Funbot28
Banned deucer.
Approved by Arikado on discord
QC Stamps: MrAldo / Arikado / col49
GP Stamps: Kris / Fireflame479
AM GP Stamps: Conor3197
[OVERVIEW]
Heracross stands out as a fearsome, offensive threat in the current metagame by virtue of its high base Attack and adequate Speed. It holds a great offensive Bug / Fighting typing that helps it break through the various Rock-, Psychic-, and Steel-types in the metagame and also gives it resistances to numerous common offensive types such as Dark, Fighting, Grass, and Ground. Having access to two great abilities in Moxie and Guts allows Heracross to turn into either a great revenge killer that can sweep late-game or a powerful wallbreaker that is stronger with a status condition.
Nonetheless, Heracross is weak to other prominent offensive types in Flying, Psychic, Fire, and Fairy, making it quite hard to bring in consistently. Although its Speed is above average, it still falls short of outspeeding other common offensive threats such as Swellow, Salazzle, Zoroark, and Bruxish unless it is running a Choice Scarf. Heracross is also susceptible to being worn down quickly by entry hazards and status conditions, meaning that revenge killers can often pick it off rather easily thanks to Heracross's average bulk alongside the defense drops from Close Combat.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Megahorn
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Close Combat is the main Fighting-type STAB move of this set, allowing Heracross to dent walls such as Gigalith, Porygon2, and Registeel. Megahorn is Heracross's secondary STAB move that allows it to target the Grass- and Psychic-types that resist Fighting-type moves such as Venusaur, Necrozma, and Cresselia. Knock Off complements Heracross's STAB moves extremely well, as it allows it to target Ghost-types such as Doublade, Cofagrigus, and Jellicent, which are immune to Fighting-type moves and resistant to Bug-type moves. It also lets Heracross hit Psychic-types such as Bronzong and Hoopa for more damage. Stone Edge is another great coverage move that allows Heracross to hit Flying-types such as Noivern, Mantine, and Moltres, as they can all comfortably switch into Heracross otherwise.
Set Details
========
Choice Scarf is equipped to turn Heracross into a potent revenge killer, allowing it to outspeed threats such as Rotom-H, Espeon, and Meloetta. Moxie is used as Heracross's ability, since it functions well alongside Choice Scarf, allowing Heracross to raise its Attack after each threat that it KOes, thus turning Heracross into a a fast and powerful wallbreaker simultaneously. EVs have been maxed out in Attack and Speed with a Jolly nature to maximize Heracross's sweeping capabilities.
Usage Tips
========
Heracross is best used late-game once its checks have been weakened or KOed, since it can proceed to sweep after gaining Attack boosts from Moxie. More often than not, if Heracross is unable to achieve the KO on certain offensive threats with Close Combat, it risks getting revenge killed itself due to the Defense and Special Defense drops. Although Heracross can outspeed the majority of the unboosted metagame with a Choice Scarf, it still fears being revenge killed by priority moves from common users such as Comfey, Linoone, and Mega Glalie, since the Defense and Special Defense drops from Close Combat can leave Heracross prone to being KOed. Therefore, if Heracross is severely weakened, it should switch out immediately if it is facing the aforementioned threats. Heracross can also be forced out if it locks itself into Close Combat, since it allows Ghost-types such as Doublade and Mismagius to setup Swords Dance and Nasty Plot, respectively. Therefore, it should be wary of spamming Close Combat if opposing Ghost-types are still active.
Team Options
========
Due to Heracross's critical weakness to Flying-type attacks, Rock-types like Diancie, Gigalith, and Rhyperior that can switch into threats such as Moltres, Yanmega, and Noivern can be beneficial; they can also set up Stealth Rock. Electric-types such as Heliolisk and Rotom-H resist Flying-type attacks as well and can provide momentum with Volt Switch. Rotom-H is especially useful, since it also resists Fairy-type attacks. Other wallbreakers such as Swellow, Kingdra, and Salazzle can help break through Heracross's checks such as Doublade, Florges, and Nidoqueen. Entry hazard removers like Gligar, Mantine, and Dhelmise can also be useful to grant Heracross more opportunities to switch in. Setup sweepers such as Bruxish, Florges, and Snorlax appreciate Heracross's ability to take out offensive threats, and they can break through defensive walls in return.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Facade
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Swords Dance / Megahorn
item: Flame Orb / Choice Band
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Close Combat acts as the Fighting-type STAB move on this set, dealing immense damage in conjunction with the Attack boost from Guts. Facade is a great coverage move, as it allows Heracross to fire off a powerful 140-Base Power attack that can target Fairy- and Flying-types for neutral damage, which would otherwise switch in on Heracross's STAB attacks, once it is statused. Knock Off is a useful attack, as it can help Heracross dent the Ghost-types that can otherwise wall it such as Doublade, Mismagius, and Dhelmise; it can also cripple defensive threats that rely on their item such as Gligar. Swords Dance turns Heracross into a monstrous attacker, since very few walls can avoid getting OHKOed after it garners the +2 Attack boost alongside the Guts boost. Megahorn is an alternative STAB option that allows Heracross to hit Dark- and Psychic-type Pokemon such as Sableye and Slowbro for more damage.
Set Details
========
Guts is chosen to convert Heracross into a powerful wallbreaker once it becomes statused, meaning that it can avoid the Attack drop from being burned. Flame Orb is equipped to ensure that Heracross is inflicted by status to take advantage of the effects of Guts. Choice Band can be equipped instead to allow Heracross to potentially fire off more-than-twice-as-strong attacks if it manages to get statused. EVs have been fully invested in Attack and Speed with a Jolly nature to allow Heracross to hit as hard as possible while enabling it to outspeed as many threats as it can.
Usage Tips
========
Once Heracross becomes burned by the Flame Orb, it can act as a great status absorber, meaning that it can switch in versus threats such as Jellicent, Milotic, and Sableye, which commonly use status moves to weaken or cripple the foe. However, Heracross does not appreciate being paralyzed due to it diminishing its Speed stat greatly. Heracross's underwhelming Speed prevents it from threatening offensive threats such as Salazzle, Swellow, and Flygon, meaning that it should pivot out when facing these threats to avoid the risk of getting KOed. However, it does possess enough Speed to threaten more defensive teams and is extremely difficult to wall if it manages to set up a Swords Dance. Defensive walls with recovery moves such as Mantine, Milotic, and Gligar can all stall out Heracross and leave it to wear itself down with residual burn damage if it does not run Swords Dance. Therefore, Heracross should only attack the aforementioned threats after they have been weakened.
Team Options
========
Steel-types such as Registeel, Doublade, and Bronzong are great partners for Heracross, as they can switch into Fairy- and Flying-type attacks. They also appreciate Heracross's resistances to Ground- and Dark-type moves in return. Entry hazard removers like Mantine, Dhelmise, and Gligar are vital in order to sustain Heracross's longevity, since it can otherwise be weakened significantly by entry hazard and burn damage. Special attacking wallbreakers such as Gardevoir, Swellow, and Nidoqueen are valuable teammates as well, as they can help Heracross break through defensive walls like Chestnaught, Gligar, and Qwilfish much more easily, while Heracross can break through specially defensive walls in return. Nidoqueen is especially credible, since it can also set up Stealth Rock, allowing Heracross to break through its checks more consistently. Wish and Healing Wish support from Pokemon such as Umbreon, Shaymin, and Gardevoir, or Lunar Dance in the case of Cresselia, can also be useful to increase Heracross's sustainability immensely and allows it to play more aggressively.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Earthquake could be utilized on any set, allowing Heracross to break through defensive Poison-types such as Nidoqueen and Qwilfish more easily. It can also be paired with Groundium Z on Moxie sets, allowing Heracross to KO checks such as Nidoqueen and Doublade after a bit of chip damage, although its other options generally grant it more coverage. A bulky Swords Dance set with an EV spread consisting of 240 HP / 136 Atk / 132 Spe with an Adamant nature can be used, turning Heracross into a bulky setup sweeper that can obtain more setup opportunities; however, it leaves Heracross outsped by many threats. Aerial Ace is another coverage option that can be used to break through Fighting-types such as Chestnaught and opposing Heracross, although it is rather niche and is only useful for specific circumstances.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Ghost-types**: Ghost-types such as Doublade, Cofagrigus, Dhelmise, and Jellicent can switch into Heracross due to their immunity to Fighting and resistance to Bug; however, they struggle to check Heracross reliably if it chooses to run Knock Off.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Florges, Granbull, and Comfey all resist both of Heracross's STAB attacks and threaten to KO it with their own STAB attacks.
**Flying-types**: Gligar, Noivern, and Yanmega all threaten to KO Heracross with their STAB Flying-type attacks, although Heracross can outspeed them and hit them hard with Stone Edge if it runs a Choice Scarf for the last two examples.
**Faster Threats**: Faster, offensive Pokemon such as Salazzle, Shaymin, and Rotom-H can outspeed all Heracross variants if they choose to run a Choice Scarf and can threaten to OHKO it with their STAB or coverage moves.
**Residual Damage*: Guts sets can be worn down rather quickly by residual damage, including burn damage, entry hazard damage, and weather effects like sand.
QC Stamps: MrAldo / Arikado / col49
GP Stamps: Kris / Fireflame479
AM GP Stamps: Conor3197
[OVERVIEW]
Heracross stands out as a fearsome, offensive threat in the current metagame by virtue of its high base Attack and adequate Speed. It holds a great offensive Bug / Fighting typing that helps it break through the various Rock-, Psychic-, and Steel-types in the metagame and also gives it resistances to numerous common offensive types such as Dark, Fighting, Grass, and Ground. Having access to two great abilities in Moxie and Guts allows Heracross to turn into either a great revenge killer that can sweep late-game or a powerful wallbreaker that is stronger with a status condition.
Nonetheless, Heracross is weak to other prominent offensive types in Flying, Psychic, Fire, and Fairy, making it quite hard to bring in consistently. Although its Speed is above average, it still falls short of outspeeding other common offensive threats such as Swellow, Salazzle, Zoroark, and Bruxish unless it is running a Choice Scarf. Heracross is also susceptible to being worn down quickly by entry hazards and status conditions, meaning that revenge killers can often pick it off rather easily thanks to Heracross's average bulk alongside the defense drops from Close Combat.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Megahorn
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Moxie
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Close Combat is the main Fighting-type STAB move of this set, allowing Heracross to dent walls such as Gigalith, Porygon2, and Registeel. Megahorn is Heracross's secondary STAB move that allows it to target the Grass- and Psychic-types that resist Fighting-type moves such as Venusaur, Necrozma, and Cresselia. Knock Off complements Heracross's STAB moves extremely well, as it allows it to target Ghost-types such as Doublade, Cofagrigus, and Jellicent, which are immune to Fighting-type moves and resistant to Bug-type moves. It also lets Heracross hit Psychic-types such as Bronzong and Hoopa for more damage. Stone Edge is another great coverage move that allows Heracross to hit Flying-types such as Noivern, Mantine, and Moltres, as they can all comfortably switch into Heracross otherwise.
Set Details
========
Choice Scarf is equipped to turn Heracross into a potent revenge killer, allowing it to outspeed threats such as Rotom-H, Espeon, and Meloetta. Moxie is used as Heracross's ability, since it functions well alongside Choice Scarf, allowing Heracross to raise its Attack after each threat that it KOes, thus turning Heracross into a a fast and powerful wallbreaker simultaneously. EVs have been maxed out in Attack and Speed with a Jolly nature to maximize Heracross's sweeping capabilities.
Usage Tips
========
Heracross is best used late-game once its checks have been weakened or KOed, since it can proceed to sweep after gaining Attack boosts from Moxie. More often than not, if Heracross is unable to achieve the KO on certain offensive threats with Close Combat, it risks getting revenge killed itself due to the Defense and Special Defense drops. Although Heracross can outspeed the majority of the unboosted metagame with a Choice Scarf, it still fears being revenge killed by priority moves from common users such as Comfey, Linoone, and Mega Glalie, since the Defense and Special Defense drops from Close Combat can leave Heracross prone to being KOed. Therefore, if Heracross is severely weakened, it should switch out immediately if it is facing the aforementioned threats. Heracross can also be forced out if it locks itself into Close Combat, since it allows Ghost-types such as Doublade and Mismagius to setup Swords Dance and Nasty Plot, respectively. Therefore, it should be wary of spamming Close Combat if opposing Ghost-types are still active.
Team Options
========
Due to Heracross's critical weakness to Flying-type attacks, Rock-types like Diancie, Gigalith, and Rhyperior that can switch into threats such as Moltres, Yanmega, and Noivern can be beneficial; they can also set up Stealth Rock. Electric-types such as Heliolisk and Rotom-H resist Flying-type attacks as well and can provide momentum with Volt Switch. Rotom-H is especially useful, since it also resists Fairy-type attacks. Other wallbreakers such as Swellow, Kingdra, and Salazzle can help break through Heracross's checks such as Doublade, Florges, and Nidoqueen. Entry hazard removers like Gligar, Mantine, and Dhelmise can also be useful to grant Heracross more opportunities to switch in. Setup sweepers such as Bruxish, Florges, and Snorlax appreciate Heracross's ability to take out offensive threats, and they can break through defensive walls in return.
[SET]
name: Wallbreaker
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Facade
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Swords Dance / Megahorn
item: Flame Orb / Choice Band
ability: Guts
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Close Combat acts as the Fighting-type STAB move on this set, dealing immense damage in conjunction with the Attack boost from Guts. Facade is a great coverage move, as it allows Heracross to fire off a powerful 140-Base Power attack that can target Fairy- and Flying-types for neutral damage, which would otherwise switch in on Heracross's STAB attacks, once it is statused. Knock Off is a useful attack, as it can help Heracross dent the Ghost-types that can otherwise wall it such as Doublade, Mismagius, and Dhelmise; it can also cripple defensive threats that rely on their item such as Gligar. Swords Dance turns Heracross into a monstrous attacker, since very few walls can avoid getting OHKOed after it garners the +2 Attack boost alongside the Guts boost. Megahorn is an alternative STAB option that allows Heracross to hit Dark- and Psychic-type Pokemon such as Sableye and Slowbro for more damage.
Set Details
========
Guts is chosen to convert Heracross into a powerful wallbreaker once it becomes statused, meaning that it can avoid the Attack drop from being burned. Flame Orb is equipped to ensure that Heracross is inflicted by status to take advantage of the effects of Guts. Choice Band can be equipped instead to allow Heracross to potentially fire off more-than-twice-as-strong attacks if it manages to get statused. EVs have been fully invested in Attack and Speed with a Jolly nature to allow Heracross to hit as hard as possible while enabling it to outspeed as many threats as it can.
Usage Tips
========
Once Heracross becomes burned by the Flame Orb, it can act as a great status absorber, meaning that it can switch in versus threats such as Jellicent, Milotic, and Sableye, which commonly use status moves to weaken or cripple the foe. However, Heracross does not appreciate being paralyzed due to it diminishing its Speed stat greatly. Heracross's underwhelming Speed prevents it from threatening offensive threats such as Salazzle, Swellow, and Flygon, meaning that it should pivot out when facing these threats to avoid the risk of getting KOed. However, it does possess enough Speed to threaten more defensive teams and is extremely difficult to wall if it manages to set up a Swords Dance. Defensive walls with recovery moves such as Mantine, Milotic, and Gligar can all stall out Heracross and leave it to wear itself down with residual burn damage if it does not run Swords Dance. Therefore, Heracross should only attack the aforementioned threats after they have been weakened.
Team Options
========
Steel-types such as Registeel, Doublade, and Bronzong are great partners for Heracross, as they can switch into Fairy- and Flying-type attacks. They also appreciate Heracross's resistances to Ground- and Dark-type moves in return. Entry hazard removers like Mantine, Dhelmise, and Gligar are vital in order to sustain Heracross's longevity, since it can otherwise be weakened significantly by entry hazard and burn damage. Special attacking wallbreakers such as Gardevoir, Swellow, and Nidoqueen are valuable teammates as well, as they can help Heracross break through defensive walls like Chestnaught, Gligar, and Qwilfish much more easily, while Heracross can break through specially defensive walls in return. Nidoqueen is especially credible, since it can also set up Stealth Rock, allowing Heracross to break through its checks more consistently. Wish and Healing Wish support from Pokemon such as Umbreon, Shaymin, and Gardevoir, or Lunar Dance in the case of Cresselia, can also be useful to increase Heracross's sustainability immensely and allows it to play more aggressively.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Earthquake could be utilized on any set, allowing Heracross to break through defensive Poison-types such as Nidoqueen and Qwilfish more easily. It can also be paired with Groundium Z on Moxie sets, allowing Heracross to KO checks such as Nidoqueen and Doublade after a bit of chip damage, although its other options generally grant it more coverage. A bulky Swords Dance set with an EV spread consisting of 240 HP / 136 Atk / 132 Spe with an Adamant nature can be used, turning Heracross into a bulky setup sweeper that can obtain more setup opportunities; however, it leaves Heracross outsped by many threats. Aerial Ace is another coverage option that can be used to break through Fighting-types such as Chestnaught and opposing Heracross, although it is rather niche and is only useful for specific circumstances.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Ghost-types**: Ghost-types such as Doublade, Cofagrigus, Dhelmise, and Jellicent can switch into Heracross due to their immunity to Fighting and resistance to Bug; however, they struggle to check Heracross reliably if it chooses to run Knock Off.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Florges, Granbull, and Comfey all resist both of Heracross's STAB attacks and threaten to KO it with their own STAB attacks.
**Flying-types**: Gligar, Noivern, and Yanmega all threaten to KO Heracross with their STAB Flying-type attacks, although Heracross can outspeed them and hit them hard with Stone Edge if it runs a Choice Scarf for the last two examples.
**Faster Threats**: Faster, offensive Pokemon such as Salazzle, Shaymin, and Rotom-H can outspeed all Heracross variants if they choose to run a Choice Scarf and can threaten to OHKO it with their STAB or coverage moves.
**Residual Damage*: Guts sets can be worn down rather quickly by residual damage, including burn damage, entry hazard damage, and weather effects like sand.
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