Team Tactics: Trick Room Bronzong
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Last week we discussed the tentacled rage bucket of madness known as Trick Room Octillery. Unfortunately, Octillery needs a set-up for Trick Room as he cannot learn it himself. This is where the defensive monster bell from Pokéhell known as Bronzong steps in. Slow as molasses and tough as nails, he is perfect to set-up Trick Room as it's move priority forces it to go last, regardless of speed.
Abilities
Bronzong's Dream World ability is Heavy Metal. While it sounds like it should be accompanied by an amazing hair metal guitar solo, the ability is a mess. It doubles Bronzong's weight. Which means that moves like Low Kick and Grass Knot will do twice the damage. It also has the nice effect of increasing the power of Heavy Slam. Unfortunately, Heavy Slam is a variable attack power move depending on the opponent's weight, so it isn't really worth it. Avoid this one.
That leaves you with two potential choices for Bronzong's ability. Both of which are great as they cover one of Bronzong's only weaknesses. Bronzong is only weak to Fire- and Ground-type attacks. Bronzong can obtain the ability Heatproof - which halves Fire-type damage done, including the Burn status ailment - to cover his Fire weakness. Alternatively, it can have Levitate, which makes him immune to Ground-type moves. Either is a great choice. Levitate is cancelled by Gravity though, so keep that in mind when selecting your ability of choice.
Potential Build
Bronzong's movepool is lacking. I am just going to lay it on the table. But luckily he has a trick up his sleeve in the form of Gyro Ball.
This week's build is going to focus on defense. His base Attack stat is 89, and his Special Attack is only 79. Nothing special, but it gives us enough attack power to put some good use to Bronzong's physical options. With 116 in Special Defense and Defense stats, he can take a hit and shrug it off like a pro. His HP stat is a low 67, so you will want to pump EV's there.
Just like with Octillery, since we are utilizing Trick Room, you should aim for an IV of 0 in Speed when breeding, and don't put a single EV point into it. Slow means fast under the Trick Room condition, and slow makes Gyro Ball hit like Optimus Prime wielding Mjolnir. That's Thor's hammer for you kids who aren't into comic books. And it hits hard.
The Build
Moves:
Trick Room
Gyro Ball
Earthquake
Explosion / Hypnosis / Confuse Ray
Nature: Relaxed or Sassy
EV Spread: 252 HP / 86 Attack / 86 Defense / 86 Special Defense
Items: Leftovers, Macho Brace
Note: You should shoot for a bred IV of 0 in speed. A Relaxed or Sassy nature ensures the lowest Speed stat possible while boosting Defense or Special Defense respectively.
Gyro Ball is ridiculously powerful on a Trick Room Bronzong. It inflicts more damage the slower Bronzong is than his opponent, and it gets a lovely STAB because of Bronzong's Steel-type. It maxes out at 150 base power, and its power can be calculated via the following:
Base Power = 25 * (Target's Current Speed / User's Current Speed)
So the slower Bronzong is, the harder it hits. By shooting for an IV and EV of 0 in Speed, you can assure it is doing the maximum amount of damage. Earthquake is a beast of an attack, and the last slot gives you some support options or Explosion to be used in a pinch.
You are probably questioning my sanity with Macho Brace as a recommended item. Well, it is mainly there to maximize Bronzong's Speed under Trick Room effects and to boost Gyro Ball's power. It reduces Bronzong's Speed by 50%. This of course boosts Bronzong's Speed under Trick Room, and as I mentioned before, the slower it is, the harder Gyro Ball hits. Leftovers is always good as it can mean the difference between life and death as it heals for 1/16th health every turn.
Team Tactics
We covered potential Trick Room teammates in our last installment. As a result, I am going to play a round of lazy author and just refer you to the Trick Room Octillery article. It's either that or I regurgitate the same information this week. My fingers are fragile. This minimizes their damage.
Closing Arguments
Bronzong is a wall. A wall that manipulates space-time and can become an animated wrecking ball of steel and blood. With Trick Room active, you can ultimately turn the world on its head and sweep with a STAB Gyro Ball or switch in Octillery for a severe beat down. It's an interesting move that takes a turn to set up, but it can ruin your opponent's day. Especially if they rely on quick hitters to sweep.
