[Overview]
<p>In the UU tier, Steel-types were extremely lacking. Suddenly, an iron bell began to ring, heralding Bronzong's descent into UU, where it is a force to be reckoned with. Great base 116 Defense and Special Defense stats, combined with a plethora of resistances, only one weakness, and an ideal support movepool make Bronzong the perfect candidate for a support role. However, its lack of reliable recovery severely hinders its longevity, and Bronzong might become overwhelmed by switching into repeated attacks. Nevertheless, Bronzong is still an amazing wall and can be extremely beneficial to your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Gyro Ball
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Levitate
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Bronzong's natural defensive typing and bulk makes it one of the best support Pokemon in UU. This set is bulky enough to counter the most common physical attackers, including Flygon, Krookodile, Rhyperior, and Stoutland. It is also almost guaranteed to set up Stealth Rock, as only hard-hitting Fire-type attacks will OHKO the tank.</p>
<p>In tandem with Bronzong's base 33 Speed, acceptable base 89 Attack, and STAB, Gyro Ball packs quite a punch, 2HKOing Flygon and Krookodile. Toxic is great for getting residual damage on common switch-ins such as Blastoise, Mew, and Zapdos. Bronzong's own immunity to Toxic allows it to come out on top of many stall wars, as it will not be worn down easily by opposing walls. Earthquake is a good move to have for Fire-type switch-ins, and prevents Bronzong from being bait for Magneton. Gyro Ball and Earthquake together have great coverage, effectively covering most offensive threats.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Maximum HP and Defense give Bronzong as much physical bulk as possible; a specially defensive set with 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def with a Sassy nature is also an option if you want Bronzong to better tank hits from the likes of Nidoking, Roserade, Raikou, and other special attackers. 0 Speed IVs are used to maximize Gyro Ball's power, giving Bronzong the chance to 2HKO Flygon without having to use Hidden Power Ice. Heatproof is also an option, but Levitate is recommended as immunity to Spikes and Ground-type moves is much more useful than neutrality to Fire-type moves.</p>
<p>Good teammates for Bronzong include Pokemon that can resist Fire-type attacks, such as Chandelure, who will gain a Flash Fire boost should it switch into a Fire-type attack. Wish support is also helpful; Togekiss can also attract Rock- and Ice-type attacks for Bronzong to switch into.</p>
[SET]
name: Dual Screens
move 1: Reflect
move 2: Light Screen
move 3: Gyro Ball
move 4: Earthquake / Hypnosis
item: Light Clay
ability: Levitate
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set capitalizes on Bronzong's amazing bulk, which gives it the ability to set up both Reflect and Light Screen. Gyro Ball is Bronzong's strongest attacking option. Steel-, Electric-, and Fire-type Pokemon can switch in freely on any of the first three moves, and will attempt to weaken Bronzong or stall out the dual screens. Earthquake gives Bronzong the option to retaliate with super effective damage, stopping Pokemon such as Victini, Raikou, Darmanitan, and Arcanine from getting a free switch. Hypnosis is an option over Earthquake to provide Bronzong with an extra turn to set up, though the 60% accuracy is extremely unreliable.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Maximum HP and Defense and a Relaxed nature gives Bronzong good bulk and the ability to endure all kinds of physical attacks while still being able to take neutral and resisted hits on the special side due to its respectable Special Defense. Light Clay is the mandatory item, as the extra three turns this grants to Reflect and Light Screen can be the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful setup or sweep. As usual, lowering the Speed IVs to 0 ensures that Gyro Ball hits as hard as possible.</p>
<p>While Bronzong does a good job of setting up screens, the lack of reliable recovery prevents it from performing the task more than once or twice. To solve this, Wish support from a teammate such as Togekiss is a good option. Other good teammates include those who benefit from dual screens. Setup sweepers such as Kingdra, Cobalion, Raikou, and Mew are some good examples.</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psyshock
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: Hidden Power Ground / Protect
item: Leftovers
ability: Levitate
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Despite not being its primary set, Bronzong can effectively use Calm Mind to dispose of many common threats. Due to its amazing bulk and defensive typing, Bronzong can set up a few Calm Minds, further boosting its Special Defense and satisfactory Special Attack. Psyshock is the best STAB move for this set; it is able to OHKO Roserade after just one Calm Mind. It will also provide an answer to opposing Calm Mind users, such as Raikou and Mismagius, who might attempt to set up against Bronzong. Grass Knot demolishes many common Pokemon such as Rhyperior, Swampert, Kabutops, Claydol, and Omastar, and does good damage to bulky Water-types. Hidden Power Ground is recommended to hit Fire- and Electric-types, as well as Empoleon, but Protect is an option to scout the opponent's move while regaining some HP due to Leftovers.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Max HP and Defense are used so Bronzong can tank physical hits from Pokemon such as Heracross and Kingdra. Other Hidden Power types can be used to deal with specific threats; Hidden Power Rock destroys Yanmega and also does a nice amount of damage to Fire- and Flying-types. Psychic is also an option instead of Psyshock if you would like Bronzong to do more damage to physical tanks, Cobalion and Gligar in particular. Good teammates include Pokemon with the Flash Fire ability, as they can come in to Fire-type attacks aimed at Bronzong and acquire a boost. Kingdra is another good partner, as it 4x resists Fire-type attacks and can set up on the opposition.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Bronzong has a movepool rich in both supportive and offensive move options. Bronzong can set up Rain Dance usually more than once due to its incredible bulk, thus paving the way for Swift Swim users to sweep. Rain Dance is also beneficial to Bronzong, as it temporarily weakens Fire-type moves, Levitate Bronzong's only weakness. Bronzong can make use of a Choice Band to hit certain Pokemon harder, especially faster, more fragile Pokemon such as Flygon. It can also Trick quite a lot of nasty items onto your opponent's Pokemon; for example, Tricking a Lagging Tail or Toxic Orb onto a Darmanitan will severely limit its effectiveness. The aforementioned Choice Band can also be a nasty surprise for some enemies.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Bronzong's main job is to set up, so Pokemon that can prevent this are generally its best counters. Fire-type Pokemon, such as Victini, Chandelure, Arcanine, and Rotom-H, are the biggest threats, as they can all OHKO Bronzong with a STAB attack. Xatu can reflect entry hazards or status, but it cannot do much to Bronzong apart from wearing it down with a combination of Night Shade and Roost. Mew can either prevent Bronzong from setting up by using Taunt or cripple Bronzong with Will-O-Wisp. Nasty Plot Mew can also set up on Bronzong or Baton Pass its boosts to something like Chandelure. Although quite rare, Magnet Rise Magneton can easily shut down Bronzong provided that it does not switch into Earthquake. Without Toxic, Bronzong has a hard time breaking through bulky Water-types, who can tank most of its hits and eventually burn it with Scald.</p>
