[OVERVIEW]
Brute Bonnet is a menacing attacker in ZU thanks to a laundry list of highly useful offensive attributes. Brute Bonnet's STAB combination hits much of the tier for neutral damage, and it can utilize coverage moves to cover the few Pokemon that it can't, such as Hisuian Decidueye, opposing Brute Bonnet, Hisuian Qwilfish, and Virizion. STAB Sucker Punch allows Brute Bonnet to cleave through weakened offensive teams late-game, and Synthesis in conjunction with its solid bulk makes Brute Bonnet difficult to chip down. Brute Bonnet is also capable of boosting its already high Attack stat with Booster Energy, making it a potent wincon, or by utilizing a Choice Band set, which turns it into a devastating wallbreaker. However, Brute Bonnet is burdened with a poor defensive typing, as it is weak to common Fighting-, Bug-, Ice-, and Poison-type attacks. Its poor Speed tier also leaves it very reliant on Sucker Punch to reliably threaten offensive teams, and they often carry Fighting-, Dark-, or Fairy-types that resist it. Brute Bonnet is capable of using Terastallization to circumvent these issues; however, this makes the standard offensive set Tera-dependent in many matchups. The Choice Band set can also be taken advantage of, as Brute Bonnet's STAB combination can be played around with common Pokemon that fit on both offensive and bulkier team styles, such as Hisuian Decidueye, Dipplin, Virizion, and Charizard.
[SET]
Offensive (Brute Bonnet) @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Poison / Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch / Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
- Close Combat
- Synthesis
[SET COMMENTS]
Crunch is generally preferred over Seed Bomb, as Dark is a superior offensive typing and hits more of the metagame for neutral damage. It notably hits Muk, Weezing, Dipplin, and Articuno harder, but keep in mind that Brute Bonnet will still need the latter three to be chipped if it hopes to break through them. Crunch also comes with a handy chance to drop Defense, which can be useful in a late-game situation when faced down with Dipplin or Hisuian Decidueye. However, Seed Bomb can be considered, as it hits Rhydon, Sandaconda, and Lanturn harder. Sucker Punch is mandatory, as Brute Bonnet is quite slow, and access to powerful priority allows it to become threatening to offensive builds. Close Combat provides crucial coverage against foes such as Orthworm, Glastrier, opposing Brute Bonnet, and Porygon2. It also hits Hisuian Decidueye, Hisuian Qwilfish, and Virizion neutrally, which is crucial, as they are three of the very few Pokemon that resist Brute Bonnet's STAB attacks. Synthesis allows Brute Bonnet to stay healthy throughout a match and allows it to potentially outlast defensive Pokemon that try to beat it with consistent chip damage, such as Snorlax, Sandaconda, and Naclstack. If Brute Bonnet Terastallizes, Synthesis notably allows it to consistently beat defensive Hisuian Decidueye. Heavy-Duty Boots allows Brute Bonnet to come in multiple times throughout a game without fear of chip from entry hazards; this makes it quite challenging to take down in conjunction with Synthesis. On the other hand, Booster Energy gives Brute Bonnet a one-time boost to its Attack, which makes it a very threatening late-game wincon. Notably, it allows Sucker Punch to OHKO Jolteon after Stealth Rock damage while significantly improving damage rolls against crucial targets such as Grafaiai, Floatzel, and Lycanroc. Booster Energy can only be used once, however, which restricts Brute Bonnet's flexibility throughout a game. Tera Poison is the preferred Tera-type, as it grants Brute Bonnet a resistance to Fighting-, Bug-, Poison-, and Fairy-type attacks. This allows it to turn the tables on several of its traditional checks, such as Hisuian Decidueye, Qwilfish, and Passimian. Tera Water can also be used to give Brute Bonnet a resistance to Fire- and Ice-type attacks, letting it deal with Sneasel, Glastrier, and Typhlosion. An Adamant nature is run for maximum damage output.
Brute Bonnet's powerful attacks and access to Sucker Punch give it a solid place on many balance and offensive teams. Do note that it is best to use teammates that are not reliant on Terastallizing to perform their roles consistently, as Brute Bonnet often needs to Terastallize if it is looking to sweep late-game. Brute Bonnet benefits from teammates that help to chip down its offensive answers into range of its powerful Sucker Punch. Fast pivots such as Passimian, Jolteon, Floatzel, and Grafaiai can help chip much of the offensive metagame, and Brute Bonnet also appreciates their ability to get it in safely. On the other hand, physically bulky teammates such as Weezing, Palossand, and Sandaconda check Fighting-types like Passimian and Primeape, and the former also reliably handles Hisuian Decidueye. All three also run Rocky Helmet, which is great to further chip physical attackers like Sneasel, Hisuian Sneasel, and Virizion. The latter two also set Stealth Rock to chip down Brute Bonnet's offensive answers even further. Two of Brute Bonnet's best and most common answers are Charizard and Whimsicott, so special walls such as Dudunsparce, Porygon2, and Snorlax help by checking these big threats. Brute Bonnet pairs well with other powerful wallbreakers, such as Magneton, Floatzel, and Glastrier, as they can help to break down each other's defensive answers; the former two can also pivot to get Brute Bonnet in safely.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Growth is Brute Bonnet's best boosting option; it is especially dangerous under sun, where Protosynthesis is activated and Growth grants +2 Attack. This makes Tera Dark set with Growth / Sucker Punch / Crunch / Close Combat with Dread Plate or Life Orb especially dangerous on sun teams, as Brute Bonnet becomes extremely powerful with these boosts and can break down defensive cores for its fellow sun sweepers, such as Leafeon, Scovillain, and Victreebel, to take advantage of. Growth sets can also be run outside of sun teams, but Brute Bonnet's power is much less impressive, and such a set tends to require significant support to be effective when not under sun. Zen Headbutt can be used to hit bulky Poison- and Fighting-types harder, most notably Hisuian Decidueye, Weezing, and Muk, but Close Combat's targets are generally more relevant. Tera Blast can be run on offensive sets utilizing Tera Poison to hit several of Brute Bonnet's traditional checks, including Hisuian Decidueye, Virizion, Whimsicott, and Dipplin. Such sets should use Booster Energy in order to 2HKO Dipplin after Stealth Rock damage. This makes Brute Bonnet reliant on Terastallizing in almost every single game to be effective, however, and forces Brute Bonnet to drop Close Combat, which makes it vulnerable to threats such as Orthworm, Hisuian Avalugg, Hisuian Qwilfish, and Glastrier. Trailblaze can boost Brute Bonnet's Speed, but it is quite weak, and Brute Bonnet is still quite slow even after a boost. As a result, Sucker Punch is generally a more reliable way to take down faster threats.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting-types**: Most of the tier's Fighting-types are quite threatening to Brute Bonnet. Hisuian Decidueye, Virizion, and Hisuian Sneasel all resist Brute Bonnet's STAB moves and threaten it heavily in return with their own Fighting-type STAB moves. Passimian easily outruns and threatens Brute Bonnet with both Close Combat and U-turn. Brute Bonnet can turn the tables on all of them by running Tera Poison, however.
**Physically Defensive Walls**: Dipplin takes all of Brute Bonnet's attacks with ease and can phaze it with Dragon Tail. Weezing can chip Brute Bonnet down with Rocky Helmet and burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Both Qwilfish forms are also good checks, as Brute Bonnet fears their Poison-type STAB moves and struggles to take them down due to Intimidate.
**Fast Revenge Killers**: Dark-resistant foes that are faster than Brute Bonnet generally present problems for it, as it is reliant on Sucker Punch to threaten faster foes. Whimsicott takes Sucker Punch with ease and can threaten Brute Bonnet with Moonblast, U-turn, or Switcheroo. It can also cripple Brute Bonnet with Encore, should it choose to Terastallize. Sneasel outruns Brute Bonnet and threatens to OHKO it with Triple Axel. While not weak to Sucker Punch, foes with certain setup options such as Substitute + Calm Mind Jolteon, Nasty Plot + Encore Mesprit, or Tera Fighting Quiver Dance Oricorio-F can force Brute Bonnet into an uncomfortable guessing game or, in the case of Mesprit, lock it into Sucker Punch and turn it into setup fodder.
**Status**: Any form of status is crippling to Brute Bonnet. Common foes such as Charizard, Porygon2, Dudunsparce, Qwilfish, and Spiritomb can all cripple Brute Bonnet with a debilitating status condition. Tera Poison makes Brute Bonnet immune to attempts by Dudunsparce or Qwilfish to poison it, however.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sputnik.475916/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sinnabyss.626095/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
Brute Bonnet is a menacing attacker in ZU thanks to a laundry list of highly useful offensive attributes. Brute Bonnet's STAB combination hits much of the tier for neutral damage, and it can utilize coverage moves to cover the few Pokemon that it can't, such as Hisuian Decidueye, opposing Brute Bonnet, Hisuian Qwilfish, and Virizion. STAB Sucker Punch allows Brute Bonnet to cleave through weakened offensive teams late-game, and Synthesis in conjunction with its solid bulk makes Brute Bonnet difficult to chip down. Brute Bonnet is also capable of boosting its already high Attack stat with Booster Energy, making it a potent wincon, or by utilizing a Choice Band set, which turns it into a devastating wallbreaker. However, Brute Bonnet is burdened with a poor defensive typing, as it is weak to common Fighting-, Bug-, Ice-, and Poison-type attacks. Its poor Speed tier also leaves it very reliant on Sucker Punch to reliably threaten offensive teams, and they often carry Fighting-, Dark-, or Fairy-types that resist it. Brute Bonnet is capable of using Terastallization to circumvent these issues; however, this makes the standard offensive set Tera-dependent in many matchups. The Choice Band set can also be taken advantage of, as Brute Bonnet's STAB combination can be played around with common Pokemon that fit on both offensive and bulkier team styles, such as Hisuian Decidueye, Dipplin, Virizion, and Charizard.
[SET]
Offensive (Brute Bonnet) @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Poison / Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch / Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
- Close Combat
- Synthesis
[SET COMMENTS]
Crunch is generally preferred over Seed Bomb, as Dark is a superior offensive typing and hits more of the metagame for neutral damage. It notably hits Muk, Weezing, Dipplin, and Articuno harder, but keep in mind that Brute Bonnet will still need the latter three to be chipped if it hopes to break through them. Crunch also comes with a handy chance to drop Defense, which can be useful in a late-game situation when faced down with Dipplin or Hisuian Decidueye. However, Seed Bomb can be considered, as it hits Rhydon, Sandaconda, and Lanturn harder. Sucker Punch is mandatory, as Brute Bonnet is quite slow, and access to powerful priority allows it to become threatening to offensive builds. Close Combat provides crucial coverage against foes such as Orthworm, Glastrier, opposing Brute Bonnet, and Porygon2. It also hits Hisuian Decidueye, Hisuian Qwilfish, and Virizion neutrally, which is crucial, as they are three of the very few Pokemon that resist Brute Bonnet's STAB attacks. Synthesis allows Brute Bonnet to stay healthy throughout a match and allows it to potentially outlast defensive Pokemon that try to beat it with consistent chip damage, such as Snorlax, Sandaconda, and Naclstack. If Brute Bonnet Terastallizes, Synthesis notably allows it to consistently beat defensive Hisuian Decidueye. Heavy-Duty Boots allows Brute Bonnet to come in multiple times throughout a game without fear of chip from entry hazards; this makes it quite challenging to take down in conjunction with Synthesis. On the other hand, Booster Energy gives Brute Bonnet a one-time boost to its Attack, which makes it a very threatening late-game wincon. Notably, it allows Sucker Punch to OHKO Jolteon after Stealth Rock damage while significantly improving damage rolls against crucial targets such as Grafaiai, Floatzel, and Lycanroc. Booster Energy can only be used once, however, which restricts Brute Bonnet's flexibility throughout a game. Tera Poison is the preferred Tera-type, as it grants Brute Bonnet a resistance to Fighting-, Bug-, Poison-, and Fairy-type attacks. This allows it to turn the tables on several of its traditional checks, such as Hisuian Decidueye, Qwilfish, and Passimian. Tera Water can also be used to give Brute Bonnet a resistance to Fire- and Ice-type attacks, letting it deal with Sneasel, Glastrier, and Typhlosion. An Adamant nature is run for maximum damage output.
Brute Bonnet's powerful attacks and access to Sucker Punch give it a solid place on many balance and offensive teams. Do note that it is best to use teammates that are not reliant on Terastallizing to perform their roles consistently, as Brute Bonnet often needs to Terastallize if it is looking to sweep late-game. Brute Bonnet benefits from teammates that help to chip down its offensive answers into range of its powerful Sucker Punch. Fast pivots such as Passimian, Jolteon, Floatzel, and Grafaiai can help chip much of the offensive metagame, and Brute Bonnet also appreciates their ability to get it in safely. On the other hand, physically bulky teammates such as Weezing, Palossand, and Sandaconda check Fighting-types like Passimian and Primeape, and the former also reliably handles Hisuian Decidueye. All three also run Rocky Helmet, which is great to further chip physical attackers like Sneasel, Hisuian Sneasel, and Virizion. The latter two also set Stealth Rock to chip down Brute Bonnet's offensive answers even further. Two of Brute Bonnet's best and most common answers are Charizard and Whimsicott, so special walls such as Dudunsparce, Porygon2, and Snorlax help by checking these big threats. Brute Bonnet pairs well with other powerful wallbreakers, such as Magneton, Floatzel, and Glastrier, as they can help to break down each other's defensive answers; the former two can also pivot to get Brute Bonnet in safely.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Growth is Brute Bonnet's best boosting option; it is especially dangerous under sun, where Protosynthesis is activated and Growth grants +2 Attack. This makes Tera Dark set with Growth / Sucker Punch / Crunch / Close Combat with Dread Plate or Life Orb especially dangerous on sun teams, as Brute Bonnet becomes extremely powerful with these boosts and can break down defensive cores for its fellow sun sweepers, such as Leafeon, Scovillain, and Victreebel, to take advantage of. Growth sets can also be run outside of sun teams, but Brute Bonnet's power is much less impressive, and such a set tends to require significant support to be effective when not under sun. Zen Headbutt can be used to hit bulky Poison- and Fighting-types harder, most notably Hisuian Decidueye, Weezing, and Muk, but Close Combat's targets are generally more relevant. Tera Blast can be run on offensive sets utilizing Tera Poison to hit several of Brute Bonnet's traditional checks, including Hisuian Decidueye, Virizion, Whimsicott, and Dipplin. Such sets should use Booster Energy in order to 2HKO Dipplin after Stealth Rock damage. This makes Brute Bonnet reliant on Terastallizing in almost every single game to be effective, however, and forces Brute Bonnet to drop Close Combat, which makes it vulnerable to threats such as Orthworm, Hisuian Avalugg, Hisuian Qwilfish, and Glastrier. Trailblaze can boost Brute Bonnet's Speed, but it is quite weak, and Brute Bonnet is still quite slow even after a boost. As a result, Sucker Punch is generally a more reliable way to take down faster threats.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fighting-types**: Most of the tier's Fighting-types are quite threatening to Brute Bonnet. Hisuian Decidueye, Virizion, and Hisuian Sneasel all resist Brute Bonnet's STAB moves and threaten it heavily in return with their own Fighting-type STAB moves. Passimian easily outruns and threatens Brute Bonnet with both Close Combat and U-turn. Brute Bonnet can turn the tables on all of them by running Tera Poison, however.
**Physically Defensive Walls**: Dipplin takes all of Brute Bonnet's attacks with ease and can phaze it with Dragon Tail. Weezing can chip Brute Bonnet down with Rocky Helmet and burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Both Qwilfish forms are also good checks, as Brute Bonnet fears their Poison-type STAB moves and struggles to take them down due to Intimidate.
**Fast Revenge Killers**: Dark-resistant foes that are faster than Brute Bonnet generally present problems for it, as it is reliant on Sucker Punch to threaten faster foes. Whimsicott takes Sucker Punch with ease and can threaten Brute Bonnet with Moonblast, U-turn, or Switcheroo. It can also cripple Brute Bonnet with Encore, should it choose to Terastallize. Sneasel outruns Brute Bonnet and threatens to OHKO it with Triple Axel. While not weak to Sucker Punch, foes with certain setup options such as Substitute + Calm Mind Jolteon, Nasty Plot + Encore Mesprit, or Tera Fighting Quiver Dance Oricorio-F can force Brute Bonnet into an uncomfortable guessing game or, in the case of Mesprit, lock it into Sucker Punch and turn it into setup fodder.
**Status**: Any form of status is crippling to Brute Bonnet. Common foes such as Charizard, Porygon2, Dudunsparce, Qwilfish, and Spiritomb can all cripple Brute Bonnet with a debilitating status condition. Tera Poison makes Brute Bonnet immune to attempts by Dudunsparce or Qwilfish to poison it, however.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sputnik.475916/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sinnabyss.626095/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
Last edited:
