Looking at Pokemon: Heracross

April 16, 2008

Heracross

Looking at Heracross

Heracross is a Bug/Fighting Pokemon that was introduced in the Gold/Silver/Crystal editions of the game. Heracross sits at the 214th position in the National Dex and does not evolve. This Pokemon is often compared to Pinsir (ND:127 Bug-type) as they are both among the strongest Physical Attackers of the Bug group.

Heracross comes with one of two possible abilities: Swarm (Boosts power of Bug moves 50% when at 1/3 HP or less) and Guts (Attack is increased 50% when statused).

Heracross can be acquired in the Diamond and Pearl games via the Honey Tree system. You can also Pal Park it from one of your GBA games after completing the single player mode.

One of the main problems with Heracross is its severe weakness to Flying-type Pokemon. Because it is both a Bug and a Fighting Pokemon Heracross suffers 4X damage from a Flying attack. This quickly becomes 6X if a Flying Pokemon uses a Flying attack! The Bug typing does help in regards to Fighting’s normal weakness to Psychic Pokemon.

Heracross has a very high Base Attack (125) and its Speed (85) and Special Defense (95) are both above average. Sadly its Defense (75) is not so good and its Special Attack (40) is even worse. Heracross does not have any Special moves in its Level-up and Egg move pools. It can learn a few Special moves via TM (Hidden Power, Hyper Beam and Focus Blast). However, because it can already learn Close Combat and Megahorn as level-up moves (and Giga Impact via TM) there is no reason to ever give a Heracross a Special move.

Heracross in Adventure Mode

Using Heracross in your adventuring party can be very rewarding. When it comes to Bug Pokemon in Diamond/Pearl you do not have a lot of good ones to choose from early on. You could use a Wurmple or a Burmy in your group but Heracross is just so much better than them. Wurmple is easier to catch while Burmy also requires some Honey Tree action to acquire. Because Heracross does not evolve it will be stronger at lower levels than its evolving counterparts.

A freshly hatched Heracross (with no special breeding) will know four of the following five moves: Night Slash, Tackle, Leer, Horn Attack, Endure. Night Slash is a much better move than Tackle and Horn Attack so don’t expect to start with it!

As Heracross gains levels more moves will become available and all of them are Physical Attacks. Yes, you read that right. As Heracross levels up it only ever learns new attacks. Sadly the coveted Megahorn move does not become available until Heracross reaches level 55, no moves are learned after that one.

As Heracross begins to gain levels you will be forced to pick which attacks to keep and which ones to replace. If you are lucky enough to gain Night Slash right from the start keep it. That is the only Dark move Heracross learns without the aid of a TM.

Be sure to learn Aerial Ace at level 13 and Brick Break at level 19. Aerial Ace is a very nice Flying move for Heracross to learn and it never misses. Its Power of 60 is on par with the other “never miss” moves but Heracross gains no type bonus for using it. Brick Break is a great Fighting move that also destroys some defensive moves. Its Power of 75 is very respectable given Heracross gains the STAB. You will keep Brick Break until level 37 when you replace it with Close Combat.

Close Combat is a very good move but you need to be fast to use it. It is a Power 120 Fighting move that also reduces your Defense and Special Defense after use. Heracross is not known for high Defense numbers so don’t use this move if you don’t have a Speed advantage. Close Combat also suffers with a very low number of Power Points. Like most high power moves it only has a base of five power points which can be increased to eight by way of the PP Up potions.

Adventure Mode Move Breakdown:

Move 1: Tackle -> Aerial Ace
Move 2: Leer -> Brick Break -> Close Combat
Move 3: Horn Attack -> Counter -> Reversal
Move 4: Endure

Odds are that you will not reach level 55 (Megahorn) before beating the Elite Four. Endure followed by Counter is a great combination if you are fast enough to pull it off. If you are lucky enough to get a Heracross with a maxed out Speed you might consider keeping those two moves and replacing Aerial Ace with Megahorn when the time comes.

Competitve Battling Heracross

Heracross is very popular in the competitive battling circuit and finds itself in the Over-Used tier. Its Base Attack puts it in the top Ten for its tier and among those it places fourth in terms of speed. The only Pokemon that are faster and have a higher Base Attack in its tier are Azelf, Salamence and Garchomp. When equiped with the right items and moves it is a very formidable opponent able to knock out even legendary Pokemon in one hit. (Most legendary Pokemon are Psychic.)

When it comes to battling with Heracross you will find two types of opponents; Those who understand the threat he posses and those who do not. If you are battling against inexperienced opponents many of them will ignore your Heracross thinking he is not much of a threat. When you face an experienced battler they will target your Heracross for quick destruction.

All-Purpose Heracross

A while back I farmed what I consider to be the all-purpose Heracross. This particular mixture of moves is designed to allow Heracross to lay waste to the inexperienced battlers out there. Rather than specialize in one strategy this Heracross is designed to take on all attackers with OHKO (One Hit Knock Out) moves.

IV: Atk:252 / Spd: 252 / Def: 8
Nature: Adamant (Atk+/SpA-), Jolly (Spd+/SpA-)

Move Pool:

Move 1: Night Slash (Dark 70/100)
Move 2: Close Combat (Fighting 120/100)
Move 3: Megahorn (Bug 120/85)
Move 4: Stone Edge (Rock 100/80 TM71)

Two of the moves are 100% accurate while the other two can miss on occasion. Both Close Combat and Megahorn are STAB moves. Rock Slide is another TM move that you can use on Heracross but it is less powerful than Stone Edge and only slightly more accurate. It is better in a Double Battle as it hits both enemy Pokemon.

Other Heracross:

You can also try and capitalize on the Endure/Reversal strategy but you need to be sure your Pokemon holds a Salac Berry (Raises Speed in a pinch). As long as your opponent hits you hard on the first hit Endure should knock you down to one HP. Heracross will then eat the Salac Berry and gain enough Speed (hopefully) to launch Reversal before your opponent can strike you down.

I always keep a Heracross in my main line of battle Pokemon. I find Heracross to be very versatile in filling holes in my team. The fact that many battlers underestimate it makes it even better!

Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under Tips  2,473 views

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9 Comments »

Comment by pokefan
2008-04-16 14:22:09

I want one!!!!!!! fc:0645-5743-4546. then my name is Keegan.

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Comment by Star
2008-04-16 14:28:17

cool

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Comment by Nikola
2008-04-17 09:16:51

I recently started a copy of pokemon diamond ( to compliment pearl) and Heracross was one of the first pokemon I came across. If you can get Heracross to move first in a turn with brick break he can usually take out bird types before they get him.

In terms of battling I found that Earthquake makes a better move than stone edge simply because it is 100 physical power and 100% accuracy. Overall heracross is a great little bug to bring all around sinnoh, and even to battle tower.

My moveset currently

Brick Break ->To be replaced by close combat.
Arial Ace
Earthquake (via breeding or TM)
Bulk Up

equipped with a quick claw

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Comment by HMTKSteve
2008-04-17 18:35:53

Earthquake is more powerful but if you want to attempt to knock those birds out of the sky you need a good Rock attack on your Heracross.

I have also taken to giving him a Life Orb to hold. I find the damage bonus works wonders and does not take a turn to setup the way using Bulk Up does.

Do you just switch your Heracross out when a Flying type shows up?

As an aside, nothing is more fun when playing PBR in a wi-fi battle and knocking out a Flying Pokemon with Stone Edge!

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Comment by Nikola
2008-04-18 07:58:27

Nope flying types are also normal. So I just use close combat and they drop. I underestimated the bug world for a long time but heracross has shown me the light!

I need to play PBR more often I have heard other members saying how it is a great way to test a new team.

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Comment by HMTKSteve
2008-04-18 16:10:36

Yes, it is much maligned but the Survival Dome is excellent for testing out your team.

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Comment by TODICHU
2008-04-17 16:03:55

i cant seem to find one

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Comment by Nikola
2008-04-18 07:59:47

Hey Todichu,
Keep putting honey on trees. I had to slather 15 trees before I stumbled upon my heracross. You have about a 10% chance with every tree. If you really want one head on over to the forums and post a request under trades. Almost anyone there would be happy to give you one, my self included.

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Comment by Lisa
2008-05-10 18:17:29

I would like one there awesome!
name=Lisa
friendcode=193414169545

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