[OVERVIEW]
Ho-Oh’s incredible stats, typing, and Regenerator make it one of the very best Pokemon in Ubers, being a great fit on many teams and performing well in nearly every battle. It is able to help its team stave off many threatening Pokemon like Koraidon, Extreme Killer Arceus, Necrozma-DM, and Calyrex-I. Even Pokemon like Miraidon and bulky Arceus formes that can take Ho-Oh’s STAB moves dislike getting burned by Sacred Fire. Unfortunately, Ho-Oh bears weaknesses to extremely dangerous Pokemon like Miraidon and Kyogre, making it not as hard to threaten as it might seem. Ironically, Ho-Oh’s greatest weakness is its high usage, as many Pokemon will run coverage specifically for it because of how common it is. For example, Zacian-C often runs Wild Charge, while Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground will often run Stone Edge. This, in conjunction with the fact that it needs to stay at high HP to check Scale Shot Koraidon, means it can get overwhelmed over the course of a game. Many physical attackers also run Tera Fire to gain an immunity to Sacred Fire burns and potentially use Ho-Oh as an opportunity to set up. Despite all of these, Ho-Oh is a fantastic Pokemon that every team must have a plan against and should be considered for any bulky team.
[SET]
Ho-Oh @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Fairy / Ground / Grass
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind / Earthquake
- Recover
[SET COMMENTS]
Whirlwind is the preferred option for setup threats that run Tera Fire to set up on Ho-Oh, most notably Koraidon, Necrozma-DM, and Calyrex-I. Earthquake can be used to hit Miraidon, which otherwise can switch into Ho-Oh and proceed to force it out. Earthquake with Tera Ground also punishes use of Tera Fire on boosting threats to set up on Ho-Oh, although phazing a boosting threat with Whirlwind is often easier and more consistent. Tera Fairy is useful to block Scale Shot from Koraidon, which otherwise 2HKOes it without a boost. Tera Ground gives Ho-Oh STAB on Earthquake and turns its weaknesses to Electric- and Rock-type attacks into resistances. This allows it to turn the tables on Arceus-Ground and Flutter Mane, which commonly run Rock-type coverage to beat Ho-Oh. In conjunction with its high Special Defense, Tera Ground allows Ho-Oh to act as a soft check to Miraidon. Tera Grass gives Ho-Oh resistances to Electric and Water, allowing it to act as a soft check to Miraidon and Kyogre in a pinch.
Ho-Oh fits on many bulky teams as an important part of their defensive core, but it cannot act as a team’s sole defensive check to threats like Koraidon, Zacian-C, and Extreme Killer Arceus, as these Pokemon can either overwhelm Ho-Oh with strong attacks or commonly run coverage specifically for it. Thus, more concrete checks to these Pokemon like Arceus-Fairy and Necrozma-DM are appreciated. Ho-Oh also does not match up well into Miraidon and Kyogre, so checks to them like Arceus-Ground, Ting-Lu, and Eternatus are essential. In return, Ho-Oh’s biggest boon to its team is Sacred Fire, allowing it to reliably spread burns and sometimes forcing Terastallization out of Pokemon like Necrozma-DM. Both of these attributes can be taken advantage of by Pokemon like Koraidon, Miraidon, and Zacian-C, which enjoy their checks being burned or not being able to Terastallize to stop them.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/oreospeedruns.597293/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/taka.595062/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/corvere.306317/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
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