"Choice" is in reference to the items and the popularity of this Heracross set. With a Choice Band boost Heracross is incredibly powerful and few Pokémon can survive hits from his 120 base power dual STAB moves, Megahorn and Close Combat. Flying-types ruin the fun, but that's where Stone Edge comes in to at least 2HKO the majority of Heracross' airborne foes. Pursuit works great on the brawling bug, as it punishes fleeing opponents and is particularly useful against slower Psychic-types who switch out, fearing a Megahorn. Night Slash allows Heracross to 2HKO Dusknoir in case it stays in, predicting a Pursuit. Sleep Talk is also a good option in the last slot if you are in need of a sleep absorber. Heracross can switch in with relative safety against many sleep inducers, such as Milotic, Gengar, Breloom, and Tangrowth. Bear in mind that Sleep Talk will fail after the first use due to the restrictions of Choice items, so you will have to switch out. In a big turnaround from the previous generation, not even Skarmory can risk switching into Choice Band Heracross as Close Combat will 2HKO the steel bird. Sounds scary, doesn't it? We haven't even gotten to Guts yet. If 574 Attack wasn't enough, Heracross can gain a further boost by switching into a status move. With Choice Band and Guts activated, Heracross will essentially be operating with over a "free" Swords Dance every time he unleashes his attacks. Damage CalculationsTo further illustrate the immense power of Choice Band Heracross, here are some damage calculations for your viewing pleasure. Close Combat vs. Max HP/Defense+ Skarmory 53–63%. Stone Edge vs. 384 HP/239 Defense Gyarados (after Intimidate) 60–71%. Pursuit vs. Max HP/Defense+ Dusknoir, when switching out 56–66%. If Heracross switches into a Will-O-Wisp, Pursuit will deal 83-98% damage. Guts boosted Pursuit does 42–50% if Dusknoir stays in. Stone Edge vs. Max HP/Defense+ Weezing 33–39%. 66–78% with a critical hit. Stone Edge vs. Max HP/Defense+ Gliscor 30–36%. 61–72% with a critical hit. Megahorn/Close Combat vs. 401 HP/280 Defense Jirachi 66–78%. Pursuit vs. Max HP/Defense+ Blissey, when switching out 35–42%. 53–63% if Heracross switches into a Thunder Wave.
Although he lacks the monstrous power provided by Choice Band, Choice Scarf Heracross is still a potent threat. He outspeeds almost everything—aside from other Choice Scarf users and Deoxys-S, of course—with the Scarf attached and still boasts an Attack of 383. Toxic may seem out of place on the heavy-hitting Heracross, but the Choice Scarf variant doesn't have the firepower to take on its more troublesome counters, such as Gliscor, Hippowdon, and Dusknoir. But Heracross can Toxic these (as well as bulky Water-types) on the switch-in, making life more difficult for them. For instance, Gliscor normally Roosts off damage faster than Heracross can deal it, but once Gliscor is poisoned, it has to contend with Roosting off the increasing poison damage as well as Heracross's attacks (most likely Stone Edge), making it possible for Heracross to go toe-to-toe with Gliscor and win. What's more, these same Pokemon tend to hinder sweeps from the likes of Garchomp and Lucario. These two will welcome the poison support. Toxic is preferred over Pursuit in this case because without the Attack boost of the Choice Band, Pursuit's damage can be disappointing.
A more sweeper orientated set than the previous one. This is a simple premise, really; just wait until your opponents team is sufficiently weakened and send in Heracross to Swords Dance and sweep. Life Orb provides more attack power at the cost of his HP. Wide Lens boosts the accuracy of Stone Edge and Megahorn and helps to avoid a costly miss. Heracross is not too swift, so paralysis support or a Baton Passed Agility would be welcome here.
More fun with Swords Dance here, but with Substitute and Salac Berry to increase your chances of plowing through an opponent's team. Substitute protects against potentially fatal attacks and drops Heracross' HP, activating Salac Berry and Swarm. Hopefully you had the chance to set up a Swords Dance along the way, as you can now sweep with Megahorn, taking out Flying-types that get in the way with Stone Edge. With a 30 HP IV and no EVs in HP, Salac activates after three Substitutes, allowing Heracross to get in a few hits before dying from the effects of sandstorm or hail.
This set is designed to beat Heracross' usual counters. With Swords Dance and Flame Orb, Heracross' Attack will have effectively tripled, giving it a stat of roughly 1149 or 1047, depending on your nature. Thanks to Flame Orb, Heracross has a deadly new weapon in Facade, which OHKOs bulky Gyarados (with Intimidate factored in), Gliscor, and Weezing. Hippowdon, Bronzong, and Skarmory are OHKOed by Close Combat after a Swords Dance, and every single Psychic-type in the game is OHKOed by Megahorn. Don't expect this Heracross to survive too long, as it loses 12.5% of its health every turn, and 18.75% in Hail or Sandstorm conditions.
With three auto-weather inducers—most notably the virtually omnipresent Tyranitar—blighting the landscape with their sandstorms and hail, this set can be difficult to use effectively. As such it is recommended you pack a weather changer with Sunny Day or Rain Dance to clear the skies after Tyranitar, Hippowdon and Abomasnow are downed. Use Substitute or Endure to get Heracross down to a Salac boost, enabling him to sweep with a full powered Reversal. Swords Dance gives Heracross more Attack, while Focus Punch can prove useful to wear down the likes of Skarmory.
A sturdier version of Heracross and a good choice for absorbing sleep, particularly from Grass-types. Rest also activates Guts, so this set has power comparable to the Choice Bander. Megahorn/Stone Edge is good type coverage when only using two attacks, although you can use Close Combat over either attack so you are not stuck against the likes of Magnezone or Skarmory. Bear in mind that Close Combat reduces Heracross' defenses with each use and goes against the general idea of this set somewhat. Use Leftovers for more staying power or Life Orb for that little extra kick. Other OptionsBulk Up can help Heracross survive more attacks, such as Dugtrio's Aerial Ace. It doesn't work too well with Close Combat, so Brick Break is an option if you're using Bulk Up. Aerial Ace takes down other Heracross. Earthquake isn't much use on Heracross, aside from hurting the rare Nidoqueen. EVsFor the Choice Band set, a minimum of 244 Speed (Adamant, 152 EVs) to outspeed Jolly Tyranitar. Other Speeds to aim for include 260 (Adamant, 216 EVs) to beat Adamant Medicham and Blaziken, 280 (Jolly, 196 EVs) for Adamant/Modest Lucario and Drapion, 285 (Jolly, 216 EVs) for Jolly Medicham and Blaziken, and 290 (Jolly, 232 EVs) for Adamant Electivire. Max Attack and put any remaining EVs in HP. Choice Scarf sets should be Adamant with max Attack and Speed. For the Sub + Salac variant of the Swords Dance set, make sure your HP is divisible by four. This is to ensure the Salac Berry will activate after three Substitutes, giving Heracross some leftover HP to survive at least one turn if Sandstorm or Hail is active. Reversal set needs 264 Speed, but max is recommended. If using Substitute make sure your HP is indivisible by four, so Heracross can make four Substitutes, instead of three. Swords Dance sets can follow the same pattern as the Choice Bander, but Jolly is the preferred nature unless you're planning to provide him a lot of paralysis support or pass him some Speed. Sleep Talk set can focus on HP, or use the same spread as the Choice Bander. If you're using Bulk Up, then a mere 60 HP EVs will allow Heracross to survive an Adamant Choice Banded Aerial Ace from Dugtrio after one Defense boost. OpinionWith his massive Attack stat and high powered STAB moves, Heracross is a huge threat to any team. Several of his counters from the previous generation can be destroyed if they switch in on the wrong move. Salamence and Gyarados only had to worry about the fairly weak Rock Slide, but now they face Stone Edge with its higher base power and high critical hit chance. Skarmory gets 2HKOed by a Choice Banded Close Combat or OHKOed by the same attack after a Swords Dance and with a Life Orb boost. However, Heracross is not invincible. UnSTABed Aerial Aces can bring him down with ease and he has few useful resistances. His Ground resistance is most welcome, but despite this powerful STABed Earthquakes from the likes of Garchomp can 2HKO him. All things considered, Heracross is one of the most fearsome physical threats in the game. CountersGliscor is the best counter around. High Defense, resistant to both STAB moves and neutral to Rock and Dark. He has higher base Speed than Heracross so he can use Roost to heal and buy him a resistance to Stone Edge. STAB Aerial Ace has no problem bringing down Heracross. Like Gliscor, Weezing also resists both STAB attacks and has the Defense to handle Stone Edges. Flamethrower or Fire Blast can 2HKO Heracross. Make sure you don't burn Heracross with Will-O-Wisp though. Fire Punch Dusknoir is also a good choice thanks to his Fighting immunity and Bug resistance. Like with Weezing, be sure to avoid burning Heracross. Although Stone Edge has the potential to KO them both, Salamence and Gyarados provide good coverage against Heracross. Intimidate and resistance to Close Combat and Megahorn help them switch in. Gyarados requires Waterfall to 2HKO, while Salamence can bring him down with Choice Band Fire Fang or Dragon Claw or a Choice Specs Draco Meteor or Flamethrower. Nidoqueen with Aerial Ace works well thanks to her resistances to everything (save Pursuit and Night Slash) Heracross normally carries. Nidoking and Toxicroak also have the appropriate resistances, but their lower defenses and lack of a solid Flying attack make them rather shaky switch-ins against the Choice Band set. A defensive Hitmontop with Intimidate and Aerial Ace can switch into anything apart from CB Close Combat. More attack minded sets can bring down Heracross with a combination of Fake Out and Bullet Punch. Jirachi can survive any of the attacks on the Choice Band set and use Zen Headbutt to kill off Heracross. It won't OHKO without significant EV investment, but if you make Jirachi faster he can grab some luck with the flinch rate of Zen Headbutt. Switching into a Close Combat allows for a OHKO when factoring in the Defense drop. Metagross works in a similar way, but will require a Choice Scarf to ensure he is faster than Heracross. Although it risks a Choice Band Close Combat, Skarmory can counter every other form of Heracross with its massive base 140 Defense and STABed Flying-type moves to dispose of Heracross. Dugtrio gets a mention for his ability to trap and kill with Aerial Ace. |
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