Bronzong sets itself apart from its Steel / Psychic type brethren Jirachi and Metagross with a great ability in Levitate, allowing it to check Ground-types as well as making it immune to Spikes. It also finds its key attributes in having a Stealth Rock resistance and sand immunity, making it quite durable and hard to take down. Its remarkable all-around mixed bulk coupled with a ton of key resistances allow
If not given the opportunity to use Trick Room, Bronzong's incredible slowness remains exploitable by popular threats such as Breloom, Machamp, and Heatran. It also does not resist Tyranitar's Dark-type STAB attacks, is weak to Jirachi's Fire Punch, and takes huge neutral damage from Zapdos's Thunderbolt or Starmie's Hydro Pump, which are incredibly popular. In addition, its lack of reliable recovery moves makes it prone to being worn down, and it will not like switching in repeatedly to take even resisted hits. Moreover, its lack of offensive presence outside of Gyro Ball means that it is setup bait for Skarmory. Generally, Bronzong has trouble beating physical walls and bulky Water-types without the use of Explosion, which can be easily wasted by the ubiquitous Rotom-A, which resists most of the rest of its weaponry as well.
[SET]
name: Offensive Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Gyro Ball
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Explosion
item: Macho Brace
ability: Levitate
nature: Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
This set is meant to capitalize on Bronzong's reasonable base Attack stat and the huge power of Gyro Ball to turn Bronzong's abysmal Speed into an advantage with Trick Room. It is a great late-game cleaner and a massive threat to fragile teams.
Its terrible base 33 Speed with 0 IVs and a Brave nature makes it move first against everything in the tier when Trick Room is active. Additionally, its typing prevents it from being worn down by the common sand and provides a welcome resistance to Extreme Speed and Bullet Punch. Consequently, you generally have to stall out its 4-turn assault in order to get rid of it, unless you have a true counter. Also, Gyro Ball reaching up to 150-Base Power makes any fast and frail Pokemon such as Latias or Gengar very vulnerable to it. While the prominent Choice Scarf Rotom-A is not 2HKOed by Gyro Ball, Bronzong is great at forcing it in and wearing it down with Gyro Ball or even forcing it to use Trick, which is very undesirable, since Macho Brace halves its Speed. Trick Room is also great at turning the tides versus powerful setup sweepers, mainly all Dragon Dance users. Bronzong notably can sponge +1 Dragonite's Outrage and set up Trick Room to shift the momentum to your advantage, force Taunt Gyarados into mind games between Explosion and Trick Room, and maim boosted Tyranitar with Gyro Ball. Earthquake provides adequate coverage and lands clean OHKOs against Steel-types such as Magnezone and Heatran, deals heavy damage to foes like Jirachi, Metagross, Lucario, and Empoleon, and can also assist in wearing down bulky Water-types. Explosion works well as a final blow, which allows Bronzong to go for a quick KO when Trick Room is ending or pass the baton to another teammate that could make great use of the twisted dimensions.
Set Details
========
252 HP EVs maximize Bronzong's poor base HP; with its large number of resistances and only one weakness, it becomes a bulky sweeper. 252 Attack EVs power up its attacks and make sweeping possible. The final 4 EVs are placed in Special Defense to help Bronzong sponge Latias's Draco Meteor or Gengar's Shadow Ball. Minimum Speed IVs and a Speed-hindering nature maximize Gyro Ball's power and allow Bronzong to move before all other Pokemon during Trick Room. Thanks to Macho Brace, Bronzong's 150-Base Power Gyro Ball hits any Pokemon with at least base 75 Speed hard, which helps it break through slower threats. Additionally, Pokemon like Choice Scarf Rotom-A and Latias may feel compelled to use Trick to reduce Bronzong's options, but receiving a Macho Brace can be incredibly detrimental to each, as for example, it enables Gyarados to outspeed both. Levitate grants Bronzong the opportunity to check Ground-types and gives it a Spikes immunity. Leftovers can be an alternative if you want to rely more on Bronzong setting up Trick Room for another Pokemon than sweeping, since it gives more survivability. However, it considerably hampers Gyro Ball's damage against slow threats and can cause it to miss crucial KOs.
Usage Tips
========
The best way to use Bronzong is to bring it in on a resisted move such as Latias's Draco Meteor or Choice-locked Flygon's Earthquake to start setting up a Trick Room freely. Foes like Starmie, Zapdos, and Rotom can stop Bronzong's sweep, which is why dedicated Trick Room sweepers that can handle them and keep up the pressure will make sure you get the most mileage out of Bronzong's utility. While some of your other Pokemon should be able to take decent advantage of Trick Room, they should not all be dedicated Trick Room sweepers because Bronzong cannot repeatedly set up the field effect. Also, if your opponent's team is revealed to be weak to Bronzong, they may have to resort to stalling out Trick Room, so try to play around that and hit a Magnezone aiming to tank Gyro Ball with a powerful Earthquake, for example.
Bronzong has great power, but it will much more often 2HKO a foe than OHKO one, especially if it resists Gyro Ball; therefore, it is usually a great idea to weaken its counter before sending it on the field, since it is not exactly bulky to begin with and can end up being worn down quickly or having its sweep stopped by a solid counter. Alternatively, Bronzong can use Explosion to weaken a Skarmory or a Hippowdon, for example, to bring in another offensive threat that will take advantage of the resulting chip damage. Bronzong often needs Explosion to break through specific threats, so make sure you don't need it anymore before giving up its last breath. Also, be careful not to waste Gyro Ball's PP too quickly, since Pokemon with recovery can stall it out, especially those that have Pressure.
Team Options
========
Choice Band Tyranitar is excellent support for Bronzong, as together, they form one of the most recognizable offensive cores for taking down offense while also pressuring stall significantly. Under Trick Room, Tyranitar is able to score many KOs against frail teams that cannot stall out four turns of STAB Choice Band-boosted Stone Edge or Crunch even with adequate resistances, while Tyranitar can also overwhelm bulkier teams thanks to its unmatched power. Stealth Rock is almost required, as the residual damage helps Bronzong's Gyro Ball secure several KOs. Tyranitar is also good at setting up the entry hazard because it not only resists Bronzong's only weakness but also works well under Trick Room if the situation requires it. Additionally, it can take out Rotom-A, which is a big pain for Bronzong, as it can burn it or waste Trick Room turns. Tyranitar is also helpful against defensive Zapdos, which will quickly deplete Bronzong's PP with Pressure and Roost. Additionally, Sand Stream helps at pressuring bulky Water-types as well as the aforementioned threats. Heatran can take advantage of Will-O-Wisp users such as Rotom-A for a Flash Fire boost and set up Stealth Rock; in return, Bronzong supports Choice Scarf Heatran in particular by shutting down threats that it does not reliably cover such as Dragon Dance Gyarados and Tyranitar. Infernape can find opportunities to switch into Will-O-Wisp as well, but it can be a bit risky. That said, while Infernape does not work well under Trick Room, Bronzong supports it very well otherwise by pressuring Latias and Gengar; in return, Infernape can threaten and eliminate Steel-types or some Water-types that resist Gyro Ball.
Swampert is an interesting option, as it is a Stealth Rock setter that shares great defensive and offense synergy with Bronzong. A specially offensive Swampert can lure physical walls like Skarmory, Rotom-A, and opposing Swampert and nuke them with a Modest STAB-boosted Hydro Pump while also being able to fire off powerful assaults under Trick Room. Choice Band Swampert and other physical variants are also great, as they form an overwhelming physical core with Bronzong. A core of Swampert + Bronzong + Tyranitar is threatening offensively but requires defensive backup to cover the shared weaknesses against Water-types and Breloom. For that reason, Choice Specs Latias with Sleep Talk is useful, since it pivots into Breloom, provides nice weaponry to deal with bulky Water-types, and also resists Fire-type moves. For similar reasons, Choice Band Dragonite is a great addition. Choice Specs Kingdra is another interesting one thanks to its unique palette of resistances, access to Sleep Talk, and ability to force damage on Water-types. Occasionally, it can also score some KOs under Trick Room. Dragon Dance Dragonite, Gyarados, and Kingdra have excellent typing synergy with Bronzong while benefiting from the holes it creates in the opposing team and vice versa.
Skarmory is one of the easiest ways to prevent Bronzong from sweeping, and it can also make it fodder to set up Spikes or even heal itself. As a result, Bronzong really wants its teammates to help circumvent a potential Skarmory weakness. Magnezone is the obvious number one option to patch this immediately, but any way to lure or just overwhelm it in general can make the team function nicely. Magnezone can also trap opposing Bronzong, thanks to Magnet Rise, and bulky Swords Dance Scizor, which is definitely helpful.
[SET]
name: Tank
move 1: Stealth Rock / Protect
move 2: Toxic / Protect
move 3: Gyro Ball / Hidden Power Ice / Payback
move 4: Earthquake
item: Leftovers
ability: Levitate
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Tank Bronzong is a flagship set in the DPP metagame. This set takes advantage of Bronzong's above-average mixed bulk and wonderful defensive typing in order to sponge as many hits as possible, which in turn allows Bronzong to shut down a vast array of threats, providing it some momentum to set up Stealth Rock. This set is incredibly reliable against offensive archetypes because it's tough to beat and hits frail enemies hard. However, it has some trouble pressuring bulkier teams, wwhich often feature Skarmory and other allies that can sponge its attacks. This includes bulky Starmie with Recover + Rapid Spin that can potentially keep Bronzong's entry hazards away, but a fast 3 Attacks + Rapid Spin set is significantly pressured. Gyro Ball is Bronzong's strongest STAB attack overall, doing great neutral damage to anything bar slow enemies like Clefable. Alternatively, Bronzong can opt for coverage with Hidden Power Ice to avoid PP issues and deal with Gliscor, Dragonite, Flygon, and Breloom at the same time, while Payback is a great offensive tool to pressure foes like Starmie, Gengar, Rotom, and Latias. Earthquake enables Bronzong to hit Infernape and Steel-types like Magnezone and Heatran, which otherwise laugh at it. Toxic horribly cripples Water-types such as Suicune, Milotic, Swampert, and Gyarados and other foes that resist its moves like Zapdos and Rotom-A. It can also surprise stallbreaker Gliscor, which doesn't always want to Taunt Bronzong straight away. Protect is a useful alternative to scout Choice item users and pick up additional Leftovers recovery that can also be used with Toxic to rack up additional damage. Another option worth considering is Explosion, which allows Bronzong to check a problematic foe and stops threats like Gyarados and Suicune from setting up on it.
Set Details
========
Mixed bulk is great to let Bronzong handle a wide array of both physically and specially oriented sweepers. 252 HP EVs maximize Bronzong's poor base HP, which is optimal for maximized durability. 128 Special Defense and Defense EVs with a Sassy nature make for a great emphasis on mixed bulk, allowing Bronzong to sponge common special attacks such as Draco Meteor, Fire Blast, Hidden Power Fire, Shadow Ball, and Hydro Pump as well as avoid being worn down too quickly by physical attackers like Jirachi, Tyranitar, Gyarados, and Swampert. Levitate grants Bronzong the opportunity to check Ground-types, such as Mamoswine and Flygon, which its typing wouldn't normally allow it to do. Additionally, Bronzong's Sassy nature and 0 Speed IVs decrease its Speed to make Gyro Ball stronger, though its nature should be Careful if you do not use it. Leftovers provides a form of passive recovery, which is crucial on such a defensive Pokemon.
Usage Tips
========
Bronzong should be used as a pivot throughout the match. Take advantage of the great number of Pokemon Bronzong checks and use any given opportunity to set up Stealth Rock. However, keep in mind that it lacks reliable recovery and can get worn down pretty quickly. Similarly, Bronzong does not appreciate losing its Leftovers, so be wary of Knock Off when facing foes like Gliscor, Clefable, and Empoleon. If you are using Protect, be careful to not use it excessively when there are Pokemon on the opposing team that can use Bronzong as setup bait, such as Breloom and Skarmory. If you spot a Choice-locked Pokemon, use Protect to scout it out. Keep Toxic concealed for a bit to increase its surprise value and potentially land it on a foe like Gliscor or Milotic. Be also careful not to waste Gyro Ball's low PP too quickly, since it can be stalled out over the course of a game, especially by Pressure users like Suicune and Zapdos. Use Gyro Ball on more offensive Starmie and Earthquake on more defensive ones, which do not run maximum Speed investment. If you suspect your opponent is running an archetype that could feature Magnezone, try to hit it with Earthquake as it may switch in.
Team Options
========
This Bronzong set tends to work well on its own and does not requires specific support from its teammates, as its objective is basically to set up Stealth Rock and attack opposing Pokemon with Gyro Ball or cripple them with Toxic. However, Bronzong fits best on balanced teams that can take advantage of its resistances and durability. Water-types such as Suicune and Starmie appreciate Bronzong's ability to switch into almost any variant of Latias as well as Grass-types such as Celebi, while they deal with Bronzong's lone Fire-type weakness. The same goes for Swampert, but you should be careful about not giving Breloom too many opportunities to come in, as it can be relatively annoying to handle for balanced teams. If you're using Water-types alongside Bronzong, Pokemon such as Latias and Zapdos work well alongside the bell, as they are both great counters to Breloom and provide a welcome Fighting resistance. On top of that, Zapdos helps deal with Water-types, which give Bronzong some trouble. Therefore, a core of Bronzong + Zapdos + Starmie provides a great defensive balance with an interesting offensive synergy. More generally, Pokemon that can sponge attacks from Fire-types and force them out are always great teammates to consider. This makes any Dragon-type a great teammate. Dragonite helps deal with Breloom and Fire-type moves, but you should keep in mind that switching into Stealth Rock repeatedly can wear it down quickly.
Tyranitar is always a good teammate because it is a solid check for Starmie and Rotom-A, provides support against Zapdos, and resists Fire-type moves while getting up sandstorm, which chips down some of Bronzong's checks, whereas Bronzong is immune to it. As for example, Starmie, Rotom-A, and Breloom are limited in their use by sand. Another support option to consider is Toxic Spikes, since it allows Bronzong to stall out Water-types and cripple foes like Infernape and Tyranitar. With the use of Protect and sand damage, it will be even more effective. Nidoqueen in particular is great at doing this job alongside Bronzong, as it provides a solid Fighting-type resistance and can switch into Zapdos or Tyranitar to put Toxic Spikes up. Heatran works well by its side, as it can sponge Fire-type attacks and take advantage of Toxic Spikes with moves like Substitute, Magma Storm, and Protect while completing a solid defensive core. You should consider covering the Water-type weakness, however. Rotom-A also makes great use of Toxic Spikes, since it can deny Starmie's Rapid Spin and make Tyranitar suffer when it switches into Thunderbolt alongside poison damage. As Bronzong lacks a reliable instant recovery move, Wish users such as Clefable, Jirachi, and even Latias can help improve its longevity.
Skarmory is one of Bronzong's bigger threats due to its ability to stack Spikes freely against it. By annihilating Skarmory, Magnezone naturally provides great support. Magnezone also helps at dealing with other Steel-types such as Scizor, Jirachi, Bronzong, and even Swords Dance Lucario if running Choice Scarf. The combination of Magnezone and tank Bronzong works on both offensive and defensive teams. Dragon Dance Dragonite and Choice Specs Latias would make great additions for an offensive approach, while Milotic or defensive Latias would complete a synergistic defensive core. Finally, Starmie is another great teammate to consider for Rapid Spin, especially if you run Dragonite or Zapdos. It also covers Fire-type moves and carries Thunderbolt to weaken Water-types for Bronzong. Your own Electric- and Grass-types in general can also serve well to wear down and threaten bulky Water-types.
[SET]
name: Offensive Stealth Rock
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Gyro Ball
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Explosion
item: Occa Berry / Lum Berry
ability: Levitate
nature: Brave
evs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Bronzong can pull off a great offensive pivot set. This set is designed to benefit the team by using every opportunity to switch in to set up Stealth Rock while remaining as threatening as possible in order not to get walled by defensive archetypes. The combination of great coverage, a strong STAB move in Gyro Ball, Explosion, and being almost impossible to one-shot is what makes Bronzong that reliable. Gyro Ball nails foes such as Gengar, Latias, Tyranitar, and Dragonite that struggle to break through Bronzong's uninvested defenses. Earthquake provides adequate coverage, as it is always a favorable option for nailing Heatran, Infernape, Metagross, and Magnezone. Explosion rounds out the set by allowing a teammate to switch in for free after Bronzong's job is done while possibly KOing an opposing Pokemon.
Set Details
========
Maximum HP investment with Bronzong's natural base defensive stats gives it great all-around bulk, which lets it tank both physical and special attacks. Maximum Attack EVs, in addition to powering up Explosion, allow Bronzong to deal heavy damage to common switch-ins such as Starmie and Breloom, as well as OHKOing any non-Shuca Berry variant of Heatran and Magnezone and hitting Jirachi for a huge chunk with Earthquake. The final 4 EVs are placed in Special Defense to help Bronzong sponge Latias's Draco Meteor or Gengar's Shadow Ball. A Brave nature with 0 Speed IVs decreases Bronzong's Speed to make Gyro Ball stronger. Levitate grants Bronzong the opportunity to check Ground-types and gives it a Spikes immunity. Occa Berry stops Bronzong from being forced out by Infernape and Heatran while providing more comfort against Dragonite and Jirachi's Fire-type coverage in order to set up Stealth Rock or use Explosion with more ease. Lum Berry can be a great item for a lead set, as it prevents sleep inducers such as Roserade and Breloom from statusing Bronzong and avoids confusion from Machamp. Assuming that no one will use a Ground-type move against Bronzong, Heatproof instead of Levitate is another option on a lead set that provides a free Occa Berry, allowing Bronzong to effectively run both Occa and Lum or Custap Berry. Alternatively, Leftovers is an option for increased longevity, while Custap Berry capitalizes on Bronzong's low Speed to set up Stealth Rock or go for a surprise KO with Explosion when it falls under 25% HP.
Usage Tips
========
Switch Bronzong into a Pokemon it checks or counters and proceed to set up Stealth Rock. Don't use Bronzong as a tank; it lacks staying power and does not have the required defensive investment to reliably check the threats it should check more than once. Thus, you should limit the number of times Bronzong switches in. If you find that Bronzong is not healthy enough to pivot anymore, using Explosion is a good exit door. Also, be careful about taking a Will-O-Wisp from a Rotom forme or using Explosion on it. Even if Bronzong is not supposed to survive for a long time, be careful not to waste Gyro Ball's PP too quickly. Gyro Ball should be used on more offensive Starmie and Earthquake on more defensive variants, as you do not want to waste your PP on a Pokemon that can Recover stall Gyro Ball. If you suspect your opponent to run an archetype that could feature Magnezone, try to scout potential Magnezone switch-ins with Earthquake.
Team Options
========
This Bronzong set tends to work well on its own and requires little support from its teammates. However, this set works great on teams that make heavy use of early Stealth Rock and benefit from the holes that Bronzong can potentially create. More precisely, Bronzong's ability to set Stealth Rock reliably against a wide variety of threats and force damage with Explosion makes it a nice fit for physically-based offense. Its ability to attract bulky Water-types and eliminate them provides any Tyranitar set more freedom when it enters the field. For example, Dragon Dance Tyranitar can set up more confidently when foes like Suicune or Swampert are gone. Thanks to STAB Pursuit, Tyranitar can eliminate the prevalent Rotom-A and Starmie, which cause Bronzong some trouble. Also, Bronzong's Steel typing makes it immune to Tyranitar's sand, which on the other hand inflicts useful free chip damage on foes like bulky Water-types and Zapdos. Dragon Dance Gyarados and Dragonite are great options alongside it, since they both benefit from having bulky Water-, Ground-, and Steel-types being chipped down and a free entry onto the field after Bronzong's Explosion. They also provide a suitable answer to Fire-type moves, while Bronzong helps by tanking Rock-type moves and Draco-Meteor or Outrage from Choice Scarf Latias and Flygon they are vulnerable to. Additional physical attackers such as Metagross, Machamp, Lucario, Swampert, and Scizor are greatly appreciated by its side as they wear down shared counters. Choice Specs Kingdra can be interesting for any team running Bronzong, as it is capable of surprising physical walls, muscle through bulky Water-types such as Milotic or Suicune and check offensive threats that are the like of Heatran, Infernape or Starmie. Mixed Dragonite and Flygon are also both capable of putting high pressure on defensive cores that feature bulky Water-types, Electric-types such as Zapdos or Rest Talk Rotom and even Ground- or Steel-types that all give Bronzong troubles. In terms of managing Steel-types, Magnezone is an obvious teammate option as it instantly deletes Skarmory and provides suitable help against Jirachi, Scizor and opposing Bronzong. Finally, Bronzong's awful Speed tends to be exploited by Breloom which can incapacitate it with Spore, so having a way to deal with it is definitely great. Choice Specs Latias or Choice Band Dragonite with Sleep Talk resist any of Breloom's STAB attacks, can absorb Spore and OHKO it back with Draco Meteor or Outrage, respectively.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Bronzong has a plethora of other moves if you want its ringing to sound differently. Its defensive capabilities allow it to fit nicely on rain teams as a great pivot with a Damp Rock set. Its movepool is adequate for such a set, since it is capable of setting up Stealth Rock and using Explosion to bring in a teammate freely. However, running all those moves means that you have to be okay with sacrificing Earthquake. Bronzong can pull off an effective dual screens set, since it has a few advantages over other setters, namely its bulk and access to Explosion. Its access to Hypnosis can also be useful for offensive teams to temporarily shut down a threat. However, the low accuracy makes this move somewhat risky to use. Heal Block can surprise defensive threats such as Zapdos and Rotom-A by preventing them from using recovery moves safely against Bronzong. Gravity negates the Ground-type immunities of Rotom-A, Skarmory, and opposing Bronzong, which can allow other teammates to break through them with powerful Earthquakes, as well as Magnezone's Magnet Rise, which can shift the one-on-one matchup in Bronzong's favor in tandem with Earthquake. However, Gravity also removes Bronzong's own Levitate, making it no longer able to check Flygon, Metagross, and such. Bronzong has a great special movepool, featuring moves like Calm Mind, Grass Knot, Psychic, Flash Cannon, and Charge Beam. Although Bronzong can lure and 2HKO some physically defensive Pokemon, its only medicore Special Attack and awful Speed make it more a gimmick than a real threat. Despite the fact that it looks very gimmicky, a maximum Speed lead set with Imprison and a Jolly nature could work, as it outspeeds some slow leads such as Hippowdon, Swampert, and Metagross and can prevent them from using Stealth Rock while setting up its own. Last but not least, Skill Swap is an interesting option that makes Bronzong able to cripple Clefable by negating its ability.
Trick can be utilized alongside Choice Band or Iron Ball. Choice Band is useful to cripple switch-ins that are not a threat anymore when locked into a move while boosting Bronzong's power at the same time. Iron Ball grants Bronzong the ability to cripple common switch-ins such as Rotom-A, Zapdos, and Skarmory by grounding them and halving their Speed, which enables Pokemon like Metagross and Swampert to break through their usual counters. Furthermore, Iron Ball allows Bronzong to run Heatproof as its primary ability since the item already makes it grounded. Heatproof in general is a great alternative to Levitate, as it can be used to fool Heatran or Infernape. However, Levitate grants Bronzong the opportunity to check Ground-types, which its typing wouldn't normally allow it to do. Also, becoming weak to Spikes is a really unwanted aspect that further reveals the deception. Lastly, Shed Shell is an option that can be used to escape Magnezone's Magnet Pull.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Most Water-types can switch into offensive or defensive Bronzong and threaten it with their neutral STAB moves. Gyarados has Intimidate, resists Gyro Ball, and can set up Dragon Dance, as it survives Explosion with the Attack drop. Bulky Starmie, especially, is annoying, as it can tank reasonably any of Bronzong's moves bar Payback, spin away its entry hazards, and repeatedly recover from Bronzong's attacks with Recover. Suicune's wonderful Defense allows it to laugh at Bronzong's Earthquake or Gyro Ball while setting up Calm Mind to prepare a sweep. CroCune can cure Toxic, survive Explosion, and stay healthy, while offensive sets will melt Bronzong with a boosted Hydro Pump. Milotic can wear Bronzong down with Surf and heal itself with Recover to win in the long run, although Toxic or Explosion threatens it. Swampert also hates Toxic but takes nothing from Bronzong's attacks bar Explosion even without Defense EVs and can utilize this momentum to set up Stealth Rock or launch some powerful Waterfalls.
**Steel-types**: Skarmory can stand forever in Bronzong's face, sponge any of its attacks, and take this time to set up Spikes thanks to its resistance to Gyro Ball and immunity to Earthquake and Toxic. Its astronomical Defense also enables it to use Roost and regain HP even if Bronzong uses Earthquake on that turn while taking a pittance from Explosion. Similarly, Bronzong is completely walled by opposing Bronzong. Bulky variants of Scizor can shrug off any of Bronzong's attacks, heal the damage with Roost, and proceed to set up Swords Dance to threaten it even more. Wish + Protect bulky Jirachi can beat Bronzong in a one-on-one matchup, but it slightly risks critical hits and also needs to burn quite a bit of PP to do so. Also, more offensive variants of Jirachi can overwhelm Bronzong with Fire Punch and a potential burn, which Bronzong hates. Offensive Empoleon's Water-type moves do a ton to Bronzong, and it can carry a Shuca Berry to shrug off Earthquake's damage, while defensive variants can cripple it with Knock Off and set up entry hazards. Lucario usually does not switch into Bronzong, but a +2 Life Orb-boosted Close Combat obliterates Bronzong, while an unboosted one will still do massive damage. The latter three must be wary of Earthquake, however.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types, in general, are effective against Bronzong, as they resist Gyro Ball and force great damage on it. Even if Magnezone runs the risk of switching into Earthquake, it can easily eliminate Bronzong with Magnet Rise and its STAB Thunderbolt. RestTalk Rotom-A is also a great counter, as it resists Gyro Ball, is immune to Explosion and Earthquake, and can cure Toxic with Rest. Defensive Zapdos causes Bronzong some PP issues with Pressure and Roost while resisting Gyro Ball and being immune to Earthquake. However, it is susceptible to Explosion and Toxic. Other Electric-types like Raikou and Jolteon inflict great damage on Bronzong but hate dealing with Earthquake.
**Fire-types**: Fire-types annoy Levitate Bronzong; Infernape and Heatran can switch in while Bronzong attempts to set up Stealth Rock and deal tremendous damage with their powerful STAB attacks. While Moltres is rare, with Pressure and resistances to Earthquake and Gyro Ball, it's also a major thorn in Bronzong's side. Bronzong can also be chipped pretty quickly by Pokemon that carry Fire-type coverage moves like Flygon, Jirachi, and Dragonite.
**Ground-types**: Ground-types generally take low damage from Gyro Ball thanks to their solid Defense and low Speed; furthermore, they can exploit Bronzong's passivity to either wall it or use it as setup fodder. Unless Bronzong carries Hidden Power Ice, Gliscor is a major thorn in Bronzong's side, as it is able to stall it out with Roost and prevents it from using Toxic or Stealth Rock with Taunt. Even Explosion does not always KO it. Gliscor can also use Knock Off to negate Bronzong's passive recovery or Ice Fang to fish for a freeze. Swampert hates Toxic but takes almost nothing from Bronzong's attacks even without Defense investment and can wear it down with Waterfall or set up Stealth Rock. Nidoqueen is weak to Earthquake but tanks Bronzong's attacks reasonably well, which means that it can set up dual entry hazards against it or even deny the offensive set Trick Room turns with Protect. The same goes for Hippowdon, which walls Bronzong bar Toxic.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Emeral,72767]]
- Quality checked by: [[Excal,456373], [BKC,52012]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack,232216], [deetah,297659]]
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