[OVERVIEW]
* High Attack and powerful STAB moves alongside Sacred Fire's high burn rate make Ho-Oh extremely tough to switch into.
* Ho-Oh never really suffers from four-moveslot syndrome thanks to the amazing neutral coverage offered by its STAB combo.
* Formidable bulk and typing let Ho-Oh check many threatening special attackers such as Xerneas, most Calm Mind Arceus formes, and Lunala.
* Regenerator and Recover let Ho-Oh continuously apply pressure throughout the game.
* Ho-Oh is an excellent choice to punish bulky Steel- and Fairy-types: these Pokemon generally do not threaten Ho-Oh much and often need to be played conservatively, which Ho-Oh can exploit.
* The burn damage nerf makes it somewhat tougher for Ho-Oh to wear down its checks.
Ho-Oh's 4x Rock weakness necessitates hazard removal support.
* The unavailability of Diancite and the Soul Dew nerf leave Ho-Oh with fewer options for hazard removal.
* Newcomer Zygarde-C walls Ho-Oh fairly comfortably, which can lower Ho-Oh's effectiveness against some defensive cores.
[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Sacred Fire
move 3: Recover
move 4: Earthquake / Substitute / Flame Charge
item: Life Orb
ability: Regenerator
nature: Adamant
evs: 248 HP / 208 Atk / 52 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Brave Bird is Ho-Oh's chief STAB move for its high damage output and excellent neutral coverage.
* Sacred Fire is a powerful Fire-type STAB move that destroys Steel-types and has a very high 47.5% burn rate factoring in accuracy, which can cripple many of Ho-Oh checks on the switch in.
* Recover allows Ho-Oh to heal off recoil from Life Orb and Brave Bird, making Ho-Oh very difficult to take out when combined with Regenerator.
* Earthquake 2HKOes Tyranitar, forces Arceus-Rock to recover, and chunks Primal Groudon for high damage while allowing Ho-Oh to avoid recoil damage from Brave Bird.
* Ho-Oh is great at forcing switches and can easily set up Substitute to force the opponent's hand. It is particularly adept at annoying defensive checks such as support Arceus-Water.
* Flame Charge can be used with Speed investment to allow Ho-Oh to potentially sweep a team late-game and outspeed things that would otherwise threaten it, such as Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Deoxys-A.
* Whirlwind can also be used on this set in the final slot to ensure Ho-Oh can beat Geomancy Xerneas.
Set Details
========
* The HP and Special Defense EVs guarantee that Ho-Oh survives +2 Thunder from Geomancy Xerneas.
* The remaining EVs are placed in Attack, with an Adamant nature to hit as hard as possible.
* An alternate EV spread of 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe can be considered if using Flame Charge: this allows Ho-Oh to outspeed neutral-natured Pheromosa after one boost.
Usage Tips
========
* Most Steel- and Fairy-types make it easy for Ho-Oh to come in and start firing off attacks at little risk to itself.
* Regenerator can often bring Ho-Oh back from the brink, so there is room to play it aggressively. That being said, recoil from Life Orb and Brave Bird can add up quickly, so don't be too reckless.
* Try not to burn things you would rather cripple with Toxic.
* Do your best to keep Stealth Rock off the field if Ho-Oh is important to the game plan. Make eliminating the foe's Stealth Rock user early a priority; and smart use of double switches and Defog users can help make sure the field is free of Stealth Rock for Ho-Oh.
* Try to scout for potential lures such as Stone Edge Solgaleo. Finding out if Primal Groudon has Stone Edge can also influence whether or not Ho-Oh can safely stay in against it.
Team Options
========
* Defog users such as Giratina-O; defensive Arceus-Water, Arceus-Dragon, or Arceus-Rock; and Mega Salamence provide hazard removal support. Arceus-Water works particularly well since it checks Mega Salamence and Rock-types.
* Rapid Spinners such as Excadrill or Pheromosa can also remove Stealth Rock without erasing the team's own hazards.
* Mega Sableye can help keep Stealth Rock off the field courtesy of Magic Bounce.
* Mega Gengar can trap and KO Stealth Rock users as well as potential Ho-Oh checks such as defensive Arceus formes.
* Primal Groudon, Dialga, and Ferrothorn help against Primal Kyogre and can provide hazard support. Primal Groudon also shares several checks with Ho-Oh so it can help weaken them, while Dialga also helps deal with Mega Salamence and Rock-types.
* Mega Salamence can work together with Ho-Oh to break Arceus-Rock.
* Xerneas and Ice Beam users such as Arceus-Water can deal with Zygarde-C, which otherwise soundly walls Ho-Oh.
* Zygarde-C checks a lot of annoying physical attackers such as Primal Groudon and Mega Salamence that can bother Ho-Oh. It is a particularly useful pivot if you need to scout for Stone Edge on an enemy.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Sacred Fire
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Choice Band
ability: Regenerator
nature: Adamant
evs: 248 HP / 208 Atk / 52 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Choice Band Brave Bird hits extremely hard, 2HKOing most of the tier with few Pokemon that resist it.
* Sacred Fire covers Steel-types and weakens checks with its high burn rate.
* Earthquake 2HKOes maximum HP Primal Groudon and Tyranitar; it also forces Arceus-Rock to Recover to help get a free switch for a teammate that can beat Arceus-Rock.
* Sleep Talk makes Ho-Oh a good sleep absorber for the odd Darkrai. While sleep isn't as common as it used to be, Ho-Oh does not really have a better option for this moveslot because its STAB combo and Earthquake cover basically everything.
Set Details
========
* The HP and Special Defense EVs guarantee that Ho-Oh survives +2 Thunder from Geomancy Xerneas.
* The rest of the EVs go into Attack, with an Adamant nature to hit as hard as possible.
* An alternate EV spread of 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe allows Ho-Oh to outspeed paralyzed Geomancy Xerneas factoring in boosts, which is useful if Ho-Oh has reliable paralysis support.
Usage Tips
========
* Choice Band Ho-Oh has slightly less defensive utility than the first set, but hits harder. It is best used as a beatstick, seizing whatever chance it can get to come in and fire off powerful attacks.
* While Sacred Fire's burn rate makes it fairly spammable and is great for wearing down most checks, watch out for specific Pokemon such as Primal Kyogre or Mega Salamence—you don't want to fizzle out into Primordial Sea or trigger a potential Facade.
* Clever use of Regenerator and anti-hazard support can let Ho-Oh last the entire game.
Keep Stealth Rock off the field at all costs.
Team Options
========
* If it's good with the Life Orb set, it's good for this set. However, this set's greater power means it tends to work better on more offensively inclined teams.
* The lack of recovery means you should pair Ho-Oh with backup Geomancy Xerneas checks. Bulky Steel-types such as Ferrothorn, Solgaleo, Magearna, or Bronzong work well for this.
* In a similar vein, Primal Groudon or Klefki can consistently paralyze Geomancy Xerneas if you want to use a fast Ho-Oh, enabling Ho-Oh to reliably dispose of it. Klefki also provides Spikes to help Ho-Oh KO opponents more quickly.
* Good offensive complements to this set include Rayquaza, Yveltal, Mega Salamence, and Swords Dance Arceus—Ho-Oh can often break down their checks so they can sweep later in the game.
* Lead Excadrill or Cloyster are good hazard removal options for the more offensive builds this Ho-Oh set tends to find use on.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Thunder Wave can let Ho-Oh paralyze defensive Arceus formes for its teammates.
* Whirlwind with Defense investment can be used to make Ho-Oh a reliable mixed tank, though it lacks offensive power.
* Toxic cripples many Ho-Oh checks, though poisoning Facade Mega Salamence is very bad, and you would often be better off just using Sacred Fire.
* Z-Celebrate can be used to give Ho-Oh +1 to every stat, though it is not recommended in general as it is illegal with Regenerator, and such a set lacks flexibility.
* Tailwind can give Ho-Oh and its team a temporary Speed boost.
* Hidden Power Ice can be used on the Life Orb set to surprise Mega Salamence, though it does nothing else useful.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Stealth Rock**: Stealth Rock strips 50% off Ho-Oh's health each time it switches in, greatly hampering its bulk and flexibility.
**Rock-types**: Arceus-Rock resists both STAB moves and OHKOes Ho-Oh with Judgment. It can also Recover off any damage and won't be OHKOed by Earthquake from any set. Tyranitar does not like burns or Earthquake, but can otherwise easily KO Ho-Oh with Rock Slide.
**Zygarde-C**: Zygarde-C completely walls Ho-Oh thanks to its titanic physical bulk and can beat it down with Thousand Arrows. Ho-Oh only 4HKOes Zygarde-C with Choice Band Brave Bird, so it will need a critical hit and favorable Sleep Talk rolls to have a chance at beating Zygarde-C.
**Water-types**: Primal Kyogre can either outspeed or take one hit from Ho-Oh and destroy it with powerful Water-type STAB moves. Arceus-Water has the bulk to tank Brave Bird and can beat Ho-Oh with Judgment or Toxic stalling, though burns and repeated Brave Bird hits will wear it down. Mega Slowbro walls Ho-Oh fairly comfortably thanks to its enormous Defense and can also beat it through Toxic.
**Mega Salamence**: Bulky variants of Mega Salamence can Roost stall Brave Bird to force Ho-Oh to KO itself with recoil, or it can use Facade to turn Sacred Fire burns against Ho-Oh. It can easily use Dragon Dance to set up on a Ho-Oh locked into Sacred Fire.
**Primal Groudon**: Primal Groudon resists Fire and is immune to burns, can shrug off other hits with its high Defense, and can easily OHKO Ho-Oh with Stone Edge. However, Primal Groudon has no recovery and can't take too many Brave Bird hits.
**Arceus-Dragon**: Arceus-Dragon resists Sacred Fire and can Recover off Brave Bird damage, beating Ho-Oh by Toxic stalling it.
**Stone Edge users**: Ho-Oh's modest Defense and 4x Rock-type weakness make it vulnerable to a surprise Stone Edge from the likes of Solgaleo, Arceus-Ground, or Arceus-Fairy.
**Zekrom**: Zekrom resists Ho-Oh's STAB combo and OHKOes it with Bolt Strike, though it loathes getting burned.
**Lugia**: Lugia hates getting burned, but otherwise it can take hits well with Multiscale and Toxic stall Ho-Oh out.
**Toxic**: Toxic limits Ho-Oh's staying power, though Regenerator helps compensate for it somewhat.
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