You bitches thought I was bad.....
Overview
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With the addition of a Mega Evolution to its arsenal, Heracross no longer has to worry about being completely overshadowed by the other Fighting-types that reside in OU. Sporting a gigantic base 185 Attack stat and extremely powerful STAB moves, Mega Heracross is one of the hardest hitting Pokemon in the game. Its ability, Skill Link, allows it to take advantage of Rock Blast, Bullet Seed, and the newly buffed Pin Missile to the fullest possible extent, giving Mega Heracross valuable coverage options against a ton of threats. It even has access to Swords Dance to boost its already insane Attack stat to ridiculous levels, allowing for it to function as a potent sweeper. In addition, Mega Heracross's very solid 80/115/105 defensive stats keep it from being taken out easily by powerful attacks, making it a fearsome tank. To put it simply, Mega Heracross is the definition of a wallbreaker, not only because it is nearly impossible to switch into, but also its amazing move coverage which allows it to break through a vast majority of defensive Pokemon.
Unfortunately, Heracross is plagued with a nasty 4x weakness to Flying-type attacks, on top of its common Fire-, Psychic-, and Fairy-type weaknesses. Its Mega Evolution is also noticeably slower than its non-Mega counterpart, missing the jump on Pokemon such as Dragonite, Heatran, and Gyarados. Nevertheless, Mega Heracross is definitely something that should never be underestimated, because its awesome power and fantastic wallbreaking capabilities make it a force to be reckoned with in the metagame, capable of leaving teams in shambles.
Offensive
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name: Offensive
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Pin Missile
move 3: Rock Blast
move 4: Earthquake / Swords Dance
ability: Moxie / Guts
item: Heracronite
evs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
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Close Combat reaches jaw dropping power coming off Mega Heracross's massive Attack stat, and there's very little that can stomach it easily. It's also its best option for dealing with bulky Steel-types such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Air Balloon Heatran. Pin Missile is also an extremely powerful STAB move, cutting through Psychic-types such as Deoxys-D, Reuniclus, Latias, and Latios, as well as Dark-types such as Greninja and Tyranitar. In general, Pin Missile is Mega Heracross's most reliable option against Pokemon that don't take super effective damage from any of its coverage moves, such as Rotom-W or Hippowdon, both of whom are 2HKOed after Stealth Rock. Rock Blast provides important coverage against Togekiss, Gengar, Gyarados, and Dragonite, which would wall this set otherwise. It's also useful for hitting Talonflame and Mega Pinsir on the switch. Earthquake is the best option in the last slot to hit Aegislash, who resists all of its coverage moves and threatens to completely wall Heracross without it. Swords Dance gives Heracross a way to boost its Attack stat to terrifying heights, and it can easily clean up defensive teams once it gets up a boost. At +2, it can also demolish full Baton Pass teams because of its ability to break through Substitute's with Rock Blast and Pin Missile.
Bullet Seed can be used in the last moveslot if Aegislash isn't too much of a problem for your team, boasting the ability to OHKO Azumarill, Quagsire, and physically defensive Rotom-W, while also 2HKOing Hippowdon. Megahorn, although much less accurate and powerful than Pin Missile, gives Heracross a second reliable STAB move to use in conjunction with Guts if it happens to get burnt before Mega evolving. Bulk Up can be used over Swords Dance if you want Heracross to function as more of a bulky sweeper. Alternatively, Substitute is an option, as it blocks revenge killing attempts and status, while also immensely easing predictions.
Set Details
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With the given EVs, Mega Heracross can outspeed Adamant Bisharp while still retaining as much bulk and power as possible. An Adamant nature should always be used because it gives Mega Heracross an insane amount of power that isn't worth giving up for slightly more Speed. It should be noted that with an Adamant nature, Mega Heracross is capable of 2HKOing Skarmory with Close Combat, a feat that most other Fighting-types could only dream of achieving. With a Jolly nature and 212 Speed EVs, Mega Heracross can outspeed Adamant Dragonite and Gyarados, but forgoing the extra bulk and and power generally isn't worth it. Heracronite is obviously needed in order for Heracross to Mega-Evolve into the monster that is Mega Heracross. Moxie is the preferred ability, as if Heracross manages to KO something before it Mega Evolves, it obtains a +1 Attack boost and instantly becomes more terrifying. On the other hand, Guts keeps Heracross from being completely useless if happens to get burned, but only Close Combat and Earthquake will be reliable moves afterwards, so it's not worth it.
Usage Tips
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Heracronite turns Heracross into a devastating wallbreaker, capable of breaking through a vast majority of defensive Pokemon, including Rotom-W, Chansey, Skarmory, Aegislash, Heatran, Zapdos, Ferrothorn, Quagsire, and much more. Although it can also sweep decently with Swords Dance, it's mostly meant to function as a bulky wallbreaker that can tear apart defensive cores, allowing a teammate can come in and sweep. Don't forget that Mega Heracross is actually very bulky, capable of surviving a decent amount of super effective hits as well.
Team Options
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Although Mega Heracross lacks a lot of true counters, it is very important to pair it with something that can eliminate them, as well as cover its terrible 4x weakness to Flying-type moves. Thundurus is hands down the best offensive and defensive partner because it checks Flying-types such as Talonflame and Mega Pinsir with ease, and it can also check Gliscor and Landorus-T, which are some of the few counters to Mega Heracross. Keldeo can break through all of the aforementioned Pokemon, as well as offensive Heatran. It also appreciates the elimination of the Grass- and Psychic-types that Mega Heracross can run all over. Heatran and Heracross have near perfect defensive synergy; Heatran resists Fire-, Flying-, Psychic-, and Fairy-type moves, while Mega Heracross shrugs off Fighting- and Ground-type attacks. Scizor and Aegislash can check the bulky Fairy-types that don't fear any of Mega Heracross's coverage moves, such as Clefable and Sylveon.
Other Options
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Because most of Heracross's usage stems from its Mega Evolution, there really aren't too many other options it can viably run in OU without facing stiff competition from other Pokemon. A RestTalk Bulk Up set with Pin Missile can take advantage of Mega Heracross's bulk, boasting the versatility to be used offensively with Attack EVs or defensively with Special Defense EVs. A Mega SubPunch set can bust huge holes into the opposing teams, but it lacks Leftovers recovery and requires a lot of prediction to work. Choice Band Heracross is very powerful, but is almost completely outclassed in OU by Terrakion, as well as other powerful physical attackers. Choice Scarf Heracross can function as a great late-game cleaner thanks to Moxie, but it faces fierce competition from other Choice Scarf users too, such as Terrakion. A Toxic Orb Swords Dance set using Guts is quite powerful, and isn't threatened by Rotom-W's Will-O-Wisp, but is mostly outclassed by Mega Heracross itself.
Checks & Counters
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**Physically Defensive Walls**: Gliscor and Landorus-T are among the only defensive Pokemon that can actually switch into Mega Heracross's moves without being 2HKOed. Clefable is arguably the best counter to it as it resists both of Heracross's STAB moves, avoids the 2HKO from Rock Blast, and can 2HKO in return with Moonblast.
**Flying-types**: Because of Heracross's glaring 4x weakness, Flying-types are the safest checks to Mega Heracross. Talonflame, a prominent OU Pokemon, can take it out with its powerful priority Brave Bird. Mega Pinsir is also a fantastic check thanks to its ability, Aerilate, granting it a powerful STAB Flying-type Return and Quick Attack. Offensive variants of Togekiss that run Speed investment can switch into anything but Rock Blast and KO with Air Slash or Dazzling Gleam. Skarmory can't switch in on Close Combat, but it can tank any other hit in addition to one Close Combat, and OHKO in return with Brave Bird or Counter.
**Fire-, Fairy-, and Psychic-types**: Powerful Fire-types that can OHKO Mega Heracross such as Volcarona, Victini, and both Mega Charizard formes are good checks to it. Mega Gardevoir and Azumarill can threaten Mega Heracross with a powerful Hyper Voice and Play Rough, respectively. Life Orb Latios, Deoxys-S, and Mega Alakazam can all OHKO it with powerful Psychic-type attacks. If Landorus carries Psychic, it can easily check Mega Heracross, too, as it resists both of its STAB moves.
**Will-O-Wisp**: The easiest way to deal with Mega Heracross is just to shut it down with a burn. Sableye can easily ruin its day with a Prankster Will-O-Wisp, as well as Gengar, but keep in mind it still takes significant amount of damage from Rock Blast. Faster variants of Rotom-W outspeed Heracross and can burn it with Will-O-Wisp.
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