Blaziken
05-26-2008, 05:49 AM
Heracross
3rd Generation
Choice Bander
Item: Choice Band
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Guts
Attacks:
Megahorn
Earthquake/ Hidden Power Ghost/ Return
Rock Slide
Brick Break
Heracross has and probably will always be a hard-hitting pokemon. The only real disappointing thing about it is that it’s physical movepool is rather poor in some way. Megahorn nevertheless is an absolutely powerful move and most pokemon who resist it will have a tough time taking it, especially from Choice Band boosts. Rock Slide for Gyarados and other flying and fire pokemon and Brick Break is another STAB move. Really Heracross gets a bit too easily walled by common physical walls such as Skarmory and Weezing. This though is still a powerful and devastating set.
Rating: 8.5/10
Reverser
Item: Salac Berry
Nature: Adamant/ Jolly
Ability: Swarm
Attacks:
Megahorn
Endure/ Substitute
Reversal
Hidden Power Ghost/ Swords Dance
The other sort of common form of Heracross was the Reversal set which basically involved getting your health as low as possible to activate Salac Berry and sweep with around 300 power Reversal including STAB. Very basic but also very beginner. And with beginner sets comes weaknesses. Two common weakness sets like this show are Tyranitar’s Sandstream ability coming in a simply wiping out Heracross when it’s health’s low and sets like this are also easily predicted and are countered very easily. Really using a set like this isn’t the best of ideas but it can catch some trainers out who are unprepared.
Rating: 7/10
Physical Sweeper
Item: Salac Berry/ Leftovers
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Guts/ Swarm
Attacks:
Swords Dance
Megahorn
Brick Break
Hidden Power Ghost/ Rock Slide
Heracross gained access to Swords Dance in Emerald and ever since, trainers have had to worry about Heracross a lot more than they used to. A Heracross with double the attack power is frightening. A Heracross with double the attack power and is using Megahorn is even more frightening and almost every pokemon will get OHKO (1 hit knockout) by it. A few exceptions like Skarmory and Weezing would probably survive but Weezing gets smashed still and Skarmory gets a big dose of Brick Break. Basically the last move is to cover pokemon who can take bug attacks and also fighting attacks, mainly flying and ghost pokemon. If you do decide to go with Hidden Power, nothing resists both ghost and fighting attacks so you’ll hit everything for at least neutral. Rock Slide for those flying pokemon like Gyarados and Salamence, if you’re fast enough to outrun them. Basically, this set is very effective but only if you can bring Heracross into battle at the right time. Sweeping with this set late game is lethal for your opponent.
Rating: 9/10
4th Generation
Physical Sweeper
Item: Leftovers/ Life Orb/ Expert Belt/ Muscle Band
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Guts/ Swarm
Attacks:
Megahorn
Close Combat
Swords Dance
Pursuit/ Stone Edge/ Night Slash
Well the old Swords Dance set has just got a few upgrades. Megahorn still remains as powerful as ever but has lost its position as Heracross’s main attacking move. Close Combat is a new addition to Heracross’s movepool and when packing 180 power with STAB and 100 accuracy, it’s hard to ignore however there is the downside with the lowering of defenses. Pursuit can be handy but only at situational times since most psychic or ghost pokemon who Heracross will want to switch into will be faster than it. Stone Edge is there for Gyarados and some Salamence while Night Slash handles Dusknoir. Night Slash though could be dropped if Heracross has got the Guts ability.
Rating: 9/10
Physical Choice
Item: Choice Band/ Choice Scarf
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Guts
Attacks:
Close Combat
Megahorn
Stone Edge/ Sleep Talk
Night Slash/ Pursuit/ Stone Edge
Heracross is one of the most feared Choice Band using pokemon in the game however with the added addition of Choice Scarf, Heracross as a choice pokemon is even more lethal and unpredictable. With Close Combat and Megahorn, Heracross just about destroys every physical wall not in the ubers section of battling. Skarmory, Forretress, Hippowdon and Donphan take a massive amount of damage from Close Combat. Other powerful walls like Cresselia, Slowbro, Suicune and Bronzong are hammered by Megahorn while ghost pokemon like Dusknoir fear burning Heracross due to the Guts ability. Even ghost pokemon like Gengar who can be seen with Choice Scarf have to watch out and be careful when switching in because one Night Slash brings them down. A person with brilliant prediction skills using Heracross spells out trouble for any team. The fact that Heracross resists Pursuit, the only attack Dugtrio has that hurt it is Aerial Ace that it bursts through many popular walls in the game with ease are just some of the reasons why Heracross is such a popular pokemon. On one last note, Sleep Talk is a very viable option here because it allows Heracross to activate its Guts ability.
Rating: 9.5/10
Façade
Item: Flame Orb
Nature: Jolly/ Adamant
Ability: Guts
Attacks:
Facade
Close Combat
Megahorn
Swords Dance/ Stone Edge/ Night Slash
Lets face it, with the Guts ability, almost nothing has a hope of surviving the most powerful of attacks from Heracross. The reason why this set has caught the attention of quite a few people is that not only Heracross gets a major boost coming from being burst from Flame Orb but Façade’s power grow to amazing heights. The two most noticeably pokemon that can successfully wall Heracross to some extent were Gliscor and Weezing. However now even they take massive amounts of damage from a Guts activated Façade. Combine that with a pinch of Swords Dance and you’ve got the recipe for an almost unwallable pokemon. Now pokemon such as Gengar actually stand a much better chance of taking this overpowered bug down however not even they would like taking a Megahorn attack. Swords Dance is optional but most people choose to have it, mainly because of the massive power boost it gives Heracross, like Heracross already hasn’t had enough steroids. Close Combat takes out Skarmory and stuff while Megahorn removes Cresselia, Slowbro, etc. Even an Intimidate coming from Gyarados won’t be enough to save it from taking massive damage. One of the major problems, glaring problems is that Heracross loses close or exactly 1/8 of its health at the end of each turn from being burnt. Combine that with possible hail or sandstorm damage, Spikes, Stealth Rock and being attacked when it’s trying to set up Swords Dance means that this version of Heracross isn’t going to last long. Even though this set isn’t a Choice set, prediction is still very, very important because if your opponent brings in Gengar or a faster pokemon on the switch, you’ll be in big trouble. Also Toxic Spikes damage can add up and remove the Flame Orb from being effective. As suicidal as this version of Heracross is, it’s still incredibly powerful.
Rating: 8.5/10
Sleep Talker
Item: Leftovers/ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Guts
Attacks:
Megahorn
Close Combat/ Stone Edge
Rest
Sleep Talk
A more studier version of Heracross with a bit more survivability. When your health gets low enough, Rest should be used and effectively in turn, the Guts ability will be activated. Sleep Talk and with a bit of luck, hopefully you’ll be able to do some serious damage. Just on a note, Close Combat is probably the more inferior option due to its downside of lowering the user’s defenses. Stone Edge is weaker however it does offer useful type coverage. Because you’ll be healing your HP often with Rest, Life Orb is also a good choice here.
Rating: 8/10
Contests
Contest Type: Cool
Moves:
Swords Dance
Aerial Ace
Protect
Megahorn
Heracross’s contest movepool is really limited and if you’re looking for a good pokemon to use in a contest, this probably ain’t it. Standard charge up set, set up then go for big points next round.
Rating: 8/10
Type:
Heracross has the unique typing of both bug and fighting. Obviously it comes with the downside x4 weakness to flying type attacks but considering how rare flying attacks are used, it’s not going to hamper Heracross too much. Besides that, its only other two weaknesses are to psychic and fire. Heracross in the fourth generation has become much more fierce, boasting a new STAB fighting attack in Close Combat. Physical Pursuit, the ability to smack around Cresselia and the potential to bring down popular physical walls are just some of the reasons why people love using this fearsome beast.
It’s not really a matter of how to beat Heracross but how to wall it. Very few pokemon have the potential to wall Heracross. Giratina is one of the best however it is restricted to uber play. Arguably though the best counter for Heracross is Gliscor, with or without Aerial Ace. Gliscor not only resists both STAB attacks but also takes little damage from Stone Edge. Weezing and many other poison pokemon also do a decent job at taking of Heracross but unfortunately, most are overpowered in the end. Some flying pokemon like Charizard might be able to switch into Heracross but have to watch out for a well predicted Stone Edge, same with many ghosts too however they fear Might Slash.
As for what takes down Heracross, it’s just a matter of finding out what version of Heracross it is. Before you all go a tell me that a faster pokemon like Alakazam takes it down, remember many Heracross are equipped with the ever deadly Choice Scarf. Of coarse giving it this does hamper its ability to break down walls but it makes a great revenge killer. Gyarados and Salamence can switch into most of Heracross’s attacks, Intimidate it and set up with the hope that Heracross has to switch out. Dugtrio can’t switch into Heracross’s attacks but can revenge kill it with Aerial Ace. Just remember that Heracross is quite like Garchomp except without the special attacking power. Until you figure out its item, don’t get too cocky when trying to beat it. While it is easily taken down by many things that can hit it for super-effective, remember that they are also taken down easily by Heracross itself.
Abilities- Swarm:
Swarm is an ability similar to Blaze and Torrent. When the user’s health gets below 1/3 of their max health, bug attacks are multiplied by 1.5 in strength. This ability is decent but it isn’t as good as its next one, having a few more uses. Nevertheless if you do plan on using the Reversal set, this ability will be for you.
Guts:
Guts is quite a handy ability, especially for Heracross. It allows Heracross to receive a handy attack boost from being inflicted with a status problem. As seen above, some sets are based and do take advantage of the Guts ability. With the right technique, you can purposely switch into a status problem-inflicting move and let Heracross receive the attack boost, even from a burn. Also its handy to note that Heracross handles Dusknoir using Night Slash, better than others who have the Guts ability like Machamp if it ever gets burnt by Dusknoir.
Overall Rating for Heracross: 9/10
3rd Generation
Choice Bander
Item: Choice Band
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Guts
Attacks:
Megahorn
Earthquake/ Hidden Power Ghost/ Return
Rock Slide
Brick Break
Heracross has and probably will always be a hard-hitting pokemon. The only real disappointing thing about it is that it’s physical movepool is rather poor in some way. Megahorn nevertheless is an absolutely powerful move and most pokemon who resist it will have a tough time taking it, especially from Choice Band boosts. Rock Slide for Gyarados and other flying and fire pokemon and Brick Break is another STAB move. Really Heracross gets a bit too easily walled by common physical walls such as Skarmory and Weezing. This though is still a powerful and devastating set.
Rating: 8.5/10
Reverser
Item: Salac Berry
Nature: Adamant/ Jolly
Ability: Swarm
Attacks:
Megahorn
Endure/ Substitute
Reversal
Hidden Power Ghost/ Swords Dance
The other sort of common form of Heracross was the Reversal set which basically involved getting your health as low as possible to activate Salac Berry and sweep with around 300 power Reversal including STAB. Very basic but also very beginner. And with beginner sets comes weaknesses. Two common weakness sets like this show are Tyranitar’s Sandstream ability coming in a simply wiping out Heracross when it’s health’s low and sets like this are also easily predicted and are countered very easily. Really using a set like this isn’t the best of ideas but it can catch some trainers out who are unprepared.
Rating: 7/10
Physical Sweeper
Item: Salac Berry/ Leftovers
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Guts/ Swarm
Attacks:
Swords Dance
Megahorn
Brick Break
Hidden Power Ghost/ Rock Slide
Heracross gained access to Swords Dance in Emerald and ever since, trainers have had to worry about Heracross a lot more than they used to. A Heracross with double the attack power is frightening. A Heracross with double the attack power and is using Megahorn is even more frightening and almost every pokemon will get OHKO (1 hit knockout) by it. A few exceptions like Skarmory and Weezing would probably survive but Weezing gets smashed still and Skarmory gets a big dose of Brick Break. Basically the last move is to cover pokemon who can take bug attacks and also fighting attacks, mainly flying and ghost pokemon. If you do decide to go with Hidden Power, nothing resists both ghost and fighting attacks so you’ll hit everything for at least neutral. Rock Slide for those flying pokemon like Gyarados and Salamence, if you’re fast enough to outrun them. Basically, this set is very effective but only if you can bring Heracross into battle at the right time. Sweeping with this set late game is lethal for your opponent.
Rating: 9/10
4th Generation
Physical Sweeper
Item: Leftovers/ Life Orb/ Expert Belt/ Muscle Band
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Guts/ Swarm
Attacks:
Megahorn
Close Combat
Swords Dance
Pursuit/ Stone Edge/ Night Slash
Well the old Swords Dance set has just got a few upgrades. Megahorn still remains as powerful as ever but has lost its position as Heracross’s main attacking move. Close Combat is a new addition to Heracross’s movepool and when packing 180 power with STAB and 100 accuracy, it’s hard to ignore however there is the downside with the lowering of defenses. Pursuit can be handy but only at situational times since most psychic or ghost pokemon who Heracross will want to switch into will be faster than it. Stone Edge is there for Gyarados and some Salamence while Night Slash handles Dusknoir. Night Slash though could be dropped if Heracross has got the Guts ability.
Rating: 9/10
Physical Choice
Item: Choice Band/ Choice Scarf
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Guts
Attacks:
Close Combat
Megahorn
Stone Edge/ Sleep Talk
Night Slash/ Pursuit/ Stone Edge
Heracross is one of the most feared Choice Band using pokemon in the game however with the added addition of Choice Scarf, Heracross as a choice pokemon is even more lethal and unpredictable. With Close Combat and Megahorn, Heracross just about destroys every physical wall not in the ubers section of battling. Skarmory, Forretress, Hippowdon and Donphan take a massive amount of damage from Close Combat. Other powerful walls like Cresselia, Slowbro, Suicune and Bronzong are hammered by Megahorn while ghost pokemon like Dusknoir fear burning Heracross due to the Guts ability. Even ghost pokemon like Gengar who can be seen with Choice Scarf have to watch out and be careful when switching in because one Night Slash brings them down. A person with brilliant prediction skills using Heracross spells out trouble for any team. The fact that Heracross resists Pursuit, the only attack Dugtrio has that hurt it is Aerial Ace that it bursts through many popular walls in the game with ease are just some of the reasons why Heracross is such a popular pokemon. On one last note, Sleep Talk is a very viable option here because it allows Heracross to activate its Guts ability.
Rating: 9.5/10
Façade
Item: Flame Orb
Nature: Jolly/ Adamant
Ability: Guts
Attacks:
Facade
Close Combat
Megahorn
Swords Dance/ Stone Edge/ Night Slash
Lets face it, with the Guts ability, almost nothing has a hope of surviving the most powerful of attacks from Heracross. The reason why this set has caught the attention of quite a few people is that not only Heracross gets a major boost coming from being burst from Flame Orb but Façade’s power grow to amazing heights. The two most noticeably pokemon that can successfully wall Heracross to some extent were Gliscor and Weezing. However now even they take massive amounts of damage from a Guts activated Façade. Combine that with a pinch of Swords Dance and you’ve got the recipe for an almost unwallable pokemon. Now pokemon such as Gengar actually stand a much better chance of taking this overpowered bug down however not even they would like taking a Megahorn attack. Swords Dance is optional but most people choose to have it, mainly because of the massive power boost it gives Heracross, like Heracross already hasn’t had enough steroids. Close Combat takes out Skarmory and stuff while Megahorn removes Cresselia, Slowbro, etc. Even an Intimidate coming from Gyarados won’t be enough to save it from taking massive damage. One of the major problems, glaring problems is that Heracross loses close or exactly 1/8 of its health at the end of each turn from being burnt. Combine that with possible hail or sandstorm damage, Spikes, Stealth Rock and being attacked when it’s trying to set up Swords Dance means that this version of Heracross isn’t going to last long. Even though this set isn’t a Choice set, prediction is still very, very important because if your opponent brings in Gengar or a faster pokemon on the switch, you’ll be in big trouble. Also Toxic Spikes damage can add up and remove the Flame Orb from being effective. As suicidal as this version of Heracross is, it’s still incredibly powerful.
Rating: 8.5/10
Sleep Talker
Item: Leftovers/ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Guts
Attacks:
Megahorn
Close Combat/ Stone Edge
Rest
Sleep Talk
A more studier version of Heracross with a bit more survivability. When your health gets low enough, Rest should be used and effectively in turn, the Guts ability will be activated. Sleep Talk and with a bit of luck, hopefully you’ll be able to do some serious damage. Just on a note, Close Combat is probably the more inferior option due to its downside of lowering the user’s defenses. Stone Edge is weaker however it does offer useful type coverage. Because you’ll be healing your HP often with Rest, Life Orb is also a good choice here.
Rating: 8/10
Contests
Contest Type: Cool
Moves:
Swords Dance
Aerial Ace
Protect
Megahorn
Heracross’s contest movepool is really limited and if you’re looking for a good pokemon to use in a contest, this probably ain’t it. Standard charge up set, set up then go for big points next round.
Rating: 8/10
Type:
Heracross has the unique typing of both bug and fighting. Obviously it comes with the downside x4 weakness to flying type attacks but considering how rare flying attacks are used, it’s not going to hamper Heracross too much. Besides that, its only other two weaknesses are to psychic and fire. Heracross in the fourth generation has become much more fierce, boasting a new STAB fighting attack in Close Combat. Physical Pursuit, the ability to smack around Cresselia and the potential to bring down popular physical walls are just some of the reasons why people love using this fearsome beast.
It’s not really a matter of how to beat Heracross but how to wall it. Very few pokemon have the potential to wall Heracross. Giratina is one of the best however it is restricted to uber play. Arguably though the best counter for Heracross is Gliscor, with or without Aerial Ace. Gliscor not only resists both STAB attacks but also takes little damage from Stone Edge. Weezing and many other poison pokemon also do a decent job at taking of Heracross but unfortunately, most are overpowered in the end. Some flying pokemon like Charizard might be able to switch into Heracross but have to watch out for a well predicted Stone Edge, same with many ghosts too however they fear Might Slash.
As for what takes down Heracross, it’s just a matter of finding out what version of Heracross it is. Before you all go a tell me that a faster pokemon like Alakazam takes it down, remember many Heracross are equipped with the ever deadly Choice Scarf. Of coarse giving it this does hamper its ability to break down walls but it makes a great revenge killer. Gyarados and Salamence can switch into most of Heracross’s attacks, Intimidate it and set up with the hope that Heracross has to switch out. Dugtrio can’t switch into Heracross’s attacks but can revenge kill it with Aerial Ace. Just remember that Heracross is quite like Garchomp except without the special attacking power. Until you figure out its item, don’t get too cocky when trying to beat it. While it is easily taken down by many things that can hit it for super-effective, remember that they are also taken down easily by Heracross itself.
Abilities- Swarm:
Swarm is an ability similar to Blaze and Torrent. When the user’s health gets below 1/3 of their max health, bug attacks are multiplied by 1.5 in strength. This ability is decent but it isn’t as good as its next one, having a few more uses. Nevertheless if you do plan on using the Reversal set, this ability will be for you.
Guts:
Guts is quite a handy ability, especially for Heracross. It allows Heracross to receive a handy attack boost from being inflicted with a status problem. As seen above, some sets are based and do take advantage of the Guts ability. With the right technique, you can purposely switch into a status problem-inflicting move and let Heracross receive the attack boost, even from a burn. Also its handy to note that Heracross handles Dusknoir using Night Slash, better than others who have the Guts ability like Machamp if it ever gets burnt by Dusknoir.
Overall Rating for Heracross: 9/10