Bruxish Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Psychic Fangs is an obscenely powerful STAB attack when boosted by Choice Band and is capable of OHKOing or 2HKOing most of the metagame. Aqua Jet is powerful STAB priority that is useful for picking off weakened threats. Liquidation is a powerful STAB option that allows Bruxish to hit the likes of Gigalith, Donphan, and Diancie for respectable damage. Crunch rounds off Bruxish's coverage and allows it to 2HKO Pokemon that would otherwise freely switch into it even after Stealth Rock damage such as Slowbro, Cresselia, and Necrozma. Ice Fang is able to take out Mandibuzz after Stealth Rock, which would otherwise completely wall Bruxish, as well as hitting Dragon-, Grass-, and Flying-types super effectively, but it is very hard to fit. Set Details Maximum investment in Attack with a Choice Band allows Bruxish to hit as hard as possible and function as an extremely threatening wallbreaker. Maximum Speed investment is also quite important for outpacing defensive foes, and with a Jolly nature, barely outpacing and threatening the likes of Roserade, Goodra, Sawk, Rotom-C, and Medicham. An Adamant nature is also an option, sacrificing the ability to outspeed the aforementioned threats for more power behind Bruxish's attacks. Strong Jaw is the preferred ability, as it puts an immense amount of power behind Bruxish's Psychic Fangs as well as a decent amount of power behind its Crunch. Usage Tips Due to the nature of Choice Band, this set must be used with careful prediction in order to help Bruxish properly function as a wallbreaker. In order to do this, predicting switches into Pokemon resistant or immune to Psychic Fangs, such as Umbreon and Metagross, and using Liquidation or a coverage option to hit them for sufficient damage is key to Bruxish's success. Once foes resistant or immune to Psychic Fangs have been removed and faster foes have been picked off, Bruxish should feel free to spam Psychic Fangs, as the move's immense power will break through most Pokemon neutral or weak to it quite effectively. Steel- and Dark-types should ideally be removed in order to make full use of this set, as none of Bruxish's coverage options are particularly useful against most defensive Pokemon of these types, which will often severely dent Bruxish while taking hits. Honchkrow, Sneasel, and Drapion are Pokemon that tend to carry Pursuit, which can trap and KO Bruxish. If any of these Pokemon are on the opposing team, Bruxish must be especially careful when using Psychic Fangs, as even if it nets a KO with the move, any of the aforementioned threats can come into play, take no damage, and trap and revenge kill Bruxish with ease. Team Options Teams that need a Pokemon capable of breaking through defensive teams very much appreciate this set, as Bruxish's good Speed allows it to function as a powerful wallbreaker that also isn't pressured by offensive teams too heavily. This set is also appreciated by bulky offense teams, as most Pokemon found on these teams, such as Houndoom and Escavalier, have great offensive synergy with Bruxish. Entry hazard support from the likes of Nidoqueen, Metagross, and Rhyperior is almost mandatory, as with either Stealth Rock or Spikes on the field, Bruxish is capable of more reliably KOing Slowbro, Cresselia, and more. Sticky Web in particular is a great entry hazard to support Bruxish with, as upon being able to outpace the entire unboosted metagame, it becomes extremely difficult to switch into and revenge kill. Galvantula and Araquanid are both capable of supporting Bruxish, and the former can even threaten Dark-types for Bruxish with STAB Bug Buzz. Fighting-types like Bewear, Pangoro, and Passimian make good partners, as they can allow Bruxish to more freely spam Psychic Fangs later in a match by removing the Dark- and Steel-types that threaten it. If a Fighting-type Pokemon isn't wanted, however, then other checks to Dark-types such as Florges, Comfey, and Diancie are all appreciated. Steel-type checks are also useful, as Bruxish is even more vulnerable to the likes of Escavalier and Registeel with this set. Rhyperior, Salazzle, and Ninetales are all capable of adequately functioning as checks to them.

Moves Swords Dance is mandatory for boosting Bruxish's Attack to extremely threatening levels and enabling it to sweep. Psychic Fangs is Bruxish's STAB attack of choice and receives a boost in power from both STAB and Strong Jaw; it is thus an obscenely powerful option that is capable of OHKOing several metagame threats when boosted. Aqua Jet is a strong STAB priority attack that allows Bruxish to pick off weakened threats and, when boosted, OHKO the likes of Pokemon that would otherwise revenge kill it such as Aerodactyl and Salazzle. Crunch provides excellent coverage alongside Bruxish's STAB attacks, allowing it to, when boosted, likely OHKO Pokemon that would otherwise wall it in Slowbro and Cresselia after Stealth Rock damage. Liquidation is an option over Crunch that sacrifices coverage for power against defensive Pokemon, and it more reliably KOes Diancie, Donphan, and Rhyperior. Lastly, Ice Fang is an option for hitting Mandibuzz, as well as other Pokemon like Tyrantrum, Tangela, and Flygon super effectively, although the coverage it provides is overall less useful. Set Details Maximum investment in Attack and Speed allows Bruxish to be as fast and powerful as possible, and as a result, maintain an impressive offensive presence. A Jolly nature maximizes Bruxish's Speed and allows it to outpace all defensive Pokemon as well as Roserade, Rotom-C, Gardevoir, and Goodra. An Adamant nature can be used, however, to aid Bruxish in more reliably pressuring bulkier foes at the cost of being outsped by the aforementioned threats. Life Orb provides Bruxish's already strong moves with a vital boost in power, allowing it to secure the OHKO on Slowbro and Bronzong with a boosted Crunch as well as the 2HKO on Registeel and Umbreon with a boosted Liquidation. Waterium Z, coupled with Aqua Tail can be used on Swords Dance sets to blow past usual counters such as Escavalier, Umbreon, and Forretress while still hitting most of Crunch's targets, such as Metagross, Bronzong, and Cresselia. It does, however, make it significantly more vulnerable to Slowbro. Strong Jaw is the preferred ability, as it gives Psychic Fangs its immense power and Crunch a 1.5x boost in power. Usage Tips This set can function in many different ways and consistently be put to good use in matches. It functions as a sweeper once Bruxish's checks have been removed or weakened as well as a wallbreaker against bulkier teams. If Bruxish is attempting a sweep, it is best that faster threats that can take an Aqua Jet such as Shaymin and Virizion are removed, as they will otherwise outspeed and KO Bruxish, thus preventing its sweep. Carriers of powerful priority such as Golisopod, Comfey, Honchkrow, and Zygarde-10% are also best removed, as Bruxish's poor bulk alongside the recoil it will take from Life Orb can eventually leave it quite susceptible to being revenge killed. Setup opportunities can be hard to find at times and should thus be capitalized on whenever they appear. Bruxish can set up on defensive Pokemon that won't be able to deal sufficient damage to it, such as Milotic and Bronzong, as well as against Pokemon that it forces out like Diancie, Toxicroak, and Venusaur. Lastly, due to its poor bulk, Bruxish should never try switching into an attack; it should be brought in with slow pivot support or after a teammate has fainted. Team Options Powerful offensive threats capable of weakening or chipping away at bulkier foes, such as Tyrantrum, Virizion, and Swellow, can aid Bruxish in dealing with bulky threats that it would otherwise struggle to break, such as Registeel, Umbreon, and Escavalier, late-game. Dark-type checks such as Toxicroak, Machamp, and Gardevoir can dent Umbreon for Bruxish as well as dispose of big threats to it in Toxicroak, Pangoro, and Honchkrow. Steel-type checks are also quite useful to Bruxish due to their ability to weaken or KO the likes of Escavalier, Registeel, and Klinklang, which are all quite troublesome for it. The aforementioned Fighting-types work as checks to both Dark- and Steel-types, though Arcanine, Nidoqueen, and Donphan can all adequately check Steel-types as well. If Bruxish does not use Crunch, checks to bulky Psychic-types such as Metagross, Pangoro, and Yanmega are valuable teammates, as Bruxish otherwise struggles to break past the likes of Necrozma, Slowbro, and Cresselia. Entry hazard support from Pokemon like Necrozma and Nidoqueen is helpful for Bruxish, as with either Stealth Rock or Spikes damage, it is capable of more reliably breaking past bulkier foes. Bruxish really appreciates Sticky Web support from Galvantula or Araquanid in particular, as it allows Bruxish to outpace the entire unboosted metagame, thus circumventing its only decent Speed.