http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/Ho-Oh
Ho-Oh needed a revamp due to getting Brave Bird in HGSS.
What I did:
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[Overview]
<p>With its monstrously high Special Defense combined with the excellent Sacred Fire and Brave Bird STAB combination and that impressive Attack stat, switching into Ho-Oh is a daunting prospect. Ho-Oh’s amazing bulk and lack of weaknesses to common attack types in Ubers maked it a defensive behemoth. Thanks to Ho-Oh’s new toy in Brave Bird, most of its old counters no longer work as well, meaning the Ho-Oh is now a top-tier threat that can literally devastate teams. However, Stealth Rock is a large pain in Ho-Oh’s side, as it is set up by many common Pokemon in Ubers such as Groudon, Forretress, and Deoxys-S, and Ho-Oh will hate losing 50% of its health every time it switches in. Nevertheless, the rainbow phoenix is still an enormous threat, and is something that every team needs to have a plan for.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Sacred Fire
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Earthquake / Substitute / Whirlwind
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Adamant
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Atk / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>By using Life Orb, Ho-Oh can ramp up its Attack, but can also make use of the versatility that comes with it. Sacred Fire, Ho-Oh's main STAB option, should be used primarily. Its 8 PP is the only flaw, one made even worse with Pressure being the most common ability in Ubers.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh’s high Attack and excellent type coverage allow it to be a very intimidating threat, even when in the face of its potential counters. Sacred Fire, as said before, is Ho-Oh’s main attack, and deals massive damage to anything that does not resist it. Groudon's sun boosts its power even further. Furthermore, Sacred Fire’s whopping 50% chance of burning can also cripple any physical attacker that is daring enough to switch into it. Brave Bird is also an amazingly powerful attack to use if the weather is not in Ho-Oh’s favor. It gets surprisingly good neutral coverage with this set, as Dialga is the only Uber that resists Flying-type attacks in Ubers, and only Aerodactyl, Solrock, and Lunatone resist the combination of Fire-, Flying-, and Ground-type attacks, and none of them are ever used in Ubers. The recoil damage can also be mitigated with Roost. Furthermore, Brave Bird will always OHKO Palkia, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, and minimum HP / minimum Defense Kyogre after Stealth Rock damage with a Life Orb boost. Maximum HP Kyogre is also OHKOed after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes has been laid down, while the standard defensive Calm Mind Kyogre is always outsped and 2HKOed. Giratina is also 3HKOed by Brave Bird, meaning that Ho-Oh will KO Giratina before it will awake from Rest’s forced two-turn sleep. (However, Ho-Oh will take a lot of damage in the process from recoil, and if Giratina's Sleep Talk move selects an attacking move, then Ho-Oh will probably die alongside Giratina, so attempting this can be risky.) Therefore, all of Ho-Oh’s previous counters can now be dealt with, making this set all the more deadly. Earthquake rounds out the coverage, allowing Ho-Oh to hit Tyranitar, Heatran, and Dialga in the rain for super effective damage, who would otherwise resist Ho-Oh’s STAB combination.</p>
<p>Substitute and Roost make fantastic additions to this set. Although you may feel that Life Orb recoil plus Substitute damage and recoil damage from Brave Bird will add up to too much passive damage, Roost can keep Ho-Oh healthy for a very long time, thanks to its great defenses. Substitute works very well with Ho-Oh, as its large base 154 Special Defense allows the Substitutes to stand up to many of the powerful special attacks in Ubers. Furthermore, the high chance of burning associated with Sacred Fire cuts many physical sweepers’ attacks, making it even harder to break Ho-Oh’s Substitutes. By using Substitutes, it eases prediction, and Ho-Oh can do severe damage to opponent who threaten it before switching out, such as Kyogre, which will help weaken the power of moves such as Water Spout. Whirlwind works very well on this set too if Ho-Oh has a lot of entry hazard support. Ho-Oh is bulky enough to shuffle the opponent's team effectively, thus spreading tons of entry hazard damage. Ho-Oh can also actually counter Giratina with Whirlwind, provided you have a lot of entry hazards up, as it will not be able to withstand so much passive damage.</p>
<p>Leftovers can also be used over Life Orb on this set. Ho-Oh will not be as powerful and will lose a few OHKOes, but it will be able to live for a much longer time. Leftovers is best used in conjunction with Substitute or Whirlwind, and is a good choice if Ho-Oh is being used on a more Stall oriented team. It can also help Ho-Oh take more attacks from threats such as Darkrai or Mewtwo more effectively, should Ho-Oh be used for that purpose.</p>
<p>Max Attack is highly recommended to take advantage of Ho-Oh's high Attack stat. 32 Speed EVs allow Ho-Oh to outpace most defensive Kyogre as well as Adamant Tyranitar. The remaining EVs are placed into HP to help maintain Ho-Oh's bulk, giving it 409 HP, enough to switch into Stealth Rock twice without dying. If using Leftovers, the preferred spread for this set is 192 HP / 216 Atk / 24 Spd / 76 SDef, with the same nature. This EVspread allows Ho-Oh decent power while also enabling it to always survive a Life Orbed Dark Pulse from Timid Darkrai that after it has used Nasty Plot twice. This can be crucial, as Darkrai is a major threats to the defensive teams you would probably see Leftovers Ho-Oh being used on.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Ho-Oh needs to watch out for Pokémon that can hit it before it can put up a Substitute or those that do not mind being burned by Sacred Fire. Such Pokemon include Choice Scarf Kyogre or speedy Palkia. Special versions of Rayquaza also fall into this category, as they resist Sacred Fire and are immune to Earthquake, and the same goes for Latias and Latios. Kyogreis best defeated by either a Latias with Grass Knot / Thunder and Recover or a Choice Scarf Palkia with Thunder. Both Latias and Palkia resist Water Spout and can retaliate with a strong attack, or, in Latias' or Latios' case,Recover off any damage taken. Choice Scarf Palkia can be trapped and killed with Wobbuffet, or revenge killed by Garchomp, who can also revenge kill Latias, Latios, and Rayquaza. In return, Ho-Oh can take many Ice Beams that are normally destined for the land shark. Blissey can deal with special attackers, such as Palkia, Latias, and Latios, and can cripple them with either Thunder Wave or Toxic, unless Latias has Safeguard or Refresh, but it cannot stand up to the powerful Water-type moves of Kyogre. Latias and Latios can also be dealt with by Metagross or Scizor, both of whom can trap them with Pursuit or hit them with a powerful Meteor Mash or U-turn should they stay in, respectively, while taking little damage from Dragon Pulse. It should be noted, however, that none of the above threats to Ho-Oh will want to switch into a Brave Bird.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh also dislikes faster Pokemon that carry Rock-type attacks. Choice Scarf Tyranitar, Garchomp, and speedy variants or Groudon and Giratina-O fall into this category. Groudon can easily handle any Rock-type attack thrown at Ho-Oh and will wall Garchomp and Tyranitar without a problem. Groudon can also cripple Giratina-O with Thunder Wave. Opposing Groudon can easily be stopped by Latias, who can usually handle a Stone Edge, OHKO Groudon with Grass Knot, and recover off the damage later. Latias can also check Giratina-O very well, as she is faster than the ghostly dragon and will easily pummel it with her STAB Dragon-type attacks. Payback Forretress can also stop Giratina-O, as long as it lacks Hidden Power Fire.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Sacred Fire
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Punishment
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant / Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the Physical Attacker set is more versatile, the Choice Band set hits very hard right off the bat. Sacred Fire is an excellent attack, and with its 50% burn rate and Ho-Oh's high Attack stat, you can expect to cause some serious problems for your opponent. Brave Bird will always OHKO Kyogre (provided it has no HP or Defense EVs), Palkia, Latias, Latios, and Rayquaza without any prior damage, although the recoil damage is a bit more detrimental since this set lacks recovery. Earthquake does more damage to Dialga than Sacred Fire if the weather isn't on your side, in addition to hitting any Tyranitar or Heatran that may come your way. It also 2HKOes Kyogre and Palkia, should Brave Bird’s recoil be undesirable to you. Punishment is quite an interesting attack and is well suited for use against the stat boosting Psychic-types that are common in Uber battles. Although it starts at a paltry 60 base power, it gains an extra 20 for each stat boost the opponent has. For example, against an opponent with one Calm Mind, Punishment will have 100 Base Power. Punishment is good for hitting Latios (who will often fall to a single hit), Latias, and Giratina. However, Brave Bird will do more damage unless they have Calm Mind boosts.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This set has some problems with Scarf Kyogre as it will replace the sunlight with rain, which boosts Kyogre's Water attacks and weakens Ho-oh's Sacred Fire. Scarf Kyogre will then proceed to OHKO Ho-Oh with Surf. Giratina is also a bit more of a threat since it can wall Ho-Oh easier due to this set’s lack of Roost and ability to switch attacks. Latias is the all-purpose Kyogre counter, as it can take the boosted Water Spouts and Surfs, while hurting Kyogre with Grass Knot or Thunder, and replenishing its health with Recover or Roost. Palkia can also check certain versions (Choice Scarf Kyogre can be difficult, however, unless your Palkia has one too) with its 4x resistance to Water-type moves and access to Thunder. Latias and Palkia are also great answers to Giratina as well. Groudon should also be used in tandem with one or both of the two to restore the sun after Kyogre has been eliminated.</p>
<p>Rayquaza can set up a potentially destructive sweep if Ho-Oh is not locked into Sacred Fire or Brave Bird. Rayquaza is immune to Earthquake and is not hurt too badly by Punishment, and outspeeds and KOes Ho-Oh after either a Dragon Dance or a Swords Dance, by hitting Ho-Oh in its weaker Defense. Choice Scarf Garchomp can revenge kill Dragon Dance Rayquaza, because of its odd base 102 Speed stat. Swords Dance Rayquaza is checked by Choice Scarf Dialga or Gengar (The latter also checks Dragon Dance Rayquaza quite well.), as they are resistant or immune to Extremespeed, respectively, and can KO Rayquaza with Dragon Pulse or Hidden Power Ice, respectively. A defensive Groudon can also take on most Rayquaza, as it can cripple Rayquaza with Thunder Wave and then proceed to 2HKO it with Dragon Claw. Choice Scarf Jirachi can also check any Rayquaza variant thanks to its high Base Speed stat, Steel-typing granting it key resistances to ExtremeSpeed and Outrage, and access to Ice Punch.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Sacred Fire
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Punishment
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>At first glance, this may seem identical to the Choice Band set, but this Ho-Oh plays more as a revenge killer and a fast sweeper. With Choice Scarf making up for Ho-Oh’s below average sweep, it can surprise many opponents to become an unexpected speedy threat.</p>
<p>Sacred Fire is your main attack as it is on the previous sets. Brave Bird allows Ho-Oh to 2HKO most Kyogre, Latios, Latias, Palkia, and Rayquaza, although one must be wary of the recoil damage. Punishment is a unique move that allows you to take down some threats that your team may have allowed to set up. Calm Mind Mewtwo and Calm Mind Latias are completely destroyed by this move. After just one Calm Mind, Punishment is up to 100 Base Power. After one more, it reaches a deadly 140 Base Power. Earthquake is your strongest attack against Tyranitar and Dialga and can be used against any Heatran who enter expecting you to use Sacred Fire.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This set has a lot of trouble with defensive Kyogre and faster Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Garchomp, Palkia, Darkrai, and Dialga (any Pokémon with a Choice Scarf and has 90+ base Speed can at least force a speed tie, but these are the most seen). Ho-Oh also fears paralysis a lot, as it will render the extra Speed granted by Choice Scarf utterly useless. Choice Scarf Garchomp, Palkia, and Dialga are all handled quite easily by Wobbuffet, who can trap them with Shadow Tag, and then kill them with either Counter or Mirror Coat, as, due to their Choice item, you know what move they are locked into. Darkrai cannot be countered like this, unless it is locked into Focus Blast, because it is immune to Wobbuffet’s Mirror Coat. Scizor works quite well as a Darkrai counter, provided Scizor is not put to sleep, as it resists Darkrai’s Dark-type STAB and can hit it with Superpower or U-turn for super effective damage, or Bullet Punch to bypass its Choice Scarf. Wish support would work well with Wobbuffet, as it has no recovery move of its own, and even Wobbuffet can’t take multiple beatings from Choice Scarf users. Both Jirachi and Blissey can fulfill this role very well, the former due to paralysis support in Body Slam, and the latter from her high Special Defense and Hit Point stats. Blissey can also free Ho-Oh from paralysis by using Aromatherapy. Latias, as mentioned before, can easily take Kyogre down with Grass Knot or Thunder. If you really fear Ho-Oh getting paralyzed, Groudon and Garchomp are immune to Thunder Wave, the most common paralyzing move, and they can destroy common users of said move, most notably Jirachi and Blissey.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh’s lack of Attack-boosting item (such as Life Orb or Choice Band) or Attack-boosting move makes Ho-Oh weaker, and it cannot beat some of the Pokémon it usually scares. Many Pokémon can now switch into Ho-Oh’s attacks when they resist it or have high defenses, as they will not take nearly as much damage, such as Groudon into Punishment. Bulk Up Dialga is particularly threatening, as it can switch into any move, even Earthquake, as Ho-Oh only has a 3.81% of 2HKOing Dialga, even after Leftovers and Stealth Rock, and start boosting its Defence and Attack to massive levels. Soon, not even Earthquake will be able to take it down, and it can Rest off Sacred Fire’s burn and faint Ho-Oh with a boosted Outrage or Dragon Claw. Groudon can take Outrages from Dialga, provided that they are not boosted too many times, and can severely hurt Dialga back with Earthquake. Heatran can also come in, as it resists Dialga’s Dragon-type moves, and can hit it on its Special Defense, which is not boosted. A Choice Specs Overheat from Heatran with a Special Attack-boosting nature in the sun (from Groudon) will OHKO even Bulk Up Dialga, which invests heavily in both HP and Special Defense.</p>
[SET]
name: Toxic
move 1: Toxic
move 2: Light Screen
move 3: Sacred Fire
move 4: Recover / Roost
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
EVs: 248 HP / 228 SpD / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Ho-Oh can attempt to stall out opponents with Toxic and its massive Special Defense. You will still want Light Screen to take Surfs from Palkia and Kyogre and other hits from the many special based monsters that inhabit the Uber metagame. Toxic your foes and use Light Screen, Recover or Roost, and Pressure to stall out your opponent. Any physical threats can be handled with the burn from Sacred Fire, which had the added advantage of destroying any Metagross who is foolhardy enough to switch in. Make sure to hit the likes of Kyogre, Palkia, Mewtwo, Latias, and Latios on the switch with Toxic. The latter two may use Taunt or Safeguard to shut down your strategy.</p>
<p>Using either Recover or Roost depends on what you want Ho-Oh to do. Roost removes Ho-Oh's weakness to Electric, gives it an Ice-type resistance, and makes Rock-type attacks only do double damage against Ho-Oh instead of quadruple damage. However, using Roost can make trying to beat non-Stone Edge Groudon difficult, due to Ho-Oh gaining an unfortunate Ground-type weakness on the turn it Roosts, meaning that if said Groudon uses Earthquake on the turn you Roost, Ho-Oh will likely not survive. If you feel that this is a concern, you can use Recover over Roost so Ho-Oh will keep its immunity to Ground-type attacks at all times.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The beauty of this set is that Steel-types, who can normally switch into Ho-Oh’s Toxic with their immunity, are instead met with a powerful Sacred Fire, which deals immense damage when the sun is up. However, you must still watch out for Heatran, who is immune to both Sacred Fire and Toxic, making Ho-Oh’s strategy useless against it. Garchomp can come in on any of Heatran’s attacks, barring Dragon Pulse, and destroy it with a STAB Earthquake, or use the turn when Heatran may switch out to stat up, should you be using a Swords Dance or SubSalac version. Another Pokémon to watch out for is Rest + Sleep Talk Kyogre, who not only gets rid of the sun, but can also take a Sacred Fire with ease, and can Rest off Toxic and any damage Ho-Oh can deal to it. In return, Kyogre can severely hurt Ho-Oh with a boosted Surf, which will deal tremendous damage in the rain, even through Light Screen. Latias can deal with Rest + Sleep Talk Kyogre fairly easily, as it resists Kyogre’s Water-type STAB, Recover off the damage, and take out Kyogre with Grass Knot or Thunder.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>When configuring Ho-Oh's EVs, first make sure that Ho-Oh's HP is always an odd number. This lets it switch into Stealth Rock twice and survive, whereas an even numbered HP stat would mean two hits of Stealth Rock will kill it off. 192 HP and 76 Special Defense EVs will allow Ho-Oh to always survive a Life Orbed Dark Pulse from Timid Darkrai after it has used Nasty Plot twice at full HP, making Ho-Oh one of the best Darkrai checks around.</p>
<p>Always max Attack on the Choice Band set. Like many other Ubers in the same base 90 Speed group as Ho-Oh, setting Speed is a tricky decision. Max Speed with an Adamant nature doesn't really guarantee it will outspeed anything of note; it just allows for a tie with Kyogre, Groudon, Dialga, and other Ho-Oh. If you don't want to take your chances in the coin toss against those four, you can focus more on Ho-Oh's HP, to allow it to take more hits. Allocate 24 EVs to Speed to beat Adamant Tyranitar, and then place the remaining EVs in HP. 84 Speed EVs can also allow Ho-Oh to outpace most Jirachi, allowing you to roast it before Jirachi can Paralyze Ho-Oh. 140 Speed EVs allows Ho-Oh to outrun most Rock Polish Groudon before a boost, should you want to (hopefully) Burn it with Sacred Fire before it hits you with Stone Edge. Jolly nature will outrun most Rayquaza, so that's certainly a worthy consideration. You only need 290 to achieve this, but max is again an option if you fancy your chances in a tie against the other base 90s.</p>
<p>Lots of HP and Special Defense are needed for the Toxic set, with a Careful nature.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh also has several other moves it can employ. Thunder Wave can cripple a counter with paralysis; thankfully, the only Uber immune to it is Groudon, who is unlikely to risk switching into Ho-Oh, as Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire can severely cripple it. Reflect is available for support purposes, although Sacred Fire burns are enough to ward off physical attackers. Whirlwind allows Ho-Oh to function as a phazer, which it does reasonably well against special attackers if they lack an Electric attack. Safeguard gives Ho-Oh and its teammates some protection against status. Due to Ho-Oh's massive base 154 Special Defense, 106 base HP, and some fairly useful resistances, Rest + Sleep Talk are viable options for a team that lacks a status absorber. Ho-Oh can also use Choice Specs or Calm Mind to take advantage of its base 110 Special Attack stat and its good special movepool, but generally there are a lot more Pokemon that are better special sweepers, such as Kyogre, Mewtwo, Latias, Latios, and Palkia. Also, Ho-Oh’s physical sets aregenerally more threatening.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Regardless of which Ho-Oh set you choose to run, there are two Pokémon that are pretty much required to be on the same team in order to guarantee Ho-Oh’s usefulness: Groudon and Forretress. With Stealth Rock now on the D/P/P scene, Ho-Oh loses a whopping 50% of its health, due to its 4x weakness to Rock-type attacks. The only way Ho-Oh can fulfill its various roles is by being accompanied by a Rapid Spinner, otherwise it will be too weak to sweep or wall. Forretress makes a fantastic partner because it is really the only viable Rapid Spinner in Ubers, so it can clear the field of the crippling Stealth Rock. Groudon’s ability, Drought, replaces Kyogre’s rain, and boosts the power of Ho-Oh’s already impressive Sacred Fire, allowing Ho-Oh to severely hurt even those who resist it.</p>
<p>With the right moveset and weather, Ho-Oh can pose quite a large threat, hitting many Pokémon for high damage. However, Water-types, such as Kyogre, and certain Dragon-types, such as Palkia, can give the rainbow phoenix some trouble. A Palkia of your own deals with these threats quite nicely. By equipping Palkia with a Choice Scarf, you can switch into Kyogre’s Surfs and Water Spouts aimed at Ho-Oh, and cripple it with Thunder. Likewise, Palkia can switch into the same Surfs, only now coming from your opponent’s Palkia, and destroy it with Spacial Rend or Draco Meteor.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh has a stellar base 154 Special Defense stat, but it still has problems taking the disgustingly powerful Water-type attacks of Kyogre. For this reason, Latias can make an awesome partner to Ho-Oh, as it can live through Kyogre’s Water Spout, and reply with Grass Knot or Thunder, heal itself with Recover, or start a possible Calm Mind sweep. In return, Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire decimates Metagross and Scizor, who can otherwise trap and kill Latias with Pursuit. Ho-Oh’s weakness though is its 90 base Defense stat, which leaves it open to the powerful physical attacks from the likes of Garchomp and Rayquaza. Forretress can absorb the powerful Outrages, Dragon Claws, and Extremespeeds from them with ease, which would otherwise hurt Ho-Oh quite badly. The phoenix can also help Forretress out in return, as it can take the Fire Blasts and Overheats from Rayquaza and some Garchomp that are aimed at Forretress. However, these threats cannot switch directly into Ho-Oh, as Sacred Fire’s high burn rate can instantly cripple them. Latias and Latios can prove annoying to Ho-Oh if they are carrying Thunder, although they cannot switch into Brave Bird. They can be trapped and killed with Scizor or Metagross, or they can be easily revenge killed by Choice Scarf Palkia’s Draco Meteor or Darkrai’s Dark Pulse.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh’s most sound checks, Latios, Latias, Palkia, and Kyogre are most often paired with Groudon, Darkrai, Mewtwo, and each other. Ho-Oh can handle Groudon itself, but only when it is behind a Substitute, using a special attack-based moveset, or if Groudon lacks Stone Edge. Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire does massive damage, especially since Groudon brings the sun with it, and it can also burn the Ground-type titan, halving its Attack, but watch out for Stone Edge, even with the burn. Darkrai presents a problem for Ho-Oh, because of its fast Dark Void. A Rest + Sleep Talk Pokémon can take advantage of Darkrai’s sleep-inducing move, but make sure it is not weak to Dark-type moves. After Sleep Clause is activated, Scizor also makes for a great Darkrai counter, as it can Bullet Punch weaker ones, and U-turn for super effective STAB damage. However, watch out for Darkrai’s +2 Focus Blasts. Mewtwo cannot do much damage to Ho-Oh when it relies on only Ice Beam and Aura Sphere. When it uses other moves, Scizor is again a great counter, as it resists many of Mewtwo’s movesets, and can severely damage Mewtwo with U-turn, Bullet Punch, or Pursuit.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Ho-Oh does not have a true counter as nothing in Ubers can really stand up to its monstrously powerful attacks. However, as was mentioned several times in the analysis, Kyogre can be a massive pain in the tail feathers for Ho-Oh. Kyogre resists Ho-Oh’s Fire-type moves, gets rid of the sunlight thanks to Drizzle, and will OHKO Ho-Oh with Surf. However, even the bulkiest of Kyogre are 2HKOed at worst by Ho-Oh Life Orb Brave Bird after Stealth Rock, with more offensive variants being OHKOed, so Kyogre must be careful about switching in. Palkia has a higher base Speed stat than Ho-Oh and can destroy it with Water-type moves of its own. However, special attacking Palkias risk actually being walled by Ho-Oh in the sunlight if they lack a Rock-type move such as Power Gem, while physical variants risk being crippled by a burn from Sacred Fire. Rayquaza is also faster than Ho-Oh and can easily obliterate Ho-Oh with Outrage, but Rayquaza can only come in on Earthquake. Giratina can wall most of Ho-Oh’s attacks, but it is 3HKOed by Brave Bird, meaning that if Giratina lacks Toxic or Stone Edge, Ho-Oh will beat Giratina due to Rest’s two-turn sleep side effect. (Brave Bird will KO Giratina before it wakes up.) Latios and Latias can outspeed Ho-Oh and destroy it with Thunder, but the sunlight will cripple the move’s accuracy and neither of them can take a Brave Bird, making them very risky options.</p>
<p>Using something faster than Ho-Oh with a Rock-type attack will make a good check for it. Choice Scarf Tyranitar is probably the best choice since it resists both of Ho-Oh’s STAB attacks, will always outspeed non-Choice Scarf sets, and will always OHKO with Stone Edge. Garchomp and fast variants of Groudon and Giratina-O can also work provided they are equipped with Stone Edge. It should be noted, however, that all of these Pokemon need to be wary of switching into Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire, lest they be crippled for the rest of the match with a burn.</p>
Ho-Oh needed a revamp due to getting Brave Bird in HGSS.
What I did:
- Revamped Life Orb, Choice Band, and Choice Scarf sets
- Rewrote Counters and Opinion and made a few add-ons to EVs
- Made a few changes to Team Options
- Fixed grammatical errors
- Moved Choice Specs and Calm Mind sets to Other Options. Ho-Oh isn’t really that good as a special attacker thanks to it being slow, having below average Special Attack for Ubers, and there being a lot better choices for special sweepers.
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[Overview]
<p>With its monstrously high Special Defense combined with the excellent Sacred Fire and Brave Bird STAB combination and that impressive Attack stat, switching into Ho-Oh is a daunting prospect. Ho-Oh’s amazing bulk and lack of weaknesses to common attack types in Ubers maked it a defensive behemoth. Thanks to Ho-Oh’s new toy in Brave Bird, most of its old counters no longer work as well, meaning the Ho-Oh is now a top-tier threat that can literally devastate teams. However, Stealth Rock is a large pain in Ho-Oh’s side, as it is set up by many common Pokemon in Ubers such as Groudon, Forretress, and Deoxys-S, and Ho-Oh will hate losing 50% of its health every time it switches in. Nevertheless, the rainbow phoenix is still an enormous threat, and is something that every team needs to have a plan for.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Sacred Fire
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Earthquake / Substitute / Whirlwind
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Adamant
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Atk / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>By using Life Orb, Ho-Oh can ramp up its Attack, but can also make use of the versatility that comes with it. Sacred Fire, Ho-Oh's main STAB option, should be used primarily. Its 8 PP is the only flaw, one made even worse with Pressure being the most common ability in Ubers.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh’s high Attack and excellent type coverage allow it to be a very intimidating threat, even when in the face of its potential counters. Sacred Fire, as said before, is Ho-Oh’s main attack, and deals massive damage to anything that does not resist it. Groudon's sun boosts its power even further. Furthermore, Sacred Fire’s whopping 50% chance of burning can also cripple any physical attacker that is daring enough to switch into it. Brave Bird is also an amazingly powerful attack to use if the weather is not in Ho-Oh’s favor. It gets surprisingly good neutral coverage with this set, as Dialga is the only Uber that resists Flying-type attacks in Ubers, and only Aerodactyl, Solrock, and Lunatone resist the combination of Fire-, Flying-, and Ground-type attacks, and none of them are ever used in Ubers. The recoil damage can also be mitigated with Roost. Furthermore, Brave Bird will always OHKO Palkia, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, and minimum HP / minimum Defense Kyogre after Stealth Rock damage with a Life Orb boost. Maximum HP Kyogre is also OHKOed after Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes has been laid down, while the standard defensive Calm Mind Kyogre is always outsped and 2HKOed. Giratina is also 3HKOed by Brave Bird, meaning that Ho-Oh will KO Giratina before it will awake from Rest’s forced two-turn sleep. (However, Ho-Oh will take a lot of damage in the process from recoil, and if Giratina's Sleep Talk move selects an attacking move, then Ho-Oh will probably die alongside Giratina, so attempting this can be risky.) Therefore, all of Ho-Oh’s previous counters can now be dealt with, making this set all the more deadly. Earthquake rounds out the coverage, allowing Ho-Oh to hit Tyranitar, Heatran, and Dialga in the rain for super effective damage, who would otherwise resist Ho-Oh’s STAB combination.</p>
<p>Substitute and Roost make fantastic additions to this set. Although you may feel that Life Orb recoil plus Substitute damage and recoil damage from Brave Bird will add up to too much passive damage, Roost can keep Ho-Oh healthy for a very long time, thanks to its great defenses. Substitute works very well with Ho-Oh, as its large base 154 Special Defense allows the Substitutes to stand up to many of the powerful special attacks in Ubers. Furthermore, the high chance of burning associated with Sacred Fire cuts many physical sweepers’ attacks, making it even harder to break Ho-Oh’s Substitutes. By using Substitutes, it eases prediction, and Ho-Oh can do severe damage to opponent who threaten it before switching out, such as Kyogre, which will help weaken the power of moves such as Water Spout. Whirlwind works very well on this set too if Ho-Oh has a lot of entry hazard support. Ho-Oh is bulky enough to shuffle the opponent's team effectively, thus spreading tons of entry hazard damage. Ho-Oh can also actually counter Giratina with Whirlwind, provided you have a lot of entry hazards up, as it will not be able to withstand so much passive damage.</p>
<p>Leftovers can also be used over Life Orb on this set. Ho-Oh will not be as powerful and will lose a few OHKOes, but it will be able to live for a much longer time. Leftovers is best used in conjunction with Substitute or Whirlwind, and is a good choice if Ho-Oh is being used on a more Stall oriented team. It can also help Ho-Oh take more attacks from threats such as Darkrai or Mewtwo more effectively, should Ho-Oh be used for that purpose.</p>
<p>Max Attack is highly recommended to take advantage of Ho-Oh's high Attack stat. 32 Speed EVs allow Ho-Oh to outpace most defensive Kyogre as well as Adamant Tyranitar. The remaining EVs are placed into HP to help maintain Ho-Oh's bulk, giving it 409 HP, enough to switch into Stealth Rock twice without dying. If using Leftovers, the preferred spread for this set is 192 HP / 216 Atk / 24 Spd / 76 SDef, with the same nature. This EVspread allows Ho-Oh decent power while also enabling it to always survive a Life Orbed Dark Pulse from Timid Darkrai that after it has used Nasty Plot twice. This can be crucial, as Darkrai is a major threats to the defensive teams you would probably see Leftovers Ho-Oh being used on.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Ho-Oh needs to watch out for Pokémon that can hit it before it can put up a Substitute or those that do not mind being burned by Sacred Fire. Such Pokemon include Choice Scarf Kyogre or speedy Palkia. Special versions of Rayquaza also fall into this category, as they resist Sacred Fire and are immune to Earthquake, and the same goes for Latias and Latios. Kyogreis best defeated by either a Latias with Grass Knot / Thunder and Recover or a Choice Scarf Palkia with Thunder. Both Latias and Palkia resist Water Spout and can retaliate with a strong attack, or, in Latias' or Latios' case,Recover off any damage taken. Choice Scarf Palkia can be trapped and killed with Wobbuffet, or revenge killed by Garchomp, who can also revenge kill Latias, Latios, and Rayquaza. In return, Ho-Oh can take many Ice Beams that are normally destined for the land shark. Blissey can deal with special attackers, such as Palkia, Latias, and Latios, and can cripple them with either Thunder Wave or Toxic, unless Latias has Safeguard or Refresh, but it cannot stand up to the powerful Water-type moves of Kyogre. Latias and Latios can also be dealt with by Metagross or Scizor, both of whom can trap them with Pursuit or hit them with a powerful Meteor Mash or U-turn should they stay in, respectively, while taking little damage from Dragon Pulse. It should be noted, however, that none of the above threats to Ho-Oh will want to switch into a Brave Bird.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh also dislikes faster Pokemon that carry Rock-type attacks. Choice Scarf Tyranitar, Garchomp, and speedy variants or Groudon and Giratina-O fall into this category. Groudon can easily handle any Rock-type attack thrown at Ho-Oh and will wall Garchomp and Tyranitar without a problem. Groudon can also cripple Giratina-O with Thunder Wave. Opposing Groudon can easily be stopped by Latias, who can usually handle a Stone Edge, OHKO Groudon with Grass Knot, and recover off the damage later. Latias can also check Giratina-O very well, as she is faster than the ghostly dragon and will easily pummel it with her STAB Dragon-type attacks. Payback Forretress can also stop Giratina-O, as long as it lacks Hidden Power Fire.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Sacred Fire
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Punishment
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant / Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the Physical Attacker set is more versatile, the Choice Band set hits very hard right off the bat. Sacred Fire is an excellent attack, and with its 50% burn rate and Ho-Oh's high Attack stat, you can expect to cause some serious problems for your opponent. Brave Bird will always OHKO Kyogre (provided it has no HP or Defense EVs), Palkia, Latias, Latios, and Rayquaza without any prior damage, although the recoil damage is a bit more detrimental since this set lacks recovery. Earthquake does more damage to Dialga than Sacred Fire if the weather isn't on your side, in addition to hitting any Tyranitar or Heatran that may come your way. It also 2HKOes Kyogre and Palkia, should Brave Bird’s recoil be undesirable to you. Punishment is quite an interesting attack and is well suited for use against the stat boosting Psychic-types that are common in Uber battles. Although it starts at a paltry 60 base power, it gains an extra 20 for each stat boost the opponent has. For example, against an opponent with one Calm Mind, Punishment will have 100 Base Power. Punishment is good for hitting Latios (who will often fall to a single hit), Latias, and Giratina. However, Brave Bird will do more damage unless they have Calm Mind boosts.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This set has some problems with Scarf Kyogre as it will replace the sunlight with rain, which boosts Kyogre's Water attacks and weakens Ho-oh's Sacred Fire. Scarf Kyogre will then proceed to OHKO Ho-Oh with Surf. Giratina is also a bit more of a threat since it can wall Ho-Oh easier due to this set’s lack of Roost and ability to switch attacks. Latias is the all-purpose Kyogre counter, as it can take the boosted Water Spouts and Surfs, while hurting Kyogre with Grass Knot or Thunder, and replenishing its health with Recover or Roost. Palkia can also check certain versions (Choice Scarf Kyogre can be difficult, however, unless your Palkia has one too) with its 4x resistance to Water-type moves and access to Thunder. Latias and Palkia are also great answers to Giratina as well. Groudon should also be used in tandem with one or both of the two to restore the sun after Kyogre has been eliminated.</p>
<p>Rayquaza can set up a potentially destructive sweep if Ho-Oh is not locked into Sacred Fire or Brave Bird. Rayquaza is immune to Earthquake and is not hurt too badly by Punishment, and outspeeds and KOes Ho-Oh after either a Dragon Dance or a Swords Dance, by hitting Ho-Oh in its weaker Defense. Choice Scarf Garchomp can revenge kill Dragon Dance Rayquaza, because of its odd base 102 Speed stat. Swords Dance Rayquaza is checked by Choice Scarf Dialga or Gengar (The latter also checks Dragon Dance Rayquaza quite well.), as they are resistant or immune to Extremespeed, respectively, and can KO Rayquaza with Dragon Pulse or Hidden Power Ice, respectively. A defensive Groudon can also take on most Rayquaza, as it can cripple Rayquaza with Thunder Wave and then proceed to 2HKO it with Dragon Claw. Choice Scarf Jirachi can also check any Rayquaza variant thanks to its high Base Speed stat, Steel-typing granting it key resistances to ExtremeSpeed and Outrage, and access to Ice Punch.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Sacred Fire
move 2: Brave Bird
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Punishment
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>At first glance, this may seem identical to the Choice Band set, but this Ho-Oh plays more as a revenge killer and a fast sweeper. With Choice Scarf making up for Ho-Oh’s below average sweep, it can surprise many opponents to become an unexpected speedy threat.</p>
<p>Sacred Fire is your main attack as it is on the previous sets. Brave Bird allows Ho-Oh to 2HKO most Kyogre, Latios, Latias, Palkia, and Rayquaza, although one must be wary of the recoil damage. Punishment is a unique move that allows you to take down some threats that your team may have allowed to set up. Calm Mind Mewtwo and Calm Mind Latias are completely destroyed by this move. After just one Calm Mind, Punishment is up to 100 Base Power. After one more, it reaches a deadly 140 Base Power. Earthquake is your strongest attack against Tyranitar and Dialga and can be used against any Heatran who enter expecting you to use Sacred Fire.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This set has a lot of trouble with defensive Kyogre and faster Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Garchomp, Palkia, Darkrai, and Dialga (any Pokémon with a Choice Scarf and has 90+ base Speed can at least force a speed tie, but these are the most seen). Ho-Oh also fears paralysis a lot, as it will render the extra Speed granted by Choice Scarf utterly useless. Choice Scarf Garchomp, Palkia, and Dialga are all handled quite easily by Wobbuffet, who can trap them with Shadow Tag, and then kill them with either Counter or Mirror Coat, as, due to their Choice item, you know what move they are locked into. Darkrai cannot be countered like this, unless it is locked into Focus Blast, because it is immune to Wobbuffet’s Mirror Coat. Scizor works quite well as a Darkrai counter, provided Scizor is not put to sleep, as it resists Darkrai’s Dark-type STAB and can hit it with Superpower or U-turn for super effective damage, or Bullet Punch to bypass its Choice Scarf. Wish support would work well with Wobbuffet, as it has no recovery move of its own, and even Wobbuffet can’t take multiple beatings from Choice Scarf users. Both Jirachi and Blissey can fulfill this role very well, the former due to paralysis support in Body Slam, and the latter from her high Special Defense and Hit Point stats. Blissey can also free Ho-Oh from paralysis by using Aromatherapy. Latias, as mentioned before, can easily take Kyogre down with Grass Knot or Thunder. If you really fear Ho-Oh getting paralyzed, Groudon and Garchomp are immune to Thunder Wave, the most common paralyzing move, and they can destroy common users of said move, most notably Jirachi and Blissey.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh’s lack of Attack-boosting item (such as Life Orb or Choice Band) or Attack-boosting move makes Ho-Oh weaker, and it cannot beat some of the Pokémon it usually scares. Many Pokémon can now switch into Ho-Oh’s attacks when they resist it or have high defenses, as they will not take nearly as much damage, such as Groudon into Punishment. Bulk Up Dialga is particularly threatening, as it can switch into any move, even Earthquake, as Ho-Oh only has a 3.81% of 2HKOing Dialga, even after Leftovers and Stealth Rock, and start boosting its Defence and Attack to massive levels. Soon, not even Earthquake will be able to take it down, and it can Rest off Sacred Fire’s burn and faint Ho-Oh with a boosted Outrage or Dragon Claw. Groudon can take Outrages from Dialga, provided that they are not boosted too many times, and can severely hurt Dialga back with Earthquake. Heatran can also come in, as it resists Dialga’s Dragon-type moves, and can hit it on its Special Defense, which is not boosted. A Choice Specs Overheat from Heatran with a Special Attack-boosting nature in the sun (from Groudon) will OHKO even Bulk Up Dialga, which invests heavily in both HP and Special Defense.</p>
[SET]
name: Toxic
move 1: Toxic
move 2: Light Screen
move 3: Sacred Fire
move 4: Recover / Roost
item: Leftovers
nature: Careful
EVs: 248 HP / 228 SpD / 32 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Ho-Oh can attempt to stall out opponents with Toxic and its massive Special Defense. You will still want Light Screen to take Surfs from Palkia and Kyogre and other hits from the many special based monsters that inhabit the Uber metagame. Toxic your foes and use Light Screen, Recover or Roost, and Pressure to stall out your opponent. Any physical threats can be handled with the burn from Sacred Fire, which had the added advantage of destroying any Metagross who is foolhardy enough to switch in. Make sure to hit the likes of Kyogre, Palkia, Mewtwo, Latias, and Latios on the switch with Toxic. The latter two may use Taunt or Safeguard to shut down your strategy.</p>
<p>Using either Recover or Roost depends on what you want Ho-Oh to do. Roost removes Ho-Oh's weakness to Electric, gives it an Ice-type resistance, and makes Rock-type attacks only do double damage against Ho-Oh instead of quadruple damage. However, using Roost can make trying to beat non-Stone Edge Groudon difficult, due to Ho-Oh gaining an unfortunate Ground-type weakness on the turn it Roosts, meaning that if said Groudon uses Earthquake on the turn you Roost, Ho-Oh will likely not survive. If you feel that this is a concern, you can use Recover over Roost so Ho-Oh will keep its immunity to Ground-type attacks at all times.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The beauty of this set is that Steel-types, who can normally switch into Ho-Oh’s Toxic with their immunity, are instead met with a powerful Sacred Fire, which deals immense damage when the sun is up. However, you must still watch out for Heatran, who is immune to both Sacred Fire and Toxic, making Ho-Oh’s strategy useless against it. Garchomp can come in on any of Heatran’s attacks, barring Dragon Pulse, and destroy it with a STAB Earthquake, or use the turn when Heatran may switch out to stat up, should you be using a Swords Dance or SubSalac version. Another Pokémon to watch out for is Rest + Sleep Talk Kyogre, who not only gets rid of the sun, but can also take a Sacred Fire with ease, and can Rest off Toxic and any damage Ho-Oh can deal to it. In return, Kyogre can severely hurt Ho-Oh with a boosted Surf, which will deal tremendous damage in the rain, even through Light Screen. Latias can deal with Rest + Sleep Talk Kyogre fairly easily, as it resists Kyogre’s Water-type STAB, Recover off the damage, and take out Kyogre with Grass Knot or Thunder.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>When configuring Ho-Oh's EVs, first make sure that Ho-Oh's HP is always an odd number. This lets it switch into Stealth Rock twice and survive, whereas an even numbered HP stat would mean two hits of Stealth Rock will kill it off. 192 HP and 76 Special Defense EVs will allow Ho-Oh to always survive a Life Orbed Dark Pulse from Timid Darkrai after it has used Nasty Plot twice at full HP, making Ho-Oh one of the best Darkrai checks around.</p>
<p>Always max Attack on the Choice Band set. Like many other Ubers in the same base 90 Speed group as Ho-Oh, setting Speed is a tricky decision. Max Speed with an Adamant nature doesn't really guarantee it will outspeed anything of note; it just allows for a tie with Kyogre, Groudon, Dialga, and other Ho-Oh. If you don't want to take your chances in the coin toss against those four, you can focus more on Ho-Oh's HP, to allow it to take more hits. Allocate 24 EVs to Speed to beat Adamant Tyranitar, and then place the remaining EVs in HP. 84 Speed EVs can also allow Ho-Oh to outpace most Jirachi, allowing you to roast it before Jirachi can Paralyze Ho-Oh. 140 Speed EVs allows Ho-Oh to outrun most Rock Polish Groudon before a boost, should you want to (hopefully) Burn it with Sacred Fire before it hits you with Stone Edge. Jolly nature will outrun most Rayquaza, so that's certainly a worthy consideration. You only need 290 to achieve this, but max is again an option if you fancy your chances in a tie against the other base 90s.</p>
<p>Lots of HP and Special Defense are needed for the Toxic set, with a Careful nature.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh also has several other moves it can employ. Thunder Wave can cripple a counter with paralysis; thankfully, the only Uber immune to it is Groudon, who is unlikely to risk switching into Ho-Oh, as Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire can severely cripple it. Reflect is available for support purposes, although Sacred Fire burns are enough to ward off physical attackers. Whirlwind allows Ho-Oh to function as a phazer, which it does reasonably well against special attackers if they lack an Electric attack. Safeguard gives Ho-Oh and its teammates some protection against status. Due to Ho-Oh's massive base 154 Special Defense, 106 base HP, and some fairly useful resistances, Rest + Sleep Talk are viable options for a team that lacks a status absorber. Ho-Oh can also use Choice Specs or Calm Mind to take advantage of its base 110 Special Attack stat and its good special movepool, but generally there are a lot more Pokemon that are better special sweepers, such as Kyogre, Mewtwo, Latias, Latios, and Palkia. Also, Ho-Oh’s physical sets aregenerally more threatening.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Regardless of which Ho-Oh set you choose to run, there are two Pokémon that are pretty much required to be on the same team in order to guarantee Ho-Oh’s usefulness: Groudon and Forretress. With Stealth Rock now on the D/P/P scene, Ho-Oh loses a whopping 50% of its health, due to its 4x weakness to Rock-type attacks. The only way Ho-Oh can fulfill its various roles is by being accompanied by a Rapid Spinner, otherwise it will be too weak to sweep or wall. Forretress makes a fantastic partner because it is really the only viable Rapid Spinner in Ubers, so it can clear the field of the crippling Stealth Rock. Groudon’s ability, Drought, replaces Kyogre’s rain, and boosts the power of Ho-Oh’s already impressive Sacred Fire, allowing Ho-Oh to severely hurt even those who resist it.</p>
<p>With the right moveset and weather, Ho-Oh can pose quite a large threat, hitting many Pokémon for high damage. However, Water-types, such as Kyogre, and certain Dragon-types, such as Palkia, can give the rainbow phoenix some trouble. A Palkia of your own deals with these threats quite nicely. By equipping Palkia with a Choice Scarf, you can switch into Kyogre’s Surfs and Water Spouts aimed at Ho-Oh, and cripple it with Thunder. Likewise, Palkia can switch into the same Surfs, only now coming from your opponent’s Palkia, and destroy it with Spacial Rend or Draco Meteor.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh has a stellar base 154 Special Defense stat, but it still has problems taking the disgustingly powerful Water-type attacks of Kyogre. For this reason, Latias can make an awesome partner to Ho-Oh, as it can live through Kyogre’s Water Spout, and reply with Grass Knot or Thunder, heal itself with Recover, or start a possible Calm Mind sweep. In return, Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire decimates Metagross and Scizor, who can otherwise trap and kill Latias with Pursuit. Ho-Oh’s weakness though is its 90 base Defense stat, which leaves it open to the powerful physical attacks from the likes of Garchomp and Rayquaza. Forretress can absorb the powerful Outrages, Dragon Claws, and Extremespeeds from them with ease, which would otherwise hurt Ho-Oh quite badly. The phoenix can also help Forretress out in return, as it can take the Fire Blasts and Overheats from Rayquaza and some Garchomp that are aimed at Forretress. However, these threats cannot switch directly into Ho-Oh, as Sacred Fire’s high burn rate can instantly cripple them. Latias and Latios can prove annoying to Ho-Oh if they are carrying Thunder, although they cannot switch into Brave Bird. They can be trapped and killed with Scizor or Metagross, or they can be easily revenge killed by Choice Scarf Palkia’s Draco Meteor or Darkrai’s Dark Pulse.</p>
<p>Ho-Oh’s most sound checks, Latios, Latias, Palkia, and Kyogre are most often paired with Groudon, Darkrai, Mewtwo, and each other. Ho-Oh can handle Groudon itself, but only when it is behind a Substitute, using a special attack-based moveset, or if Groudon lacks Stone Edge. Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire does massive damage, especially since Groudon brings the sun with it, and it can also burn the Ground-type titan, halving its Attack, but watch out for Stone Edge, even with the burn. Darkrai presents a problem for Ho-Oh, because of its fast Dark Void. A Rest + Sleep Talk Pokémon can take advantage of Darkrai’s sleep-inducing move, but make sure it is not weak to Dark-type moves. After Sleep Clause is activated, Scizor also makes for a great Darkrai counter, as it can Bullet Punch weaker ones, and U-turn for super effective STAB damage. However, watch out for Darkrai’s +2 Focus Blasts. Mewtwo cannot do much damage to Ho-Oh when it relies on only Ice Beam and Aura Sphere. When it uses other moves, Scizor is again a great counter, as it resists many of Mewtwo’s movesets, and can severely damage Mewtwo with U-turn, Bullet Punch, or Pursuit.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Ho-Oh does not have a true counter as nothing in Ubers can really stand up to its monstrously powerful attacks. However, as was mentioned several times in the analysis, Kyogre can be a massive pain in the tail feathers for Ho-Oh. Kyogre resists Ho-Oh’s Fire-type moves, gets rid of the sunlight thanks to Drizzle, and will OHKO Ho-Oh with Surf. However, even the bulkiest of Kyogre are 2HKOed at worst by Ho-Oh Life Orb Brave Bird after Stealth Rock, with more offensive variants being OHKOed, so Kyogre must be careful about switching in. Palkia has a higher base Speed stat than Ho-Oh and can destroy it with Water-type moves of its own. However, special attacking Palkias risk actually being walled by Ho-Oh in the sunlight if they lack a Rock-type move such as Power Gem, while physical variants risk being crippled by a burn from Sacred Fire. Rayquaza is also faster than Ho-Oh and can easily obliterate Ho-Oh with Outrage, but Rayquaza can only come in on Earthquake. Giratina can wall most of Ho-Oh’s attacks, but it is 3HKOed by Brave Bird, meaning that if Giratina lacks Toxic or Stone Edge, Ho-Oh will beat Giratina due to Rest’s two-turn sleep side effect. (Brave Bird will KO Giratina before it wakes up.) Latios and Latias can outspeed Ho-Oh and destroy it with Thunder, but the sunlight will cripple the move’s accuracy and neither of them can take a Brave Bird, making them very risky options.</p>
<p>Using something faster than Ho-Oh with a Rock-type attack will make a good check for it. Choice Scarf Tyranitar is probably the best choice since it resists both of Ho-Oh’s STAB attacks, will always outspeed non-Choice Scarf sets, and will always OHKO with Stone Edge. Garchomp and fast variants of Groudon and Giratina-O can also work provided they are equipped with Stone Edge. It should be noted, however, that all of these Pokemon need to be wary of switching into Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire, lest they be crippled for the rest of the match with a burn.</p>