IntroductionHeracross is a perennial favorite of ours across generations. Its powerful Attack stat plus its fun Bug-Fighting type makes it a great Pokemon for taking down a large variety of foes. Back in Generation II where it debuted, it also had the honor of being the only Bug-type Pokemon with a Bug-type attack that was actually *useful*. Megahorn was a major gift to those of us who were desperately trying to make some use out of Leech Life, Twinneedle, and Pin Missile. (Even now, two generations later, Heracross is the only Bug-type who can learn Megahorn, for some reason. Granted, now several other Pokemon can Megahorn foes, while other Bug-types have other strong moves they can take advantage of). It remains a powerful physical sweeper capable of decimating foes who take it too lightly.
Capture/Training
Start headbutting those trees, because that's where Heracross can be found. Heracross does not evolve, so there are no notes there.
Statistics
80 HP, 125 Atk, 75 Def, 40 Sp. Atk, 95 Sp. Def, 85 Spd
High Attack, good Special Defense, good stats. Speed is a bit on the not-that-fast side, so be careful.
Focus should be on Attack and Speed, and out of Special Attack. Some more defensive movesets can use some help in the defensive stats.
Movesets
As far as abilities go, Guts gives it some real power if you can get it to take a Burn (or Poison). In general, it's the better choice. Swarm can power up Megahorn nicely at low HP, but does nothing for its other moves and makes Heracross still weak to burns.
The primary attacks of choice are Megahorn and Close Combat. Both have a nice base 120 power.
Megahorn doesn't have the best accuracy and Close Combat has the whole
lower-both-defenses-after-use side effect, but otherwise both are good at
landing a powerful hit on enemies. Other options are available on the Fighting
side: Focus Punch is ridiculously
powerful but needs good prediction in order to be effective. Meanwhile, Brick Break is nice and reliable, but the lack
of power could be a problem. Still, there is the ability to break Reflect and
Light Screen, which could be useful in situations they come up.For secondary attacks, the big one is Stone Edge. This move helps pick off the Flying-types that Heracross are 4x weak against, and who otherwise resist its moves (Rock Slide is a more accurate but less powerful alternative). Night Slash is available as an option to take down Ghosts (as is Shadow Claw, though the former is preferable as it is more accessible and doesn't have to worry about Normal immunity). If a Normal-type move is desired, the best option might be Facade, which with a status and Guts boost becomes ridiculously powerful. There's always Earthquake, but Heracross actually won't be able to put that to as good of use as others would. Finally, Aerial Ace will knock out other Heracross, and that's mainly it.
Pursuit is a new option here that involves chasing fleeing Psychics who don't want to deal with Megahorn. Reversal-based strategies can be used to some effect, too. Low Kick is an option if you're going to be dealing with heavyweights often. Counter is also a possible option.
Heracross can power itself up nicely with Swords Dance. Bulk Up is a more defensive option, and would thus forego Close Combat.
A Rest-Sleep Talk combo is workable here, especially since Rest will give Heracross the Guts boost. Again, though, as Rest is meant to be a healing move, Close Combat is out of the question here.
Substitute remains useful in its assorted applications, particularly if Swarm is used instead of Guts. Also available is Endure if you're using Reversal.
Moveset 1: Choice
- Megahorn
- Close Combat/(primary Fighting attack)
- Stone Edge
- (secondary attack)
Scarf is preferable to help Heracross with its somewhat-lacking Speed; the good-ol Band is good for raw power. If you can get Heracross to absorb a status, that's a Guts-boost right there, too. This kind of set can easily tear holes in the competition.
Moveset 2: Swords Dance
- Swords Dance
- Megahorn
- (primary Fighting attack)/Stone Edge
- Stone Edge/Facade/Substitute
Straightforward. If you want to really surprise a foe, though, tack on a Flame Orb. One Swords Dance and the burn effect will kick in, and with it the Guts boost... and a Facade boost. Then get ready to knock out whoever's in front of you.
Substitute comes with the use of a Salac Berry to take care of Speed issues. In addition, it may benefit more from Swarm, as Substitutes tend to block status.
Moveset 3: Rest-Talk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Megahorn
- Stone Edge/Focus Punch/Brick Break/Bulk Up
This Heracross will have more survivability than its brethren. In addition, Rest does activate the Guts boost. As a defensive set, it is one that might do better with Bulk Up, too.
Moveset 4: Reversal
- Reversal
- Endure/Substitute
- Megahorn
- Swords Dance/Stone Edge
Hint: Swarm works better with this set.
The above sets should cover all the good Heracross movesets, so a general moveset isn't really necessary. Still, just 'cause...
General Moveset
- Megahorn
- (primary Fighting-type attack)
- (secondary attack, particularly Rock-type)
-
(secondary attack)/(power-up move)Effective Movesets
1. Choice Scarf
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Night Slash
2. Swords Dance
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
3. Swarm
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Substitute
Item: Salac Berry (Battle Tower only)
4. Reversal
- Megahorn
- Reversal
- Substitute/Endure
- Swords Dance
5. Choice Band
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
6. Flame Orb
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Facade
- Swords Dance
With Guts ability
7. Bulk Up
- Bulk Up
- Megahorn
- Brick Break
- Stone Edge
8. Substitute
- Substitute
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
9. Sleep Talk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Megahorn
- Bulk Up
Future Sight
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