What I did:
- Added Team Options section
- Added team comments in each set
- added/changed and reordered to the Life Orb set
- Fixed grammatical errors
name: Life Orb
move 1: Sacred Fire
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Substitute
move 4: Roost
item: Life Orb
nature: Adamant
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Atk / 66 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; however, a 50% chance to burn makes it difficult to switch into Ho-oh.</p>
<p>Ho-oh’s high Attack, coupled with Substitute, 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. The sun, brought by Groudon, 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. Earthquake provides for great coverage, only missing out on hitting Latias and Latios for at least neutral damage, out of all the Ubers. While still being powerful, Ho-oh’s Life Orb grants it versatility that allows it to pose an even larger threat.</p>
<p>Substitute and Roost make fantastic additions to this set as well. Although you may feel that Life Orb recoil plus Substitute damage will add up to too much passive damage, Roost can keep Ho-oh healthy for a very long time. Substitute works very well with Ho-oh, as its large base 154 Special Defense allows for Substitute 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 can weaken moves like Water Spout.</p>
<p>Should you feel that Substitute is unnecessary, Thunder also makes for a fine alternative, as it allows you to hit Kyogre on its switch in (do not try and hurt it with Thunder while it is already in). By using Thunder, Ho-oh is granted a very high chance of inducing status, which is generally something to fear. On one hand, Ho-oh has a 50% chance to burn a Pokémon and is boosted in sunlight, courtesy of Groudon. On the other hand, it also has Thunder's 30% paralysis rate in the rain. Kyogre, a common switch-in to Ho-oh, is easily 2HKOed by Thunder with Stealth Rock in play. However, it is worth noting that almost all of the time you will want to have Ho-oh battling in the sun, which generally makes Substitute the better choice.</p>
<p>Roost, as mentioned before, is an important part of this set. It minimizes the effects of passive damage, such as Stealth Rock and Life Orb recoil, and can even allow Ho-oh to tank a few hits. Return is also viable and allows Ho-oh's to 2HKO the Lati@s twins and is Ho-oh's strongest option when its STAB is resisted. Though it is not listed as an option, it is the best filler attack for this set. It can replace Thunder or Substitute, if Kyogre isn't a major concern or you do not need the help of the Substitute.</p>
<p>Max Attack is highly recommended to take advantage of Ho-oh's high Attack stat. 66 Speed EVs allow Ho-oh to outrun max Speed Adamant Scizor, allowing you to burn it to a crisp before it U-turns out. Should you be using Thunder, move 42 Speed EVs and 2 Atk EVs to Special Attack and use a Lonely nature, which allows Ho-oh to 2HKO 252 HP / 0 SpD Kyogre with Thunder. The remaining 24 Speed EVs will let Ho-oh outrun Adamant Tyranitar. The remaining EVs are placed into HP to help maintain Ho-oh's bulk, giving it 401 HP, enough to switch into Stealth Rock twice without dying.</p>
<p>Ho-oh needs to watch out for Pokémon that can hit it before it can put up a Substitute or that do not care about 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. Kyogre is always a menace, and is 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' case, Recover as well. 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, Latios, and special Rayquaza, 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.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Sacred Fire
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Punishment
move 4: Return
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant / Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While the Life Orb set is more versatile, the Choice Band set hits very hard, straight 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. 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, two very common switch-ins on Ho-oh.</p>
<p>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. Regardless of whether they have any boosts, Punishment will be your best attack for hitting Latios (who will often fall to a single hit), Latias, and Giratina. Despite being almost forced to use Return in the last slot, given that it is Ho-oh's only other remotely usable physical attack, Ho-oh can actually use it to some success. It easily 2HKOes Rayquaza, Palkia, Kyogre, Ho-oh, Latios, and most Latias.</p>
<p>Choice Scarf is a viable alternative to Choice Band if you want to compensate for Ho-oh's sub-par Speed. Although it'll be somewhat lacking in power, it can ensure that it'll finish off weakened opponents without taking a possibly fatal hit. Punishment really shines on a Choice Scarf set, as the extra Speed can allow Ho-oh to finish off the likes of Calm Mind Mewtwo and Latios without taking a hit from either of them.</p>
<p>This set has major problems with Kyogre, Latios, and Rayquaza. The former replaces sun, which boosts Ho-oh’s immensely powerful Sacred Fire, the main attraction of the set, with rain, which not only boosts Kyogre’s Water-type moves, which hit Ho-oh for severe damage, but also weakens Ho-oh’s Sacred Fire. 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 (not Choice Scarf Kyogre, however, unless your Palkia has one too) with its 4x resistance to Water-type moves and access to Thunder. 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 onto Sacred Fire. Rayquaza is immune to Earthquake and is not hurt too badly by Punishment, and outspeeds and can KO 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, as they are resistant or immune to Extremespeed, respectively, and can KO Rayquaza with Dragon Pulse or Hidden Power Ice, respectively.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Overheat / Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 2: Thunder
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Earth Power / Sacred Fire
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest / Timid
EVs: 252 SpA / 6 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set uses the same "hit and run" tactic as the previous set, but utilizes Ho-oh's Special Attack. Overheat provides the most initial power for a STAB move, while Fire Blast does more damage over two turns. Flamethrower has significantly less power, but is the most accurate option and has more PP than the other Fire attacks. Thunder falls just short of guaranteeing an OHKO on Kyogre, but with the 30% paralysis rate, a little luck can allow Ho-oh to finish off its nemesis the following turn. Shadow Ball is mostly for the Lati twins and Giratina who resist Fire/Electric, since your Overheat and Fire Blast will do more damage to other Psychic fiends like Lugia and Mewtwo, as does Flamethrower, when the sun is out. Hidden Power Ice is highly recommended in the last slot in order to combat Rayquaza, who would otherwise switch in freely. Earth Power is a good alternative, as it will tear through Heatran, who can absorb Ho-oh’s Fire-type STAB moves with its Flash Fire ability. You could also throw Sacred Fire in the last slot to 2HKO Blissey in the sun.</p>
<p>The Choice Band set is generally superior to this, but with Choice Specs Thunder and Hidden Power Ice, this set handles Kyogre and Rayquaza a little more effectively.</p>
<p>Like many special attacking Pokémon, Choice Specs Ho-oh has massive problems with Blissey, unless you decide to use Sacred Fire. For this reason, you should pair Ho-oh with a physical attacker of some sort, such as Lucario, Groudon, or Rayquaza, all of whom can sweep at a moment's notice themselves. Groudon can also set up the sun for Ho-oh, greatly boosting the power of its Fire-type moves, and can take stray Rock-type moves from Tyranitar, who laughs at Ho-oh’s attempts to take it down with an all-special moveset. Groudon can also absorb Thunder Wave, which will severely cripple Ho-oh. Lucario can take Toxic for Ho-oh, Close Combat Blissey, and Extremespeed certain faster threats, such as Rayquaza and Darkrai. In return, Ho-oh’s special moves, like Shadow Ball, can dispatch Giratina quite easily, who can normally survive one of Lucario’s boosted Crunches and cripple it with Will-O-Wisp. Rayquaza is merely a strong sweeper who can power through your opponent's team, but can also get help from Ho-oh, as the phoenix can take Ice Beams aimed at Rayquaza with relative ease.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Sacred Fire
move 2: Thunder
move 3: Punishment
move 4: Earthquake / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Hasty
EVs: 160 Atk / 96 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Ho-oh is defensively inferior to its counterpart, Lugia, it can cause havoc offensively and can surprise the opponent by carrying a Choice Scarf. Ho-oh is in the base 90 Speed group, which is incredibly common in Ubers. Most Pokémon in that speed group max out Speed while the average Ho-oh does not, giving them the impression that they will be able to outspeed you. Instead, they will fall victim to one of your powerful attacks. With 344 SpD with no investment, Ho-oh has relative special bulk and can switch in easily if Stealth Rock is not in play. It can surprise the opponent, and then potentially finish the game with a sweep. Rapid Spin support is recommended as Stealth Rock does do 50% to Ho-oh.</p>
<p>By holding a Choice Scarf, Ho-oh can effectively use Physical and Special attacks which allow it to have a wider movepool than the Choice Band or Choice Specs sets. Sacred Fire is your main attack and is also by far your strongest attack. Its 50% chance of burning the target is impressive. It can 3HKO (2HKO in sunlight) a Blissey that comes in expecting a special attack, taking into account leftovers. Thunder allows Ho-oh to still destroy things in the rain and will help out with most physical walls. It can 2HKO a Kyogre without investment into HP or Special Defense who comes in predicting a Sacred Fire. 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. The last slot can be filled by either Earthquake or HP Ice. Earthquake is your strongest attack against Tyranitar and Dialga and can be used against any Heatran who enter expecting you to use Sacred Fire. Hidden Power Ice gives you a much easier time against Rayquaza and Garchomp.</p>
<p>The only way for Ho-oh to start a sweep or succeed at revenge killing with this set is to eliminate faster threats, which are quite popular, 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). 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.</p>
<p>Since Ho-oh has fully invested in its Speed stat and is immune to burn, your opponent will be looking to cripple it in some way, namely paralysis. Groudon makes an appearance yet again as a great teammate, as it is immune to the common Thunder Wave, and can pulverize Jirachi with its STAB Earthquake, who uses the less common Body Slam. Should Groudon not be around to take the paralysis for Ho-oh, Blissey can help by using Aromatherapy to cure Ho-oh of its status.</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 Dragon Claw or Outrage. 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: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Flamethrower
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Thunder
move 4: Recover / Roost
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Calm Mind to boost Ho-oh's less than impressive Special Attack (in Uber terms anyway) and send that already monstrous Special Defense through the roof. Thunder hits incoming Kyogre hard and also other Ho-oh. Hidden Power Ice is the better option overall as it hits a wider pool of enemies, including Rayquaza, Latios, Latias, and Giratina.</p>
<p>The final slot provides Ho-oh will the ability to heal off damage between boosting and attacking. Roost will rid it of its Electric-type weakness and buy it a resistance to Ice-type moves, but as the fiery bird isn't too speedy, it often won't help too much. As such, Recover is a perfectly acceptable alternative.</p>
<p>This set has the same problems with special walls that the Choice Specs set has, but multiple boosts can allow Ho-oh to defeat even Blissey in the sun. However, it can't beat Calm Mind or Psych Up variants of Blissey. On the other hand, if you have not boosted Ho-oh’s Special Attack, you have no Sacred Fire to take down bulky special walls, such as Blissey. This again necessitates the use of a physical attacker in conjunction with Ho-oh to take down the special walls that prevent it from sweeping, such as the aforementioned Lucario, Groudon, or Rayquaza.</p>
<p>Since you have no Sacred Fire, you will have to be wary of physical attackers hoping to take Ho-oh down, especially since your boosted base 154 Special Defense will be hard to crack. Tyranitar, Groudon, Garchomp, and Rayquaza can all switch in, on certain moves, without the threat of being burned, to prey on Ho-oh’s weaker base Defense. Therefore, it is best that you pair Ho-oh with a physical wall or tank, such as Forretress or Groudon. Forretress can take Garchomp and Rayquaza’s Dragon-type attacks like a pro, and can also spin away Stealth Rock for Ho-oh. Groudon can take Rock-type moves from Tyranitar, and Fire-type attacks from Rayquaza, which Forretress dies to, along with Ground-type attacks from Garchomp and Rayquaza. Groudon also sets up the sun for Ho-oh to unleash its Flamethrowers, making it an excellent partner.</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 / 252 SpD / 8 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, and Lati@s on the switch with Toxic. The latter two may use Taunt or Safeguard to shut down your strategy.</p>
<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>
[Other Options]
<p>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.</p>
[EVS]
<p>First of all, 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.<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. 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>For the Choice Specs set, follow the same route as the Choice Bander, but use a Modest or Timid nature.</p>
<p>For the Calm Mind set, near max HP and Special Defense will allow you to take special hits easier while you set up. You can pour all your EVs into Defense instead if you are happy to rely on Calm Mind alone for protection against special attacks.</p>
<p>Lots of HP and Special Defense are needed for the Toxic set, with Careful nature.</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, it falters when pitted against bulkier Water-types, such as Kyogre, and certain Dragon-types, such as Palkia. 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 the sets which do not carry Punishment, as they are immune to Earthquake and resist Sacred Fire and Thunder, which are all among Ho-oh’s most used attacks. 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 counters, 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 due 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>
[Opinion]
<p>With its monstrously high Special Defense combined with the excellent Sacred Fire and that impressive Attack stat, switching into Ho-oh is a daunting prospect. However, despite the benefits of the rainbow phoenix's signature attack, Fire-type is a rather average attacking type in Uber battles, as Dragon- and Water-types are common. Even though it is often pushed aside by its Psychic-type cousin, Lugia, Ho-oh's defensive abilities should not be underestimated. Although Lugia has superior physical Defense and takes less damage from Stealth Rock, Ho-oh's typing grants it useful neutralities to the common Ghost-, Dark-, and Ice-type attacks, all of which Lugia is weak to.</p>
<p>Stealth Rock is a real thorn in Ho-oh's side, which are set up by many Pokémon, Deoxys-S, Groudon, and Forretress being the most common examples. Once set up, Stealth Rock causes massive problems for Ho-oh, stripping off a crippling 50% of its HP.</p>
<p>Ho-oh seems to have been almost forgotten and is a rare sight in Uber battles. Despite its flaws, this fiery menace is always worth considering when constructing your Uber team, provided, of course, you have Groudon in tow.</p>
[Counters]
<p>As was mentioned several times in the analysis, Kyogre is a massive pain in the tail feathers of Ho-oh. Although it can be hurt with Thunder or Choice Band Earthquake or Return, Kyogre will frequently come out on top. Palkia can also bring down Ho-oh and has a higher base Speed. Rayquaza, if using only physical attacks, is risking a Sacred Fire burn but it can otherwise operate quite effectively as a Ho-oh counter. Latios and Latias are resistant to Fire-type attacks and immune to Ground-type attacks, making them able to switch into half of Ho-oh's Choice Band moveset, but neither will enjoy taking hits from Punishment or Return. Both will easily beat the Calm Mind versions if Ho-oh doesn't have Hidden Power Ice, and even then both can still come out on top with Calm Mind and an Electric attack. Giratina can wall most of Ho-oh's attacks, barring Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Ice, although it has trouble doing significant damage in return, unless it hits Ho-oh with Toxic.</p>
