[OVERVIEW]
Pangoro is a great wallbreaker in RU. With its power, near-unresisted STAB combination, and coverage, it can 2HKO or OHKO the whole metagame, outright taking advantage of common Steel- and Dark-types like Registeel, Bronzong, and Umbreon. It's one of the tier's best Fighting-type wallbreakers, lacking hard counters unlike Lucario and Heracross. Pangoro also has another key advantage—priority in Bullet Punch, which revenge kills weakened setup sweepers. Choice Band Pangoro is the most immediately threatening set; it takes down the likes of Rhyperior and physically defensive Registeel with minimal prior damage and isn't worn down by Life Orb recoil. Alternatively, Swords Dance Pangoro deals with Umbreon and revenge killers like Gardevoir and Togekiss. Pangoro's low Speed and lackluster defensive profile make it poor against highly offensive teams, which are filled with fast Pokemon that OHKO it like Lucario and Sharpedo. Also, while Pangoro is near unwallable, Lucario and Heracross are faster, allowing them to better threaten offensive Pokemon like Xurkitree, Goodra, and Chandelure. Lucario is also a fearsome sweeper with Extreme Speed, and Bewear has superior defensive utility; Fluffy lets Bewear check Pokemon like Golisopod, makes it harder for Crobat to revenge kill, and even lets it help versus other Fighting-types if it holds Chople Berry.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Bullet Punch / Darkest Lariat
item: Choice Band
ability: Scrappy
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Pangoro is very immediately threatening; it needs minimal prior damage to KO Rhyperior and physically defensive Registeel, which can trade blows with Swords Dance Pangoro, and it doesn't get worn down by Life Orb recoil. Iron Head 2HKOes Fairy-types like Galarian Weezing and Togekiss. Bullet Punch revenge kills weakened setup sweepers like Dragon Dance Flygon and Mimikyu. Alternatively, Darkest Lariat gives Pangoro a better matchup against Defense-boosting sweepers like Cosmic Power Metagross and the uncommon Acid Armor Reuniclus. Scrappy allows Pangoro to use Close Combat without fear of Ghost-types like Chandelure and Dhelmise coming in.
Pangoro loves pivot support from the likes of Xurkitree, Heliolisk, and Crobat to bring it in against Pokemon like Registeel and Steelix. Additionally, Xurkitree and Heliolisk check Togekiss. Fighting-types such as Heracross, Bewear, and Lucario revenge kill Pangoro. Togekiss checks the first two, Crobat checks Heracross and revenge kills Lucario, and Jellicent and Chandelure check Lucario and Bewear. Steel-types like Registeel and Steelix check Flying-types like Crobat and Togekiss. In return, Pangoro's Knock Off removes Heavy-Duty Boots from Pokemon like Crobat and Togekiss, increasing the effectiveness of their Stealth Rock. Special attackers like Roserade and Nidoqueen take advantage of Galarian Weezing for Pangoro. Choice Band Pangoro can struggle to break through very defensive teams with Umbreon, since it can scout Pangoro's Choice-locked attack with Protect, so it likes teammates generally strong against such teams like Nasty Plot Togekiss and Taunt Nidoqueen.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Bullet Punch / Iron Head
item: Life Orb
ability: Iron Fist
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Swords Dance Pangoro is very strong against defensive teams because it easily takes advantage of Umbreon, which Choice Band Pangoro cannot. Its boosted Bullet Punch makes it a bit harder to revenge kill, OHKOing Gardevoir, as well as Togekiss with Stealth Rock. Even without Choice Band, Bullet Punch is still useful for revenge killing weakened setup sweepers like Flygon and Mimikyu. Drain Punch helps offset Life Orb's recoil and is boosted by Iron Fist. Iron Head lets Pangoro easily tear apart defensive teams by OHKOing Galarian Weezing after a boost and Stealth Rock.
Pivots that form VoltTurn cores like Heliolisk, Xurkitree, and Crobat can bring Pangoro in against walls such as Registeel and Steelix. Moreover, Xurkitree and Heliolisk check Togekiss for Pangoro. Steel-types like Steelix, Registeel, and Metagross check Flying-types such as Togekiss and Crobat. In return, Pangoro's Knock Off removes Heavy-Duty Boots from the likes of Togekiss, increasing the effectiveness of their Stealth Rock. Common Fighting-types like Heracross, Bewear, and Lucario easily revenge kill Pangoro. Crobat checks Heracross and revenge kills Lucario, Togekiss checks the first two, and Jellicent and Chandelure check the latter two. Special attackers like Salazzle, Nasty Plot Crobat, and Nidoqueen take advantage of Galarian Weezing for Pangoro.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Close Combat is an option over Drain Punch on Swords Dance sets that OHKOes Milotic and Gastrodon while boosted, as well as Rhyperior and physically defensive Registeel with minimal prior damage. Coba Berry is an option on Swords Dance Pangoro to turn the tables on revenge killers like Crobat and Togekiss. Black Glasses increases Pangoro's power without incurring recoil, which makes Close Combat more justifiable over Drain Punch with Swords Dance. Lum Berry heals burns from Starmie's or Milotic's Scald, Jellicent's Will-O-Wisp, and Toxic from Bronzong and Registeel. However, Lum Berry significantly compromises Pangoro's power, notably making it less efficient at breaking through Crobat.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types**: Togekiss and Galarian Weezing can take both of Pangoro's STAB moves; however, they're both 2HKOed by Iron Head, and Togekiss becomes vulnerable to Stealth Rock after Knock Off. Galarian Weezing is an especially effective check to Swords Dance Pangoro without Iron Head, as Bullet Punch only 4HKOes it, while Togekiss falls to +2 Bullet Punch after Stealth Rock.
**Flying-types**: Crobat and Noivern can both pivot into Pangoro's Fighting-type moves, though Noivern is deathly afraid of Choice Band-boosted Knock Off or Life Orb-boosted Knock Off + Bullet Punch, and Knock Off leaves Crobat with little health and no Heavy-Duty Boots. Due to Crobat's Brave Bird recoil, either Pangoro set can then choose to trade with it or at least leave it in KO range of Stealth Rock. If Crobat uses Roost, Pangoro can potentially beat it with another Knock Off.
**Fighting-types**: Many faster Fighting-types like Lucario, Heracross, and Bewear revenge kill Pangoro. Bewear is also a decent switch-in, as it can take Knock Off comfortably, Life Orb-boosted Drain Punch fairly well, and even a Choice Band-boosted Close Combat in a pinch if it has Chople Berry.
**Faster Pokemon**: Plenty of faster Pokemon like Sharpedo, Xurkitree, Toxtricity, and Choice Specs Chandelure easily revenge kill Pangoro.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yourwelcomethanku, 541847]]
- Quality checked by: [[zizalith, 410251], [GoldCat, 359771]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429], [Sulo, 528036]]
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