support, protect is always a good choice to avoid fake outs and other moves
========
- Lum berry is the best option to dodge dark void, swagger, etc.
- Mental herb is also an option to help it get trick room up without having to worry about being taunted or encored, but taunt's two most popular users (crobat and thundurus) are dealt with by gyro balls and partner groudons
- The nature and IVs give it minimum speed for trick room and to increase gyro ball's base power
- The HP and SpD EVs are to survive two +2 xerneas moonblasts, an overheat from LO mray, and a full strength water spout from modest kyogre, with the rest dumped in Def
- Levitate is the best ability in the vast majority of cases, since it lets you dodge ground attacks and pass levitate to your partner if you have skill swap
========
- Bronzong is a good lead with a fake out or redirection partner to help get trick room set up safely
- It is also effective to have in the back, as its high number of resistances help it switch in, and lets you decide whether you even want to have trick room as your win con
- Use gravity (if you have it) along with primal groudon to start firing off precipice blades
- Bronzong can't do much damage to slower targets (cresselia, amoonguss, ferrothorn, etc) so you must use your teammates to KO them instead. Bronzong can do a surprising amount of damage to fast or frail targets such as xerneas, mewtwo, etc, so it isn't as passive as other support mons such as cresselia
- Use skill swap to either make your own primal groudon harder to kill by giving it levitate, or use it preemptively if you predict your opponent will be switching in their own primal/mray. If you are against a cresslia that also has skill swap, however, it will move after you under trick room and undo your weather changes
- If your opponent isn't being aggressive enough, hypnosis can start putting things to sleep and buy free turns for your teammates. It can also be used as a last-ditch effort outside of gravity
========
- bronzong pairs excellently with the primals, as they usually want a speed control teammate and bronzong benefits from both and also provides an additional xerneas check
- pairs well with primal groudon because of gravity + pblades spam
- pairs well with primal kyogre because of weather control, helping with xerneas, and heavy rain makes bronzong immune to primal groudon's STABs
- bronzong is a good member on common and popular groudon-xerneas teams to help against similar teams
- a teammate with fake out is recommended to help bronzong set up, such as mega kangaskhan or smeargle. Smeargle can also use follow me to redirect ghost-type attacks away from bronzong
- mega salamence is also a good teammate since the pair don't share any weaknesses and resist most attacks the other is weak to. Mence is also good at dealing damage to opposing primals, something bronzong struggles with, and bronzong helps deal with xerneas
- bronzong struggles with dark types such as weavile and yveltal, so having a teammate that can deal with them is also recommended, such as mega mawile or xerneas
Other Options
=============
- Explosion lets bronzong deal a bit of chip damage and bring in a pokemon for free after getting up trick room, helping retain momentum
- Heatproof is an option on groudon-centric teams, as it lets it counter groudons more easily as few opponents will try to use precipice blades on it unless they are also targeting bronzong's partner
- A spread of 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD with a Relaxed nature will allow bronzong to survive an opposing jolly groudon's precipice blades
- Imprison is also an option if you want to screw over other trick room setters, but bronzong struggles for a moveslot to fit it in
- 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 SpD is another EV spread that can survive an intimidated primal groudon's fire punch in the sun
- You can also use a Brave nature and an EV spread with maximum attack to deal much more damage to xerneas and increase the chance of OHKOing it before it can get a geomancy off
[OVERVIEW]
Like other generations before, Bronzong finds its home among legendary Pokemon, providing key immunities and resistances that other common support Pokemon don't have. The arrival of Xerneas has helped Bronzong's viability, as it is one of the best support Pokemon that resist Fairy-type moves and is the only viable Trick Room setter to do so, and it can hit a boosted Xerneas back hard with a high-powered Gyro Ball. With weather control being such a dominant factor in VGC16 battles, Bronzong enjoys the immunities that the Primal weathers bring, and its Skill Swap can help manipulate them further, as Bronzong fits well onto teams that make heavy use of the Primals. As a Psychic-type Trick Room setter, Bronzong has a lot to live up to with Cresselia around, but its main strength lies in its rare Steel / Psychic typing combined with a large support movepool and good defensive stats. Unfortunately, Bronzong is easy to wear down, as it has no recovery outside of items, isn't as bulky as Cresselia, and misses out on a few of Cresselia's support moves such as Helping Hand and Icy Wind. Despite its advantages, Bronzong suffers from many of the same problems as Cresselia, such as its passiveness and reliance on its partners to deal damage, as well as struggling against teams that make use of Yveltal's Dark Aura to increase the damage of their Dark-type attacks.
[SET]
name: Trick Room Setter
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Gyro Ball
move 3: Hypnosis / Skill Swap
move 4: Gravity / Safeguard
item: Lum Berry / Mental Herb
ability: Levitate
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 196 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Trick Room is a requirement on this set, as setting it is Bronzong's only viable role in VGC16. Gyro Ball lets Bronzong hit Xerneas hard, especially after it has a Geomancy boost, and it also does respectable damage to other fast targets such as Crobat and Mega Salamence. Skill Swap is great for weather control and for giving your Primal Groudon Levitate, removing its single weakness under harsh sunlight. Hypnosis is another option to put foes to sleep and helps give Bronzong some offensive presence if Gyro Ball isn't doing much damage, but it has shaky accuracy unless you use it under Gravity. Gravity lets Bronzong pair well with Primal Groudon, helping it fire off perfectly accurate Precipice Blades that hit opposing Levitate users and Flying-types. It also increases the accuracy of Dark Void. Safeguard is also an option if your team struggles with status ailments (especially sleep), as it pairs well with Lum Berry to nullify Dark Void. Lastly, if you don't have a Primal Groudon on your team or otherwise don't need Gravity support, Protect is never a bad choice to avoid Fake Out and other moves.
Set Details
========
Lum Berry allows Bronzong to set up Trick Room while ignoring the threat of Dark Void, and it also helps it avoid random burns and Swaggers. Mental Herb is also an option to allow Bronzong to function without having to worry about Taunt or Encore, but the most popular users of those moves, Crobat, Thundurus, Whimsicott, and Raichu, are easily dispatched with Gyro Ball or Bronzong's common partners, such as Primal Groudon. A Sassy nature and 0 Speed IVs give it minimum Speed to take maximum advantage of Trick Room and to increase Gyro Ball's Base Power. The HP and Special Defense EVs allow Bronzong to survive two Moonblasts from a +2 Timid Xerneas, an Overheat from Life Orb Mega Rayquaza, or a full-strength Water Spout from Modest Kyogre, with the rest placed in Defense for added overall bulk. Levitate lets Bronzong dodge Ground-type attacks such as the common Precipice Blades, and it can be passed to a partner if Bronzong has Skill Swap.
Usage Tips
========
Bronzong can work well as a lead when supported by a partner with Fake Out or redirection to help get Trick Room up safely, and it can put immediate pressure onto an opponent who leads with Xerneas and Smeargle. If you don't lead with Bronzong, its high number of resistances allow it to easily switch in, and it also lets you decide whether you even want to have Trick Room as your game plan, as it may turn out that your opponent is able to take advantage of your Trick Room if you set it up too early. Gravity is best used with Primal Groudon so it can start firing off Precipice Blades more safely, and it also makes Bronzong's own Hypnosis far more accurate so it can keep up the pressure. If your opponent isn't being aggressive enough, Hypnosis can be used to put foes to sleep and buy free turns for your teammates or as a last-ditch effort outside of Gravity. Either use Skill Swap to make your own Primal Groudon harder to knock out by giving it Levitate, or use it preemptively if you predict that your opponent will be switching in their own Primal Kyogre or Mega Rayquaza. If you are facing a Cresselia that also has Skill Swap, however, it will move after Bronzong under Trick Room and will undo your weather changes. Bronzong can't do much damage to slower targets such as Cresselia and Amoonguss, so it must rely on its teammates to KO them instead. Bronzong can do a surprising amount of damage to fast or frail targets like Xerneas, Mewtwo, and Crobat, so it isn't as passive as some other support Pokemon.
Team Options
========
Bronzong pairs excellently with Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, as they both usually want a teammate with speed control, and Bronzong appreciates their offensive presence. Primal Groudon loves the Gravity support, as it lets it use Precipice Blades with impunity, and it also appreciates being Skill Swapped Levitate. Primal Kyogre likes the additional Xerneas check that Bronzong provides as well as weather control from Skill Swap, and Bronzong enjoys the heavy rain to make it immune to Primal Groudon's Fire STAB moves. Bronzong also works well on the common and popular Xerneas + Groudon teams, as it can help make the mirror matchup easier. A teammate with Fake Out is recommended to help Bronzong set up Trick Room, such as Mega Kangaskhan or Smeargle. Smeargle can also use Follow Me to redirect Ghost-type attacks away from Bronzong, and it appreciates the accuracy boost that Gravity provides. Mega Salamence is also a good teammate, since the pair don't share any weaknesses and resist most attacks that the other is weak to. Mega Salamence is also good at dealing damage to opposing Primals, which Bronzong struggles with, and Bronzong helps check Xerneas for Mega Salamence. Bronzong also has difficulty with Dark-types such as Weavile and Yveltal, so having a teammate that can deal with them is also recommended, such as Mega Mawile or Xerneas.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Explosion lets Bronzong deal some chip damage and bring in a teammate for free after getting Trick Room set up, helping retain momentum. Imprison is another option if you want to mess up opposing Trick Room setters, but Bronzong struggles to find a moveslot to fit it in. For abilities, Heatproof is an option for Primal Groudon-centric teams, as few opponents will try to use Precipice Blades on a Bronzong unless they are also targeting Bronzong's partner, and a more physically defensive EV spread will allow Bronzong to survive anything an opposing Primal Groudon could throw at it. A spread of 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD with a Relaxed nature will allow Bronzong to survive an opposing Jolly Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades. If you don't want to use Heatproof, a spread of 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 SpD will allow Bronzong to survive a -1 Primal Groudon's Fire Punch under harsh sunlight. Bronzong can also use a Brave nature and an EV spread with maximum Attack to deal much more damage to Xerneas and increase the chance of OHKOing it before it can use Geomancy.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-type Pokemon**: Most Dark-type Pokemon can immediately eliminate Bronzong before it has a chance to move. Weavile is a popular lead that will annihilate Bronzong with Knock Off, and Yveltal (and teams that take advantage of its Dark Aura) will give Bronzong a hard time.
**Fire-type Pokemon**: Bronzong can't do very much to Fire-type Pokemon besides put them to sleep with Hypnosis. Primal Groudon can either use Fire Punch on Bronzong to eliminate it or take advantage of Gravity to use Precipice Blades on it and its teammates. Talonflame can use Flare Blitz on Bronzong, and Ho-Oh laughs at it with Sacred Fire.
**Primal Kyogre**: Bronzong can't do much back to Primal Kyogre besides put it to sleep, and most of Primal Kyogre's attacks will 2HKO Bronzong unless you have harsh sunlight active.
**Amoonguss**: Another common support Pokemon, Amoonguss can redirect Gyro Ball away from partners (especially Xerneas), doesn't take much damage from the move due to its low Speed, and can put Bronzong to sleep with Spore.
**Dialga**: Not only is Dialga a very bulky and slow Pokemon, but it also often carries a Fire-type move such as Flamethrower and can either take advantage of any Trick Room that Bronzong tries to set up or reverse its effects with its own Trick Room.
**Intimidate**: Bronzong already doesn't have a stellar damage output, and Intimidate neuters it further, making it harder for Bronzong to deal with the threats that it's meant to. One example of this is Mega Salamence, as it is a popular teammate for Xerneas because Geomancy will boost Xerneas's Special Defense and Salamence's Intimidate will effectively boost Xerneas's Defense. Landorus-T can take advantage of Gravity and use Earthquake on Bronzong. Mawile can also cripple Bronzong with Intimidate, but it can't do much damage to it unless you give Mawile the opportunity to use Sucker Punch.
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