Bronzong Raid Guide: How To Counter Pokémon GO's Dalek Lookalike

Pokebattler, which calculates all possible combinations of Pokémon and moves, lists the top 10 Bronzong counters as such:

• Shadow Moltres (Fire Spin, Overheat)
• Shadow Entei (Fire Fang, Overheat)
• Reshiram (Fire Fang, Overheat)
• Shadow Charizard (Fire Spin, Blast Burn)
• Shadow Weavile (Snarl, Fowl Play)
• Darkrai (Snarl, Dark Pulse)
• Shadow Arcanine (Fire Fang, Flamethrower)
• Chandelure (Fire Spin, Shadow Ball)
• Shadow Houndoom (Fire Fang, Foul Play)
• Darmanitan (Fire Fang, Overheat)

It is recommended to power up your counters as much as possible, and creating that amount of strong Shadow Pokémon with their moves unlocked is a tall order for even the most practiced players. Here are ten additional non-Shadow counters that can help take down Bronzong with efficiency.

• Moltres (Fire Spin, Overheat)
• Entei (Fire Fang, Overheat)
• Giratina Origin Forme (Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball)
• Heatran (Fire Spin, Flamethrower)
• Excadrill (Mud-Slap, Drill Run)
• Gengar (Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball)
• Charizard (Fire Spin, Blast Burn)
• Weavile (Snarl, Fowl Play)
• Garchomp (Mud Shot, Earthquake)
• Hydreigon (Bite, Dark Pulse)

How Many Trainers Are Needed?

While not as tanky of a Tier Four raid boss as Metagross, Bronzong is still no punk. Using the top Fire-type, Dark-type, or Ground-types listed above will enable two-level 40 trainers to defeat this Pokémon with Best Friend boost, but a duo is will be tough due to the tighter time limit compared to Legendary raids. It is recommended that at least three trainers with the top counters team up to take on this Tier Four boss. If trainers are not able to guarantee the use of the top counters, four level 35+ trainers can take it down with ease.

Catching Bronzong

Again like Metagross, Bronzong has an… interestingly placed catch circle. It needs a hard throw aimed at the lower middle of the screen toward the bottom half of its body. While it isn't Legendary, Bronzong should be treated as such in order to catch, using the following technique.

Using the circle lock technique, players can hold down the ball until Bronzong's catch circle shrinks. Releasing when the circle is at its smallest point allows the circle to lock, guaranteeing an "Excellent" throw if the ball can hit that point, though the placement of the circle makes it a difficult strike. Throw the ball when Bronzong is finishing its attack in order to successfully hit. The attack sees Bronzong lurch at the player, and then quickly return to its place. The Pokémon will settle back into its place and, as it settles, throw the ball. The best berry to help catch the dragon is the Golden Razz Berry. Paired with "excellent" throws, this should lead to a successfully caught Bronzong.

Shiny Bronzong odds