Sacred Fire is an excellent attack, and with its 50% burn rate and Ho-oh's high Attack stat you can expect to cause some serious problems for your opponent. Earthquake does more damage to Dialga than Sacred Fire if the weather isn't on your side, in addition to hitting any Tyranitar or Heatran that may come your way. It also 2HKOs Kyogre and Palkia, two very common switch-ins on Ho-oh. Punishment is quite an interesting attack and is well suited for use against the stat boosting Psychic-types that are common in Uber battles. Although it starts at a paltry 60 base power, it gains an extra 20 for each stat boost the opponent has. For example, against an opponent with one Calm Mind, Punishment will have 100 base power. Regardless of whether they have any boosts, Punishment will be your best attack for hitting Latios (who will often fall to a single hit), Latias, and Giratina. Despite being almost forced to use Return in the last slot, given that it is Ho-oh's only other remotely usable physical attack, Ho-oh can actually use it to some success. It easily 2HKOs Rayquaza, Palkia, Kyogre, Ho-oh, Latios, and most Latias. Choice Scarf is a viable alternative to Choice Band if you want to compensate for Ho-oh's sub-par Speed. Although it'll be somewhat lacking in power, it can ensure that it'll finish off weakened opponents without taking a possibly fatal hit. Punishment really shines on a Choice Scarf set, as the extra Speed can allow Ho-oh to finish off the likes of Calm Mind Mewtwo and Latios without taking a hit from either of them.
This set uses the same "hit and run" tactic as the previous set, but utilizes Ho-oh's Special Attack. Overheat provides the most initial power for a STAB move, while Fire Blast does more damage over two turns. Flamethrower has significantly less power, but is the most accurate option and has more PP than the other Fire attacks. Thunder falls just short of guaranteeing a OHKO on Kyogre, but with the 30% paralysis rate, a little luck can allow Ho-oh to finish off his nemesis the following turn. Shadow Ball is mostly for the Lati twins and Giratina who resist Fire/Electric, since your Overheat and Fire Blast will do more damage to other Psychic fiends like Lugia and Mewtwo, as does Flamethrower, when the sun is out. Hidden Power Ice is highly recommended in the last slot in order to combat Rayquaza, who would otherwise switch in freely. Earthquake is a good alternative as it will tear through Heatran, although it is mostly listed as an option for WiFi battles, if you are unable to get a good Ho-oh with Hidden Power Ice. You could also throw Sacred Fire in the last slot to 2HKO Blissey in the sun. The Choice Band set is generally superior to this, but with Choice Specs Thunder and Hidden Power Ice, this set handles Kyogre and Rayquaza a little more effectively.
Calm Mind to boost Ho-oh's less than impressive Special Attack (in Uber terms anyway) and send that already monstrous Special Defense through the roof. Thunder hits incoming Kyogre hard and also other Ho-oh. Hidden Power Ice is the better option overall as it hits a wider pool of enemies, including Rayquaza, Latios, Latias, and Giratina. The final slot provides Ho-oh will the ability to heal off damage between boosting and attacking. Roost will rid it of its Electric weakness and buy it a resistance to Ice, but as the fiery bird isn't too speedy it often won't help too much. As such, Recover is a perfectly acceptable alternative.
Ho-oh can attempt to stall out opponents with Toxic and its massive Special Defense. You will still want Light Screen to take Surfs from Palkia and Kyogre and other hits from the many special based monsters that inhabit the uber metagame. Toxic your foes and use Light Screen, Recover or Roost and Pressure to stall out your opponent. Any physical threats can be handled with the burn from Sacred Fire, which had the added advantage of destroying any Metagross foolhardy enough to switch in. Make sure to hit the likes of Kyogre, Palkia, Mewtwo and Lati@s on the switch with Toxic. The latter two may use Taunt or Safeguard to shut down your strategy. Other OptionsThunder Wave can cripple a counter with paralysis; thankfully, the only Uber immune to it is Groudon, who is unlikely to risk switching into Ho-oh. Reflect is available for support purposes, although Sacred Fire burns are enough to ward off physical attackers. Whirlwind allows Ho-oh to function as a phazer, which he does reasonably well against special attackers if they lack an Electric attack. Safeguard gives Ho-oh and its team mates some protection against status. Due to Ho-oh's massive base 154 Special Defense, 106 base HP, and some fairly useful resistances, Rest and Sleep Talk are viable optons for a team that lacks a status absorber. EVsFirst of all, make sure that Ho-oh's HP is always an odd number. This lets it switch into Stealth Rock twice and survive, whereas an even numbered HP stat would mean two hits of Stealth Rock will kill it off. Always max Attack on the Choice Band set. Like many other Ubers in the same base 90 Speed group as Ho-oh, setting Speed is a tricky decision. Max Speed with an Adamant nature doesn't really guarantee it will outspeed anything of note; it just allows for a tie with Kyogre, Groudon, Dialga, and other Ho-oh. If you don't want to take your chances in the coin toss against those four, you can focus more on Ho-oh's HP, to allow it to take more hits. Allocate 24 EVs to Speed to beat Adamant Tyranitar, and then place the remaining EVs in HP. Jolly nature will outrun most Rayquaza, so that's certainly a worthy consideration. You only need 290 to achieve this, but max is again an option if you fancy your chances in a tie against the other base 90s. For the Choice Specs set, follow the same route as the Choice Bander, but use a Modest or Timid nature. For the Calm Mind set, near max HP and Special Defense will allow you to take special hits easier while you set up. You can pour all your EVs into Defense instead if you are happy to rely on Calm Mind alone for protection against special attacks. Lots of HP and Special Defense are needed for the Toxic set, with Careful nature. OpinionWith its monstrously high Special Defense combined with the excellent Sacred Fire and that impressive Attack stat, switching into Ho-oh is a daunting prospect. However, despite the benefits of the rainbow phoenix's signature attack, Fire is a rather average attacking type in Uber battles, as Dragons and Water types are common. Even though he is often pushed aside by his Psychic cousin, Lugia, Ho-oh's defensive abilities should not be underestimated. Although Lugia has superior physical Defense and takes less damage from Stealth Rock, Ho-oh's typing grants it useful neutralities to the common attack types of Ghost, Dark, and Ice, all of which Lugia is weak to. Stealth Rock is a real thorn in Ho-oh's side. While the floating rocks may not be as prevalent as they are in OU competition, there are still a few Pokemon in Uber battles who can set them up, Deoxys-D, Groudon, and Forretress being the most common examples. Once set up, Stealth Rock causes massive problems for Ho-oh, stripping off a crippling 50% of his HP. Ho-oh seems to have been almost forgotten and is a rare sight in Uber battles. Despite its flaws, this fiery menace is always worth considering when constructing your uber team, provided, of course, you have Groudon in tow. CountersAs was mentioned several times in the analysis, Kyogre is a massive pain in the tail feathers of Ho-oh. Although he can be hurt with Thunder or Choice Band Earthquake or Return, Kyogre will frequently come out on top. Palkia can also bring down Ho-oh and has a higher base Speed. Rayquaza, if using only physical attacks, is risking a Sacred Fire burn but he can otherwise operate quite effectively as a Ho-oh counter. Latios and Latias are resistant to Fire and immune to Ground, making them able to switch into half of Ho-oh's Choice Band moveset, but neither will enjoy taking hits from Punishment or Return. Both will easily beat the Calm Mind versions if Ho-oh doesn't have Hidden Power Ice, and even then both can still come out on top with Calm Mind and an Electric attack. Giratina can wall most of Ho-oh's attacks, barring Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Ice, although it has trouble doing significant damage in return unless it hits Ho-oh with Toxic. |
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